Gospel
It is about what God has done and nothing we have earned. God has always had a plan to restore us to what we were created to be- people made in His image, joyfully living under His loving rule and blessing because of what Christ did on the cross (died for our sins, buried and raised on the third day). The bible is for my benefit and makes my heart glad! We are sinners (who constantly fall to self centeredness, envy, greed, rebellion, lust, exploitation of others, etc) who rebel against God's good plan and can be saved from God's wrath. We then become children of God and members of His family, the church, and partners with all the saints for the sake of this Gospel. We either try to run our lives our own way and reject God as ruler or submit to Jesus as Lord and rely on his death and Resurrection.
Submission
This has become a term that is now offensive and trashed in our culture. Christians are called to willingly and cheerfully submit to what we know and trust about God. Jesus did just that as he came in the flesh and dwelt among us. He had to pray in order the obey the Father, and the Father heard His prayer because of His reverent submission. We need to be like Jesus who knew His identity- where He came from, where He was going, and His purpose on earth! The difference with Him is that He was also all powerful but his humility was shown when He came to die for us! This will bring us joy- to daily choose God's ways over our own and submit to His loving rule and order.
Prayer
Prayer bends our will to God's will. It is the source of power for growth and perseverance. Meditation brings about revival, wisdom, and increased faith. Confession and repentance should happen whenever we sin and on a regular basis through thought, word, and deed! It restores our relationship with Him and brings us back into His favor rather than being distant and avoiding Him. I need to work against my wandering mind and pursue peace and quiet often so I can make my prayers more frequent/on-going and fervent. This way I can always ask to resist temptation, for wisdom, power, self restraint, protection of others, growth, and conviction! Praise God for the Holy Spirit that prays on our behalf and joins me in what I ought to pray for! May my every petition be a reflection of my yielding every part of my personality, ambition, relationship, and hope to God! Through this I hope to more so revere and adore my Lord and give thanks to His worthy self.
Worship
My goal is and should always be that God be pleased and glorified by what I do. As for the church gathering- when we sing, pray, listen, and submit to the teaching of God's work- unity and fellowship will naturally follow as the evidence of the generous grace of God. May my worship be God centered, Christ centered and Word Centered! May whatever happen on Sunday equip me to serve God throughout the rest of the week
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