I have to head out of town this AM, so here is the devotion from Dr. Michael Youssef from today:
July 18, 2012
A Glorious Inheritance
By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.
What is the ultimate purpose of being adopted as a child of God? Is it salvation? Is it forgiveness? Is it justification? Is it cleansing? All are part of it, but the ultimate purpose of your adoption is the inheritance of glory. Romans 8:17 says, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ."
Each adopted child of the Lord is going to receive His full inheritance. Everything that Jesus Christ received by divine right, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are going to receive by divine grace.
It is when you die that you inherit your heavenly Daddy's estate. That is why the Apostle Paul could say "to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). For the believer, physical death is not an enemy; it is a friend, because it takes the child of God into the presence of God.
It is also important to know that the Spirit of God turns your groans into glory, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18). Whatever problem you are facing today that is making you groan, He is turning your groaning into glory. All the pain and all the hurt and all the suffering and all the agony, all the disappointment and all the dashed hopes and shattered dreams, all the insults and all the rejection, are all nothing when it comes to the Father's glory that you will one day inherit. You can't even begin to compare them.
Rest and rejoice in the Truth that the Spirit of God is giving you the ultimate victory, He is guaranteeing and sealing your adoption, and that He is turning your groaning into glory.
Prayer: God, thank You for the glorious inheritance that You have promised Your children. Thank You that all of the trials that I face today pale in comparison to the glory You have in store for me. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
"Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14).
