ROMANS 8:15

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

TO PONDER:

Have you ever lost your keys or phone, an earring or perhaps even a child in a shop? Can you recall that exact moment of realisation when you noticed that thing of value is gone? You rack your brain trying to work out where you have been. You look in the same spot over and over again? You are frantic, desperate...sometimes even irrational as you consider the implications of losing that which is important to you. You look and look and look again. Fear is a powerful emotion.

Which is what makes this passage so powerful and words we need to hear. The Holy Spirit who is at work in us and through us, comes alongside of us in our fear and anxiousness to point us to the love of Christ which drives out all fear. A love that gives us an identity as children of God. A love that hugs us tightly and says we belong to God. A love that enables us to live powerfully and with purpose and confidence in the promises which God has given to us. That is good news...and it's that good news that Jesus wants you to receive, bask in, and share with others today. No matter what happens, you are held in the palm of Jesus. That's the gift of his love, a love that is now possible to live because the resurrected Lord has given us his Holy Spirit.

PRAYER:

Lord, your love, never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out of me. Thankyou Lord for your grace which enables us to live well, and with purpose because of what you have for me. Mark