Remember

<<recall, keep in mind>>

To remember something, it must the firmly fixed in the memory and then ‘revisited’ regularly.

When life is going along well remember how God has guided and given you the ability to work and earn. When we reminisce on God’s goodness in the past, it should cause us to be thankful (Neh 9:6-25; Job 29:2-6; Ps 52:9, 89:1, 145:4, 150:2). When things are not going well, remember God is still in control and with unfailing love He will guide those He has redeemed, so don’t resort to self-pity as you

Remember what is beneficial, forget the junk

recall the previous ‘good old times’ (Ex 15:13; Ps 77:5; Eccl 7:10). Reaffirm that He is to be obeyed and is the only one to be worshipped (Deut 8:2,11,18,19). It is as we obey His commands and walk in obedience that we receive His blessing. The Holy Spirit will bring things, that need repenting of or principles to live by, to our remembrance (Jn 14:26). Learn and remember from the lessons in the past so you can move on, rather than repeating the same things.

Establish reminders of God’s work in your life – the lessons you’ve learnt, the spiritual battles won by His power, the things you have laid on the altar (these are not bargaining tools, rather view them as sacrifices made that you can’t touch). Often in the OT the building of a monument or altar was a reminder of God’s miracles or times of intimate dealings (Gen 12:6-8; Josh 4:2-7,21-24).

“The commands of God are to be upon your hearts...talk about them... write them down” (Deut 6:7-9).

Photographs remind us of loved ones, and in the Bible there are accounts of memorials to 'keep alive' various events (Ex 12:14; Josh 4:7). Writing down (journaling) is a powerful tool, and keeps the memory honest. Do everything that enables you to register His Word in your inner most being, so that it will govern your lifestyle, and so position yourself for His blessing (Ps 119:105). Encourage your children to memorise Scripture as well. Communion (the Lord’s Supper) is a special time of remembrance, reflecting on the Lord’s sacrifice for us (Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24,25). Giving thanks at meal times (saying grace), is remembering or acknowledging that God has provided food for the body. Every time he remembered the believers in other places Paul prayed for them and thanked God for their service (Phil 1:3; 2 Tim 1:3).

As part of His redeeming work God promises that He will not remember [hold against us] our confessed sin but delete it from our account. We also should let it go (Isa 43:25; Jer 31:34; 1 Jn 1:9). We should choose to not remember the hurts that others have caused us (hopefully we have forgiven them), otherwise this will cause a bitterness in our hearts that will blight our relationship with them and affect our whole personality.

While we usually associate the word remember with calling to mind something that was forgotten, when the Bible says "God remembered..." it's not because He had a lapse of memory like we do (Gen 8:1; Ex 2:24; Ps 98:3; Act 10:31). It is not implying forgetfulness but places an emphasis on His faithfulness and everlasting care. God always remembers – it is part of His nature. When God’s people felt like the Lord had forgotten them, they received this comfort through the prophet Isaiah: "I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" (Isa 49:14-16). It is not possible for God to forget anything, much less the people He loves, and that includes you and me.