ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
God is TRANSCENDENT
God is not simply the highest in an order of beings (this would be to grant Him eminence). He is transcendent—existing beyond and above the created universe.
Psalm 113:4-5
The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,
Praise the Transcendent God
Praise Him because He is beyond understanding. Praise Him because He created our universe, but He transcends time and space. He exists beyond our world, but He still enters into our world.
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 new students attending WSU this semester. Ask God reveal himself to these students who have just moved away from home and are who just entering college.
SCRIPTURE READING:
James 3:13-18 – New Living Translation
True Wisdom Comes from God
13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
What masquerades as wisdom, bitter envy and selfish ambition, is earthbound, unspiritual and demonic. In the Bible there are three enemies that we face. These are known as “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” The world, of course, is not the physical cosmos, but human culture in opposition to God. As you hear or read news, you can see the evidence of the world as a force opposed to God. The flesh means our sinful natures, that also oppose God. Human hearts and minds that are not surrendered to God are what collectively make up the world in opposition to God. The devil is the spiritual, evil being who lives in complete opposition to God. He animates and cooperates with human sin to bring about cultural evil because of his hatred for God and humans. This all sounds quite dark. What hope do we have against such formidable enemies that are arrayed against us? If you consider these enemies apart from the gospel, then we have no hope all. All hope is gone if Christ has not risen from the grave. If you consider these enemies in the light of the cross and empty grave of Christ, then we have great hope. All three enemies will surrender fully and finally to Christ. Now as we live in a war-torn world with competing desires in our own hearts…war without and war within…we have hope still. Christ has come, Christ will come again, and Christ is taking more and more territory in our lives. True wisdom is gaining ground in the hearts and minds of those who love God. Transformation is your birthright as a Christian. Do not settle for anything less. You will suffer in this war. There will be forward movement and reversals as well. Be of good hope. Christ has overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. You are being renewed in Christ day by day as you walk. This is not merely a string of cliches, it is the very truth of God.