A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AS HIS ADOPTED CHILD

BIBLE PASSAGE:
I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, 
“You are my son; today I have become your father.”
(Psalm 2:7)

MEDITATION:
When we chose to surrender our lives to the Lord, 
our relationship with Him changed immediately.
No longer was there enmity between us and Him.
Instead of being an outsider, we became a member of His family.
He became our ‘heavenly’ Father, and we became His adopted child.

Intellectually, we can understand the dynamics of this change, 
but it’s the impact on our heart, soul, mind, emotions, 
and entire being that’s important.
No longer do we live in the ranks of the defeated and hopeless.
We have moved to a new family of victorious winners who have hope.

It is God’s desire to have an intimate relationship with His creations.
Whenever we surrender to Him, there are some things required of us 
if we expect to enjoy fellowship with our Heavenly Father.
We have to move toward Him and away from the things 
that have created a chasm between God and us.

Visualize God with His arms outstretched and ready to give you a hug.
The scriptures assure us of His desire to be close to us.
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, 
you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8)

God is always in the same place, so we have to move in His direction.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the 
Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened 
for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great 
priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart 
and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled 
to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with 
pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

The Psalmist tells us that we should serve Him, embrace our relationship 
with His Son, and rely on Him whenever we have problems or 
feel threatened (from others, or from the attacks from Satan).
Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, 
or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath 
can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:11-12)

ACTION:
Satan wants to convince us that having a relationship with the Lord 
will upset our lives and disrupt our comfortable way of living.
He wants to convince us that we will be burdened whenever we make efforts 
to serve Him, give up our independence, develop new attitudes and goals, etc.

As long as he can keep us focused on our efforts to change, 
and distract us from the blessings which result from our changes, 
then he will succeed in preventing us from “drawing near to God” 
and causing us to miss out on receiving the full measure of His blessings.

God doesn’t save us and make us a part of His family 
in order to add misery to our lives.
On the contrary, He wants to improve our lives 
by loving us and blessing us in ways we could never imagine.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for being negligent in drawing near to 
You. Help me to embrace my new relationship with You, Your Son 
and the Holy Spirit, so that I can fully enjoy the blessings You have 
for me, and become a contributor to Your work as You create in me
a new feeling of usefulness. Teach me how to become an active member 
of Your family and pursue the goals You have planned for me. Protect
me from the negative thoughts that Satan tries to create in my mind.”

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