AM I A MEMBER OF GOD’S FAMILY?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“And you also were included in Christ when you
heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13)

MEDITATION:
The moment you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Savior, the Holy Spirit of God seals you unto Himself.
What does it mean to be sealed?
It means to put the King’s seal on you;
the King’s seal can be broken by no man;
that means you are His for all time and eternity.

Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed
with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,”
and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord
must turn away from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:19)

ACTION:
God’s Word is filled with many promises
and that’s why it is beneficial for us to
spend time reading His messages to us.

We can find peace and joy when we discover the things He
has promised to those who believe in His Son, Jesus, and
have surrendered their lives to Him (which includes trading
in selfishness for selflessness, and independence for dependence).

Read Daniel 6 and Matthew 27 & 28.
Notice the similarities in the accounts of Daniel
and Jesus being “sealed” away for death and
how our Almighty God delivered them into life!

One of the most comforting promises to believers
is found in Ephesians 1:13.
Of course that promise does not give us a ‘free pass’
to continue a lifestyle of sin, but it seems that God is
ensuring us that when we “mess up”,
we still belong to His family.

The important thing for us is, to decide
if we have a genuine desire to avoid sin.
We all have weak areas which can be ‘triggered’
at any time, and it is how we react to those ‘triggers’
that lets us know the desires of our heart.

If we succumb to them with no remorse, then we would
have to question our status as a believer; but if we have
genuine remorse for the times we fail, then we know that
something has changed us from the way we used to be.

We can all agree that if temptation didn’t “cross our path”
then the danger of failure would be greatly reduced.
However, since temptations are always “at our doorstep”
we need to determine in advance how to handle them.

We can view them as attempts to destroy our fellowship
with the Lord, but we can also consider them as
opportunities to ‘prove our faith’ (not only to the Lord
and others, but to ourselves as well).

Think of the times you have rejected temptations
in your weakest area, and in your weakest moment.
Remember the feelings of exhilaration you had
which are associated with being victorious?

Didn’t it give you a feeling that you can avoid
that (or those) sins the next time you are tempted?
Contrast that with the times you have “given in”
to temptations, and how it affected your peace,
joy, overall attitude, and self-esteem.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise that when
I surrender my life to You, nothing can destroy my status
as a member of Your family. Help me to avoid using Your
promise as an opportunity to continue in sin, and remind me
that if my desire is to continue a lifestyle of sin with no
remorse, then I have not surrendered to You, and am probably
not a member of Your family. Strengthen my resolve to
continue my battle to resist and overcome temptations. You
have given me Your Holy Spirit to not only help me in my
battles, but to also repel many attacks before they can infiltrate
my mind. Thank You, Holy Spirit for protecting me from the
evil one; thank You for winning victories that I may never
know about, because You have turned them away before
I was aware of them.”