In our family, we have biological children and adopted children. Some families have one or the other but I've always heard that the love for our children never changes. The love for our adopted children is as great as our biological children. Tune in today as co-hosts Theresa and Renée explain how it is to be adopted by God himself. What does the word of God say about being adopted into God's Kingdom.
In our family, we have biological children and adopted children. Some families have one or the other but I've always heard that the love for our children never changes. The love for our adopted children is as great as our biological children. Tune in today as co-hosts Theresa and Renée explain how it is to be adopted by God himself. What does the word of God say about being adopted into God's Kingdom.
The holidays are upon us. We're one week away from Thanksgiving. And from there it's holiday all day long. And it makes me laugh because I think about being with family and some people get a little stressed over that. That's not the case with our family. In fact, I can't tell you how many people come up to me and say, can we just be adopted in your family? Can we just come to one? I'll have to pay with the St. Pierre teller family. I love that thought about adopting people into our family. And frankly, we do it. We always have at our dinner tables, people who are not blood relatives, we're going to talk about adoption today and what it means to be adopted into God's family. Wow. Stay tuned. Welcome to episode 74 of the well-versed woman podcast. I'm Renee Talla and I'm Theresa Morgan. You see Renee and I come to you week after week, always telling you that we're to perfectly imperfect women, but we have a heart to love God and to share our testimonies of all that God has done in our lives so that your faith can grow and be robust and lead you into great places in this journey. Yes, we do talk about being imperfect. What we, the relationship with God, all that can change. You do need to be adopted into his family. And we're going to talk about that today. But before we get started, we begin every episode. The same way. If this not your first one, you've probably already closed your eyes already pulled the car over on the side of the road, just to be still for 20 seconds in these crazy days and times. So here we go. I asked you to invite guy, invite him to sit right there in your car, right there in your living room with your cup of coffee, or maybe you're out on a walk. Let's invite God to be right with us today. Open our eyes, to see our ears, to hear and our hearts to experience his greatest love 22nd start right now.
Speaker 2:[inaudible]
Speaker 1:And sit. That was 20 seconds. If you really did that, if you were really still and not using that time to talk to the kids or talk to your husband, you know how it feels, I know what it just did for me. I'm coming off a crazy week where my husband love him. My life Peter was really pretty sick and I've been running like a good nurse would running around, trying to keep him healthy and rested and strong, and it's exhausting. And that 20 seconds just felt so good. I can't stress enough that we've got to do more of it. And frankly, Theresa chastising myself a little bit. I didn't sit still. I mean, I certainly prayed all week Theresa and certainly spent time with the Lord, but I did not just sit still. So that's key, but we're going to talk about, always about that, right? Theresa and always about how we get into be adopted at sons and daughters. Absolutely. Renee. And, um, I just want to echo I've been around Renee's table is what are those non-blood relatives at different events at her house? And it is a blessing because when you enter the family of God, it is almost like being a blood relatives. I want to thank you for that Renee. But our opening scripture today is found in Ephesians chapter one, verses four to five, Paul, the apostle writes just as he chose us in him. So he meaning God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestined us to adoption as sons, by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. So right there we can see is human beings walking the earth, walking in a unfortunately sin devastated world. If you will, we need to be adopted into God's family. So Christ came suffered on our behalf, paid the price for sin so that when we hear the gospel Renee, we have an opportunity to invite Jesus into our heart. If that moment, the adoption papers are signed. If you will. At that moment, when the holy spirit becomes our guide and slips into our spirit, the adoption takes place. The gavel is it has come down that says, you are now my son. You are now my daughter welcomed into the family of God. I love the word adoption. And the definition trace of the active process of adopting a child, the active process of giving official acceptance or approval to something giving official acceptance. Like at that point in time, God is giving official acceptance of us. We have to do something to request being adopted into the family of God, but he immediately officially accepts and approves that that's absolutely correct. Renee, you know, in the book of John chapter one verse 12, the Bible says for as many as received him, believe in his name, he gives the rights to become children of God. So it's very clear in the Bible that when Christ died, he died for the sins of the entire world, but it's a gift that was given that we need to receive just like an invitation Renee to your family holiday, or, you know, a family meal at your house. The meal is there, but the invitation is given the gospel goes out. We have to receive that to ourselves. And when I received the invitation at your house or day, I probably show up at your door. You open the door with arms wide open, greet me in. And likewise, uh, with salvation, uh, the gospel has gone forth. And when you hear it in, believe it that's when this adoption takes place in. We now have been accepted into the family of God and like coming to your house, Renee, being invited in the door opening when I step in there are blessings and benefits that come along with that invitation and acceptance. I know that there's big, big time love. That's waiting for me that Peter's going to come and grab me and give me a big hug and kiss and say welcome. And we sit and we have conversation. And of course, you know, you're so gracious. There's always, you know, bountiful Neal. And we just have a wonderful time of sharing our life. How much more Renee, when we are invited to be part of God's family accepted. And today we're going to share a little bit about those blessings and benefits. I love that in my time, this morning with the Lord, the scripture came up, that we in our humanness cannot fathom what's in store for us as being adopted into this kingdom, into this beautiful kingdom like that, that word has so many beautiful connotations in all our minds. I mean, I think of Disney world often and how they created that place to try to display what a kingdom is and how much fun it is. And, you know, I think the first time we all went to Disney world, we were like, oh my gosh, like the things that others imagined and brought to life in that space. Well, we can't even think about what it would be in this morning. In my time with the Lord. I was like, Lord, help me just imagine. And the word says, you can imagine Renee, but I keep trying to resize. I keep trying to imagine what this kingdom is going to be. Oh, my word. And because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am a daughter in that kingdom, I get so excited. I get so excited. Absolutely Renee. And of course, you know, I'm right now looking for the scripture that I believe is Romans, um, in the, in the book of Romans and I'll get the exact scripture, you know, that says the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the holy ghost, what a beautiful, better, what a beautiful benefit of being in the family of God and the kingdom of God. It's righteousness. It's peace. It's joy in the holy spirit because he's our guide. You know, Romans eight 14 says for as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of God, sons, meaning universal humanity, um, men and women, boys, and girls that we, we get to be led by the spirit of God. Renee, amazing, amazing truth. That when we come into the family of God, that now the holy spirit takes up residence within us and leads and guides us every single day. Renee, I love your story that you and I were sharing before we started this podcast today about the events that took place when Peter got sick and how everything was lined up, you know, the proper supplementation, the proper medical facility, the proper medical physicians, you know, everybody had already been lined up years before, so that you just had a follow the leading of God and then follow the wisdom that he's put in other people, other physicians in the, in your medical team and in look, praise God. We prayed. And Peter is a livery walking Testament, right of the goodness of God in the realm of healing. So Renee, what a beautiful testimony and example of God's love in our life in part of the blessings and benefits of being in his family. So true, it's so clear as we make that decision and ask God to be adopted into his family and then watch, you know, be aware and watch him work and the things exactly like you're saying, Theresa, just on that one subject of Peter being sick that were lined up, including where we were when he got sick, what doctors were available, what medicine was available, all because we walk in the favor of the king, that the kingdom of God for us starts here and now starts here. And now the minute we're adopted, right? It, it begins with God going before us and working for us. Another thing that came up in my, in my prayer time, this morning tree. So was this idea that God is always working for us. You know, once we become his children, he is working for us. And, you know, there was a time I needed to open my eyes and start looking for where he was working. And now, you know, I, I just keep my eyes open, closed in anymore. And I just watch and see the goodness of what he does on our behalf. And it it's mind blowing. It's like you said, you know, miracles upon miracles, a thousand little miracles. There's a song, new song out like that. Um, they're just, they're just everywhere. And it just seems that they come at you fast and furious when your eyes are open to see right where they share RNA in, you know, as I'm listening to you and you're always so gracious and eloquent in, in your testimony to share, you know, I'm thinking about his blessings and his benefits. They're colossal. That's the word that is leaping from my heart. They're just colossal because when he does things on our behalf, it's like the Bible says in Ephesians, it's exceedingly, abundantly beyond what we could have ever asked hope or thought, you know, rename. My, my mind goes back to Psalm 1 0 3 and it says, blessed the Lord O my soul and all that is within me. Bless his holy name, bless the Lord. Oh my soul. And forget, not all his benefits. He forgives all your inequities. He heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from destruction. He crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies. He satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed. Like the Eagles. Those are some of the blessings and benefits that come along. And of course the one that we're sharing today is Renee's husband, Peter being healed of a physical ailment. And so there it is right there. He blesses, he heals all of our diseases, Rene, and you, and I know that one only too well, but so there are miracles just waiting and God's hand and his heart to bless his people. Um, you know, especially those that are his children, right? The Bible says if, if fathers on earth know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more our father in heaven, our creative. So true. There's just nothing like this idea of being adopted by God. I mean, think about what that means. And I guess I would encourage everyone today, Theresa, in this season, in this time of Thanksgiving in this time of holiday, maybe they're not happy with the family that they're in on earth and look, our families are, we're all, we're all a bunch of humans trying to do the best we can, but there is a family Theresa that is second to none that we can have both, right. We certainly can have our loved ones here, but to be part of the family of God, there's, there's just nothing like it. And, and then once you're in there and once you understand it, you're going to want to be sure that everyone you love is part of that family as well, which is what Theresa and I do. You know, we start with ourselves and growing our relationship with God and then work to help our biological family with the rest. And then all of the people Theresa that we both have adopted as our family and out it goes. And it's exactly why we do this podcast. We want everyone to understand what that means to be adopted by God and all the benefits that come from there. And where do we find all those benefits right? In the word, the word that God gave us, it's just, it's just one big circle. And it's, it's really pretty simple. If we don't try to complicate it and get filled with all the confusion that exists out there and the things that drag us down, right? Theresa, I mean, as children of God, that doesn't mean that, you know, when I go out for a walk in the morning, I'm not going to trip in that pothole. I just might, but God works all things together for good Romans 8 28. You talked about it this morning in relation to your own situation. And I love what I was taught very recently by one of my favorite pastors, Dr. Jeremiah, that, that scripture begins with four. We know Theresa you, and I know that all things work together for good to those who are adopted into the family. Those aren't the exact words of the scripture. Right. But for those who walk according to, to God. So for all of those who are adopted into the family, right, that's, that's so very true Renee. And it does say for all who are called according to his purpose, he's working out all things together for good. And when God is working on your behalf, wow, look out, you know, we, we never put God in a box and tell him how to work out our situation. But what we do, we know he's healer for instance. So we knew Peter needed healing. And so we know his healer. So we just, we stand on the word. We, we know those scriptures and we lift it back up to God and say, father, your word says to forget, not all of your benefits, you heal all of our diseases. We ask that you heal Peter. And then from there, the book of James says that he provides wisdom liberally. And without reproach, when we ask, so then we say, father, we thank you. Your healer, please provide wisdom. Show us how you want to bring this victory to us of healing. And then we follow him. We follow our great God, our great guide of right, our God who is our guide. Um, because we know that we're lot of him and today, gee, Renee, you know, we're so thrilled that Peter is his well on his way to recovery and that through it, once again, God is proving himself in his word to be true. Just like he says, in Isaiah 55 11, that he watches over his word, that it will not return to his, to him void, but accomplish the very thing for which he sent it. So God's word is our manual in life. It's funny. I was on the phone this morning, Renee and the kids came up and you know, we're saying goodbye. And you know, I said to them, I'll see you after school. And they know things, they know my word I've had. I've had enough interaction with them that they know. And nanny says, I'll see you after school. I'll have I screamed, waiting or GL I'll S I'll see you later. And we'll, we'll go for a ride. They, they know because they've had enough interaction with me that when not assess something, she needs it. They don't work for it. They just rely on my word. And that's how we're to come. You know, the Bible says, you know, that we're to come as little children because that's what faith does. It sees what his promises are. We lift them up back to him. We deploy, we employ and deploy our faith, hold it back up and say, father, you said, and then we follow his direction in his leading. And we watch him work out all things together and what an amazing, what an amazing way to live our life. Renee[inaudible] in the midst of it. People see what's going on and they want to get it on it. Right? They want it just like you were saying, Renee. People want to say, gee, I'd love to be invited to your family dinner because you know, we've heard the testimonies and how great it is in. That's what advancing the kingdom of God is all about. We get to share the wonderful deeds of our God in tell people off his love and his mercy, and then others can come into the kingdom as well. Wow, that's so perfect. So I think Theresa to sum up, if you're having Thanksgiving with family, whether they're biological relatives or people that you've adopted as family, you know, the love that you share is just as great. Take some time this Thanksgiving season to think about becoming adopted by God himself and asking him and inviting him to sit at your table, not just for this holiday season, but for your entire life. Oh my gosh. As the word says, Theresa, you will never thirst again. Absolutely. Renee, you know, um, in what you're referring to is the discussion that Jesus had with a woman at the well, and she was so excited to believe on Christ at that moment and share it with those. She loved, um, when you receive an and partake of the invitation to salvation, you, you do never thirst again. And then that's, that's the beauty. The beauty of our God is it says in Romans eight 15 for you to not receive the spirit of again, to fear, but you receive the spirit of adoption by whom we get to cry out Abba father, which means daddy, we get to call him daddy wig. We get to call on him date every day of our life, day by day. And he meets all of our needs and his love. And his grace is more than abundance for every human being, living on the planet of this earth. Such a great way to wrap it up for today. But we always end with the same thing. Don't we Tressa our favorite well-versed woman scripture, absolutely. Renee. It is found in Romans chapter 10, verse 17. God gives us the instruction of how faith comes and grows. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, thanks so much for listening. We'll see you next week. We love you until we love you. Thanks for listening to the well-versed woman podcast. And we would love for you to subscribe to this channel. So don't forget to hit that subscribe button. And if you go further and rate and review and give us your commentary, we will send you a well-versed woman journal in the mail. So please consider doing that as well. We also have a Facebook community. You can search well-versed woman on Facebook and we'll approve you to join that. And last but not least the favorite thing about our podcast, the word of God, the scriptures that are in the show notes with the scripture references each and every week, you can go to the details button, scroll down and actually print out the scriptures that we discussed this week until next week. I love you. Bye now.