May 27 – Daddy, Papa, Abba!

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!””  - Romans 8:15 (ESV)

Let us consider in this passage how we are “talked about.”  For when we repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus, we become children of our Father God through adoption.  We have been adopted as ‘children of God,’ (verse 15); we are ‘sons of God,’ (verse 14);  we are ‘children of God’, (verse 16); we become ‘heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ’, (verse 17). What does it mean to become an heir of God? It means to inherit everything God possesses. It will all be ours in the glory of heaven, and we are fellow heirs with Christ. That is to say, our inheritance is the same inheritance Christ made available and has – it is all that God possesses.  We learn in Romans 8:28, and we have studied this promise several times in the past, everything that happens in our life God works together for our good. And what is our good? Our inheritance, our eternal inheritance. Our relationship with God as our loving Father is so special that we call out to Him, “Abba!” “Daddy!”  “Papa!” “Tata!” “Papi!” Whatever affectionate term we use.  We are His, He is our Abba!

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October 4 – Who's Our Daddy?

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ”  - Romans 8:14-15   (ESV)

If we pay attention to what is happening in our world these days, we might have a fearful reaction and more than a little anxiety.  We hear the question, “What IS happening to our world today?” being more and more because people are losing the sense of security they had in their way of life. Things in our world are not like they used to be and that is disrupting.  We want to go back to those days and we cannot.  But we can take heart and be encouraged because of this promise from God.  If we have surrendered to God and now are led by His Spirit, we have assurance that we are children of God and a part of His family.   When we were born again into God's family by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, we were set from being slaves to fear and worry.  Our future is secure even if our life now faces difficulty and our faith is tested.  We can actually look to God our Father who loves us like like his own.  He invites us to call Him “Daddy” which is the colloquial meaning of “Abba”.  His promise protects us perfectly in every storm. 

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May 12 – A Familiar Familial Way

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”  Romans 8:15-16 (ESV)

We understand pretty well how fear can envelope our lives and we end up enslaved by it.  For many people, such fear is debilitating and while they deny and ignore it, they remain trapped by things they are afraid of through superstitions, false teaching, or even misunderstandings of what is truth.  We are taught however, in our Bible, that when we accept Jesus as our Savior we become children of God.  Our promise today is that when we chose to believe and receive Jesus's free gift of new life, we also received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters in the Family of God.  We respond in a most natural way for a child to respond to its Father,  We cry out “Abba! Father!”  This is the familiar way we call out to our earthly fathers by saying “Daddy! Poppa!” Yes, we can call on God in this endearing and familial way because we are in the Family.  No more fear to enslave us, but the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, confirms us as children of the Most High God.  Beyond our understanding now but not beyond our ability to believe the promise and receive the blessed adoption He has for us.  

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June 11 – It is Personal

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”” Romans 8:15 (NIV)

It is when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior that we enter and become a part of the family of God. Today's verse describes how God brings about this change.  So, who is it that brings a change in our lives when we believe in Jesus? It is the Holy Spirit. He comes to live in us and the result is that we become God's children.  We are adopted into God's family by the coming of the Spirit and this relationship is very personal and a continuing one.  Today, the Holy Spirit makes the relationship real. He is the one who helps us to call God our Father. We can call Him Father in a very personal way like a child calls his or her Daddy.  This is the ministry of the spirit of adoption as our verse says and as we come to understand the true nature of God as revealed in the Bible we might be amazed that He not only allows us, but even encourages us to Call Him by that very personal name as we cry out to Him, “Abba” Father. 

January 25 – No Slavery. No Fear.

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”” Romans 8:15 (NASB)

Maybe you have noticed the increasing hostility in the world toward those who profess faith in God and believe in Jesus for salvation. If we are Christians we must never forget what God has done in bringing us into His family. Our verse brings us a wonderful promise that we do not have to be slaves to fear anymore. God wants us to be sure that we recognize what it means to be His child. To  help us to remember that God has sent us His Holy Spirit to confirm this family relationship. If you turn to God today realizing that He is your Father it will be because the Holy Spirit is making it real in your life. And if you call on God today and you call Him Father it will be the Holy Spirit putting that name in your mind and on your lips. Aren't you glad that God has arranged it as our verse says that we received a spirit of adoption giving us the desire to cry out Abba! Father!  'Abba' is a word much like 'Dad' or 'Papa' used by children for their fathers.