ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS TRUE The God revealed in Scripture is real, and all other gods are idols. The God of the Bible is the one true God and not a god among others. He is the one and only.
Jeremiah 10:10–11 – The Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. . . . The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.
John 17:3 Jesus says to the Father, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Praise God that He is the Only True God.
Praise God that his power is unmatched. Praise God that He is not one of many gods to choose from. Praise God that he has made himself known and revealed his uniqueness in the bible.
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 Sarah H. Ask God to encourage her and use her as she serves overseas.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Ephesians 2 New International Version
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ
11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Have you changed? For the better or the worse? Are you frustrated or disappointed with your progress as a Christian? Do you ever think you have changed then suddenly, and sadly, the “old you” is fully back in control? Does this make you doubt the reality of transformation in Christ? Does it make you doubt God altogether? Does it make you just doubt yourself? “Am I really a Christian?” “Am I just not the kind of person that God can change?” Have you believed that your salvation is largely or completely “post-death”? Do you believe that when you get to heaven then the real impact and benefits of salvation will appear, until then you are pretty much the same as everyone else? Do you wonder why the church doesn’t do more? Do you wonder why the church frequently doesn’t get along or work together? Are you angry or confused by Christians leaders who fail? That is a lot of questions, isn’t it? (That was another question.) What other questions do you have about Christian transformation or lack of it? Here’s your assignment today. Take those questions to God. Not as accusations but as genuine questions. Ask him to open your eyes this week to the reality of transformation in Christ and not just when you die. Ask him to open your eyes this week to the beauty and power of his body, the local church.