ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS FULL OF GRACE
Grace is God’s good pleasure that moves Him to grant merit where it is undeserved and to forgive debt that cannot be repaid. Ephesians 1:5-8
Ephesians 1:5-8
He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding
Praise the God Who is Full of Grace
Praise God that His grace runs deep. He has enough grace for any who would receive it. Praise God that his grace is truly free. Praise God that he is lavish with his grace.
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 our students going to Lawrence this summer. Pray that they would be faithful with opportunities to be God’s ambassadors in Lawrence.
- Ask God to give you strength to be faithful as his ambassador today.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Corinthians 7 Christian Standard Bible
So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Joy and Repentance
2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, taken advantage of no one. 3 I don’t say this to condemn you, since I have already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am very frank with you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overflowing with joy in all our afflictions.
5 In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, 7 and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. 8 For even if I grieved you with my letter, I don’t regret it. And if I regretted it—since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a while— 9 I now rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death. 11 For consider how much diligence this very thing—this grieving as God wills—has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter. 12 So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your devotion to us might be made plain to you in the sight of God. 13 For this reason we have been comforted.
In addition to our own comfort, we rejoiced even more over the joy Titus had, because his spirit was refreshed by all of you. 14 For if I have made any boast to him about you, I have not been disappointed; but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, so our boasting to Titus has also turned out to be the truth. 15 And his affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Today, please allow me to be direct with you. You and I may not be close friends. I may not even have met you because this devotional goes out beyond the boundaries of our church. But allow me to talk to you as a friend. Do you have relationships that are broken? If so, is there anything that you could do to repair it? Please be honest, playing games with God and others will only cause you misery. Relationships are meant to bring joy but they are not meant to be venues to play our silly games. So, I’ll ask again, do you have a relationship in need of repair and if so is there anything you can do to help repair it? If there is nothing to be done at this time, then leave it with God. Stand by in case he asks you to do something but in the meantime pursue the relationships that are not broken with great zeal and joy. If there is something to be done then just do it. Godly sorrow leaves not regret. That’s because it leads us to take action. We will, in the end, regret the times we could have acted and didn’t. Godly sorrow motivates us to appropriate action right now. Godly sorrow now can eliminate regret in the future.