Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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KNOWING YOUR FATHER’S GOD
1 Chronicle 28: 1-9

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”
1 Chronicle 28:9
When King David had grown old and knew he was dying, he called together his officials, military commanders, and “mighty men” in his kingdom to hear his last words.  Among the men assembled that day was his son Solomon, whom God had designated to succeed David as king.  The advice David gave that day was of great significance, not only for Solomon, but also for all of us.  Let us see what David had to say to his son, Solomon:

(1)   Son, acknowledge your father’s God and you should know Him as the God who forgives sins.  We must acknowledge and accept our fathers’ God as our own God.  We must maintain the legacy that has been passed on to us.  A study by the Pew Foundation called the Religious Landscape Survey found out that more that 25 percent of Americans have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion at all. If we factor in the moves from one denomination to another, the number rises to 44 percent.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). 

(2)   You should know Him as the God who loves you.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”     (John 3:16) It is said that in 1911 the mighty Niagara Falls once stopped flowing due to blockage caused by icing during an extended very cold winter.  It is estimated that 0.567 million liters of water flows through the American side of Niagara Falls every second and 2.27 million liters of water flows through the Canadian side every second.  Gone was the rainbow caused by the mist that had ascended into the sunlight.  Gone also was the frightening roar of the waves as they crashed to the bottom of the falls.  Even the mighty Niagara Falls could stop flowing, but God’s love will never stop flowing!

(3)   Son, serve your father’s God.  If we were to tell our children to serve the same God we had served in life, would they know who we are talking about?  It is not just enough to know or acknowledge God, but we must serve Him. We must serve him with a perfect heart.  A perfect heart is one that is not divided.  We cannot love God and His kingdom as well as loving this world and its pleasures.  Serve God with a willing mind.  To serve with a willing mind means to serve God with joy.  Serve your father’s God because the Lord searches the heart.  Serve your father’s God because the Lord rewards.  If we seek Him, He will be found.  God will make himself known to us if we seek Him.  If we do not serve God, God will cast us off forever.

 

Prayer: Our heavenly father, forgive my sins, the sins I have done to please myself and the sins I have done to please others. Help me to serve you and seek you in truth and spirit. Amen!

Mathew P. George

St. Johns MTC, New York

 

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