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/2022/02/26/part-of-the-family-2

[{"status":"publish","site_id":"1","date":1645833600000,"title":"Part of the Family","author":"2009642","bible_in_a_year":"<a href=\"https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+15%E2%80%9316%3B+Mark+6%3A1%E2%80%9329\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"scripture reference verse\" class=\"scripture-link\" data-category=\"scripture-link\" data-action=\"bible-in-a-year\" data-label=\"Bible in a Year\">Numbers 15–16; Mark 6:1–29</a>","bible_in_a_year_references":"Numbers 15–16; Mark 6:1–29","bible_in_a_year_url":"https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+15%E2%80%9316%3B+Mark+6%3A1%E2%80%9329","content":"<p><em>Downton Abbey</em> was a popular British television drama that followed the fictional Crawley family as they navigated a changing social structure in early 1900s England. One of the key characters, Tom Branson, initially worked as the family&rsquo;s chauffeur before shocking everyone by marrying the youngest Crawley daughter. Following a period of exile, the young couple returned to Downton Abbey and Tom became part of the family, gaining access to rights and privileges he had been denied as an employee.</p>\n<p>We were once considered &ldquo;foreigners and strangers&rdquo; (Ephesians 2:19) and excluded from the rights given to those who are part of God&rsquo;s family. But because of Jesus, all believers, regardless of their background, are reconciled to God and called &ldquo;members of his household&rdquo; (v. 19).</p>\n<p>Being a member of God&rsquo;s family brings incredible rights and privileges. We can &ldquo;approach God with freedom and confidence&rdquo; (3:12) and enjoy unlimited, unhindered access to God. We become part of a larger family, a community of faith to support and encourage us (2:19&ndash;22). Members of God&rsquo;s family have the privilege of helping each other grasp the enormity of God&rsquo;s lavish love (3:18).</p>\n<p>Fear or doubt could easily make us feel like an outsider, keeping us from fully accessing the benefits of being part of God&rsquo;s family. But hear and embrace once more the reality of God&rsquo;s free and generous gifts of love (2:8&ndash;10) and bask in the wonder of being His.</p>\n","excerpt":"<p><em>Downton Abbey</em> was a popular British television drama that followed the fictional Crawley family as they navigated a changing social structure in early 1900s England. One of the key characters, Tom Branson, initially worked as the family&rsquo;s chauffeur before shocking everyone by marrying the youngest Crawley daughter. Following a period of exile, the young couple returned to Downton Abbey and Tom became part of the family, gaining access to rights and privileges he had been denied as an employee.</p>\r\n<p>We were once considered &ldquo;foreigners and strangers&rdquo; (Ephesians 2:19) and excluded from the rights given to those who are part of God&rsquo;s family. But, because of Jesus, all believers, regardless of their background, are reconciled to God and called &ldquo;members of his household&rdquo; (v. 19).</p>\r\n<p>Being a member of God&rsquo;s family brings incredible rights and privileges. We can &ldquo;approach God with freedom and confidence&rdquo; (3:12), enjoying unlimited, unhindered access to God. We become part of a larger family, a community of faith to support and encourage us (2:19&ndash;22). Members of God&rsquo;s family have the privilege of helping each other grasp the enormity of God&rsquo;s lavish love (3:18).</p>\r\n<p>Fear or doubt could easily make us feel like an outsider, keeping us from accessing fully the benefits of being part of God&rsquo;s family. But hear and embrace once more the reality of God&rsquo;s free and generous gifts of love (2:8&ndash;10), and bask in the wonder of being His.</p>","insights":"<p>What does it mean to be a dwelling for the Holy Spirit? (Ephesians 2:22). In the Old Testament, God’s glory resided in the tabernacle/temple, which represented His presence with His people, the Israelites. Today, God’s Spirit dwells in every individual believer in Jesus (John 14:17; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 6:19). But according to commentator Harold Hoehner, in Ephesians 2:21–22 Paul refers to the Holy Spirit’s corporate “dwelling,” His temple composed of all Jewish and gentile believers. He writes: “Paul has shown that though the Gentiles were formerly outside God’s household, they are now one ‘new man’ with Jewish believers. This new entity is like a temple . . . structured on the apostles and prophets, with Christ being the chief Cornerstone.” Jesus promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would “teach [them] all things and . . . remind [them] of everything” (John 14:26). He’s our powerful advocate and guide (John 15:26; Romans 8:14).</p>","passage":"<a href=\"https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2%3A19%E2%80%9322\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"scripture reference verse\" class=\"scripture-link\" data-category=\"scripture-link\" data-action=\"passage\" data-label=\"Scripture Passage\">Ephesians 2:19–22</a>","passage_url":"https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2%3A19%E2%80%9322","passage_reference":"Ephesians 2:19–22","response":"<p>What are some other benefits of belonging to the household of God? How might you approach God in confidence today?</p>","thought":"<p>Heavenly Father, thank You for welcoming me into Your family as a child of God.</p>","verse":"<p>You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household. <a href=\"https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2%3A19\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"scripture reference verse\" class=\"scripture-link\" data-category=\"scripture-link\" data-action=\"verse\" data-label=\"Key Verse\">Ephesians 2:19</a></p>\r\n","insight_question":"","author_name":"Lisa M. Samra","lang_author_name":"","author_link":"https://odb.org/author/lisasamra/","slug":"part-of-the-family-2","insights_author":"67","insights_author_name":"Alyson Kieda","insights_author_id":"67","shareable_image":"https://d626yq9e83zk1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2021/10/04132705/share_odb_2022-02-26.jpg","image_url":"https://d626yq9e83zk1.cloudfront.net/files/2022/02/odb20220226.jpg","email_image_url":"https://d626yq9e83zk1.cloudfront.net/ebread/dailyimages/odbdevo_20220226e.jpg","audio_url":"https://dzxuyknqkmi1e.cloudfront.net/odb/2022/02/odb-02-26-22.mp3","brandName":"Our Daily Bread","preheader_text":"Downton Abbey was a popular British television drama that followed the fictional C...","sku_listname":"EEN100","brand_logo_url":"https://odb.org/wp-content/themes/odbm-base-ourdailybread/images/odb_logo.svg","language":"en_US","date_id":1645833600000}]