It’s easy to take things for granted, particularly things that we have always known or experienced. How easy, for instance, for young children to take their parents for granted, whom they have known all their short lives? How easy for us, too, to take for granted the sun, the sky, the air, or the ground beneath our feet.

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created” (Revelations 4:11)

Sunday: A companion in tribulation

After His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9), Jesus visited the last of the living apostles, John, on the island of Patmos, where John had been exiled by the ruthless Roman emperor Domitian. If you were to enter the cave where it is purported that John was visited by the heavenly angel with Revelation’s prophetic vision, you would immediately notice these words placed on a plaque at its entrance summarising the entire book of Revelation: “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV).

Monday: Worship the creator

Creation reveals a God of awesome might and unlimited power. His creative power not only brought the heavens and earth into existence, but has worked in behalf of His people through the centuries. He is the God who began this world, who is ever present in this world, and who will never forsake His people in this world.

Tuesday: A God who is close

The great news about our God is that His greatness and power are so vast that it reaches across the cosmos and into each of our lives. He promises to remake us, mould us, transform us into the likeness of His image. Think about what that means. The God who created and who sustains billions of galaxies is the same God not only in whom “we live, and move, and have our being“ (Acts 17:28), but also works in our hearts, to give us new hearts, to purge us of sin, and make us into new creatures in Christ. What a powerfully comforting thought to realize our God, a God of such power, loves and cares for us.

Wednesday: Gospel, Judgement and Creation

Look at the first angel’s message. Everlasting gospel. Hour of judgment. Worship the Creator. Look at how closely related these ideas are. When we stand before our Creator in judgment, it’s only the gospel that gives us any hope at all. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1, NKJV). No condemnation now — and certainly not in the judgment.

Thursday: The Creator on the Cross

The first angel’s message to worship the Creator came after the cross, after it had become known to the onlooking universe and to Christ’s followers that the One who “made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” is the same One who, though being God, took “the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:7, 8, NKJV). What an amazing spectacle that must have been to those who knew Jesus before He came to earth as a human being. No wonder heavenly beings as well worship Him. As for us, redeemed by His blood, what else could we do but worship our Creator and our Redeemer?

Further Thought: 

The worship of God is central in the Scriptures and has always been a bone of contention to humans and to God’s people. Throughout the Old Testament the prophets reprimanded the people of God for worshiping other gods or for worshiping the Lord using the worship practices of the pagan world. The conflict between worshiping God or worshiping other gods belongs to the very center of the cosmic conflict and came accompanied by disregard to the law of God.

(This is taken directly from the SDA Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly Q2 2023, Lesson 7. Please access the full lesson here)