Romans 8:29 NLT For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Hebrews 2:11 NLT So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

The take away from both of these passages of Scripture is that Jesus is our brother. What’s more profound that that? You’ve been adopted…. by the Creator of the Entire universe. Ephesians 1:5 For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]—

In one of the past confessions and declarations we discovered that we are co-heirs with Jesus. Now in hindsight I should have covered this topic first – then expounded on the fact that as adopted children we now have an inheritance. But I digress. My hope is that you are seeing the interconnectedness of it all. Paul refers to it as the Great Mystery of God (“mega – musterion” or the “musterion basileia ouranos” = “Mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven“). The Great Mystery is that through Jesus, the Father is getting the Forever Family He’s always wanted. On top of that? He’s rolling back the clock of the restoration of all things – or former things. The former things are going to become new – again. In other words: He’s not just getting the old band back together again; the duet singing group of Adam & Eve. Nay, nay, nay. He is building a “Von Trapp Family Singers Group.” You know, “The Hills are alive with the sound of music,” and “doe, a deer a female deer, ray, a drop of golden sun,” and so forth. (Now you are going to be humming that song all the live long day). Our Father is putting together a new band – a family band. And Guess what? Jesus has the lead vocals.

As sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve – through Jesus, we get to pick up where our grandparents left off. We get to inherit the Father’s business, and co-reign with Jesus.

Another thing we need to understand and receive is that Jesus is our Elder Brother. Now that is pretty powerful. I don’t know about you but I did not grow up with an older brother. I was the older brother and I had a younger sister. One thing I can tell you about that relationship is that we had a typical brother and sister relationship. We loved each other, but boy could we have some arguments. But here’s the thing: it was one thing for me to get angry at my sister – but you had better not mess with my sister. Or it was going to be a really bad day.

Which reminds me of a dog we had for over 15 years. Her name was Maggie. Near the end of her life we got her a companion friend – we named Toby. Maggie and Toby were as different as night and day. Maggie was the elder dog, more Grandma than Mom, to our puppy Toby. And as dogs go, and especially as puppies and elder dogs go, Maggie had to “school” Toby in knowing his place. Which often wasn’t pretty. Maggie was a quiet, shepherd mix. Yet she was quick to put you in your place with her ferocious bark. Which, as you can imagine, was used quite frequently, on the white, spunky, cockapoo puppy, Toby. As Maggie grew older though, she developed hearing loss, dementia, and a little blindness. What’s amazing is that little Toby became her eyes and ears. Jackie tells of a time when she was out walking the 2 dogs, and a bigger, more aggressive dog went to attack Toby. Guess what happened? You guessed it. Maggie came to Toby’s rescue. She was quick to get between Toby, and the aggressive dog, taking an agressive stance, with hair raised, and teeth clenched, growling, and snarling. (You know who won that battle). Funny thing is that Maggie expressed her pride, and confidence through her tail. The happier and more confident she was the tighter her tail would curl. After that throw down, Maggie’s tail was wound tight with delight. She showed the other dog who was boss. It was as if she were saying, “I can bark at this dog – but not you. This is my dog! So back yourself off to what ever hole you crawled out of.” What a crack up.

But here’s what you need to get: Jesus is your Elder Brother. He’s your “Maggie” and you’re His “Toby.” You belong to Him and anything that attempts to get between you and Him – is going to have a really bad day. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and as C.S Lewis states in the Chronicles of Narnia, “He’s not a tame lion.”

Declaration 33: Lord Jesus, my Elder Brother, Who is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah! I praise Your Name that You are not a tame lion. You are wild at heart, untamed, and extreme – going beyond what is usual and expected. Hallelu-Jah! Thank you for adopting me into Your Forever Family and making me Your own. Thank You that through Your Blood and Body You get between me and the enemy. Thank You that You let him know that I am Yours, and he can’t have me. You are my Big Brother – what can satan or man do to me? Thank You for restoring all things and re-forming me into Your image. Thank you that I have overcome the roaring lion, satan, by the Roaring Lion of the Lamb of God. Thank You that You are my Lion, and I, Your Lamb! Thank You Jesus! I praise Your Holy and Wondrous Name!