April 22, 2025

Rhonda Patterson
"In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory."
Ephesians 1:11-14
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..."
Romans 8:14-17a

I’m so grateful that my parents taught me about Jesus. At the tender age of nine, I recognized my separation from God due to sin and eagerly received Jesus as my Savior. What I don’t remember is being introduced to and taught about the wonderful third person of the Trinity of God, the Holy Spirit. Growing up and maturing into adulthood, I cannot recall a budding understanding of the Spirit’s crucial role in a believer’s life. Because of that, as the years passed, my awareness and sensitivity to Him became dull and virtually nonexistent. That’s a recipe for some foolish living, but God has His ways. I now know that He was with me from the beginning, He drew me to salvation, and that even during the many years I had moved far from God, His Spirit had never left me.

Today, we celebrate the truth that no matter our age, when we said yes to Jesus, we received the Holy Spirit as the spiritual seal of our adoption into the kingdom of God. This seal is God’s promise to us and will never be broken. We celebrate that we are joint heirs with Christ Jesus and enjoy the many benefits that come from loving Him, knowing Him, and living for Him.