WEEK 4 - REAWAKENING TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
The Church was purchased by Christ, initiated by Christ, and is under the ownership and leadership of Christ. He is in the position to tell us the purpose and function of the Church, and we are to submit to His ownership and headship. Think about Jesus’ intent for the Church and how we are to live into that intent. Pray for an open heart.
DAY TWENTY FOUR - THE CHURCH AS GOD’S FAMILY - BECKY McCABE
Ephesians 2:19
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[a] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Have you ever experienced what it feels like to be a foreigner, a stranger? As a new worker overseas, I did. It took a friend welcoming me into her household and giving me her family name before I felt like I truly belonged. To this day, many of my dearest friends know me as Bintou Diallo.
As Christ-followers, one of our greatest blessings is being a part of God’s family. We no longer go through life seeking to belong because we’ve found our rightful place. Our Abba knows us by name, and we are His cherished children.
In God’s family, we are all on equal footing. It’s a running joke in my family—made up of four girls and one boy—that my brother is the favored one. To prove it, he has a coffee mug that says, “I love how we all know that I’m your favorite child.”
Unlike my parents, God doesn’t play favorites. We were all unworthy, each of us saved by grace, and we are all equal heirs.
God’s household is a global family. On that great day when the multitudes gather, there will be peoples from every nation, tribe, and language worshiping the Lamb. What a glorious family reunion it will be!
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Spend some time thanking God for the gift of being a part of His family.
2. Ask the Lord to reveal to you someone who’s estranged, left out, or feeling marginalized and needing to find their rightful place in God’s family.
3. Search your heart. Have you looked at a brother or sister in Christ and felt they were unworthy of their equal place in God’s household? Repent.
4. Pray for our global family. Pray especially for persecuted brothers and sisters whose earthly families have abandoned them.