ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS SELF-SUFFICIENT
All things are God’s to give, and all that is given is given by Him. He can receive nothing that He has not already given us.
Acts 17:24-28
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. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Praise the Self-Sufficient God
You rely on God for everything. Praise Him because He is self-reliant. Praise Him that He gives freely. Confess your reliance on Him.
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 Christian Challenge as they meet through the Summer. Ask God to strengthen their community and challenge them in their faith.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Hebrews 4 – The Message
When the Promises Are Mixed with Faith
4 1-3 For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we’ll experience that state of resting. But not if we don’t have faith. Remember that God said,
Exasperated, I vowed,
“They’ll never get where they’re going,
never be able to sit down and rest.”
3-7 God made that vow, even though he’d finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it’s written, “God rested the seventh day, having completed his work,” but in this other text he says, “They’ll never be able to sit down and rest.” So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David’s psalm, centuries later than the original invitation:
Today, please listen,
don’t turn a deaf ear . . .
8-11 And so this is still a live promise. It wasn’t canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn’t keep renewing the appointment for “today.” The promise of “arrival” and “rest” is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we’ll surely rest with God. So let’s keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience.
12-13 God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.
The High Priest Who Cried Out in Pain
14-16 Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
We are to “Hold fast to our confession.” Our confession is a historical confession that’s based on faith—it’s grounded in the incarnation that took place in space, time, and history. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact. Our great high priest is none other than Jesus! Jesus—the Son of God—Who has gone through the heavens and is seated at the right hand of God, makes it possible for us to hold fast to our confession. Jesus—our great high priest—knows that we are weak. He knows how great our temptations are, because He Himself “has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus knew depths and pains we can never know, precisely because he did not sin! No human was ever tempted like Jesus was! Jesus identifies with us because he experienced a full range of temptations throughout his life as a human being. We can be comforted knowing that Jesus faced all our temptations and can sympathize with us. We can be encouraged because he did not give in to sin and thus shows us that we can overcome the seductive lure of temptation. Every time we resist temptation, we become more like Jesus. Is there something that’s keeping you from completely trusting Christ? Take it to him today, ask him to help you. (Adapted from Life Application Study Bible)