Do You Have the Hope and Memory of God’s Love?
Good Morning Friends,
After watching the Super Bowl last night I figure some people are going to need some cognitive retraining. Memory problems plague us all and they did the Hebrew nation brought out of Egypt. Maybe that is why everything in the book of Deuteronomy is said twice. Memory plagues Christians today as well. When we deny the source of good in our lives, when we deny the power of true prosperity, by clinging on to wealth that belongs to God… when we assert the deity of self, we forget God. Today’s scripture… the text of a Jewish prayer to be said at the dinner table… tells us not to forget, that we need to remember and be thankful for the source of all the good that happens to us. We are confronted with warnings against pride, against the peril in possessions, against depending on money instead of depending on God. God has sent people to help remind us. Moses and judges and prophets and kings and angels and then Jesus have all asked us to remember. But to remember the right things. Perhaps that is why the Word of God needed to be put down in writing where we could refer to it and refresh our memory. That is undoubtedly why the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. That is why God has instructs us to come together as often as we can so that we can be reminded of the things of God… Friends, every good gift- every desirable and beneficial gift -has a source in heaven. The source is of God. So, Do You Have the Hope and Memory of God’s Love?
Scripture: 11Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. 12When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, 13and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, 14then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid waste-land with poisonous* snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, 16and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. 17Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today. 19If you do forget the Lord your God and follow other gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20Like the nations that the Lord is destroying before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 8:11-20 (NRSV)
32But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. 35Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. 36For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. 37For yet ‘in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay;38 but my righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.’ 39But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.
Hebrews 10:32-39 (NRSV)
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,* and my mouth praises you with joyful lips6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:1-8 (NRSV)
Message: It is interesting that our memory allows us to revisit experiences so vividly after so many years. The point though is to remember often the joy of Jesus in your life and His faithfulness. When this memory and our hope converge, our faith is born anew. So do not forget that it is God that gives you everything. Recall often the grace and the enthusiasm of this first love with God. Reclaim the memory so as not to lose that most beautiful experience which nourishes our hope. Protect your salvation and grow and bear its fruit. Do not forget about God. Remember the hope that does not disappoint. Remember often the joy of Jesus in your life and His faithfulness. When we breathe in a memory of Him into our experiences…when we experience Him in our daily lives we can be satisfied as God is glorified. Just as David writes about his memory of worshipping God in today’s Psalm we too are to discover that only God is worthy of spiritual love. Only when we remember how faithful God has been do we glimpse God’s will. Only when we breathe in our memory of God do we experience real satisfaction.
Pray we never forget our first love of God. Pray to have the desire to follow God’s will. Pray we know God’s will. Pray we have the strength to go ahead and do His will.
Pray we are controlled by God’s will. Pray we stir one another up to do good deeds. Pray we encourage each other and test each other. Pray we get inspired to work together for God’s glory. Pray that we would crave for God and feast on Him satisfying our hunger, quenching our thirst. Pray that we have the hope and memory of God’s love each day.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 