ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS SELF-SUFFICIENT God has no needs, cannot improve and does not change. We, on the other hand, as created beings rely completely on God for our every breath.
1 Corinthians 4:7
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
Praise God for His Self Sufficiency
Reflect on God’s self-sufficiency by considering your own dependence. Make a list of all the things you have that you did not receive. You can’t. Everything you have (food, strength, oxygen, consciousness, personality, relationships…) all come from God. You need God, but he is fully self satisfied and self-sufficient. Speak words of praise to him because he is self-sufficient.
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. Ask God to encouragement her, guide her, and use her as she serve overseas.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Timothy 4 New International Version
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
“Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is attitude, effort is action.” Dallas Willard
As you reflect on your own faith journey, have you found it more difficult to continue to exert proper effort in your walk with Christ or to resist the temptation to see your efforts as a means of meriting God’s favor? Perhaps you have been able to maintain a proper balance, but most people struggle one way or the other. Some (based-on personality and past experiences) find it difficult to continue to work hard at the things that are necessary to grow in faith and love. Perhaps they “assume” on God’s grace and feel like no effort is required on their part. Others go the opposite direction. They are prone to feel continually unworthy and that they need to work to try and earn God’s love. Maybe you occasionally shift back and forth between a coasting and an earning mentality. It is very important to think deeply about the need for balance in this area of your life. You cannot earn what is a gift. You must work hard at that which is your opportunity to enjoy this great gift.