ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
Jesus is OUR INTERCESSOR Knowing our temptations, God the Son intercedes for us. He opens the doors for us to boldly ask God the Father for mercy. Thus, God is both the initiation and conclusion of true prayer. Hebrews 4:14-16
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Praise Jesus for Interceding
Praise Jesus that He knows your temptation. Praise Him for taking on flesh and experiencing human weakness. Praise Him that even though tempted,He did not sin. Praise Him for making a way for being a help in time of need.
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 unchurched friends. Ask God to give you opportunities to have gospel conversations with those who do not know Him.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Thessalonians 1 – Christian Standard Bible
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy:
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Judgment and Glory
3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, since your faith is flourishing and the love each one of you has for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, we ourselves boast about you among God’s churches—about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring. 5 It is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also are suffering, 6 since it is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels, 8 when he takes vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the Lord’s presence and from his glorious strength 10 on that day when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marveled at by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed. 11 In view of this, we always pray for you that our God will make you worthy of his calling, and by his power fulfill your every desire to do good and your work produced by faith, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified by you, and you by him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Since God’s word says people who don’t believe the gospel are destined for eternal separation from him shouldn’t we drop everything and do full-time missions or full-time evangelism? Well, what else does God’s word say? In fact in a letter to this very same church?
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
1 Thess. 4:11,12
Part of the problem at this church was that some believed that living faithfully in light of the second coming of Christ was to drop out of life. People quit their jobs and were just sort of “waiting around.” Paul challenged them to get busy with “normal” life. The way to live in a state of readiness is to live a life of faithfulness. It can be hard to find the right balance. How do we live “in the world” but not “of the world”? We must continually engage the resources of God to live this life of balance. We need to allow the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God to challenge us to faithful engagement. We will always need to continually “tweak” our life balance. Staying on track will always be a challenge. Commit to the process. Direction not perfection.