ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS GOOD God is the final standard of good, and that all that He is and does is worthy of approval. Here are a few passages that speak of God’s goodness:
- “No one is good but God alone” (Luke 18:19).
- The Psalms frequently affirm that “the Lord is good” (Psalm 100:5).
- “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” (Psalm 106:1).
- “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8).
Praise God that He is Good
Goodness comes naturally from God’s person. Praise him that HE IS GOOD and not just that He does good. He puts no effort into goodness. He just IS GOOD. Praise him that all that he has made and done is good.
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 Amelia. She is settling into her new life overseas. Ask God to give her direction and strength and she serves.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Thessalonians 4 & 5 New International Version
Living to Please God
As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Believers Who Have Died
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The Day of the Lord
Chapter 5 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Final Instructions
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
How much time do you spend reading about/thinking about the future? Maybe your thinking about the future takes the form of preparation, or planning. Perhaps it is pure curiosity or mostly worry. There is, of course, something healthy about considering the future. But we can become imbalanced if we go overboard on the future. We can move from a healthy approach to the future that will include appropriate preparation and consideration to an unhealthy approach which involves too much speculation and even fear and anxiety. The Bible offers a healthy balance in this. We are to live with humility and faith, knowing that we cannot control all future outcomes and knowing that God does control the future. We are to live with proactive confidence because we know that God controls the future. Because we know God and we know that he is in control we are empowered to trust him with the future and obey him the present. Read articles that predict the future of COVID, or Russian, or the stock market, or the Super Bowl…if you enjoy it and are helped by it. But do not allow your thoughts of the future rob you of peace, faith, and obedience in the present. Maybe you would be helped by spending at least as much time reading Scripture this week as reading or listening to the news. Give it a try and pay attention to how it impacts your heart and mind.