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Hear the narration of this devotional here: https://bit.ly/3er2xNZ
12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:12-25 NRSV)
May this be a tremendous Tuesday for you, dear Friend! My hope is that this finds you blessed and in a position to bless others with what God has graciously shared with you. Friends, a day does not go by without hearing of people we know who have contracted the dreaded Coronavirus, and we continue to pray. Our daughter Nellie shared of a co-worker having lost her father-in-law because of his having gone to a Father's Day celebration, where he got the virus and died. Two of our nephews work with ICE and they lost a coworker, a trainer of new agents, who because one of his students went to Houston who came back infected; six classmates now have the virus and the trainer died from it. Also, two police officers in McAllen, TX., lost their lives responding to a domestic disturbance. Prayers for their families, and their community. The needs are great, friends, but God is greater, and so we continue to pray for these and others who need our prayers. As always, I invite us to pray for one another, and for ourselves .
Mary is a friend and former coworker with Nellie, my wife. She is a single mother of two. When Mary was born, two loving people adopted her. From them she learned that while she was not born in her mother's womb, she was born from her mother's heart as well as her father's. Some years later, she wanted a child of her own and so she adopted her first child, a baby girl. Some years later, she adopted her second daughter. In our opinion, both girls are very blessed by the love Mary has for them, as is Mary for the love these girls have for her. The time flew by quickly, and now both are out of the "nest," and on their own.
The process of adoption is an act of love, for in choosing a child for adoption, in most cases, is the act of one or two persons deciding to take this unwanted child (for whatever circumstances) and make them yours. This process is not without its risks, for one never knows what kind of child they will accepting, nor what kind of adult they will become. Most adoptive parents at the time of adoption do not worry about that; they just want to bring a child into an environment of love and raise them the best they can, providing all they can for the complete wellbeing of this child. Paul, as he writes to the believers in Rome, is sharing his understanding of how God relates to you and me. For Paul, it was all about freedom; God is a God of freedom that He offers to the sinners (us) when we surrender to Him. It's at the point of surrender that we quit living to the flesh and begin living guided and blessed by the Spirit. Through the flesh we were facing certain death, and now in the Spirit, we are dead to sin and the flesh, and alive to the Spirit; we have put aside the slavery we endured to the flesh and sin, and now we have been adopted, as heirs, by the one, true, living God. We are now heirs of God, and as Paul knows, co-heirs with Jesus, perhaps enduring for now, the sufferings of this age, but set to enjoy the rich and wonderful blessings of what is to come. What we face may cause us to join creation in moaning, but we do not lose the hope placed in our hearts by the Lord Jesus Himself. It is hope that keeps us going, and it will be hope that will see us through.
My prayer, dear friend, is that whatever it is that you might be facing, be covered in the peace and patience that the Holy Spirit of Christ offers, so that in our weakness we might find strength. The Lord is with us and will not abandon us, and with Him we can face and defeat all things.
PRAYER: Loving Father, we rejoice in the promises shared through Your word found in today's passage. Thank You for using Paul to share hope with us. As we pray, we pray for the comfort and healing of those mentioned above, and for this dear reader, whatever it is that they are facing, grant peace and victory; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a blessed and great day in the Lord. Share your hope with those facing tough times today and all days!
Receive my blessings of peace and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
