Hearing God’s Voice from His Word
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Take a moment and turn your attention to God. Tell God that you desire to trust and obey Him. Ask God to speak to you from His word.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 55:22-23
22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.
Read the Entire Psalm
Thank God for all the does in these verses. He hears your cares. He sustains. He won’t let the righteous be shaken. He judges the wicked. He is trustworthy. Ask Him to help you trust Him.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 John 2:28-3:10 – New Living Translation
28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.
29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
3 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanksgiving to God.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to you.
- Confess your sin to Him and receive forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”) - Bring your personal requests to God.
(Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before God”) - Pray for someone in your small group.
- Join with others from River and pray for those who do not know God. Ask God to help you see the lost people around you and have compassion for them. Ask God for opportunities to build trust. Ask God to give you opportunity to have gospel conversations.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
“See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children, and we are!” John’s choice of a word that is translated “see what” is a word that meant “of what country.” What John is saying here is “Where does this kind of love come from? It is not from around here!” This otherworldly love is such that we are called God’s children. We are probably used to hearing that phrase. It likely does little “emotionally” to you as you read it here. “Yeah, we are all God’s children.” There is one sense that is true, but more accurately we are all God’s creation, he rightly owns us. But the truth John is marveling at is that the one who has made us, who rightly owns us, has made us his children; we are his heirs. Again, perhaps that doesn’t move you. To be honest, I don’t “feel” anything as I write it. But this is a problem. It’s a problem for you and for me. The fact that we don’t cry out “what country does this love come from!” is part of our problem. We have become used to something that we cannot simply allow ourselves to take for granted. We must do the work to regain gratitude. We must do the hard mental work to recover wonder. We must recognize sin in our hearts that hides deep down in the darkness and whispers, “Yeah, but God owes you this. You deserve this and more.” Do you hear that whisper? I do, if I am honest. And that whisper is enough to shut down worship and wonder. What great love that Father has given us that we should be called God’s children! Recover wonder and worship at this great truth.