Blog

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 and remembering God in song. This post, I’d like us to look at how the people of God remember him in prayer.

How do we teach our children to pray? I know that all too often I fall into the pattern of thanking God for the day’s blessings, asking forgiveness, and making requests.  These are all biblical and worthy topics for prayer.  But when it comes to remembering God for who He is and all He has done, we want to have something more than short-term memory.

In the book of Nehemiah we find a beautiful example of prayer that truly remembers God in all His glory.  In the ninth chapter of Nehemiah the priestly Levites are leading a gathering of the people in worship after the wall has been rebuilt and many of the remnant of Israel have returned.  In verse five, they call on the people to stand. Then there begins a rather lengthy prayer.

I think that in this prayer we can find a model for remembering God.  First God is recognized for who He is.  “Blessed be your glorious name,” they begin.  “You alone are Lord.”  Many of God’s attributes are then declared in prayer.  He is praised as the creator of all things seen and unseen.  Immediately following this they begin recounting to God the history of His interaction with them beginning with Abraham. Miracle by miracle, grace by grace, blessing by blessing, they revisit God’s hand at work among them and their own failings throughout the relationship.  Wow!  It is based on this detailed memory that they are able to cry out to God in the end and say, we know we have failed, we have sinned, but You are compassionate and forgiving and we are turning back to You.  How sad it would be if no one present could remember any of it? Where would that have left them?

When it comes to remembering God for who he is and all he has done we want to have something more than short-term memory.

So how might our family emulate this example of memorable prayer?  Here are two ideas for you to consider.

1. Sit down as a family and record your family’s spiritual history.  Include when people were saved, God provided in a different or special way, answers to prayer, etc.  Go back as far as you can.  Hearing about how grandpa or grandma came to Christ is exciting and interesting for your children.  Include the failings as well, where age appropriate, but focus on how God worked through and in these struggles.
2. Pick a time when the family can gather for prayer and worship.  During your prayer time pray through your recorded history to God.  Remember back to Him, as the priests in Nehemiah, who He is, all that He has done in your relationship, and acknowledge Him.  Try to do this with some regularity, whether it’s once a month thing or something you do at a specific time of year.  You will also need to keep the story updated as God continues to work in and through your family.

Tune in next time when we talk about remembering God through fellowship.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.

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).

1. 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.
2. 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.”

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.

1. 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).
2. 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.
3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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.