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“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  John 1:11-13 KJV

Ever since the third chapter of Genesis (a long, LONG time ago), human beings have been on the lookout for the One God promised would destroy sin’s power and its effects on us.  Adam and Eve heard God tell the serpent, the original snake oil huckster, “He shall strike you on your head, while you will strike at his heel.”  Genesis 3:15c TLB

Hundreds of prophecies were given in the Old Testament about the Savior – the place of His birth, His mother’s virginity, who His ancestors would be, the rejection by His own people, betrayal of a close friend, even how He would die.  After Jesus’ resurrection, two followers walking to the village of Emmaus were privileged to hear Jesus explain some of those prophecies.  “Then Jesus quoted them passage after passage from the writings of the prophets, beginning with the book of Genesis and going right on through the Scriptures, explaining what the passages meant and what they said about himself.”  Luke 24:27 TLB

Lest we be critical of the Jewish people for not believing Jesus is Messiah, remember we have the New Testament and the Holy Spirit who has given us faith to believe.  And to those who believe on His name, who receive Jesus, John 1:11 says Jesus gives them power to become God’s own children.

Some churches proclaim a child becomes God’s child when his or her parents bring him or her for baptism.  Another says membership in that church is the way of adoption into God’s forever family.  John 1:12 says those who believe are born of God, and people born of God are the ones who can claim they are God’s kids.

As God’s child, are you seeing a family resemblance?  Do you have your Father’s eyes of compassion?  Do you have spiritual ears tuned into the Holy Spirit’s whispers?  Does your mouth often repeat God’s words in daily conversations?  Do you walk like Him, talk like Him, think more and more like Him, love what He loves and, yes, hate what He hates?  The more time we spend with the Lord, the more we will grow to be like Him.  And finally, “when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”  1 John 3:2 NIV