ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS GOOD God is the final standard of good, and that all that He is and does is worthy of approval. Here are a few passages that speak of God’s goodness:
- “No one is good but God alone” (Luke 18:19).
- The Psalms frequently affirm that “the Lord is good” (Psalm 100:5).
- “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” (Psalm 106:1).
- “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8).
Praise God that He is Good
Goodness comes naturally from God’s person. Praise him that HE IS GOOD and not just that He does good. He puts no effort into goodness. He just IS GOOD. Praise him that all that he has made and done is good.
CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100
SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.
- Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
- Pray for students going overseas this summer. Ask God to guide them to live as his ambassadors.
- Ask God to give you strength to be faithful as his ambassador today.
- Pray for opportunities to share the gospel.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Corinthians 5 New Living Translation
New Bodies
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
We Are God’s Ambassadors
11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
An ambassador represents a nation or a national leader to another nation. Christ has made us his ambassadors. He is making his “appeal” through us. What is that appeal? It is an offer of a peace treaty to hearts at war with God. Sin is a declaration of war on God’s sovereign rule. The offer for peace is through unconditional surrender. When human hearts surrender to God and receive the peace that comes only through the Lord Jesus then they are able to live in the freedom of God. If you are a follower of Christ you represent him to those who live in ongoing rebellion to him. Your privilege is to make known the offer of peace. This is not pressure or opportunity to feel guilty. This is simply a fact of who you now are. You represent him everywhere you go and in everything you do and say. If it feels like too much pressure you are not seeing it for what it is. He is a wonderful king. His kingdom is a kingdom of light and life. To represent the king and his kingdom as his ambassador should “feel” like a great privilege. If it does not, ask him to help you see why. If it does not then you are not seeing things as they actually are. Look again.