ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS WRATHFUL
Unlike human anger, God’s wrath is never capricious, self-indulgent, or irritable. It is the right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil. Nahum 1:2-8
Nahum 1:2-3
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.
Praise the God vents His Wrath
In general venting is seen as a bad thing. When God vents his wrath it is terrifying but ultimately good. God vents his wrath because he is fully just, fully love, and completely good. He is holy. Praise God for his wrath. Without wrath there would be no justice or love.
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 wisdom and courage to build trust relationships with your friends who do not know Christ.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Corinthians 13 Christian Standard Bible
This is the third time I am coming to you. Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 2 I gave a warning when I was present the second time, and now I give a warning while I am absent to those who sinned before and to all the rest: If I come again, I will not be lenient, 3 since you seek proof of Christ speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but powerful among you. 4 For he was crucified in weakness, but he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by God’s power.
5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test. 6 And I hope you will recognize that we ourselves do not fail the test. 7 But we pray to God that you do nothing wrong—not that we may appear to pass the test, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear to fail. 8 For we can’t do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray that you become fully mature. 10 This is why I am writing these things while absent, so that when I am there I may not have to deal harshly with you, in keeping with the authority the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send you greetings.
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Paul ends his letter with a clear statement of the Trinity. The world “trinity” is not in the Bible but the Triune God certainly is. God is three persons and one being. We are one person and one being. We cannot understand this kind of being but that is understandable because he is God. How could our minds hope to contain someone who is far, far greater than ourselves? If our minds could contain him then he would be less not more than we are. Why do you think Paul ends this letter in this way? Look at the words he uses… “grace of Jesus, “Love of God”, “fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” Those are relational words. Healthy relationships live in grace, and love and fellowship. The Triune God has lived in eternal relationship within his own being. Now, as we live in relationship with him we are positioned to live with one another in ways that are full of grace, love and fellowship. If these things are missing from your relationships, AND you have the opportunity to make things right then you absolutely MUST do so. Do not delay, do what you can do to restore relational health to your life.