Remembering God, Part 3: In Song
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how do we, as parents, make sure that our family is all about remembering God? So far we’ve looked at remembering Him in the Word. This week I’d like us to look at the how and why of remembering God in song.
We learn in the book of Job that God our Maker “gives songs in the night.” The Psalmist reminds us over and over that God IS our song. In Nehemiah we see that choirs were assigned to sing at the dedication of the wall around Jerusalem. In Ephesians we are commanded to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. As the Israelites came up from the Red Sea their first response was to sing. So the evidence is overwhelming. We are to remember God in song. But why? Why not just the written or spoken word? Here are a few thoughts on why the Lord gave us music.
How many of you still sing your ABC’s? Who among us can recite the states and their capitals only in song? How many of us can easily recall a favorite song from our youth, word for word? If you are answering “no” to all of these then I’d like to know what planet you’ve been living on. Our Maker knows that music helps us remember. Imagine that.
Music goes beyond just a simple memory tool. It does something to us. It affects the way we respond to words.
If I were to read to you the lyrics of The Star Spangled Banner, it would probably not illicit much in the way of a physical or emotional response. Imagine now that I played for you a recording of Whitney Houston singing it at the Super Bowl. Goose bumps, teary eyes, and an overwhelming patriotic feeling, anyone? How about these lyrics from the song “Amazing Love” – ‘amazing love how can it be that you my King would die for me?’ When I read that, my mind understands the words but my heart is not engaged fully. Add music and a couple of hundred of us singing on a Sunday morning and I can’t get through the first verse without being choked up with awe and gratitude. Of course our Creator knows us perfectly and He knows that music has the unique ability to connect our minds to our spirits. For this reason music is a powerful way to meditate with ones whole being on the greatness of our God, His deeds, our salvation, His promises, and so much more. I encourage you to help your children take the example of the Apostle Paul when he said, “I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.”
Here are two practical ideas for helping your family remember God in song:
- When you are singing along to your favorite song, praise chorus, or hymn in the car or at home, take a minute to ask your children what they think the song means and where in scripture the words or ideas came from? Don’t let a teachable moment get away.
- Search out music that teaches, that recalls the greatness of God and the joy that we have in Him, that sings scripture, and fill your lives with it. The songs they learn now they will carry with them for their lifetime. Let it be a lifetime of remembering God in song.
Tune in next time when we talk about remembering God in our prayers.
Remembering God, Part 2: In His Word
In our introduction I began by laying out four things we risk when we do not remember who God is and all that He has done. These were:
- Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
In our exploration of remembering God, we’ll begin with his written revelation. God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history. As parents our most important duty in the kingdom is to take the words of God and, “Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history.
When Josiah, the child-king who reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years, was twenty-six years old, an amazing discovery was made during repairs to the temple. You can find the account in 2 Kings 22-23. Hilkiah, the high priest, found the Book of the Law in the Temple. There are a couple of interesting things to note here. First, the Book was “found” which means it had come into disuse, it was “lost,” it was not being read and proclaimed to the people. When the Book is given to Josiah he had apparently been unaware of its existence or what was written in it. At this time in Jerusalem the very Temple was filled with statues dedicated to other gods. On every high hill in the country there were altars to foreign gods where the people of Israel would sacrifice even their own children. This was a culture that had forgotten God’s Word, forgotten his covenant promises, forgotten who He was and what He had done to make them his people, and as a result, had fallen into the deepest, darkest pits of demonic idolatry. The second point of interest is Josiah’s reaction upon being exposed to the Holy Scriptures for the first time.
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, … “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”
Josiah’s response is one of repentance and a newfound zeal for the Lord. His heart was turned from idolatry and he was spared the discipline that the Lord would eventually bring on Judah.
There is a lesson to be learned here. God’s Word must hold an active and prominent place in our family life and in our homes. We cannot let it lapse into disuse because, if we do, inevitably something else will come in to fill that vacuum as it did in Jerusalem. It must be ever before us as a reminder. We are the spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Peter, Paul, and John. Children need to know where they came from if they are to understand where they fit into the bigger picture and where they are going. They need to have a sense of history and their place in it. They must understand where they fit in to God’s redemptive plan.
So how can we be a family of the Book? Every family is different but here are two ways straight out of the good Book itself that any of us can employ right away and to great affect (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
- Place the written word of God in strategic places throughout your home. These can be anything from a plaque over the door to the artwork on the wall to a white board by the breakfast table with a verse of the day. Select a verse that speaks to you about each of your children and place that prominently in their bedroom. Use notecards or sticky notes on the bathroom mirror or in their lunchbox. Whatever form it takes, fill your home with His Word.
- Make reading of the Word aloud part of your family routine. This could be as simple as having a new verse or passage to read at the dinner table each evening. If you have readers, allow them a chance to do the reading. Then give the family some time as you break bread together to discuss it. Even with pre-readers this can be a precious time and generate some great questions.
The most important thing we can do is lead by example. Show them how to approach God’s Word with respect, in prayer, and with the expectation that God will speak to you through it. Even if you think you are weak in this area you’d be surprised what your children are picking up on and how far a little faithfulness on your part will go.
Tune in next time when we talk about “Remembering God in Song.”
Remembering God, Part 1: Introduction
Why is it that God spends so much time in the Bible telling His children to “remember” Him?
I’d like to venture four reasons I believe are grounded in scripture and then, over the next several weeks, give you five practical and biblical ways to remember the Lord as a family. When we fail to remember God we risk…
- …Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
- …Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
- …Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
- …Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)
So how can we be a family that is all about remembering God? As we head toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, two big “reminders” built into our culture, I want to take some time to discuss each of the five ways, listed below, that God has ordained for us to remember Him, who He is, and all that He has done. I’ll also include some practical ways for us to incorporate these into family life.
- In His Word – God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history. As parents our most important duty in the kingdom is to take the words of God and, “Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
- In song – Remembering God in song is a theme we see in scripture over and over again. How wonderful it is that our Creator gave us music, knowing the power it has to help us remember as well as to connect our heads to our hearts and emotions.
- In prayer – Prayer should not only be about asking for help but about remembering to God all that He has done. When we thank God in our prayers we are “remembering” that God alone is responsible for providing our every need. (Nehemiah 9)
- In true Christian fellowship – Fellowship is much more than potluck dinners or bowling night. It is about gathering together to remember God to one another. (1 Corinthians 14:26)
- In traditions and memorials – Traditions and memorials are things that we, in the bible church movement have largely banished from the life of the church. While a healthy dose of caution about tradition becoming idolatry is warranted, the Bible is also clear that God has given us tradition and memorial to help us “remember” who He is and all that He has done. (Joshua 4:4-7, Luke 22:19)
I hope that these “reminders” will serve you well in making your home, for this holiday season and throughout the year, a place where you are remembering God for who He is and what He’s done. Tune in next time when we’ll look at what it means to remember God in his Word.
TRAIL GUIDE: Static on the Line
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 4: God answers prayer.
When our Internet connection or phone connection quality takes a dive, we typically begin a process of troubleshooting. We might start by rebooting. We then move to check all of our connections to confirm they are firmly in place. Then we confirm our settings and passwords. When that doesn’t work we’ll find a way to contact our service provider and pursue a solution until our connection is restored. What is our troubleshooting process when we sense that God is not hearing (by hearing, I mean in the active sense of hearing and responding) our prayers?
Our owners’ manual gives us some things to check on. In Psalm 66:18-19, the psalmist gives us the first and easiest place to look for trouble. “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” Is there some area of my life that I have intentionally held on to and not surrendered to Christ? Do I have some “pet sin” that I am trying to hang on to? Maybe that’s not the problem. Perhaps I have some unresolved issue with a brother or sister in Christ? According to Matthew 5:24 we should first reconcile ourselves to our brothers before we come into communion with the Lord. Another place to look for trouble is in the heart behind the prayer. James the brother of Jesus tells us that sometimes we don’t receive what we have asked of the Lord because our motives are wrong. Why are we praying the way we are praying? Are we really praying in keeping with God’s will or for some other purpose?
If all of these things check out, we need to remember what God promises in regard to prayer. He promises an answer (yes, no, or wait) and He promises peace. In Philippians 4:7, He says that when we present our requests to Him in thanksgiving we will receive his peace regardless of the answer. Where God’s sovereignty and the prayers of his people meet and work together is a mystery, but of this we can be sure, prayer molds our relationship with God, prayer moves God to action and prayer changes things. This is the great privilege of the believer, to enter in to the presence of God and participate in the eternal purposes of God in prayer. “So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.. -James 5:16
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Philippians 4:6-7
Matthew 5:24
Psalm 66:18-19
James 4:3, 5:16
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.
TRAIL GUIDE: Confident Prayer
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 3: God answers prayer.
Confident prayer flows from a personal, experiential trust in the character of God. Trusting that God will answer your prayers, and always in the very best way possible, begins with the knowledge of the revealed character of God in scripture. “As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” (2 Sam. 22:31)
Scripture is clear; God answers the prayers of his people when they turn their hearts toward him. But how does He answer? What can we expect?
Consider these questions as you prepare your heart this week to lead your students. Would our God be good if He gave us what we asked for even if it was not the best? Would He be a loving Father if He gave us that which would, in the end, do us harm or send us on a detour from His perfect plan?
While the answers to these questions seem clear theoretically, we still struggle with them in practice. Especially when what we’ve asked for seems good and right to us. The truth is that what we ask for may in fact be good and right but not best and not God’s will in that circumstance.
Accepting the fact that God is more interested in our character than He is in our comfort, and believing in His goodness even when it doesn’t seem good to us, is a very real part of the Christian walk, a critical feature of a Christian worldview, and one that we must teach the children early before the storms of life come to shake their faith.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God… -1 John 5:14a
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Jeremiah 33:3
Ephesians 3:20
Matthew 7:11
James 1:17
Isaiah 55:9
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.
TRAIL GUIDE: In Jesus’ Name
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 2: God answers prayer.
“…In Jesus’ name…” We throw those words on to the end of our prayers as though they were a postage stamp or magical phrase that will result in our prayers being answered. I am as guilty as the next guy in this regard. “In Jesus’ name” has become just as rote as saying, “amen” at the end of a prayer. It is interesting to consider that “in Jesus’ name” does not appear at the end of any prayers in the Bible. So what does it mean to pray, “in Jesus’ name,” and why is it the key to answered prayer?
Thinking about the answer to this question brought to mind an incident that occurred some years ago. I was suffering with a kidney stone. Those of you who have had one will attest to the agony. I went to a hospital where I sat (or rather, writhed) in pain while the receptionist asked me about my address, my insurance, and my medical history. She then informed me that I had to wait for admittance even though there were apparently no other patients in the waiting area in as much pain. I asked her to reconsider, but to no avail. Then something happened. A good friend of mine, who also happened to be a doctor – and, at the time, the Mayor of the city we were in – came through the front door. When he saw me there, doubled over on the floor, he took my hand, told the receptionist he was taking me into the attending room and admitting me immediately in his name. The receptionist just nodded in disbelief as I was whisked past her and into the hospital where I was attended to quickly and courteously all at the direction of my friend, the Mayor. It pays to know people in places of authority, and as Christ-followers we have access to the highest of all authority. To pray “in Jesus’ name” is to come before the Father in the authority of the Son. This is not a little authority either. Jesus said that, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” All authority is just that – all.
We will be exploring with the children this week what it means to pray in the authority of Jesus and the importance of the “will” of God in those prayers. As you meditate on our passages and theme for this week consider how you might communicate these truths from your own life stories.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God… -1 John 5:14a
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
John 15:7
1 John 5:14-15
Matthew 26:36-42
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.
TRAIL GUIDE: Your Father Knows
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
FIVE BY FIVE*, LESSON 1: God answers prayer.
Smart phones, satellite phones, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, text messages, LinkedIn… and on it goes. We live in the most communicative era of human history. We will go to great lengths to facilitate quick, clear, on-demand communication with whomever, whenever we want. And when we lose connectivity? Look out. We want faster and clearer communication every day and we won’t tolerate downtime or poor connections. The demand has created a telecommunications industry valued in the trillions of dollars worldwide.
With our insatiable appetite for communications, why is it that when we address prayer, communicating with our God, we have so much trouble? There are books, seminars, systems, and campaigns, and yet we struggle both in theory and in practice when it comes to communicating in prayer with our Lord. Maybe it is because we don’t know how it works. Of course, for most of us, the same could be said about our smartphones – but that doesn’t stop us from using up the minutes like there’s no tomorrow.
I think it is more likely that we struggle because, in our heart of hearts, we are depending on ourselves and our gifts and talents to carry us through. But this is an illusion, for when we stop and recognize the truth, in light of God’s Word (Romans 12:6, Deut. 8:18), it is God who gives us those abilities in the first place. “In Him we live and breathe and have our being,” so we are in utter, constant dependency on God for everything, no matter how great or small, whether we recognize it or not. Prayer is our recognition of that dependency, an expression of our trust in Him, and a key to unlocking God’s transformative power in our daily lives through close fellowship with Him. It is how we can, “with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18) and be changed forever. God’s Word is clear. Our God is a prayer-hearing, and prayer-answering God – a wonder-working God!
…Your Father knows what you need… -Matthew 6:8b
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
2 Chronicles 7:14
Matthew 6:5-15
Matthew 7:7-12
Hebrews 4:16
*What does “5 by 5” mean? In spoken communication over two-way radios, a transmitting station may request a report on the quality of signal they are broadcasting. “Five by five” means a signal that has excellent strength and perfect clarity — the most understandable signal possible.
TRAIL GUIDE: Safe, But Never the Same
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
ON BELAY, LESSON 3: Jesus saves and no one can take you from Him
“If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
This is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. We can find this truth foreshadowed in the events of the Old Testament and these shadows of what was to come are helpful to our understanding. Just as Noah was safe from the flood of judgment in the ark, and Israelites pursued by avengers could be safe within cities of refuge, so it is with us when we are found in Christ. Jesus welcomes us in to abide with Him where we can benefit from the price He paid for our sins. There in Christ we are covered and protected from the judgment that was ours to bear because He bore it for us.
But there is another way in which we are in Christ that adds an additional dimension and benefit to the believer. Jesus says that He is the vine and we are the branches – that when we abide in Him, we draw new life from the vine and bear good fruit. In fact, we become one with the vine. It is true that in Christ we are safe from judgment, but it is also in Christ where we die to our sins in his death and are raised again to new life with Him in his resurrection. In Him we have new life, a new way of thinking, and a new attitude towards ourselves, our sin, and our God. We are and are becoming new creatures altogether in the safe harbor of Christ. What wonderful news to communicate to our children, that in Jesus they are loved and forgiven and transformed and secure in God’s grasp. Even if we lose our grip, He won’t lose his.
Behold, I am making all things new. -Revelation 21:5a
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
2 Corinthians 5:17
2 Corinthians 3:18
Romans 6:1-4, 7:4
TRAIL GUIDE: A Solemn Declaration
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
ON BELAY, LESSON 2: Jesus saves and no one can take you from Him
What is the purpose of testimony? Testimony is the solemn declaration usually made orally or in writing by a witness either in a courtroom under oath or elsewhere. Its purpose is to provide information on which to base a decision. Our memory verse, 1 John 5:11-2, begins with these words, “And this is the testimony…” Whose testimony? God Almighty’s testimony. His testimony, or solemn declaration, is that eternal life can only be found in his Son and be had only through his Son. We have already established that God is trustworthy so we know that the testimony is true. What decision then must be made based upon this information? Why did God give us this testimony?
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)
This is the good news! God’s testimony is that we are sinners, separated from Him (Isaiah 59:2), that we can in no way work our way to Him but can only be reconciled to Him by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), that He made this possible through the sacrificial and substitutionary death of his Son (1 Peter 1:8), and that because his Son was raised from the dead we can be part of God’s family by receiving Jesus Christ as our Savior (John 1:12). This is God’s solemn declaration and the foundation for life eternal.
But these are written that you may believe… -John 20:31
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
John 20:31
Isaiah 59:2
Ephesians 2:8-9
1 Peter 1:8
John 1:12
TRAIL GUIDE: Daddy’s Got You
The “Trail Guide” devotional is used by our adult leaders of grade school groups in Quest as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for the topics we will be covering with the children on the weekend. We have made them available here to help our parents of grade-schoolers engage with their children around the topics we are discussing and also for anyone else that might be blessed by following along.
ON BELAY, LESSON 1: Jesus saves and no one can take you from Him
To live a truly eternal life, eternal both in quality (in God’s eternal presence and with His eternal purpose) and in duration (we will never perish), we must understand and place our confidence in God’s assurances to us. An assurance is God’s pledge, His guarantee for His children born of the Spirit through Christ. While there are experiential or subjective ways for us to get a clue as to our salvation and place in God’s family, our love for the church and the things of God (1 John 2:15, 3:14), and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) among them, it is only God’s “testimony,” His solemn declaration through His Word, that stands as our objective proof of the assurance we have that, when we have believed and received His gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus, we are secure in his hands.
Why is it so important to know we are firmly held in the Father’s hands? From our childhood most of us can remember hearing these words, “Come on, Daddy’s got you.” If you are like me you probably associate those words with an experience like standing on the edge of a swimming pool that seemed like a bottomless sea or sitting at the top of a slide that seemed like Mount Everest. As we looked down at those outstretched arms we did some very quick calculations. What has my experience been with this person up to now? Can I trust him? If our father was a trustworthy and loving father who had shown himself to have powerful arms (at least compared to ourselves) capable of catching us, we most likely took a deep breath and jumped. Experience shows us that over time our confidence level in this person grows and makes each subsequent jump easier until finally we are flinging ourselves, carefree into his arms. When Jesus says of the Father, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand,” He is saying, “This is my Father and, through me, your Father as well and He won’t let you fall. Jump. Daddy’s got you.” All of our other assurances in God are built upon this cornerstone. Confidence in God’s faithfulness begins here.
No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. -John 10:29b
MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
John 10:28-30
1 John 5:11-12
Psalm 145:13
Hebrews 10:23
Psalm 18:2, 62:2,6-7