We Tend To Forget

 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper?  Was it because He just wanted to hang out with the Disciples? Maybe.  Was it because He wanted to impress upon them how nasty their feet get? Well, there's that.  But permit me to share what I believe...Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper because He knows we have a habit of forgetting.  I have a confession to make, I tend to forget more than I remember.  I have a habit of looking for my glasses when I'm wearing them (the lenses just need a clean).  I can't remember, most days, what I had for breakfast.  Why? Because these things aren't overly important to me.  We tend to not remember the things we don't consider essential for our day.

1. We Need To Remember How Quickly We Forget.

Now, think about this, the world says "Have a drink and forget."  But Jesus reminds us to "Take, eat, drink...and remember."  

I was reading about Martin Luther who said he had to preach the Gospel to his congregation every single day otherwise they would forget every single day.  But also consider Martin Luther preached the Gospel every single day so Martin Luther would remember!

2. We Need To Remember Our True Condition

We have this insatiable need to be right.  We want everyone to see us as "good".  We want others to see us correct the sin of this troubled world.  Why? Because that is our sinful nature.  Remember when Jesus ate with the drunkards, tax collectors, and prostitutes?  Jesus didn't talk with them using hard words.  He reserved His hard words for the "religious" people who believed it was their goal in life to be "good" and be perceived as "good" when they were far from it and more judgmental than anything else.

Jesus used these words to them: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look pure and clean outwardly, but inside is corruption and uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly look 'righteous and pious' to others, but you are really full of hypocrisy and chaos." - (Matthew 23:27-28).

3. We Need To Remember Where Jesus Found Us.

The Apostle Peter wrote: “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10).  When Jesus found us, we had no identity as a people.  Abba when to a LOT of trouble to teach us truth and love.  You see, sin isn't sin because it's ugly. Sin is sin because it stains your heart. When it stains your heart, Abba's heart breaks because He loves you.  I read a quote by Steve Brown: "The cross isn't a sign of God's judgement...it is the sign of His broken heart."

4. We Need To Remember How Loved We Are

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1).  Because of Abba's love, I'm Abba's CHILD! I no longer have to consider myself to be without hope!  I am LOVED without conditions or hesitation!

Take time to remember!

Have We Forgotten To Remember

Remember today what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him.

Deuteronomy 11:2

Remember Calculus?  Do you remember your 12th kiss?  How about the color the 3rd Refrigerator?  Do you remember the barber's name who cut your hair when you were 3? Me either. I am willing to wager that there is quite a lot I have learned during my lifetime that I have forgotten.  Why?  I didn't find it worth remembering.

Why is it we can sing the lyrics to our favorite songs, yet struggle to remember a Bible verse?  Why can we recite the lines to our favorite movie but we cannot seem to remember how God has guided us through an extremely difficult time?  Because we have determined what is important enough for us to remember!

One of the things I teach new Law Enforcement Officers is the fact that THEY are in charge of what enters their mind and what stays in their mind.  We have to be alert and careful guardians of the information we want to remember.  I'll be honest, my mind is full of useless information because one of my favorite things to do is watch Cash Cab and try to answer the trivia questions.  But something I am working on remembering are all the ways God has helped me, protected me, taught me, guided me, loved me...by writing them down!

Join me please in this adventure!

SELECTIVE MEMORY

But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
    I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
They are constantly in my thoughts.
    I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

Psalm 77:11-12 

 

I don't know about you, but the older the more I am convinced that God has a delightfully weird sense of humor.  I can remember the name of my best friend from 1st grade, but have trouble remembering what I need to pick up from the grocer.  I can remember most of my lines from the very first play I was in, but don't always remember to take my medications.

There have been times when I struggle to remember a verse or passage that might be of help to someone, but the Holy Spirit reminds me of the exact thing I need to say or not say.  I don't always remember the addresses of the verses, but I remember a number of the verses. 

 

There have been times when my attention is so focused on the current moment of depression, anxiety, frustration of the way my life is in that moment.  I fail, in those times to remember all God has done for me.  I fail to remember the epic fails God has brought me through.  Why?  Because I am guilty of SELECTIVE MEMORY! During these times, my instinct is to go to God with anger, whining, and complaining about my current situation.  But God has this uncanny way of shutting me up by reminding me the road He has brought me and all He has delivered me from.  

 

Join me and look back at all that God has brought you through.  The challenges, the relationships, the sticky situations, the moments of sheer idiocy, the moments when He had to humble us, the moments when we celebrated His gifts to us.  Take a look back and remember all that God has already done.  This is the same God who promised to never leave us.  This is the same God who said, "I know the plans I have for YOU!"  This is the same God who has planned everything in the universe to fall into place at just the right time and in just the right way so His plans for you will be fulfilled.

 

Remember!  It's a good thing!  

Remember Them!

I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 49:16 

 

Memorial Day...the day we set aside to remember the sacrifice of those military personnel who have died.  Honor belongs to them. Respect belongs to them. Gratitude belongs to them.  

 

Isaiah 43:1 tells us that God has called each of us BY NAME.  And today we are reminded that God remembers us always.  He has engraved us on the palms of His hands so we can never be forgotten.  Take just a moment, if you will, and thank God for those who have died in the service of this great country and remember!

Remember!

Today, the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy will host a Law Enforcement Memorial Service.  This is a time when we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for Law Enforcement.  We remember the names, as they are called, who have joined the memories of those who have gone before, and we are grateful to them for their service and their sacrifice.

Being a Law Enforcement Officer isn't as easy or "fun" as portrayed on the television or in the movies.  Being a Law Enforcement Officer is a calling.  It is a lot of listening to many sides of an issue (sometimes all at the same time), sorting the facts, writing reports, make a positive impact on the communities, the occasional high speed chase, arresting someone, all with a host of cellphone cameras pointed at you and social media scrutinizing your every glance; as well as, trying to juggle a family life, trying to keep healthy, trying to relieve stress and anxiety... So you see, being a Law Enforcement Officer is not for the faint of heart or those who believe it to be a "nice change of pace."

Therefore, I am asking each of you to pray for our Law Enforcement Officers and Agencies, that they may have discernment, patience, protection, peace, encouragement, pray for their families, and loved ones.  And should you see an officer out and about (not while they are dealing with an issue), Thank Them for protecting us as we go about our lives mostly unaware of their presence.

Father,

Each of us has been called by You.  Thank You for those who have answered Your call to become Law Enforcement Officers.  Theirs is not an easy assignment, yet You have chosen them to serve.  Thank You for their sacrifices.  Thank You for their families.  

Remind us to be grateful for these men and women who Protect And Serve the communities.  Remind us to pray for them.  Remind us to care about them.  Remind us that without them our lives would be FAR different.

Keep each Officer and their loved ones in Your heart and protect them.  And, Father, should and Officer begin to feel overwhelmed, help them to reach out for help.  Remind them that they, too, are human and in need of releasing the things that bother their hearts and haunt their minds.

Most of all, Father, love them!

Thank You and Amen.

Remember Me

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:42-43 

 

Imagine you are the thief on the cross next to Jesus.  You see how badly He has been beaten and you wonder if He truly is the Savior.  You realize that by the end of this day, you will be dead.  You may have heard Jesus' teaching.  You probably have heard others talking about Jesus' healing in the name of God.  As you feel your breathing becoming more and more labored as you hang there on the cross for your crimes, you realize that Jesus is the One.  He really is the Messiah.  On the other side of Jesus is the criminal who is arrogant to the end.  In fact, even as he, too, is dying slowly and painfully, he demands Jesus perform a miracle and save them all.  You pull yourself up painfully so you can gasp a breath and tell him to shut up!

 

Once more, you dig deep and summon the strength to raise yourself up again, fighting the intense pain, to gasp a breath and say, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  There are perhaps no more human words in all of Scripture, no prayers we can pray so well as this one.  "Jesus, remember me."  

 

Isn't that what we truly want? To be remembered by Jesus?  Perhaps that should be our prayer even now, "Jesus, remember me."  When Jesus gave the Disciples the last supper, he told them to remember Him.  Remembering someone is a powerful gift.  To be honest, I am horrible with remembering people.  I can remember either the name or the face, but seldom both, at least until I get to know you.  And there's the key to Jesus!  The thief didn't even give his name, he just asked Jesus to "remember me."  Jesus already knew him and loved him and was, at that moment, dying for him.  And He took the time to say kindest words one could hope to hear, "Today YOU will be with ME in Paradise."

 

The one thing that stuck out to me in this scene is that the thief had probably spent a lifetime living against God's Will, probably had lived a life that he messed it up over and over.  I can identify with that.  I, too, have messed up over and over!  Yet, even with a life blackened by sin, this man was forgiven at the proverbial last second and entered Paradise with Jesus.  There's hope for us because Jesus doesn't stop loving us or caring for us or reaching out to us.  And it doesn't matter how badly we have messed our lives up, Jesus died for us and that should give us hope to run to Him and ask Him to remember us.  Isn't it time to ask to be remembered?

Change Your Thinking!

Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
    Let us sing psalms of praise to him.

Psalm 95:2 

What is our first reaction when things go wrong or when things just don't go our way?  We get irritated, frustrated, aggravated, grouchy, and grumpy.  We begin evaluating where and why things went wrong.  Our blood pressure increases.  Our focus becomes fixed on the issue, and God ceases to be part of the equation as far as we are concerned.  Yes, I am guilty of this too.

 

One of my Chaplaincy mentors who passed away recently, Gene Harper, told me once to focus on the good God gives and let God handle the rest.  This is a reminder I need to keep in the forefront of my thoughts, yet tend to forget with alarming regularity.  When I focus on praising God for the good He has provided, the rest dims and eventually fades into irrelevance. 

 

Take time to remember the good that God has provided and thank Him for it.

 

#dailythankfulchallenge

Dust Off And Remember Who Is In Control

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

Matthew 6:27 

When has God ever told us that we should worry?  As a matter of fact, God reminds us to not worry, throw your worries away, be still and remember that He is really in control. And yet we worry anyway.  Why is that?  

Think about this, what do we have to worry about that will change our lives forever?  The things we tend to worry about are so insignificant in the God's plan for our lives, yet it is these tiny things that we focus our attention on instead of letting God handle it.

Here's the point for us to take with us, worry doesn't do anything for us except replace God in our lives.  When we worry, we are telling God that our issue is too much for even Him to handle.  Instead, my challenge for us today is every time we find ourselves worrying, immediately stop and tell God, "I'm glad YOU've got this instead of me!" And then find something else to think about.

Me?  I'm going to spend more time being thankful for each and every one of you!  Thank you for, not only reading these, but for making my life one where I praise God for bringing us together.  Thank you for the comfort.  Thank you for the smiles and laughs.  Thank you for letting me be your friend!

Under Construction

The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

Psalm 138:8

She looked at all she had accomplished up to this point.  She saw the plaques and awards.  She saw the newspaper clippings and the certificates.  She saw them exactly for what they were...mere moments in time...and she wept because she knew there had to be more to life than a pile of memorabilia.  

Think about how may times you have seen someone's name on a highway or a road or some monument and you have NO idea who that person could possibly be (and probably aren't exactly too concerned about the fact you don't know them).  Old black and white photos with no name on them smiling back as if they should be familiar, yet we have no clue.

If you feel there's more to life than mere externals, then you are correct.  Life is not about the monuments or awards or trappings of fame.  Life is about moments!  Those moments when you know you are loved.  Those moments when you realize that you can help someone who needs help.  Those moments when you are terrified to say anything so you say nothing, yet your presence is what the person in crisis remembers and appreciates!

You see, God plans our lives to be moments! And more moments are coming your way, because you are still under His construction!

Peacocks and Poppycock

 

 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

Matthew 6:28-30 

When I was a child, I admit there were parts of church culture that confused me (and still confuse me):  

I remember the very first time I heard a pastor actually told a joke!  I thought it was funny and laughed, but was quickly embarrassed when the rest of the congregation remained stone faced.  I asked one of the older "grandmotherly" members why no one else laughed in church, she said is was because Jesus never laughed.  REALLY?  

I remember when we had churchwide dinner after church and I had never seen so many variations of green bean casserole, mac-and-cheese or lemon pound cake!  

I remember not being able to change out of my church clothes when we got home for lunch (I am a notorious dribbler, ask my bride).  I could take off my coat only.

Here's the thing that confused me the most...on Easter we were supposed to be celebrating the fact that Jesus had defeated death.  The part that confused me were all the brightly colored new Easter outfits worn by men and women (large hats included) that paraded around the sanctuary before the service and then tried their hardest to cram themselves into the first three pews behind the deacons so they could be seen.  Doesn't that rather defeat to purpose of celebrating Easter's meaning when the parade becomes the focus?  To me, it looked like a Mardi Gras parade in church (minus the beads and loud marching bands.  There might have been alcohol involved, but I can't confirm that).

When we let anything or anyone take our focus from the purpose of worship, we are making idols.  You see, idols aren't just stone or wood images someone carved that we decide we can talk to more easily than talking with God.  Idols can include television, clothing, food, drink, vacations, homes, cars, and wait for it.......sports.  ANYTHING we put ahead of God is an idol and poppycock at its finest.

Remember Me!

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
~Luke 23:42-43 

It had not been a good day.  For that matter, it had not been a good life.  But all that would be over by the end of the day.  This miserable, excruciatingly painful day!  The sentence of death which had been handed down was, he surmised, just what he deserved.  And today, that execution would be carried out with ruthless Roman efficiency.  

The spikes were nailed in, and He screamed and cried out in pain as his flesh was ripped with each hammer blow.  He howled as the cross was raised and then dropped into the awaiting hole with a thunk.  Every nerve in his body was on fire and there was no relief.

As the day wore on, the hot sun slowly baking his skin, drying his blood into clots that the ravens would soon be coming for.  He looked to his far left and saw a face he remembered from the dungeon.  Another criminal who had been rightfully condemned to die.  But to his immediate left was a face he didn't recognize.  He had heard the soldiers call him Jesus.  He had heard all about Jesus, but had never met Him until today.  This Jesus had been beaten and whipped, but His only crime was a fabrication the Jewish Leaders had put forth, and now, here was this innocent man hanging unjustly.

Every breath came with extreme pain as his rib cage and diaphragm were pulled apart by his own weight.  He gasped and wanted death to hurry, but the Romans were cruel and calculating with this torturous execution.

The other criminal berated this Jesus along with the crowd.  Perhaps he had gone insane from the pain and heat.  

Finally, he sensed that the end was coming soon, for the innocent Jesus, so he took one gulping breath and said, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom."  

And he heard the words that brought him true peace for perhaps the first time in his miserable life when Jesus said to him, "Rest assured, today you will join Me in paradise."

Think about this, WE are the criminals.  We have been justly condemned to die.  Yet we long to hear those words from Christ to us, "Rest assured, you are going to be with Me in paradise."  We know that Jesus freely offers us forgiveness and acceptance, but do we accept these FREE gifts?

"Jesus, please remember me when you enter into Your Kingdom."

Listen 

Today Is THE Day!

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 

 If you are reading this, then welcome to TODAY!  You see, TODAY is THE day!  What day?  THE Day that you get to decide to make it worth remembering or just another day to endure.  Today is THE DAY you will never get to see again or live through again.  Today is THE DAY that God has made specifically for you!  This is His gift to you!  

Yesterday...we can never change anything that has already happened.  EVER!  

Tomorrow....we haven't gotten there yet, so we can only plan possibilities.

BUT TODAY IS THE DAY we live in now!  TODAY IS THE DAY which we are adding to our legacy!  TODAY IS THE DAY that God has given you and me!  Let's make it a day of rejoicing in spite of our circumstances!  Let's make it a day of celebrating the victories!  Let make it a day that God will be thankful He gave us!

TODAY is the day God has made...just for you!