| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Living by faith” Our Bible verse for today: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” Romans 8:15 (CSB) Our thought for today: “It’s more than a set of beliefs, it’s a relationship” The name “Abba” is an Aramaic word for father but it carries with it implications of both endearment and honor. We often hear it compared to the English “Daddy”, and there is a lot of “Daddy” in “Abba”, but there’s more as well. In Aramaic “Abba” communicates a sense of warmth, intimacy, comfort, trust, and security, but also honor and a commitment of obedience. In the patriarchal world in the times of Jesus an Abba was loved and trusted, and also honored and obeyed. Jesus used the term “Abba, Father” to address God. By doing so He communicated both His strong and warm bond of love with His Father, as well as His commitment to honor and obey Him. In Romans 8:15 Paul tells us that since we as the followers of Christ have been adopted into the Father’s family, we too now have the privilege of calling Him “Abba”. Likewise, in Galatians 4:6 Paul wrote, “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying “Abba” Father!” All of this serves to highlight the fact that Christian faith is much more than just a set of beliefs we ascribe to, it’s a relationship we are involved in. And not just any relationship, but a warm and trusting bond of love with God that brings a sense of trust, comfort, and security. But sadly, and unfortunately, for many people having faith is similar to having an opinion. It’s simply something they believe to be true. But God intends for our faith to be much more than that. He wants our faith to be transformed from a mere set of beliefs about Him, to a deep relationship of love and trust with Him. How does that happen? The same way it happens in any relationship. It happens slowly over time. It happens because we spend time with the person and we make the effort to nurture the relationship. The same is true with God. The more time you spend with Him, the more your faith will transform from a simple set of beliefs into a deep and dynamic relationship. Let me ask you, is He simply your God, or is He your Abba? You may think of Him as God, but He wants to be Abba. God bless, Pastor Jim |
| Copyright © 2022 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. |
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Oak Hill Baptist Church 