"He was in the world, and the world was made by him,

and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and

his own received him not. But as many as received him, to

them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to

them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of

blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but

of God." John 1:10-13 It is an amazing thing that God the Son, Creator of the world,

was in the world and the world did not recognize Him! Jesus

Christ, God Himself in human flesh, came into this world and the

people of this world did not know or acknowledge Him for who He

truly is.

Of course, nothing is different today. People still do not know or

recognize Jesus for who He is. He made us; and yet we, by nature,

do not acknowledge Him as our Creator or our Redeemer.

Jesus, the promised Messiah and Savior, came to His own peo

ple - to those who had the promises and looked for His coming -

but they did not receive Him. And today as well, He comes through

His Word to those who have known and heard the promises, but

people are still unwilling to receive Him.

But to those who do receive Him - trusting that in Him and for

the sake of His blood shed upon the cross for all mankind God is

gracious to us and forgives us - God has given the right and priv

ilege to be His children.

As the Scripture says, "For ye are all the children of God by

faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized

into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:26-27).

However, our receiving of Jesus as Messiah and Savior is not the

result of our natural birth or bloodline. It is not because we were

born to Christian parents or were raised up in a church. It's not

even the result of our own will or decision. Rather, it is the gra

cious working of God the Spirit in our lives. Through His Word,

God reveals Himself to us and reveals Jesus to us as the Son and

our Savior, bringing us to trust in Him for forgiveness and life.

It is as God's Word says: "But as many as received Him, to them

gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that be

lieve on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will

of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." We give You thanks, O Lord Jesus Christ, for graciously re

vealing to us that You are both our Creator and our Redeemer. We

thank You for paying in full upon the cross for the sins of the world

that we might have forgiveness of sins and everlasting life through

faith in Your name. Thank You for bringing us to trust in Your name

and giving us the right and privilege to be called children of God.

Amen.

[Scripture Quotations from the King James Version]

For The Record, Pages 4 on 08/05/2009