Monday
B — BAPTISMAL IDENTITY
Received into the Father’s Household
How this day connects
Sacramental Stream · B–Eu · Water → Oil → Table
The Jordan moves around Jesus as He rises from the water. The heavens open, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father names His beloved Son (Mark 1:9–11). Jesus is the eternal Son who has entered our humanity. Through His death and resurrection He opens the way for us to share His life. In baptism we are joined to Him, and the Spirit teaches us to approach His Father as our Father. The welcome we receive gathers us into a household, where belonging grows into love for one another.
Begin with Romans 6:1–11. Read with this question: What new belonging and life have we received in Christ? The other passages deepen today’s theme and remain available as you return to the page.
READ — John 1:1–18; 1 John 1:1–8, 10; Mark 1:9–11; Romans 6:1–11; Romans 8:14–17; Ephesians 1:17–23; Ephesians 2:8–10, 11–22; 1 Peter 2:4–10 (NKJV)
Read slowly, returning to the starting passage as you follow today’s theme. The passages belong together: they help us hear the meditation and pray in response to what God has revealed. You can return to the additional readings throughout the day or week.
John 1:1–18 — NKJV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'"
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
1 John 1:1–8, 10 — NKJV
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-
2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-
3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Mark 1:9–11 — NKJV
9 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.
11 Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Romans 6:1–11 — NKJV
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:14–17 — NKJV
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Ephesians 1:17–23 — NKJV
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 2:8–10 — NKJV
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:11–22 — NKJV
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh-who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands-
12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
1 Peter 2:4–10 — NKJV
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,"
8 and "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
The Christian week begins with a word given to us: Father.
Jesus teaches us to pray, Our Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9). Before He gives us a task, a strategy or an achievement, He gives us a place from which to pray. We come as those who have been brought near.
Formation begins here because the Gospel begins with gift. The Father gives the Son. The Son takes our humanity into His death and risen life. The Holy Spirit unites us to Christ and forms within us the cry of adoption: Abba, Father (Romans 8:15).
Baptism gives this belonging a bodily and visible form. Paul speaks of being baptised into Christ Jesus, into His death, so that we may walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3–4). Water receives us into a reality God has made. Old masters lose their final claim. Christ names us.
We enter the water carrying names, histories, wounds, achievements, loyalties and fears. Yet another Name becomes decisive. We belong to Jesus Christ. Our human story is taken up into His story and placed beneath His lordship.
And because we belong to Christ, we belong to His Father. The Spirit makes filial life living within us. We learn to receive the Father’s love, trust His provision, return after failure, and stand before Him as sons and daughters who depend upon grace.
Jesus teaches us to pray as children of one Father. Baptismal belonging joins us to His people. In Ephesians, Paul addresses the division between Jews and Gentiles, people separated by ancestry and religious boundaries. Through the cross, Christ brings both near to God and joins them in one household (Ephesians 2:11–19). Peter describes this gathered people as living stones and a royal priesthood, called to worship God and make His goodness known (1 Peter 2:4–10).
Belonging therefore becomes responsibility. The Father’s children belong inside our spiritual life. We learn to carry one another, forgive one another, receive correction, honour different gifts, notice the overlooked and pray for those who cannot presently pray strongly for themselves.
Receiving this belonging can expose fears we have carried for years. We may expect to be left alone, feel that we must earn our place, or hesitate to trust anyone with our need. The Father’s welcome gives us room to bring those fears into the light. Within His household, we can learn to receive care, offer our gifts and let others walk beside us.
The Father’s welcome rests on what He has done for us in Christ. We can return to that gift when old fears make belonging difficult to receive. Joined to Jesus in His death and resurrection, we have been brought near and given the Spirit of adoption.
This gift gathers us into a people whose life turns towards God in worship and intercession, and towards the world in blessing and witness. We learn to receive care, offer our gifts and carry one another before the Father. Our belonging becomes visible through the love we share.
A royal priesthood receives privilege as vocation. Under Jesus Christ, our unique Great High Priest, we carry others before God, bless, serve and make His goodness known. His priesthood is the source; ours is participation beneath Him.
The Father has received us in His Son and given His Spirit to dwell within us. His purpose reaches beyond the assurance that we belong: He forms His children in the likeness of Jesus. The welcome we have received becomes the love we learn to offer, and the household we share becomes a place of worship, mutual care and witness.
Begin this week from that belonging. Bring your life before the Father with confidence, receive the help of His people and ask the Spirit how Christ’s love should take shape in your response today.
Today We Enter
Today we remember our baptismal belonging and bring the places where we still feel alone before the Father. In Christ, we have been received into His household. We come to prayer with brothers and sisters, ready to receive His love and carry one another before Him.
Read the prayer slowly and make its words your own. Pause to name particular people and situations. We pray as members of Christ’s Church, including when we pray alone. The Scripture references show the passages behind the prayers and declarations; return to them whenever you want to consider a prayer more closely.
If you are preparing for baptism or would like to understand it more fully, speak with a pastor or trusted leader in your church. Bring that desire into today’s prayer. Let the thanksgiving of baptised believers help you recognise the life and belonging into which Christ calls you.
Each day follows the whole Lord’s Prayer, with today’s theme shaping the words we pray. Begin each movement with the Scripture line. Pray aloud where you can, allowing praise, thanksgiving, lament and declarations their own voice. Pause to name people and circumstances. We pray with and for the whole Church, including when we pray alone. The Prayer guide explains how the prayer connects with SHINE.
FULL PRAYER
Pray the day
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Today’s focus: Baptismal Identity
Prayer guide
Talking back means answering temptation with the truth of Scripture. Following Jesus’ example, we name the lie or sinful invitation, speak the fitting words of Scripture, and offer our allegiance to Him. We may address God, our own soul, or the tempter in Christ’s Name. Love for Christ gives this resistance its purpose. We bring grief, weakness and distress to God with compassion, and stand together in the help He gives. (Matthew 4:1–11; Psalm 42:5; James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10–18)
Our Father in heaven,
(Matthew 6:9) NKJV
Father, we thank You for the good news of Jesus Christ. Thank You for the Son who came near when we were far away. Thank You for the Cross, where the old dominion of sin was judged; for the grave that could not hold Him; for the Resurrection that opened new creation; and for the Ascension, where the crucified One reigns as Lord. Thank You that our life is now gathered under His Name. (Ephesians 2:13–18; Acts 2:32–36)
Father, we remember before You the death and resurrection of Your Son. We thank You for breaking sin’s mastery over those who belong to Him. Joined to Christ in His death and risen life, we reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to You. We present our hands, our eyes and our voices to You as instruments of righteousness. Sin shall no longer command our allegiance. Your grace has brought us into the freedom of obedience, and we yield ourselves to the life You have given. (Romans 6:3–14)
Father, we remember how You heard the cry of Israel and brought Your people out of Egypt. You commanded them to tell their children of Your deliverance. Through Jesus Christ You have brought us near and gathered us into Your household. In Him we stand before You, received as Your children; by the Spirit we share His risen life. Your dwelling is among us, and we take our place as living stones in Your holy temple. Remember Your people in mercy, and strengthen all who struggle to live in the freedom of their baptism. We offer our worship and intercession through Your beloved Son. We will tell the coming generation of the mercy that has brought us into Your light, and welcome those whom Your gospel is calling home. (Exodus 2:23–25; Exodus 13:8; Ephesians 2:18–22; 1 Peter 2:4–10; Psalm 78:4–7)
Hallowed be Your name.
(Matthew 6:9) NKJV
Our Father in heaven, we praise Your holy Name. Your mercy has opened the household to which we now belong, and through Your beloved Son we draw near in one Spirit. You are faithful in Your welcome and steadfast in Your love. Before You we bow with reverence; in Your presence we rejoice as Your children. You know each person praying these words and every concern we carry. Our hopes, our questions and our need for mercy lie open before You, whose fatherly goodness is worthy of our trust. (Matthew 6:9; Ephesians 2:18–22; Psalm 100:3–5)
Lord Jesus Christ, beloved Son of the Father, we adore You. You entered our humanity, gave Yourself for us and rose victorious over death. Through You we receive adoption by grace. Holy Spirit, we honour You, who bear witness that we are children of God and awaken our cry to the Father. We praise the riches of the love into which You have brought us. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the worship of Your household rises before You, and we offer our whole lives in grateful allegiance. (Romans 8:14–17; Galatians 4:4–7; Romans 12:1)
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
(Matthew 6:10) NKJV
Father, we turn away from the sins and loyalties that have held us captive. We renounce pride, envy and the demand to secure our worth through approval. We bring our shame into Your mercy and receive the forgiveness You give in Christ. When remembered failures accuse us, keep us close to our Saviour. When we are tempted to withdraw from You, help us return in repentance and trust. Keep our hearts open to Your correction and Your love. (Romans 6:11–14; 1 John 1:7–9)
Lord Jesus, we renounce agreement with the accusations and deceptions of the evil one. We reject the lie that remembered failure has cancelled the Father’s welcome or that another person’s gifts diminish the place You have given us. We renounce competition with our brothers and sisters and the pride that refuses their help. Our belonging rests in Your mercy. You died, You rose, and You intercede for us; no accusation can overturn Your faithful love. We receive our place in the Father’s household with gratitude and offer our gifts in the freedom of belonging to You. Father, guard those who wake in fear or lie down beneath thoughts of rejection, and settle them in Your welcome. (Romans 8:15–16, 33–39)
Father, we confess before You that Jesus Christ is Lord, crucified for our sins and raised from the dead. In Him we place our trust. By Your Spirit we are Your children, received into Your household and made heirs together with Christ. We belong to You in joy and in suffering. The glory You have promised gives hope to our waiting, and Your love holds us through every trial. We own the Name of Jesus before heaven and earth, and we offer our allegiance to Him for all our days. (Romans 8:14–17; Romans 10:9)
In Christ we have redemption through His blood, and our sins are forgiven by the riches of the Father’s grace. Through baptism we have been joined to His death and resurrection; we count ourselves alive to God in Him. Sin has lost its right to rule us. The Spirit of the Son bears witness that we belong to the Father, and we stand together within His household. We receive this life by faith and offer our bodies to God’s service. The mercy that has welcomed us gives courage to our witness. We will honour the Name we bear and make His goodness known among our neighbours. (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:3–14; Romans 8:15–16; 1 Peter 2:9–12)
Give us this day our daily bread.
(Matthew 6:11) NKJV
Father, some of us come with the ache of an empty room and the memory of a welcome withdrawn. We grieve the love we needed and the harm done in places that bore Your Name. How long will these wounds trouble our belonging? We bring You the tears we have hidden and the questions we cannot settle. In Jesus we draw near with our whole story. Hear us, hold us in Your mercy, and receive the sorrow of Your children. We wait together before You. (Psalm 13:1–6; Psalm 27:10; Romans 8:15–16, 26)
Holy Spirit, make baptismal life tangible among us. Where truth has remained language, bring it into affection, habit and obedience. Where our minds know adoption but our bodies still brace for rejection, settle us in the Father’s love. Where human fatherhood has wounded or distorted the word Father, reveal the Father through the Son with patience and truth. Where shame has settled into memory and imagination, bring the light of Christ. (Romans 8:14–16; John 14:8–9)
Father, strengthen us inwardly through Your Spirit. Let Christ make His home in our hearts through faith, and establish our lives firmly in His love. Help us discover, together with Your people, the greatness of that love. Fill us with Your life. Carry this grace into our speech, our use of money and our care for one another. Teach us to receive support when we are weak and offer it generously when another person needs us. (Ephesians 3:14–19; Galatians 6:2)
Father, thank You for sending Your Son to redeem us and the Spirit of Your Son into our hearts. We receive the adoption You have given and answer You with the cry of children who belong: Abba, Father. Your welcome gives us freedom to approach You and room to welcome one another. We place our habits of prayer and our care for others within this grace. We stand beside those who struggle to believe they are loved; strengthen them in Your mercy. With grateful hearts we carry Your welcome into the world. (Galatians 4:4–7; Romans 15:7)
Father, we carry before You those who feel like strangers: refugees and displaced people, the lonely, the bereaved, children without safe homes, adults whose families have fractured, and those who have never known stable belonging. Give shelter, friendship, protection and people who will remain. Strengthen foster families, adoptive families, carers and all who open their homes in costly love. (Psalm 68:5–6; Hebrews 13:1–3)
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
(Matthew 6:12) NKJV
Father, we repent of calling You Father while living as though everything depended upon us. We confess the anxious striving by which we have tried to secure a place already given in Christ. We repent of measuring ourselves against other people, of allowing praise to inflate us and criticism to govern our peace, and of letting disappointment tell us what You are like. We turn again to Your fatherly love and entrust ourselves to the mercy You have opened to us in Your Son. Forgive us, and receive our return. (Romans 8:15–16; Ephesians 2:8–10)
Forgive us where we have wanted belonging without the household. We have sometimes guarded our time, gifts and attention from the very people You have joined to us. We have withdrawn when communion became costly. We have kept old resentments alive. We have treated difference as inconvenience and weakness as burden. Forgive us where class, age, race, nationality, church tradition, education, status, politics or personality have built walls that Christ did not build. Make our baptismal confession visible in the way we receive one another. (Ephesians 2:14–19; 1 Corinthians 12:21–26)
We pray for those estranged from the Church through betrayal, abuse, hypocrisy or rejection. Bring truth into hidden places. Bring justice where wrongdoing has been concealed. Protect the vulnerable. Heal what can be healed. Restore trust only where truth, repentance and safety make it possible. Raise congregations that resemble the Father’s household: places where the poor are honoured, the weak are carried, the gifted serve, generations meet, repentance is possible and the Name of Jesus is loved more than reputation. (Psalm 82:3–4; Ephesians 4:25–32)
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
(Matthew 6:13) NKJV
Father, how great is the love with which You have received us in Your Son. We bless You for the Name we bear and the household You have opened to us. Your welcome is precious beyond the praise we could win or the place we could secure for ourselves. We rejoice in Jesus, who has brought us near, and offer You the love that once sought its rest in approval. You are our Father; in Your faithful love we stand. We will honour Your Name in our homes and make Your goodness known to those who long to belong. (1 John 3:1; Ephesians 2:18–22; Romans 8:15–16; 1 Peter 2:9)
Father, we submit ourselves to You and stand in the strength of Jesus Christ. Against the lie that we must earn a place in Your household, we confess Your word: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16, NKJV). Evil one, we resist you in His Name; we refuse your lies and renounce every allegiance to your works. Jesus Christ is Lord over our lives and our households. We reject violence, deceit and the concealment that allows harm to pass from one generation to another. Father, break the hold of addiction and oppression. Bring wrongdoing into the light, give courage for confession and change, and surround those taking their first steps towards freedom with faithful help. Establish our families in truth, tenderness and peace. (James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10–18; Ephesians 4:25–32)
Lord Jesus, stretch out Your hand to heal those who are sick. Bring freedom to those who are oppressed and peace to those whose minds are tormented. Restore hope where despair has taken hold. Give us faith to pray with expectation and love to remain alongside those who suffer. Help us bear one another’s burdens patiently. Let Your compassion become visible among us, and lead those You restore into fellowship, thanksgiving and fruitful service. (Acts 4:29–30; Galatians 6:2)
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Matthew 6:13) NKJV
Father, we will give thanks to You in the assembly and tell of the welcome we have received. You have joined us to Christ in the waters of baptism and brought us near through His blood. You have given us a place among Your people. We honour You for those who first spoke Your gospel to us, prayed beside us and helped us take our first steps in faith. Their faithful care has carried Your kindness into our lives. We receive this inheritance with gratitude and will carry Your welcome to others in the new life of Christ. (Psalm 35:18; Romans 6:3–4; Ephesians 2:13, 19–22)
Father, because we belong to You, we offer ourselves again. Take our bodies, voices, homes, time, strength, possessions, wounds and gifts. Make them available for love. When we are insulted, remind us whose Name we carry. When we succeed, guard us from self-exaltation. When we fail, lead us quickly into repentance and grace. When another person flourishes, teach us to rejoice. When someone is overlooked, make us notice. (Romans 12:1–2, 10–16)
Send us into this week as Your children, ready to welcome, serve and bear witness to Jesus. Let our homes become places of generous hospitality and our churches places of faithful love. Give us someone to encourage, someone to help and an opportunity to speak of Your goodness. Keep forming Christ’s likeness among us. Father, receive glory through Your Son, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, throughout Your Church and among every generation. Amen. (1 Peter 2:9–12; Ephesians 3:20–21)
Embodied Response
Notice one person in your church who may feel overlooked. Offer a word of encouragement, practical help or prayer, and make room to receive their gift in return.