ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS SOVEREIGN
God presides over every event, great or small, and He is in control of our lives. To be sovereign, He must be all-knowing and all-powerful, and by His sovereignty He rules His entire creation. 1 Chronicles 29:11-13
1 Chronicles 29:11-13
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
Praise God that He is Sovereign
Praise God that he has presided over every event in your life. Praise him that He is in control of everything that will happen today in the lives of all the people on the planet. Praise him that he has always been sovereign for every person for all of time.
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 Law Enforcement officers. Ask God to use them and encourage them.
- Pray for opportunities to share the gospel.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Corinthians 7 New Living Translation
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
2 Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone. 3 I’m not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you. 4 I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.
Paul’s Joy at the Church’s Repentance
5 When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. 6 But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. 7 His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy!
8 I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. 12 My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us. 13 We have been greatly encouraged by this.
In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind at ease. 14 I had told him how proud I was of you—and you didn’t disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true! 15 Now he cares for you more than ever when he remembers the way all of you obeyed him and welcomed him with such fear and deep respect. 16 I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Can you recall asking God, maybe begging God for help and then wondering why he failed to come through for you? In retrospect can you think of a time when God did come through and it was by using another person? Paul said that God directly comforted him through Titus. God’s key resources for the believer are His Word, His Spirit, and His People. If we are asking God for his help and yet NOT relying on his three primary ways of getting us help then we need to examine our strategy. If we are not in his Word we are missing a key resource. If we are not continually checking our hearts so that we live with a “ready yes” then we are missing another key resource, the Holy Spirit. Finally if we are not living in connected relationships with his people, in the church, we are missing a key resource. Perhaps you are disappointed that others have not encouraged you as you would like them to. Have you pursued relationships with them? If not then it’s no wonder you have missed out on some encouragement. Have you been open to the kinds of encouragement God intends to bring through others or have you demanded that others encourage you in very specific ways? Start with yourself rather than in circumstances outside of your own heart. Please don’t look for things you cannot control to explain why you are not thriving, instead begin by looking at choices you do have but are not currently making. This approach is both most helpful and most hopeful.