Dear Members and Friends of IBCZ,
One of the great gifts God has given us is our memory – the ability to remember things. As we know, when people reach their senior years, unfortunately often their memory fades and they become forgetful. But long before that process sets in, we easily find ourselves forgetting things, important things that will change our outlook and our attitude, the way we view ourselves and how we face life. The reason we forget such important things is that we simply don’t make it a practice to intentionally remember them.
When we look at our lives apart from what God says about them, we can easily fall into discouragement and despair. We may question our worth. We may think we will never change. We might give up hope.
So, we must make it a regular practice to remember, to call to mind the truth that God has spoken in His word, and live on the basis of that. As we read in Lamentations 3:21-22, “This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” As the writer (traditionally understood as Jeremiah) remembered the steadfast love of the Lord and His never-ending mercies, he was filled with hope – the sure hope that he was loved by God and he would continually experience the mercies of God. It is good for us to remind ourselves of these truths as well. A few other biblical truths to regularly remember are:
I Jn. 3:1 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
Rom. 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Heb. 13:5 – “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Rom. 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Regularly remembering the truth about God, His love for us, and His commitment to us, will enable us to live every day and face every circumstance with confidence, hope, and assurance. That is a gift God offers us. So, let us regularly remind ourselves of God’s great love and faithfulness.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Bob