{"id":998,"date":"2010-01-03T03:01:56","date_gmt":"2010-01-03T03:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/01\/living-christmasly-part-10.html"},"modified":"2010-01-03T03:01:56","modified_gmt":"2010-01-03T03:01:56","slug":"living-christmasly-part-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/01\/living-christmasly-part-10.html","title":{"rendered":"Living Christmasly, Part 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 10 of series: Living Christmasly
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

READ Galatians 4:1-7<\/a><\/p>\n

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.<\/p>\n

Galatians 4:4-5<\/a><\/p>\n

Can we know God intimately, personally? How is this possible? How can we have a personal relationship with God? According to Galatians 4:1-7, the answers to these questions have everything to do with Christmas.
\nGalatians 4 begins with bad news. Apart from Christ, we are \u201cslaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world\u201d (4:3). We are in bondage to the cultural and spiritual powers that surround us, including cynicism, narcissism, materialism, and fear, just to name a few. The good news is that God did not leave us in such a sorry state: \u201cBut when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children\u201d (4:4-5). The core event of Christmas, the birth of God\u2019s Son, was God\u2019s way of redeeming us from the powers of this world, including the Old Testament law. Yet, not only are we set free by the work of God\u2019s Son, but also we are adopted as God\u2019s own children. (Photo: “Christ Blessing the Children” by Nicolaes Maes, 1652-3)
\nGod\u2019s gift of his unique Son means that you and I can be children of God. Because of Jesus, we can be adopted into God\u2019s own family. Moreover, when we put our trust in Jesus as our Savior, the Spirit of God comes to dwell in our hearts, \u201cprompting us to call out, \u2018Abba, Father\u2019 \u201d (4:6). We learn to call God \u201cFather\u201d even as Jesus did. That\u2019s how special we are to God!
\nLiving Christmasly means celebrating the birth of God\u2019s Son. This celebration includes the extraordinary truth that we can be adopted as God\u2019s sons and daughters through the Son. Thus we can know God intimately as our Heavenly Father.
\nQUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION<\/strong>: What does it mean to you to relate to God as your Father? How have you experienced freedom from the powers of this world as a child of God?
\nPRAYER<\/strong>: Merciful Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to set us free from the powers of this world. Help us to live in that freedom each day, so that we might offer ourselves to you in whole-life worship.
\nThank you also, Father, for sending your Son so that you might adopt us as your sons and daughters. It is an extraordinary privilege to be able to address you as \u201cAbba, Father.\u201d
\nHelp me to grow in genuine intimacy with you, Father, so that I might know you more truly and live for you more completely.
\nAll praise be to you, O God, Father, Son, and Spirit! Amen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Today’s post is one of the Daily Reflections that I write for The High Calling of Our Daily Work <\/em>(www.thehighcalling.org<\/a>), a wonderful website about work and God<\/em>. You can read my Daily Reflections<\/a> there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox<\/a> each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 10 of series: Living Christmasly Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series READ Galatians 4:1-7 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-living-christmasly"],"yoast_head":"\nLiving Christmasly, Part 10 - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}