October 10, 2022 - Romans 8:15-16

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:15-16 NLT

Lord, we thank you that we are no longer slaves to sin or anything else, for you have set us free. We thank you that you don’t view us as your slaves either. We owe you everything and it would make sense for you to require us to live in service to you for eternity in exchange for our forgiveness. Yet, that is not who you are. You are a loving God that wants to see us walking in true freedom. Even in committing our lives to you, it is not so that we become your servant, but your child. You are a perfect and loving Father. Even after you have given us the gift of forgiveness and access to spend eternity with you in heaven, you still give us the choice of how we will live for you. We choose if we will live a life fully committed to your Lordship and walk in obedience and righteousness. Or we choose if we will only do the “minimum” in our relationship with you. We are rewarded for choosing the first option, but it is not required to be your follower. We thank you for being such a loving Father to us and not a slave master. We are so grateful for all you have done for us. We call you, “Abba Father” and choose to serve you wholeheartedly.

Holy Spirit, we thank you for being here with us and guiding us to succeed in our walk towards righteousness. Please join with our spirits and transform us. Affirm truth within us. Give us a greater understanding of what it means to be a child of God. Give us your insights as we study your Word. Help us recognize lies that we believe that hold us back from all you have for us. Draw us deeper in our relationship with you.

In Jesus name, amen.