The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 21 April 2020 – TOPIC: IF WE CALL UPON GOD AS FATHER
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DATE: TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2020
TOPIC: IF WE CALL UPON GOD AS FATHER
READ: 1 PETER 1:17-25 (NKJV)
17. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay [here] in fear;
18. knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, [like] silver or gold, from your aimless conduct [received] by tradition from your fathers,
19. but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
20. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
21. who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
23. having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
24. because “All flesh [is] as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,
25. But the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
THE MESSAGE:
Some of us have worked in the public service or ministry and because of the various positions we occupy, some persons call upon us as teacher, mentor, minister, adviser, etc. Only a small group of persons are qualified to call us father or mother. This group can be our biological, spiritual or adopted children. Certain requirements are of course expected from this group to maintain the parent-child relationship with us.
In today’s passage, Peter the Apostle reminds us that we become qualified to become God’s children when we are regenerated by the everliving word of God (verse 23). This regeneration is made possible because Jesus Christ, as an unblemished sacrificial Lamb, purchased us by His blood (verse 19). Hence, if we call God our Father, the following behaviours are expected from us to maintain this relationship:
a) Good conduct with true reverence to God (verse 17).
b) Freedom from godless traditions inherited from our forefathers (verse 18)
c) Lives centered on faith and hope on God in every area (verse 21)
d) Sincere affection and love for the brethren (verse 22)
Get regenerated today by submitting your lives to Jesus. Adhere to these instructions by Apostle Peter to maintain your relationship with God – He is an impartial judge Whose word endures forever.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to maintain my relationship with You by adhering to Your word.