Devo for 12/01/2024 service- Message by Pastor Clint Sprague
It is hard to believe we are officially in the Holiday season! Pastor Clint has begun the message series leading into Christmas titled His Story is Our Story. He laid out three points to his message this past Sunday:
Jesus origin story is our origin story
Embrace God’s plan over our plan
Jesus invites us into His story
Pastor Clint spoke about the angel's announcement to Mary and Joseph about Jesus' coming. They set aside their own stories and accepted God’s invitation to be part of His story with courage, humility, and faith, despite possible judgment from others.
God will offer us invitations to be part of His story. We need to be open to these invitations and be eager to say yes to what He has for us. We know that choosing His story will probably come with pain, trials, and struggles; however, the reward will overcome anything sent against us! Because our obedience will always be rewarded!
In this devotional, I would like to dig deeper into one word Pastor Clint brought up, as I know this can be a struggle for men and sometimes keeps us from being all we are created to be. It is the word Abba and is used three times in the New Testament. In the book of Mark, Jesus uses it when talking to God:
“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36
It is also used in Galatians and Romans, both times talking about how we are adopted by God and that we can use the same word, Abba, when talking about and talking to God:
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father. Galatians 4:4-6
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15
In all three verses, the term "Abba" is closely associated with "Father." While one might assume that these two words convey the same meaning, their intentions differ significantly. When we refer to God as "Father," we are using a title that reflects honor, as well as God's roles as creator, preserver, guardian, and protector. The inclusion of "Abba," however, brings an element of intimacy and emphasizes a personal relationship in our address to God as Father. I think David Guzik explained this perfectly in his study guide for Romans 8:
A child of God can have a relationship with God so close that they may cry out, Abba, Father! (Daddy!) It is easy for us to think of Jesus relating to the Father with this joyful confidence, but we may think we are disqualified for it. However, remember that we are in Christ — we have the privilege of relating to the Father even as Jesus Christ does!
Men often view God through the perspective of their relationship with their earthly fathers. Some of our fathers were wonderful, while others were less than ideal, and some may not have been present at all. It's important to recognize that our earthly fathers did their best they could for us. In contrast, our Heavenly Father, our Abba, Father is perfect in every way! We can rely on Him completely!
Men, I encourage you to dig deep into how you see God. You are missing out if you are not fully bought in on the belief that God is perfect and He loves you more than you could ever imagine. He wants to be an intimate part of your life. He wants to be your Father, your Pops, your Dad… Believing, and receiving He is your Abba, Father will make it easy to respond as Mary and Joseph did when God invites you into His plan.
Don’t forget to invite God into your day!
John 1:12
Matthew 6:6
Matthew 10:29-31