Remembering God’s Mighty Deeds: A Look at Church History

ANN MARIE MO|GUEST Remember. Study. Meditate. Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly calls his people to remember all that he has done. Studying God’s past faithfulness help us to understand difficult providences today. Meditating on his mighty deeds invigorates our prayers so that we can plead along with the psalmist: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders” (Ps. 77:11–14). God commands us to give thought to his works of mercy and judgment because when we reflect on them, we behold his providence. Providence—God’s most holy, wise, and powerful governance over all creation, actions, and time—is one of those biblical truths we ought to reflect upon daily: thankful for God’s past providence, grateful for his provision today, and confident in his future care for all our needs. When we ponder God’s providence in Scripture and our own lives, our faith is strengthened and we remember that God is worthy of reflection. In addition, recalling God’s past providence helps us to face present adversity. Consider how reflecting on God’s former mercies strengthened David before he fought Goliath: “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam. 17:37). Simply put—God blesses reflection on his past deliverances. These recollections quicken our faith to persevere and grow through hard times. The act of remembering is not only a spiritual discipline for every Christian to cultivate but also a charge God gives us to pass on to the next generation. We are to tell our children “the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done . . . So that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments” (Ps. 78:4, 7). To pass down accounts of God’s enduring faithfulness, we can teach our covenant children church history. Studying chronicles of how God has defended, strengthened, and delivered his people through the ages is a thoughtful way to reflect on his mercies and judgments. Teaching Our Covenant Children Church History Among the many excellent resources available, Simonetta Carr’s Church History is a great place to start. In this visual encyclopedia, she invites young and not-so-young readers to come and behold God’s wondrous deeds. Arranged in nine parts, this hardcover book chronicles God’s faithfulness to his church....

Remembering God’s Mighty Deeds: A Look at Church History2024-01-28T01:30:25+00:00

A Look at the Classic Work, Divine Providence

ANN MARIE MO|GUEST Why do the wicked prosper? Why do the good suffer? Godly men in the Bible asked these questions. The prophet Jeremiah cried, “Why do all who are treacherous thrive? You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart” (Jer. 12:1–2). In our fallen world, inequality and suffering are the painful by-products of original sin; yet, God demonstrates that he sovereignly governs injustice and accomplishes his holy purposes through dark providences. Puritan Stephen Charnock observed: “Providence is mysterious because God’s ways are above our human methods. Dark providences are often a smoldering groundwork laid for some excellent design that God is about to reveal.”[i] Written over three hundred years ago, Charnock’s Divine Providence explores how God exercises a providence that is holy, wise, and good. To study God’s mysterious ways, the author bases this work on 2 Chronicles 16:9: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” Rendered in the King James Version, this verse reveals the purpose of God’s providence—“to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”...

A Look at the Classic Work, Divine Providence2023-03-24T17:22:19+00:00
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