NIV Once-A-Day Walk With Jesus DevotionalSample

A Heritage in God’s Family

In Matthew 3 a man named John burst onto the scene, looking and sounding like Elijah the prophet. According to the Old Testament, that was precisely as it should have been.

Another man, named Jesus, came to be baptized by John. Coincidence? Or was he the long-awaited Messiah (“Anointed One”)? The audible voice of God supplied the answer.

Matthew Henry, a prolific eighteenth-century Bible commentator, reveled in the Christian’s privileges “in Christ.” If you are “in him,” you enjoy a rich heritage in God’s family, as Mr. Henry explains.


Walk With Matthew Henry
“Jesus is God’s ‘beloved Son,’ not only ‘with whom’ but ‘in whom’ God is well pleased. God is pleased with all who are in Christ and are united to him by faith. Hitherto God has been displeased with the children of men; but now his anger is turned away, and he has made us ‘accepted in the beloved.’ Outside of Christ, God is a consuming Fire, but in Christ he is a reconciling Father.

“This is the sum of the whole gospel: God has declared by a voice from heaven that Jesus Christ is his beloved Son. With this we must by faith cheerfully concur and say that he is our beloved Savior, in whom we are well pleased.”


Walk Closer to God
What is your heavenly heritage? Forgiveness. Acceptance. Salvation. Indescribable wealth in Jesus Christ, all because you are “born again” into God’s family, giving you the right to call God your Father. That’s your legacy. You are rich in Christ, but do you live as a king’s heir?

You are forgiven, but do you nurture feelings of guilt? You are accepted, but do you try to “repay” God for what he has given as a free gift?

It’s hard to live like a pauper when you know you’re as rich as a king. And focusing on your heritage in the family of God can be exciting.

Don’t be surprised if something changes when you do. And don’t be content until it does.