A Year with Jesus

Note from Jesus

Dear Child of the Father,

Yes, you are a child of God! Doesn't that sound incredible? The Father in heaven, the Eternal, the Almighty, the Creator is your Father. I AM your older Brother. I shared your world of flesh and blood, so I could intercede for you (Hebrews 2:14-18) and so I could share My inheritance with you (Romans 8:17)!

Read what Paul wrote to the Roman Christians:

If the Spirit of God is leading you, then take comfort in knowing you are His [God's] children. You see, you have not received a spirit that returns you to slavery, so you have nothing to fear. The Spirit you have received adopts you and welcomes you into God's own family. That's why we call out to Him, "Abba! Father!" as we would address a loving daddy. Through that prayer, God's Spirit confirms in our spirits that we are His children. If we are God's children, that means we are His heirs along with the Anointed, set to inherit everything that is His. If we share His sufferings, we know that we will ultimately share in His glory. Now I'm sure of this: the sufferings we endure now are not even worth comparing to the glory that is coming and will be revealed in us.
(Romans 8:14-18)

Similar things are said in other passages in your New Testament (Ephesians 1:13-14; Colossians 1:10-12; Colossians 3:24; Hebrews 9:15). Take the time to read these additional passages. These scriptures champion the authenticity of your inheritance. They remind you that you are a co-heir with Me of all the Father's blessings. Many people hope for a rich uncle or aunt or friend to leave them a lot of money when that loved one dies. Here's an incredible truth for you: your inheritance - riches that won't decay, can't be stolen, and will never be lost - will be yours when you die and you receive your eternal inheritance! Salvation is more than just being saved from hell and punishment. Salvation is being saved for a purposeful life now and an eternal glory that is waiting for you with the Father!

So rejoice and "celebrate with a joy that is glorious and beyond words"! Your inheritance, when you come to share glory with Me, will far exceed any earthly inheritance. Such is the nature of the salvation awaiting you that "you will see completely at the end of things"!

Verses to Live

While you have read the following words of celebration and praise the last several days, do so again. This time, however, focus your joy on being an heir of God's grace and glory. This eternal inheritance is yours, as the words in bold below announce. Salvation is so much richer and deeper than you can imagine. You are a child of the King of Glory!

Blessed is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! Because He has raised Jesus the Anointed from death, through His great mercy we have been reborn into a living hope - reborn for an eternal inheritance, held in reserve in heaven, that will never fade or fail. Through faith, God's power is standing watch, protecting you for a salvation that you will see completely at the end of things. You should greatly rejoice in what is waiting for you, even if now for a little while you have to suffer various trials. Suffering tests your faith which is more valuable than gold (remember that gold, although it is perishable, is tested by fire) so that if it is found genuine, you can receive praise, honor, and glory when Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, is revealed at last.

Although you haven't seen Jesus, you still love Him. Although you don't yet see Him, you do believe in Him and celebrate with a joy that is glorious and beyond words. You are receiving the salvation of your souls as the result of your faith.
(1 Peter 1:3-9)

Response in Prayer

O Father, thank You for adopting me into Your family by grace. Thank You, Jesus, for paying the high price of that adoption. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for being the deposit that guarantees the inheritance that I will receive. Father, to know that I am Your child, a participant in Your grace, and an heir of the riches of Your mercy and grace is the reason for great joy. So forgive me for not always being thankful. Forgive me for wallowing in my problems and not looking through them to the glory that awaits. Thank You! In Jesus' name, I thank You with a joyful appreciation that is beyond words! Amen.