We live in a day when everyone has such busy schedules that it has become a huge struggle for many to set aside time for things pertaining to God. Many have come to a place in their lives, where God has been forgotten. Many believers don’t even start their day with God in prayer and reading of His word. If our lives are so busy that we forget to give God the due prominence, we will soon come to a point where we get dissociated in our relationship with God. Have you noticed how we make time for those things that we think are important to us? We make time to be on social media to check WhatsApp or Face Book and we are always on schedule on matters that pertain to our work and well-being. If we continue this way, there is a danger that we will gradually become a generation that does not remember God, and for whom God becomes a nonentity.
We read in Psalm 77:11-12, “I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.” (KJV)
The Psalmist says in the above mentioned passage, “I will remember the works of the Lord.” Notice how he mentions three things about God; His works, His wonders and His doings, all of which he would remember, ponder and meditate upon. It is only when we read God’s word, and meditate on it will we truly understand who God is.
What are the works of God that we should remember?
• God Exists
In Genesis 1:1 we read, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”(KJV). The origin of this world, and everything in it is with God alone, for He alone was at the beginning.
So also in our lives, we must seek God and give Him the eminence as we begin each day. If we don’t discipline ourselves this way we may soon come to a place, where we even stop believing in the existence of God. Sadly many young people today have concluded that there is no God, and their premise is that, since they can’t see Him, they cannot believe He exists.
If we think about it, we don’t see the wind, but all of us believe it is there, because we feel it. A professor went to a little girl and told her ‘there is no God’ and when she questioned him as to why he believed so, he said, ‘you can’t see God, and we don’t believe anything that we can’t see with our eyes’. The little girl thought for a second and retorted back to the Professor, ‘Uncle, I don’t think you have brains.’ The professor was aghast, and asked her why she thought so, to which she replied promptly, ‘because I too can’t see it with my eyes’. There are many things that we believe in that we can’t see with our physical eyes, but when it comes to believing in God, sadly many demand for proof to do so.
If we take a moment to observe all of the created world, we will not doubt for a moment that there is a great creator God, who has created this world and sustains it. This world which was created thousands of years ago, is still a mystery to every scientist and scholar who are researching these things.
The wonders of God are all revealed in His word, and the more we read it, the better we understand who our God is. In times of hardships and confusion instead of running to men, we would be wise to run to the Lord, searching out His word, which can assuredly guide us and deliver us from all our trials.
We read in Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”(ESV) The word is clear-cut that only a foolish person will conclude that there is no God. There are those who may not openly declare that there is no God, but their life styles distinctly display the fact that they do not believe in the existence of God. For instance, this is evident when someone gets entangled in an extramarital affair, for they are outright denying the word of God which admonishes us against adultery. The Lord will never forcefully pull us out of some situations, because He has already given us explicit instructions in His word. When we choose to willfully disobey God’s word, oftentimes the Lord will remain silent.
When Eve took the forbidden fruit, the Lord was watching, but He did not prevent her from doing so, as He had plainly instructed Adam and Eve not to take and eat of it. God’s word is categorical that a man should not commit adultery. So, when David went ahead and disobeyed the word of God, God did not stop him, but David had to face all the consequences of his sinful action later on.
Our actions most vividly signify if we do believe in a God who is living and Almighty. That is why we must be cautious that in our relationships with the opposite gender, in matters pertaining to the use of social media or cell phones, we must constantly check to see if we are walking in obedience to God’s word, and living in ways that glorify God alone.
• God is the originator of this world
Everything began with God, and He alone is the creator of the world, and all that is in it. Many do not want to accept that there is a God who exists, and that He is Almighty for fear of the fact that this would mean they stand accountable to Him.
We read in Colossians 1:16-17, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”(NKJV)
All things that are visible and invisible, seen and unseen were all created by God. When Jesus taught at the synagogue we read in Mark 1:24 a man with an evil spirit cried out saying, “What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God!”(BSB)
This was because the evil spirit inside the man recognized the Holy Spirit who was indwelling Jesus. Our physical sight is limited, but it is good to remind ourselves, that there is a spiritual world that our physical eyes are unable to see and envision. The spiritual world existed before this physical world was created, for it was God’s word that made into a reality, this physical world that we see and experience. As believers in the Lord Jesus we must be aware that not only is the Lord watching us, but there are principalities and powers of darkness also who are observing our lives. Everything that was created in heaven and on earth were all created through Christ, and for Christ alone.
There are lots of theories that have been promulgated to explain the origin of the world. There are some who believe that there was a chemical reaction billions of years ago. There are other theories that refer to a lightning, deep sea or glacier as the reasons for the origin of the earth. The most popular one however, that is being taught to children in schools is Darwin’s theory of evolution. Though this was not proved, children are being made to believe that they were not created by God, but evolved from monkeys. Observe how the thought of God and godliness is progressively and deliberately being erased from the minds of our children.
The responsibility of parents
This is one of the reasons why Christian parents have the great responsibility to teach the word of God to their children. We take enormous efforts to encourage our children to excel in their academics, but it is far more important to teach them to be outstanding in their knowledge of God and His word. We make school attendance compulsory for our children, but often make church and Sunday school optional. Education is good for our children for their life here and now on this earth. But, for their souls to be saved, to live on with God in eternity, the word of God, and their relationship with God is paramount. Let us give preeminence to teaching the word of God to our children, lest they grow up to become those who even deny God’s existence.
For instance, if one generation chooses to give God an hour and a half on Sundays alone, having no time for him all through the week, the next generation will be content to give God just three days in a year, namely be at church on Easter, Christmas and New Year. The generation that follows them will maintain their church membership for convenience sake, to conduct all their ceremonies, and the next generation will completely forget about God.
If we fail to teach and disciple our children when they are young and lead them to the Lord, it will become an indomitable task later on. When we study the life of Moses, he was a nursing baby when he was handed over to his mother by Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses was just weaned and then sent back to the palace to grow up as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. However, in those brief years Moses spent with his mother, she instilled such godly teaching that Moses knew for certain who he was, and understood his purpose and calling. Children are most receptive to the word when they are very young, and it our duty as parents to teach our children all we can about God and His word at that tender age.
Here’s the instructions of God in Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children” (KJV)
The word of God must primarily be rooted in our hearts. Our children must observe us reading and meditating the word of God. We must diligently teach our children the word of God. Many are content with just reading a few selective Psalms or just a verse or two a day. We should discipline ourselves to read the word of God, as much as we can. Someone said, ‘a well-read bible is the sign of a well-fed soul’. Only if we read the bible and enjoy meditating on it, will our children be motivated to follow suit. When challenged with difficulties many are tempted to complain, simply because the word of God is not ingrained in their hearts. It is the promises in God’s word that encourage us, and guide us through all the harrowing experiences in our lives.
As we keep hearing the word of God, our faith in God grows, for we read in Romans 10:17, “so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, he overcame all of the temptations entirely by declaring the word of God. As David says in Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”, our hearts must be replete with the word of God, so we can lead the holy lives that the Lord desires of us.
Each day has its own challenges, and it is only when we begin the day with God and His word that we have the assurance of His presence, guidance, counsel, exhortation for all that we encounter through the day. The more our hearts are filled with the word of God, we will find that God’s word through the Holy Spirit, will constantly remind us how to handle the various temptations and trials that confront us daily, enabling us to walk in triumph.
• God is the sustainer of this world.
In Colossians 1:17, we read, “And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.] (AMP)
God is the sustainer of this world. The world is not like a watch that God wound up and set it running. The question that may arise then is that if God is the one preserving the world, why is there still so much of trouble and chaos?
The world that God created with His word, was perfect and good in every way. God created Adam and Eve in His own image, and gave them a single commandment to not eat of the fruit, from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They disobeyed God out of their free will, which was the commencement of sin and trouble for all mankind. Man misused the freedom God gave him, and had to face the consequences of his disobedience. God did not stop Eve from taking the fruit from the forbidden tree, though He knew what Eve and Adam were doing, only because God respected the free will He had gifted to man. In spite of their disobedience, God still gave them hope and continues to uphold all of creation with His word.
Man has mismanaged God’s creation, resulting in pollution, global warming, outbreak of various widespread diseases, man-made disasters, drought, floods, earthquakes etc., all of which man is now trying desperately to set right. Despite this fact, if it were not for God and His sustaining power, nothing would exist in this world.
As we recall Psalm 77:11-12, “I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.” (KJV). Daily let us remember the wonderful works of God; the awesome truth that God exists, that He is the originator of this world, that He out of His immense love sustains this world, and all of us.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
