ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS CREATOR The whole of creation came into existence through the will and power of God.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Psalm 139:14 “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Praise God the Creator
Praise God for his creative power. Praise Him for creating your mind and body. Praise Him for creating the world we live in. Take time and praise him for different aspects of creation.
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 encourage her and guide her.
SCRIPTURE READING:
James 4:4-10 – New International Version
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Are you happy? It’s good if you are. It’s okay if you are not. Maybe you aren’t sure how to define happy or what makes you happy. Maybe happiness is a feeling that comes and goes, more like a sense of well-being. Maybe music makes you feel happy or food or friends or a hobby. Perhaps you are happy when you serve others or when others bless you with words or actions. Happiness, however you define it or however it comes to you is not the problem. The problem is the absolute pursuit of happiness at any cost. This path is bound to make us very unhappy. Happiness as a byproduct of a well-lived life is good. But even if there is a time when happiness flees even though you are living a faithful life you must remained fixed on faithfulness and not fixated on your lack of happiness. “Meanwhile we groan, long to be clothed” Paul wrote the church at Corinth. This life will always include a measure, sometimes a very large measure, of “groaning” or pain. This life will not always bring happiness as a feeling or as favorable events. By all means, when possible and when faithfulness allows, fix the cause of unhappiness in your life. But do not make fixing unhappiness a life goal. You will fail. Not only will you ultimately fail but it is a foolish path. You will not reach your goal and you be less happy in the pursuit of that goal. There is no rebuke here for wanting to be happy, this a challenge to pursue being holy. That is good path and a goal that God will gladly empower you to obtain.