Good morning on this Saturday, the 14th of January. Last night our family gathered for a very special event in our clan - Gotcha Day. Gotcha Day is a celebration of the day that we "got" each of our four adopted grandchildren. We usually have a meal together and enjoy the memories and blessings of each of our adopted grand kids. Each of them looks forward to this celebration in their behalf and we make sure they know how special they are to us and all the members of our family. I was thinking today of the meaning of the passage in Romans 8:15, "For you did not receive the bondage again unto fear, but you received the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba Father." Abba Father is expression involving warmth and closeness of a child to his parent. When we receive Christ as our savior, we become a close and special child of the Lord and enjoy a personal relationship with Him. We are a "birthed" into God's family as a born again child of God, but also enjoy a spirit of adoption which according to Romans 8:23 includes the redemption of our body. The Apostle Paul alludes to the first fruits of the Spirit which we enjoy as a kind of down payment of when the Spirit of God fulfills our redemption with our personal resurrection. I am so glad that I have a "Gotcha Day" with Jesus Christ and all that it means. What a day it will be when Christ returns with the sound of the trumpet and a personal shout and we all are caught up to meet the Lord - now that will be quite a "Gotcha Day" won't it?
Tomorrow's sermon is the final message about how to have a godly 2012. I hope you'll be able to attend.
Mel Brown