Don’t Forget About God – September 26, 2022

Read: Amos 6:1-7

You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.
Amos 6:3

Don’t Forget About God

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

When you put things off, they almost always get worse. Maybe at your house, you have a place where all the toys get used, and you talk about “picking up the toys” or “keeping things tidy.” But maybe you say, “I’ll do it later.” That’s called “putting it off.” And when that happens, the whole room slowly becomes a disaster! That’s because if you don’t take care of things, they almost always get worse.

In the Bible, the same thing happened to God’s people, except it wasn’t that they didn’t keep their rooms clean… they forgot about… GOD! God had told his children that he would bless them as long as they would remember that he was the most important thing in their life, but they kept “putting off” God. You heard about them in the reading from the Bible. They had beds with ivory (that’s really expensive!). They had choice lambs and fattened calves (that’s really good food!). And they had all sorts of other really good things! Now, it’s not bad to have nice things, but it is bad when those nice things make you “put off” God.

Maybe you have really nice things in your life like a nice house, nice clothes, good food, or great toys. Those are good things… but if they make you “put off” God, then they are actually bad things!

Someday Jesus is going to come back to this earth, and when he does, all the nice things we have will go away. All that will be left will be us and Jesus. So, the Bible tells us to always be ready for that day by never “putting off” God. We need to remember that spending time with God is more important than spending time doing anything else!

But that’s hard to do, isn’t it? We might spend days without prayer, skip a week of worshiping God, or forget the devotions. We get so busy do everything else, we forget God! When that happens, say you’re sorry to God! And know that God forgives you and wants you to come to him because he always loves you. Your life is good because you have God.

And God is awesome. He loves you more than anyone else does. He never forgets about you. He always wants to hear your prayers. He will always be with you, even when you’re not very lovable. You won’t always have all the nice things you have, but you have God, and he will always be better.

Closing Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for your awesome love, even when we are not very lovable. Help us to remember you and the many good things you will give us in heaven one day. Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

• Give two ways to help you remember God.
• Give two reasons why remembering God is awesome.

Questions for Elementary Age Children

• What happens when we put off God?
• When we say we are sorry for “putting off God,” how does God respond?

Questions for Middle School and Above

• How could characters in a TV show or influencers on social media tempt you to “put off God?”
• Think how remembering God can be a great joy in your life rather than a burden.