Our Daily Bread Today 16 December 2021 | What Are You?
OUR DAILY BREAD TODAY DEVOTIONS FOR 16TH DECEMBER 2021
TOPIC: WHAT ARE YOU?
Bible in a Year: Amos 4–6; Revelation 7
Key Verse: “In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.” Galatians 3:26
Today’s Scripture: Galatians 3:26–4:7
Our Daily Bread Devotions 16 December 2021 | Insight
Paul isn’t abolishing all ethnic, economic, or gender distinctions in the church (Galatians 3:28). Rather, in speaking of our salvation, Paul says God treats everyone on the same basis: All have sinned—“we are all prisoners of sin” (3:22 nlt; see Romans 3:23). Everyone needs to repent (Acts 2:38; 3:19). We’re all saved in the same way—by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). “In Christ Jesus [we] are all children of God through faith” (Galatians 3:26).
In Jesus, God embraces us equally (1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 3:11). While we enter God’s family by being “born again” (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:3, 23), Paul uses the concept of adoption to describe our standing in the family so we can immediately claim our status and enjoy our full privileges as His children—“God has made you also an heir” (Galatians 4:7). We’re “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).
Our Daily Bread Today ODB | Message
When I walked into the ice cream shop with my five-year-old biracial son, the man behind the counter glanced at me and stared at my child. “What are you?” His question and harsh tone triggered the all-too-familiar anger and heartache I’d experienced growing up as a Mexican-American who didn’t fit stereotypes. Pulling Xavier closer, I turned toward my Black husband as he entered the store. With eyes narrowed, the store clerk completed our order in silence.
I prayed silently for the man as my son listed the flavors of ice cream he wanted to try. Repenting of my bitterness, I asked God to give me a spirit of forgiveness. With my light-but-not-white complexion, I’d been the target of similar glares accompanying that same question over the years. I’d struggled with insecurities and feelings of worthlessness until I began learning how to embrace my identity as God’s beloved daughter.
The apostle Paul declares that believers in Jesus are “all children of God through faith,” equally valued and beautifully diverse. We’re intimately connected and intentionally designed to work together (Galatians 3:26–29). When God sent His Son to redeem us, we became family through His blood shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins (4:4–7). As God’s image-bearers, our worth cannot be determined by the opinions, expectations, or biases of others. What are we? We’re children of God. By: Xochitl Dixon
Reflect: When have you doubted your value as a person due to the opinions, expectations, or biases of others? How does knowing all God’s children are His image-bearers help you love those who are different from you?
Prayer: Father God, please help me to see myself and others through Your eyes. Help me love with Your heart as I come into contact with people who are different from me.
Thank you for your time in reading Today’s Our Daily Bread Today | What Are You?
Click To Read Powerful Devotional:
JOEL OSTEEN ⊗ OPEN HEAVEN ⊗ OUR DAILY BREAD TODAY ⊗ SEEDS OF DESTINY ⊗ JOYCE MEYER DEVOTIONAL ⊗ RHAPSODY OF REALITIES ⊗ JOHN HAGEE ⊗ MFM DAILY DEVOTIONAL ⊗ DCLM DAILY MANNA ⊗ DAILY GUIDE ⊗ WATCH NSPPD LIVE TODAY ⊗ AND LOTS MORE
