ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD CREATED EVERYTHING – The whole of creation came into existence through the will and power of God.
Revelation 4:11 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being
John 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Praise the Creator God
Praise and Thank God for His good creation. Praise Him that He created solely through His will and power. Give praise to Him for specific aspects of His creation.
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 your unchurched friends. Ask God to give you opportunity to have gospel conversations.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Thessalonians 1 – The Message
I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God’s amazing grace be with you! God’s robust peace!
Convictions of Steel
2-5 Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you’re in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father. It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn’t just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions.
5-6 You paid careful attention to the way we lived among you, and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!—taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble.
7-10 Do you know that all over the provinces of both Macedonia and Achaia believers look up to you? The word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word, not only in the provinces but all over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say anything anymore—you’re the message! People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you could embrace and serve God, the true God. They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of his Son, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescued us from certain doom.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Today, consider the work of God that you have seen evident in the lives of others. Maybe it is just a very small bit of growth. Perhaps you might see much that still needs to change in someone’s life but today, pay attention to what has already changed. Consider those things and write a letter, text or email now to one or more people. It doesn’t matter that they might know this is a devotional “assignment.” It will encourage them to know that as you considered the work of God in the lives of your friends, they came to your mind. Okay, consider…and write. Who knows how God will encourage a heart through you today.