ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
OMNIPRESENT Just as God is unlimited or infinite with respect to time, so God is unlimited with respect to space. God doesn’t have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being.
Jeremiah 23:23–24
“‘Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ says the Lord. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord”
Psalm 139:7-8
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
Praise God for His Omnipresence
Where are you right now? Wherever you are, God is there. Where do you plan to be later today? God will also be fully present in that place. Think about all the places you might go to today or all the rooms in your house. Praise God that He is and will always be present everywhere.
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 Embrace. Ask God to use their ministry to protect unborn children.
- Ask God to speak to you as you read the scriptures.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Thessalonians 2 English Standard Version
Paul’s Ministry to the Thessalonians
2 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
Paul’s Longing to See Them Again
17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
One of the topics that Paul discusses often in his letters is the importance of not being “people pleasers.” This of course doesn’t mean we should not be pleasant or that we should be unconcerned with the needs and desires of others. We are to put the interests of others ahead of our own, so clearly we live our lives in ways that “please others.” People pleasing is about making what others think of us the prime consideration of our words and actions. Instead of asking first…what does God want from me? Then asking…what is best for this person, what do they need from me? We ask…what can I do to make this person happy or keep them from being unhappy with me? Again, that in itself is not bad unless it becomes the engine that drives our lives. If you try to live to please people you will never be a happy person. In addition you will quickly discover that you cannot achieve that goal. Pleasing people is like aiming at a moving target. Even if you hit the bullseye one day you will find that the bullseye has changed tomorrow. This is a difficult tension to hold. How do we put the interests of others first while not living by the whims and demands of others? The starting point is to decide up front that you will, as best you can, live for the applause of God. If that earns you praise or condemnation from others, then so be it. This is a difficult and courageous way to live. But I suspect it is much more difficult to live otherwise.