Worthy of Worship,
Part I: God’s Power
Today’s Verse—Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock and my fort. He is the One
who saves me. My God is my rock. I go to him
for safety. He is like a shield to me. He’s the power
that saves me. He’s my place of safety.
The competitors stepped into the ring. In this corner, the prophet Elijah. In the other corner, 450 priests of Baal. One versus 450. It wasn’t going to be much of a fight, was it?
Actually, no. It wasn’t.
In 1 Kings 18, God punished Israel and its evil king, Ahab, with a famine. Because Israel worshipped a false god named Baal, God kept it from raining in Israel for three years.
Then God gave His servant Elijah an assignment. God told Elijah to challenge the priests of Baal to a contest. Elijah took 450 Baal priests with him to the top of a mountain and said, “Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves. Let them cut it into pieces. Then let them put it on the wood. But don’t let them set fire to it. I’ll prepare the other bull. I’ll put it on the wood. But I won’t set fire to it. Then you pray to your god. And I’ll pray to the Lord. The god who answers by sending fire down is the one and only God.”
The priests prayed to Baal all day. “Baal! Answer us!” they shouted. They danced around for hours. They shouted louder. But Baal never answered.
Then Elijah prepared the wood and bull for his own sacrifice. And he said, “Fill four large jars with water. Pour it on the offering and the wood.” Elijah had men pour water on the wood three times. How could wood this wet ever catch fire?
Loquacious Learning with Eugene
God’s power allows Him to create awesome things. Did you know that the farthest star you can see without a telescope is fourteen trillion miles away? So if you were to travel in some sort of space vehicle going one hundred miles an hour, it would take you approximately sixteen million years to get there! That’s quite a lengthy vacation. Stars visible only through a telescope are even farther away! The universe that God made is certainly a massive place. But God Himself is even bigger.
Then Elijah stepped forward and prayed. Then suddenly God sent down fire from heaven. It burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil. It even evaporated the water in the ditch!
The priests of Baal immediately proclaimed that Elijah’s God was the true God. The priests had seen God’s power at work and knew the truth. Then it started raining!
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We should worship God because of His awesome power!
Daily Challenge
Make a list of the top ten things you worry about: It could be homework, disagreements with your parents, or arguments with your siblings. How small are those problems, really? Pray about each concern on your list, and ask your powerful God to help you not worry about any of them.
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Worship Theme Memory Verse—Psalm 99:5
Honor the Lord our God. Worship at his feet. He is holy.