#DailyDevotion To Be Moved By The Spirit Is To Be Moved By The Good News Of Jesus
Romans 814All who are moved by God’s Spirit are God’s children. 15You didn’t receive the spirit of slaves to make you feel afraid again, but you received the Spirit who makes us God’s adopted children and moves us to call “Abba, Father!”
Isn’t everyone God’s children? Well insofar as God made all of us that is true. But God’s children are those who are moved by God’s Spirit. Jesus says very bluntly in John chapter 8, 44“Your father is the devil, and you want to do what your father wants. From the beginning he has been murdering people and hasn’t stood in the truth, because there’s no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he’s telling it from his heart, because he’s a liar and the father of lies.” Before we are born again, we are children of the devil begotten by him through Adam’s sin. On the other hand, Jesus also says, 42“If God were your Father you would love Me because I came from God, and as such I am here.”
To be moved by the Spirit we must become born of God. Jesus tells us, John33“I tell you the truth, if anyone isn’t born from above, he can’t see God’s kingdom…5I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered him, “if anyone isn’t born of water and the Spirit, he can’t get into God’s kingdom. 6Anything born of the flesh is flesh, but anything born of the Spirit is spirit.” Now Paul had spent six chapters telling how to be born of the water and the Spirit in his letter to the Romans. We must be joined with Christ in baptism. In this union with Christ by the Word in baptism we are proclaimed God’s children. We are given the Spirit in baptism and faith in the Word of Promise, the Good news Jesus has made atonement for our sins by his blood. God declares us righteous, imputes to us Christ righteousness on account of this faith he has given us. The Holy Spirit regenerates our dead spirit/soul and makes us born of God.
To be moved by the Spirit of God is to believe the Good News God has reconciled himself to us on account of Christ. It is to believe we who were once weak, sinners, ungodly and enemies of God by the blood and death of Jesus are declared righteous, loved by God and made God’s friends. By the life of Jesus in his resurrection we are made living souls. As God’s children through this work of God, we are moved by the Spirit, that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes it is this Good News that moves us to fear, love and trust and God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Moved by the Good News, we no longer live in fear. We know God loves us and has made us his children. Moved by the Good News we cry out to God, “Abba, Father!” The Good News says God adopted us in baptism. He put his name on us in those waters and claimed us for his own even though we were nothing but dead, miserable sinners. The name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit was given us and now we listen to Jesus and believe him because we are the Father’s children by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. We can trust the Father loves us and takes care of us at all times including all our miserable times.
Abba, Father! Continually give us your Holy Spirit that we may always trust and listen to Jesus and being moved by your Spirit live our lives conformed to your will and you love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.