Children of the King

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"Children of the King" By Diane Webb

Ephesians 3: 12—"In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him".

By having faith in Jesus, we can approach Him confidently and boldly—without fear. Jesus came to earth and walked with us. He experienced first hand what it is like to be human. He, as God the Son, got down on our level. That is why He came to earth—to represent God to us in a way we could comprehend as humans. The more you get to know Jesus the more faith you will have in Him. As your faith grows, so does your comfort with talking to Him boldly. He becomes your role model and your teacher. He becomes your friend. Jesus is the center of our salvation and our faith. Don't you speak more plainly with someone you have known a long time? When someone has proven themselves to you year after year is it not natural to be more confident in their presence? Aren't there people in your life who inspire your boldness and confidence? This is where Jesus wants to be with you. He does not want to be someone you are afraid to talk to. He wants you to "bother" Him with your concerns. How does one go about accessing Jesus with boldness and confidence? There is no special formula or required set of introductory words needed to talk to Jesus. Just talk. As you walk to your car—talk. As you go about your day—talk. He is your best friend. He is on your side. He loves you and you are important to Him. You are the reason He was born as a baby in Bethlehem and you are the reason He was crucified and rose again. Accept your place in the kingdom of God as equal heirs with Jesus (Romans 8: 16-17). Stop cowering in a corner as if you had no Savior or no friend in Christ. Demonstrate you understand and appreciate your place in God's kingdom. You are a child of God. You are co-heirs to His kingdom. You are a son or daughter of a king. Low self-esteem is an insult to Christ. There was once a lady (we will call her Jill) who was speaking with another woman (we will call her Betty) about Betty's low self-esteem. Betty was not convinced of her worth and felt like she was an unimportant no-body. She allowed people to use and abuse her and put herself down in her own thoughts and words. She called herself names and in many other ways demonstrated a lack of respect for herself. As Betty was leaving Jill's company she mentioned, "I will pray for you". Jill, replied, "I wish you wouldn't". This surprised Betty. Jill tried to explain why she felt uncomfortable with Betty praying for her given Betty's low opinion of herself. (To Jill, Betty's low self-esteem was a sign of being outside the will of God). It was a month before the two ladies talked again. Betty had given the matter much thought and had finally begun to address her low self-esteem. This is an important message to anyone who suffers from low self-esteem. You do not honor God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit by dishonoring yourself. It is time we all stopped acting like neglected orphans and stepped up to the throne. As we wallow in self degradation we are neglecting our duty to pray for our country, our leaders, and other people as well. We do not represent our Savior very well with our heads hanging down and shuffling our feet. We have to boldly and confidently advocate on behalf of others before Jesus just as Jesus advocates for us before His Father.

Dear Lord, help me to understand my worth and my place in the kingdom of God. Take from me any signs of insecurity or hesitancy in my faith. Help me access Jesus boldly and confidently before others so my testimony will be strong. By my testimony, behavior, and prayers let me lead others to Christ. I ask in Jesus' name, Amen.