Discipleship: Renewing Your Mind

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

Proverbs 4:23 (TEV)

To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude.

God revealed this thousands of years before psychologists understood it: "Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts" (Proverbs 4:23 TEV).

Imagine riding in a speedboat on a lake with an automatic pilot set to go east. If you decide to reverse course and head west, you have two possible ways to change the boat's direction.

One way is to grab the steering wheel and physically force it to head in the opposite direction from where the autopilot is programmed to go. By sheer willpower, you could overcome the autopilot, but you'd feel constant resistance. Your arms would eventually tire of the stress, you'd let go of the steering wheel, and the boat would instantly head back east, the way it was internally programmed.

This is what happens when you try to change you life with willpower; you say, "I'll force myself to eat less ... stop smoking ... quit being disorganized and late."

And, yes, willpower can produce short-term change, but it creates constant internal stress because you haven't dealt with the root cause. The change doesn't feel natural. Eventually you give up and go off the diet.

There is a better and easier way: Change your autopilot; in other words, the way you think. "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think" (Romans 12:2 NLT).

Change always starts first in the mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act, which means "there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes" (Ephesians 4:23 NLT).

To be like Christ you must develop the mind of Christ. The New Testament calls this mental shift "repentance," which in Greek literally means "to change your mind."

To repent means to change the way you think - about God, yourself, sin, other people, life, your future, and everything else, and you adopt Christ's outlook and perspective on life.

Rick Warren

Spiritual Growth Is a Collaborative Effort

Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)

Once you decide to get serious about becoming like Christ, you must begin to act in new ways. You'll need to let go of some old routines, develop some new habits, and intentionally change the way you think.

The verse above shows the two parts of spiritual growth: "work out" and "work in."The "work out" is your responsibility and the "work in" is God's role.Spiritual growth is a collaborative effort between you and the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit works with us, not just in us.

This verse, written to believers, is not about how to be saved, but how to grow. It doesn't say "work for" your salvation, because you can't add anything to what Jesus already did!

For example, during a physical workout, you exercise to develop your body, not to get a body. When you work out a puzzle, you already have all the pieces – your task is to put the pieces together. Farmers work the land, not to get land, but to develop what they already have.

God has given you a new life; now you're responsible to develop it "with fear and trembling." That means to take your spiritual growth seriously, because it will determine your role in eternity. When people are casual about their growth in Christlikeness, it shows they don't understand the implications.

Rick Warren

Commitments Shape Your Life

Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living!

2 Peter 3:11 (LB)

You don't have to understand all the implications of your decision when you choose to follow Jesus. You simply need to respond to his invitation, to make a commitment to follow Christ.

Your commitments shape you life more than anything else. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way, they will define you.

Tell me what you're committed to and I'll tell you what you'll be in twenty years. We become whatever we're committed to.

It is at this very point of commitment that most people miss God's purpose for their lives. Many are afraid to commit to anything and just drift through life. Others make half-hearted commitments to competing values, which lead to frustration and mediocrity. Others make a full commitment to worldly goals, such as becoming wealthy or famous, and end up disappointed and bitter.

Every choice has eternal consequences so you need to choose wisely: "Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living!" (2 Peter 3:11 LB).

Christlikeness comes from making Christlike commitments.

Rick Warren

Discipleship: How We Grow

God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love - like Christ in everything.

Ephesians 4:15 (MSG)

God wants you to grow up: "We are not meant to remain as children ...” (Ephesians 4:14 PH).

Your heavenly Father's goal is for you is to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ, living a life of love and humble service. Sadly, millions of Christians grow older but never grow up.

They're stuck in perpetual spiritual infancy, remaining in diapers and booties. The reason is because they never intended to grow. Spiritual growth is not automatic; it takes an intentional commitment. You must want to grow, decide to grow, make an effort to grow, and persist in growing.

Discipleship is the process of becoming like Christ, and it always begins with a decision: "‘Come, be my disciple,' Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9 NLT).

When the first disciples chose to follow Jesus, they didn't understand all the implications of their decision. They simply responded to Jesus' invitation.

That's all you need to get started: decide to become a disciple.

Rick Warren

The Practice of Surrender

“If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me.”

Matthew 16:24 (NCV)

Paul’s moment of surrender occurred on the Damascus road after he was knocked down by blinding light. For others, less drastic methods are needed to get our attention.Regardless, surrendering is never just a one-time event.Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31 NASB).

There is a moment of surrender and there is the practice of surrender, which is moment-by-moment and lifelong. The practice of surrender requires perseverance; you may have to re-surrender your life fifty times a day: “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives [daily] to follow me” (Matthew 16:24 NCV).

Let me warn you: When you decide to live a totally surrendered life, that decision will be tested. Sometimes it will mean doing inconvenient, unpopular, costly, or seemingly impossible tasks.It will often mean doing the opposite of what you feel like doing.

“Those who are living by their natural inclinations have their minds on the things human nature desires; those who live in the Spirit have their minds on spiritual things” (Romans 8:5 NJB).

We are, by nature, self-centered. When hurt by someone, your natural inclination is to hurt back.It is natural to hoard money instead of generously sharing it, to defend yourself when criticized, to hide your mistakes instead of confessing them, and to try to impress others. You can usually figure out what will please God by doing the opposite of your natural inclination.

Bill Bright founded Campus Crusade for Christ. Through the worldwide Crusade staff, his tract “The Four Spiritual Laws,” and the “JESUS” film (seen by over one billion people), it’s estimated that over 150 million people have come to Christ and will spend eternity in heaven.

I once asked Bill, “Why did God use and bless your life so much?” He said, “When I was a young man I made a contract with God.I literally wrote it out and signed my name at the bottom.It said ‘From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ.’”

Have you signed a contract like that with God? Or, are you still arguing and struggling with God over his right to do with your life as he pleases?

It is time to surrender – to God’s grace, love, and wisdom.

Rick Warren

Everybody Surrenders to Something

Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men.

Philippians 2:6-7 (LB)

Everybody surrenders to something or someone in life.If not to God, you’ll surrender to popular opinion, to money, to resentment or fear, or to your own pride, lust, and ego.

We were designed to worship something, and when we fail to worship God, we create gods (idols) to surrender ourselves to. E. Stanley Jones said, “If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.” You’re free to choose what you surrender to, but you’re not free from the consequences of that choice: “So give yourselves completely to God” (James 4:7 NCV).

Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Nothing else works.All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment, and self-destruction.

The King James Version of Romans 12:1 calls surrender“your reasonable service.” The Contemporary English Version translates it: “the most sensible way to serve God.”

Surrendering your life is not a foolish emotional impulse but a rational, intelligent act, the most responsible and sensible thing you can do with your life.Your wisest moments will be those when you say yes to God: “So we make it our goal to please him …” (2 Corinthians 5:9 NIV).

Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover the greatest hindrance to God’s blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself – your self will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition.You cannot fulfill God’s purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans. If God is going to do his deepest work in you, it will begin with this.

So give it all to God: your past regrets; your present problems; your future ambitions; your fears, dreams, weaknesses, habits, hurts, and hang-ups. Put Christ in the driver’s seat of your life and take your hands off the steering wheel. Don’t be afraid; nothing under his control can ever be out of control.

Mastered by Christ, you can handle anything: “I am ready for anything and equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength into me. I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency” (Philippians 4:13 AMP).

You may worry, “What if I stumble or relapse?”

If? You will stumble in pleasing God! No one can live a perfectly surrendered life except Jesus.

But God has provided for the inevitability of your sin: “If you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely” (1 John 2:1 LB).

Rick Warren

Surrender Strengthens You

We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose. Living or dying we follow the Lord. Either way we are his.

Romans 14:7-8 (LB)

The paradox of surrender is that it produces power and victory. Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems can be defeated by Christ when handed over to him.

As Joshua approached the biggest battle of his life, he encountered God, fell in worship before him, and surrendered his plans. That surrender led to a stunning victory at Jericho.

Surrender doesn’t weaken you, it strengthens you. When you are surrendered to God, you don’t have to fear or surrender to anything or anyone else. The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, once said, “The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”

Why surrender?

Because you belong to your Creator. God has a right to direct your life: “We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose” (Romans 14:7 LB). “Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people …” (Psalm 100:3 NLT).

Because Christ bought you with his sacrifice. The Bible says, “And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15 HCSB).

When you surrender to Christ, you fulfill the very purpose he died for – not just to save you from hell, but also to save you from self-centeredness!We Christians do not live for ourselves, but for our Savior.

“At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes” (Romans 6:19 TEV).

Because God modeled it first. He took the initiative, surrendering Jesus for our benefit. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son …” (John 3:16 NAB).

Our surrender is the only reasonable response to that kind of love. You cannot love Christ without surrendering to him.

Rick Warren

The Blessing of Surrender

Quit quarreling with God! Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong.

Job 22:21 (LB)

The Bible is very clear about how we benefit when we worship God through surrender: “Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong” (Job 22:21 LB).

In surrender, you begin to really live the life God intended: “Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 LB).

You are set free, liberated from self-preoccupation: “But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!” (Romans 6:16-18 MSG).

God is able to use you in great ways.

Why did God choose Mary, of all women, to be the mother of Jesus? It was because she was totally surrendered to God. When the angel explained God’s improbable plan, she humbly responded, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said” (Luke 1:38 CEV).

Nothing is more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of God.

Rick Warren

Surrender: Let Go and Let God Work

Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.

Psalm 37:7 (GWT)

Surrendering your life means:

· Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you;

· Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come;

· Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;

· Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances.

You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work.You don’t have to always be in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.

Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights.

The most difficultthing for many people to surrender is their money. Many have thought, “I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday.”

Retirement is not the goal of a surrender life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money,” (Matthew 6:24 NIV)and “Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 NIV).

The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine” (Mark 14:36 NLT).

Jesus didn’t pray, “God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so.” He began by affirming that God can do anything! He prayed, “God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that’s what I want, too.”

Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s life, please don’t take it away!”

This level of maturity doesn’t come easy.In Jesus’ case, he agonized so much over God’s plan that he sweat drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature.

Rick Warren

Worship: The Barrier of Pride

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

2 Corinthians 3:5 (NLT)

Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle, like Jacob’s in Genesis 32:22-32, is really with God! We want to be God, and there’s no way we’re going to win that struggle, but we try anyway.

A.W. Tozer said, “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us.”

We aren’t God, and we never will be. We’re humans, and the times when we try to be God are the times we end up most like Satan, who tried to be equal with God, too.

We accept our humanity intellectually, but not emotionally. We give mental assent to the idea, but when faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to be taller (or shorter), smarter, stronger, more talented, beautiful, and wealthy.

We want to have it all and do it all, and become upset when it doesn’t happen. Then, when we notice God gave others characteristics we don’t have, we respond with envy, jealousy, and self-pity.

What it means to surrender. Surrendering to God is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness. It is not accepting the status quo. It may mean the exact opposite: sacrificing your life in resistance to evil and injustice, or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed. God often calls surrendered people to do battle on his behalf. It’s not for cowards or doormats.

Surrendering is not putting your brain in neutral and giving up rational thinking. God would not waste the mind he gave you! God does not want robots to serve him. Surrendering is not repressing your personality. God wants to use your unique personality. Rather than being diminished, surrendering enhances your uniqueness.

C. S. Lewis observed, “The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become – because he made us.He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.”

Rick Warren

Worship: Offering Yourself to God

So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.

Romans 12:1-2 (TEV)

Offering yourself to God is what worship is all about.

This act of personal surrender is called many things: consecration, making Jesus Lord, taking up your cross, dying to self, yielding to the Spirit.

What matters is that you do it, not what you call it. God wants your life, all of it – 95 percent is not enough.

Our total surrender to God is blocked by several things, including:

· Our ignorance of God – not knowing what he’s really like;

· Our sinful nature – the desire to be God ourselves; and

· Our misunderstanding of surrender and the trust that it requires.

Can We Trust God? Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. We won’t surrender to God unless we trust him, but we can’t trust him until we know him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes.

How do I know God loves me? He gives us many evidences:

· God says he loves you (Psalm 145:9);

· You’re never out of his sight (Psalm 139:3);

· He cares about every detail of your life (Matthew 10:30);

· He gave you the capacity to enjoy all kinds of pleasure (1 Timothy 6:17b);

· He has good plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11);

· He forgives you (Psalm 86:5);

· He’s patient with you (Psalm 145:8);

· He sacrificed his Son for you (Romans 5:8).

God loves you infinitely more than you can imagine.

“Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1 HCSB).

If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with his arms outstretched on the cross saying, “I love you this much!I’d rather die than live without you.”

God is not a cruel slave driver or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn’t try to break our will, but woos us to himself, so that we might offer it freely to him. God is a lover and a liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage.

When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.

Rick Warren

Surrender Is the Heart of Worship

“Give yourselves to God ... surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes.”

Romans 6:13 (TEV)

The heart of worship is surrender.

Surrender is an unpopular word, disliked almost as much as the word submission. It implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser.

Surrender evokes the unpleasant images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. Captured criminals surrender to the authorities.

In our competitive world we’re taught to never quit trying, never give up, and never give in – so we don’t hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable.

Yet, the Bible teaches us that rather than trying to win, succeed, overcome, and conquer, we should instead yield, submit, obey, and surrender.

And by surrendering to God, we enter into the heart of worship. This is true worship: bringing pleasure to God as we give ourselves completely to him.

Surrendering is best demonstrated in obedience, cooperating with your Creator. You say “Yes, Lord” to whatever he asks of you.

In fact, “No, Lord” is a contradiction. You can’t claim Jesus as your Lord when you refuse to obey him. Peter modeled surrender when, after a night of failed fishing, Jesus told him to try again: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”Surrendered people obey God’s word, even when it doesn’t make sense.

God is not a cruel slave driver or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn’t try to break our will, but woos us to himself, so that we might offer it freely to him. God is a lover and a liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage.

When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.

Rick Warren

When the Future Seems Uncertain

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans … to give you a future and a hope … You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.”

Jeremiah 29:11, 13 (LB)

No matter what the pollsters, pundits, and prognosticators claim, no one can accurately predict all that is going to happen in the next year, let alone the next few days or weeks. Our best forecasts are just educated guesses.

Change is not only increasing in speed and intensity, but also in unpredictability. How can anyone succeed when the future is so uncertain?

The Bible suggests three timeless principles for facing an uncertain future:

1. Set goals according to God’s direction. It’s foolish to make plans without first consulting God. He’s the only one who does know the future – and he’s eager to guide you through it.

The Bible says, “We may make our plans, but God has the last word” (Proverbs 16:1 GNT). In other words, planning without praying is presumption. Start by praying, “God, what do you want me to do in 2009?”

2. Live one day at a time. While you can plan for tomorrow, you can’t live it until it arrives. Most people spend so much time regretting the past and worrying about the future, they have no time to enjoy today!

John Lennon once wrote, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Decide to make the most of each moment this year. Jesus said, “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time” (Matthew 6:34 LB).

3. Don’t procrastinate. Do it now! “Don’t boast about what you’re going to do tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

Procrastinating is a subtle trap. It wastes today by postponing things until tomorrow. You promise yourself that you’ll do it “one of these days.” But “one of these days” is usually “none of these days.”

What did you plan to get done last year that you didn’t do? When do you intend to start working on it?

Rick Warren

Start with the Faith You Have

[The boy’s father said,] “... If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!” Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”

Mark 9:22-24 (MSG)

Is it possible to be filled with faith and doubt at the same time? Yes!

You can have faith that God wants you to do something and still be scared to death. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is going ahead and doing what you’re called to do in spite of your fear.

You have to begin with the faith you already have: it may be just a little, but you start there. A beautiful example of this is the story of the man who brought his sick son to Jesus in Mark 9. Jesus looked at the man and said, “I can heal your son. If you will believe, I will heal him.”

The father then makes a classic statement: “Lord, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.”

Have you ever felt like that? “Lord, I have some faith. But I also have some doubts.” This man was filled with faith and doubt, yet despite his honest doubts, he went ahead and asked Jesus for a miracle. And he got his miracle – Jesus healed his son.

Mustard seed faith moves mountains. No matter how weak or how frail you think your faith is, it’s enough to get you through what you’re facing because your “little faith” is in a big God.

Matthew 17:20 says, “If you have faith as small as the mustard seed, nothing will be impossible to you.” That’s not a lot of faith; in fact, it’s just a little faith. But what else does that verse teach? “If you have faith as the mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, ‘Move’ and it will be moved.”

Mustard seed faith moves mountains. Don’t get this reversed; we tend to read this verse backward; we want it to say, “If you have faith like a mountain, you can move a mustard seed” – as if it takes enormous faith to do a very little task.

Everybody has faith. You had faith this morning when you ate your cereal – faith that your spouse didn’t put poison in your granola!

You had faith when you sat down in your computer chair – faith that it wouldn’t collapse.

Everybody has faith; the difference is what you put your faith in.

Sometimes people will tell me they don’t want to surrender to Jesus until all their questions are answered; they don’t want to make a commitment until every thing is understand.

God wants you start with the faith you have; and based on the example of the mustard seed, you don’t need a whole lot of faith to do great things for God. You just need a little.

So here’s a trustworthy equation:

Little Faith + Big God = Huge Results!

· You take your little faith; “Lord, I believe! Help me with my unbelief!”

· And you place your faith in our big God,

· And then he’ll show you how he works out huge results.

Rick Warren

Living in Light of Eternity

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

Healthy families have family pride; members are not ashamed to be recognized as a part of the family. Sadly, I’ve met many believers who’ve never publicly identified themselves as Jesus commanded – by being baptized.

Baptism is not some optional ritual to be delayed or postponed. It signifies your inclusion in God’s family. It publicly announces to the world, “I am not ashamed to be a part of God’s family.”

Jesus commanded this beautiful act for all in his family: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 NIV).

For years I wondered why Jesus’ Great Commission gives the same prominence to baptism as it does to the great tasks of evangelism and edification. Why is baptism so important? Because it symbolizes the second purpose of your life: incorporation into the fellowship of God’s eternal family.

Your baptism declares your faith, shares Christ’s burial and resurrection, symbolizes your death to your old life, and announces your new life in Christ. It is also a celebration of your inclusion in God’s family.

Your baptism is a physical picture of a spiritual truth. It represents what happened the moment God brought you into his family: “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT).

Baptism doesn’t make you a member of God’s family; only faith in Christ does that; baptism shows you are part of God’s family. Like a wedding ring, it is a visible reminder of an inward commitment made in your heart.

It is an act of initiation, not something you put off until you are spiritually mature. The only biblical condition is that you believe.

The Bible says, “Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn’t ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11 CEV).

Let that amazing truth sink in!

Because Jesus makes you holy, God is proud of you. Being included in God’s family is the highest honor, the greatest privilege you and I will ever receive. Nothing else comes close. Why not pause right now and thank God that he included you?

“Praise God for the privilege of being in Christ’s family and being called by his wonderful name!” (1 Peter 4:16 LB).

Rick Warren

Our Inheritance: Grace, Patience, Wisdom, and Power

God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

1 Peter 1:4 (NLT)

The New Testament gives great emphasis to our rich “inheritance.” As children in God’s family we get to share in the family fortune, that everything God has belongs to us (Galatians 4:7). The apostle Paul adds, “I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people” (Ephesians 1:18 NLT).

What benefits do we inherit?

As children in God’s family we are given “the riches ... of his grace ... kindness ... patience ... glory ... wisdom ... power ... and mercy” (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 2:4; 9:23; 11:33; Ephesians 3:16; 2:4). We also inherit eternal life and God puts his Spirit inside us now as a guarantee of all that is to come.

What an inheritance! You are far richer than you realize, which is why Paul could write with confidence: “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

Your eternal inheritance is priceless, pure, permanent, and protected; no one can take it from you. It can’t be destroyed by war, a poor economy, or disaster. This inheritance, not retirement, is what you should be looking forward to; retirement is a shortsighted goal.

Rick Warren

Fellowship: God’s Family Lasts Forever

Since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.

Galatians 4:7 (NLT)

Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever. Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, by death.

The apostle Paul says, “When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God – some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth” (Ephesians 3:14-15 LB).

On the other hand, our spiritual family – our relationship to other believers – will continue throughout eternity. It is a much stronger union, a more permanent bond, than blood relationships.

The Bible teaches, “To all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God. They did not become his children in any human way – by any human parents or human desire. They were born of God” (John 1:12-13 NCV).

The moment you were spiritually born into God’s family, you were given some astounding birthday gifts: the family name, the family likeness, family privileges, family intimate access, and the family inheritance!

Rick Warren

Fellowship: God’s Own Family

It was a happy day for him when he gave us our new lives through the truth of his Word, and we became, as it were, the first children in his new family.

James 1:18 (LB)

When we place our faith in Christ, God becomes our Father, we become his children, other believers become our brothers and sisters, and the church becomes our spiritual family: “Jesus pointed to his disciples and said, ‘These are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!’” (Matthew 12:49-50 NLT).

The family of God includes all believers in the past, in the present, and all who will believe in the future: “The Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, ‘Father! my Father!’ God’s Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:15-16 TEV).

Every human being was created by God but not everyone is a child of God. The only way to get into God’s family is by being born again into it. You became part of the human family by your first birth but you become a member of God’s family by your second birth: “It is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family” (1 Peter 1:3 LB).

The invitation to be part of God’s family is universal, but there is one condition: faith in Jesus.

“You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26 NLT).

Not only are we born again into God’s family through faith, the Bible says God also “adopts” us. We don’t deserve to be his children, but he has chosen us for this privilege because he loves us.

Fellowship: Formed for God’s Family

See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! 1

John 3:1 (NLT)

You were formed for God’s family.

“God is the One who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory...” (Hebrews 2:10 NCV).

God wants a family, and he created you to be a part of it. This is one of God’s purposes for your life, which he planned before you were born. The entire Bible is the story of God building a family who will love him, honor him, and reign with him forever.

“His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:5 NLT).

Because God is love, he treasures relationships. His very nature is relational and he identifies himself in family terms: Father, Son, and Spirit. The Trinity is God’s relationship to himself. It’s the perfect pattern for relational harmony and we should study its implications.

God already exists in loving relationship to himself so he’s never been lonely. He didn’t need a family – he desired one, so he devised a plan to create us, bring us into his family, and share with us all he has.

This gives God great pleasure.

Rick Warren