Don't forget

We can all be forgetful sometimes, Pastor Wes Collins told students at Wednesday's chapel. We can forget we already told someone that story, we can forget to do our chores, we can forget to do our homework, or we can forget to read the Bible.

Often, we are forgetful because we are distracted -- by fun things like television or video games. But fortunately God has given us a reminder in Deut. 8:19 (which is today's memory verse): "If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that surely you will be destroyed."

Deuteronomy 8 also explains why it's important not to forget God: because God has not forgotten us and because forgetting God makes our hearts proud, he said.

Collins said the proud heart is like the sin-hardened heart of Tuesday's message -- closed off and black. And he said God's warning about destruction still applies today.

Collins said it sounds like a scary verse but it actually "has God's grace written all over it."

Students applauded and Collins gave props to student Ben P. for his thoughtful and profound explanation for how the verse actually gives hope: because God cares about us.

Just as God sent Jonah with a dire message to warn the Ninevites, God warns us, Collins agreed.

"If God didn't love the Ninevites, he wouldn't have sent Jonah. And if God didn't love you so much he wouldn't be giving you the heads-up that you are driving your car off a cliff," Collins said.

So how do we remember the Lord? Collins tested the students with a quiz on great quotations (see the quiz below). He said the quotes are inspiring but the most inspiring quote of all came from "a red-neck from Louisiana" who never went anywhere without his Bible because he wanted to remember the Lord.

We can remember the Lord through praising and through prayer, Collins said, but one of the best ways is to read God's word -- daily. Collins said it's important to develop the discipline of making a daily connection with God's word because you have to understand it, you have to be able to find your way around it, and you need to be able to see the entire picture of God's message. Simply reading daily devotionals is not as good as being in God's word, he said.

"Devotionals are good, but they should not replace using the actual book," he said. Collins also said he prefers a printed book over a Bible app, because a book you can hold in your hands allows you to underline, write notes and revisit passages. Bible apps on electronic devices can give you access to easy distractions "but if you are able to use an app and not get distracted, go for it."

Collins said get a Bible in a size, colour and translation you like, and get into the habit of reading it every day. Make the reading time pleasurable and fun, and consider reading a book from beginning to end rather than random verses "so that you can get into the story and you want to find out what happens next."

And when you don't understand something, "get help," he said.

"Often I have no idea what is going on, I can have so many questions. But I always know there is someone else who knows more than me."

But the most important thing is doing it daily, he said.

"Pick a time that works for you and be consistent. And you only have to read one verse. It's better to read one verse every day than read a whole chapter on Saturday, because we are talking about getting into a habit."

A student praise team led in worship with Forever Reign, Great I Am and Build Your Kingdom Here.

We also prayed a prayer of thanks and blessing on members of the Senior Boys' Volleyball Team heading to OFSAA in North Bay.

Here's Build Your Kingdom Here.

 

Are you smarter than a high school student?

As part of Wednesday's message, Collins also challenged students with a brain teaser, testing their knowledge of famous and inspiring quotes and their sources.

Here are the ten famous quotations. See how many you know. The answers are at the bottom.

1. You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

2. Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

3. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

4. You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.

5. There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.

6. It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.

7. You don’t need a license to drive a sandwich.

8. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

9. If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.

10. “There’s three things that I travel with.... one of them is this cup..... the other is a GALLON jug of tea.... and then the final and most important thang..... is the Bible.  I never leave home without them three things.”

Answers

1. Christopher Columbus 2. Benjamin Franklin 3. Walt Disney 4. Wayne Gretzky 5. Aristotle 6. Abraham Lincoln 7. SongeBob SquarePants 8. Chinese Proverb 9. Vincent VanGogh 10. Silas Robertson, better known as Uncle Si on the television show Duck Dynasty