Nudges | These Things | God’s Children

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.   Romans 8:16

How can you know for sure that you’re right with God? LOTS of people think they are. What if you’re one of them, how do you know? Over the centuries, people have come up with various litmus tests to assure themselves that they’re right with God. Some religions insist that if men slick back their hair and women avoid makeup and jewelry, they’re okay with God. Others have created levels, pillars, or checklists that are supposed to guarantee eternal bliss. Still other spiritual gurus declare that you CAN’T know for sure until you die, so their followers have to bite their nails to the cemetery. Is that how God intended it?

Glad you asked! No, it’s not. You can tear up the checklists and layer on the jewelry. No man-made lists even get us close, so God did it for us. He sent His Son Jesus to earth to take the punishment we deserve. There’s nothing we can add to it. It’s a gift. When we receive this gift by faith, God adopts us as His children. As proof of our new identity, the Holy Spirit moves into our spirits and begins transforming our desires, our attitudes, and our outlook. We begin to want what God wants and hate what God hates with a new desire to please Him. We can’t manufacture that kind of radical heart change. It’s supernatural. The Holy Spirit’s transforming work in us is one sign of our new identity. We don’t have to wonder anymore; our lives are evidence.

Final Thought:  We don’t change so that we can become God’s children; we change because we ARE God’s children.
Prayer: Father, thank you for adopting me. Your Spirit in me has changed me in ways I could never have done myself. I now want to do right, I want to please you, and I want to obey. Only your Spirit could do that. I’m yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.