Transcript
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Last time we were reflecting on the practice the old spiritual masters recommended of keeping a note of the providences of God in our lives. And they meant it quite literally to write it all down in a notebook so that you could remember and not forget. And it's a very good discipline. And it wasn't just good advice for Christians in the past. In essence, it's a biblical directive, isn't it? God's people were told many times, remember because of their tendency to forget. And let's be honest, we all have that tendency. Two passages come to mind. One is Deuteronomy, chapter eight. And the first seven chapters of Deuteronomy contain Moses account of God's redeeming grace to his people in the Exodus, and also the way of life to which God was calling them through his commandments. And then Moses drives things home by saying in verse two of chapter eight, remember. And in verse 11, take care lest you forget. And then in verse 18, you shall remember. And then in verse 19, if you forget. There's a kind of rhythm here, isn't there? The life of faith has this underlying rhythm. It's the drumbeat to which the Christian marches. Remember, don't forget, Remember, don't forget. And the same principle holds good not only in life in general, but in our worship in particular. Psalm 103 underlines, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Thus observing, understanding, appreciating, noting down, remembering, fixing in our minds and hearts the providences of God in our lives. All that is part and parcel of living well. As a Christian believer, remembering is our privilege and it's also our responsibility. But how are we to do this? I think this is where we see the realism of the Scriptures. God's children sometimes think we're older and more spiritually mature than we actually are. But what the Scriptures teach us, as Psalm 103 also says, is that God needs to remember our frame because we are dust. And to put it pointedly, he knows that we can be careless and forgetful and even cool hearted children. Our minds easily wander to other things and we forget what God has done for us. And the result is when we should have greater confidence in the Lord, both because of his promises and because of the way he has kept them. We forget. We become like people who lose their appetite, not realizing that they're unwell. And then they wonder why they feel so weak and lacking in energy. It can be hard to remember just how forgetful we actually are. Now think about it this way. Imagine someone saying to you remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead. You might be inclined to say, you don't need to remind me of that. How could I possibly forget that? But then maybe you remember. These are among the last words the Apostle Paul wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy. He wasn't imagining that Timothy didn't know about the risen Christ, but he was hinting that it's very easy to be diverted. It's actually surprisingly easy to live without the Gospel making a profound and constant impact on our mind, our will, our emotions, and then our whole life. Because this kind of remembering isn't just a matter of how good our memory is. It's a matter of making the Lord Jesus himself central in our thinking and our feeling, and are willing and are living. So here's a good watchword for us, not only for this time of year, but for every day of our lives. We're living between the past of Christ's first coming and the future of his second coming. So don't forget him. Remember. Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead.