ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS COMPLETELY FREE The freedom of God, is also called divine freedom. God is not constrained by anyone other than Himself. He does what He pleases and therefore He is always free. He is not bound to the dictates of anyone else. He does make promises which obligate Him to do certain things, but He makes those promises voluntarily.
Psalm 135:6 The Lord does whatever He pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths.
Praise God for His Divine Freedom
Praise God that He cannot be manipulated. Praise God that He always acts according to His good, just, wise, and loving nature. Praise God for the specific ways that He has freely acted in your life.
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 Austin and Jenni. Ask God to encourage them and their family. Pray for God to give them opportunity to proclaim the truth of the gospel.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Timothy 1 – New International Version
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thanksgiving
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Examples of Disloyalty and Loyalty
15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Paul’s perspective as he wrote 2 Timothy was a rough Roman prison cell, little more than a stone cave. But that was his “physical view” of the world. His mental and spiritual view was much more expansive. He “sees” with his mind’s eye what God has done in eternity past and into the eternity future. He remembers what God has done in his own life. He remembers how he used to persecute the church, and with regret, the lives he hurt. He remembers, most importantly, how he has been forgiven. His conscience is clear, not because he has done no wrong, but because he has been redeemed. What is your current physical view of the world? A bedroom? An office? Can you see out the window? Whatever you see with your physical eyes, you can’t see much. But what are you looking at with your mind’s eye? God has given you imagination– use it right now. Not to imagine unreal things, but real things that are fantastic and can stretch your perspective. Imagine the very small, the quantum reality that the universe is made of. Imagine the very large, the universe itself. Now imagine the God whose mind and power made all this. He has always been, he will always be. He is involved in your life now. Don’t let “prison cells” of your own making, or even of your life circumstances beyond your control limit your perspective. See, by God’s help, the big picture.