Adopted!

This is a devotion that I subscribe to...how fitting since tomorrow is our finalization day!!!

By Dennis and Barbara Rainey
February 5
Adopted by God
Ephesians 1:4,5
Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.
I always knew, from this verse in Ephesians, that we have been "adopted" by God. We did not know Him or seek Him, but He reached down and chose us to be part of His family.
But the meaning of that passage never hit home until 1983, when God gave us our fifth child.
Barbara and I were in New York City, about to speak at a marriage conference. We received a message to call a friend back in Little Rock, and when we saw the name we looked at each other. It was the name of an obstetrician.
For three years we had prayed about the possibility of adopting a child, and we had mentioned it to this doctor. So when we called him he said, "We've got a baby for you."
We said, "You what?"
"We have a teenage girl who is having a baby right now and she told us some time ago, when she first came in, that she wanted the baby raised in a good Christian home. We thought that yours might be a likely one."
Soon we found ourselves conducting a family conference by speakerphone with our four kids. "Hey kids, how would you all like to have another baby?" The unanimous cheer went up, "Yeah!" They did not even need to vote on it.
So we returned home to a newly enlarged family. The little girl's name was Deborah. I believe she has been placed divinely in our home. We adopted her-making her our own. And I believe God feels the same way about you and me. We are His. We have been redeemed and placed in the family and given an inheritance. We are in God's family! We are His adopted sons and daughters.
Prayer:
Thank God for causing you to be holy and blameless before Him because of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Discuss: What type of life did God take you from when He "adopted" you? Describe the changes in your life since you've been adopted into His family