Remembering: Simple yet so Hard

Preview

My Bible reading plan has me in Deuteronomy and Psalms right now. A recurring theme in Deuteronomy keeps standing out: remember/do not forget. How simple. Remember! Do not forget!

At the small, plant church in Knoxville’s Fort Sanders neighborhood where Jessica and I attended, I can remember one Sunday morning’s message was all about remembering. I can also remember being a bit annoyed by it. (I came to church to be told to simply, remember? This seems silly and surface level! I want something that’s more in depth with more quotes from the well known theologians!) Clearly though, the Holy Spirit has caused that simple message to continue to ring true in my life today. And based on Deuteronomy, it’s the same message given to God’s people several thousand years ago. What a timeless message – Christian, remember!

In Deuteronomy 8 references to remembering and do not forget occur five different times. We merely have issues with forgetting and remembering - God knows us all too well. I like how some folks declare that we have leaky hearts and that we have Gospel amnesia. It’s a part of our fallen, sinful nature. When we don’t remember and forget, our weakly flesh tends to lead us astray. So what’s the remedy? Unlike an annoying smartphone reminder pop-up that easily gets overlooked, we need reminders with substance that help keep our focus on the Lord.

Flip a few pages to chapter 11 in Deuteronomy, and a substantial remedy to our God-amnesia is provided. Check out verse 19-20a:

“Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates…”

Having our Tablet with new verses each month above our kitchen table is hard to miss. It is a daily reminder for us. It helps us to not forget but to remember our great God. Hence, it has become a great blessing to our entire household, as we have God’s Word posted on our wall in a manner which affords us to talk about, together. If God by His Word and by His breath made the heavens and the starry hosts (Psalm 33:6), then He can transform you and your household by His word.

Christian, by whatever means – write His words in your house; talk about them with your household. And in so doing, may He bless you and your household through remembering Him and His ways more and more each day.

Written by Warren M. Grimm
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A Forever Kind of Ongoing

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First Words, Part II