REMEMBERING AND FORGETTING


I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25, NKJ)


Since God is God, his memory must be exceedingly good. In fact, is there anything God doesn't remember? Does God have a photographic memory, remembering everything forever? The truth is, God is supremely good at forgetting. He loves to forget, literally "loves" to forget. To forget, in Hebrew, doesn't mean to let slip out of one's mind accidentally. To forget is to annihilate deliberately, blot out, obliterate. To God's people who humble themselves penitently before him, says the prophet Isaiah, God declares, "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my sake, and I will not remember your sins." The prophet doesn't mean that God has absentmindedly lost track of human sin. He means that God has blotted out the sins of repentant people; their sin is no longer operative, it no longer determines their standing before God or impedes their access to God. God is marvelously adept at forgetting whenever he beholds repentant people.

Victor Shepherd

FORGETTING AND REMEMBERING


This is what the Lord says: ". . . Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:8, 15; NIV)


Carmen is a friend of mine who works as a missionary in Romania for an organization called Heart to Heart. Primarily, Carmen works at orphanages around the country with kids to show them the love of Jesus Christ and teach them social, language, and practical skills. She also leads teams from the United States that come over to help, serving as a translator. She recently wrote a newsletter that said, in part:

"About two or three weeks ago, I was at the baby hospital when a 2 1/2 year old girl named Mirela was abandoned. Apparently someone (her mother, sister, aunt, or other relative) brought her in for an "exam", and then left her in the exam room with nothing but her birth certificate and the clothes on her back. . . It absolutely broke my heart to watch Mirela's look of pure shock and "What on earth is going on? Who are you?" I know enough to know what the future holds in store for her. She may go to the orphanage, or perhaps into foster care. Either way, she will have no memory of her family and where she comes from, and for the rest of her life she will have the knowledge that those who brought her into the world no longer wanted her."

Imagine the pain of being completely forgotten by the people who love you most. There are those closer to home than Romania who believe they have been forgotten, and who need of the same compassion that Carmen showed little Mirela. They need someone to talk with, someone to show them love, someone to help them answer their questions about who they are and what on earth is going on. They may be folks confined to their homes, or those searching for meaning in their life. No matter what their circumstances, they face the same reality that Mirela does -- they feel abandoned and they have no memory of who they are or where they come from.

We as the church have the responsibility and the calling to remember. We remember that we are God's people, and that the whole world and each person in it is a divine masterpiece. We remember that God created us to be in relationship with Him and with one another. We remember that no one is forgotten by God, and therefore we should not allow ourselves to forget the forgettable.

Andy Myers

WHAT WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED FOR?


A righteous man will be remembered forever. (Psalm 112:6, NIV)


According to a survey by researcher George Barna, the first two thoughts most people have about Christians are:

* They attend a lot of meetings; and
* They are opposed to many things.

Is that tragic or what?! Rather, what we hope they would notice about us is our:

* Love (John 13:34,35);
* Humility (Philippians 2:5-8);
* Compassion (Luke 15:20);
* Graciousness (Colossians 4:5-6);
* Integrity (Job 27:3-5); and
* Servanthood (Philippians 2:17; Isaiah 61:1-2).

To be sure, non-believers are "taking a read" on us: "You are a letter . . . known and read by everybody" (2 Corinthians 3:2). And they are picking up our fragrance: "We are . . . the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing" (2 Corinthians 2:15). The question is whether they are smelling a sweet scent or a stench?

Paul observed that it is only when we stop arguing and complaining about our situation in life that we will effectively "shine as lights," and minister God's Word to the lost among us (Philippians 2:14-16). In our whining, pampered society, anyone who exhibits a positive, grateful mind-set will stop traffic!

So tell me, how do the folks in your office, your neighborhood, or at your athletic club view you?

As loving, humble, compassionate, gracious, and honest? As one who is sacrificing his life for others?

Or as stiff and arbitrary? As a grumbler? As someone racing here and there, with Bible and notebook tucked under your arm as you attend (what they often view as) another "pious party"?

Hindu India mourned the death of Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun of a totally different religious persuasion. Her powerful demonstration of compassion for their "least" simply could not be ignored.

QUESTION: What will the lost people of your "world" do at the news of your death?

Dwight Hill
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REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE


We . . . are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)


In the movie The Lion King, there is a great ten minute segment where Simba's girlfriend (Nala) comes to find him in the wilderness. He has chosen to isolate himself because he believes a number of shame-based lies about himself. As Nala confronts him he relates to her a series of these lies (i.e. "I'm not the King", "I can't go back", "You won't understand", "It's my fault", etc.).

After this confrontation he meets Rafiki, a baboon, who tells him that Simba's problem is that he doesn't know who he is. To help him get in touch with who he is (that is, the truth), he arranges an encounter with his deceased father, Mufasu. Mufasu tells him that he is more than what he has become. He needs to retake his place in the circle of life by remembering who he is. After this encounter Simba is empowered to return to his home and reclaim his role as king.

This children's story highlights an important message: lies cripple us and cause us to do things to prevent, kill or express the pain of shame. Now, I want to help you "remember who you are" by relating to you seven truths about yourself:

1. You are created by God. You are God's craftsmanship. You were created perfectly. Entering this world may have caused you to encounter various imperfections but God's hand is on your creation and therefore you have intrinsic value. You were not a mistake but came from the mind of God.

2. You are loved by God. Because you are a manifestation of the mind of God, God automatically loves you. We all love what we create because it's an extension of ourselves (unless we hate ourselves, which is true for some of us). The same is true for God. He can not hate what is his. There is a natural parental love that God has for us. In fact the Bible says that God loved us before the world began...which means that his love for us is not tied into our performance. He loves us simply because we are his child.

3. You are accepted by God. Acceptance is a natural outflow of love. Many people find this hard to believe. If God is perfect, how could he accept me? We have been trained to reject people who are not like us or who do not respect us. It doesn't seem right that God would welcome us into his presence. But he does, for two reasons: First, acceptance doesn't mean approval. Just because he extends kindness to us doesn't mean that he gives our lives the stamp of approval. He chooses to overlook them. That's hard for humans but easy for God. Second, God offers cleansing. The imagery of water runs throughout the Bible symbolizing how God cleanses us from the filth that we accumulate along the way. Once we realize that God accepts us we start to understand that a relationship with God isn't dependent on him. He is waiting on us. He has already told us that he accepts us unconditionally. He is waiting to hear if we want him in our lives.

4. You are forgiven by God. God forgives us for all that we have done so that there is nothing that keeps us apart. He has cleansed us of all wrongdoing and holds nothing against us. He isn't constantly thinking about how we have let him down. The great thing about God's forgiveness is that it is infinite. That means that no matter how MUCH you have sinned or how bad your sin is, God's forgiveness is always greater.

5. You are filled by God. Once God cleans you up, then he can come and live inside of you. The Bible says that if you believe that Jesus came to die on your behalf, God then sends his Spirit to live inside of you. What a deal! You now have the power of God to empower your daily living.

6. You are approved by God. Receiving God's Spirit makes you a child of God. The Bible talks about you as being adopted into God's family. God doesn't just accept you, he actually APPROVES of you.

7. You are transformed by God. This last point is just a summary of 1-6. When you remember these things you activate a transformation process. The Bible tells us that we are now being transformed into the image of Jesus little by little, day by day. That's good news!

Now, this is all mere information. It might make you feel good but if it sits in your brain alone, it won't do anything for you. It needs to sink 18 inches down into your heart. Remember, healing isn't just information. It is revelation and transformation.

Remy Diederich

Amen!

REMEMBER THE ALAMO; REMEMBER THE CROSS


Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:2-4, NIV)


"Remember the Alamo!" This is a phrase familiar to Americans that has often been used in difficult times when our nation struggled to defend freedom. The legend of the Alamo dates to the year 1835, when the people of Texas were struggling to free themselves from the dictatorship of Santa Anna. The people of Texas did not yet have an army when Santa Anna came with 5000 men to crush the rebellion. The people's only hope lay in delaying Santa Anna long enough to build an army to resist him.

About 150 men including the famous heroes, Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, used an old adobe mission called the Alamo as a fort. Their objective was to delay Santa Anna as long as possible in the face of certain death. On February 23, 1836, General Santa Anna and his 5000 men attacked the Alamo unsuccessfully. The men in the fort, though greatly outnumbered, refused to give up and continued to fight over the next 13 days, until March 5, 1836, when they ran out of gunpowder. Even then, the men continued to fight to the death with knives. Santa Anna was angered at the delay, and punished the nearby town by killing 330 people the next day.

Thanks to these extra 13 days, Sam Houston was able to gather an army to resist Santa Anna. When news of the brave men in the Alamo spread, the people united under the cry, "Remember the Alamo" and won their freedom. On April 21, 1836, Santa Anna was defeated, and Texas became an independent republic. After Texas joined the United States, Americans everywhere associated the self-sacrifice at the Alamo with all those who have given their lives for our freedom, and we have used this story to motivate later generations to give their lives to protect that freedom.

A parallel can easily be drawn with what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:2-4. We are called to "Fix our eyes on Jesus. . . who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross. . ." Just as the men in the Alamo endured death so that they could buy freedom for their families, so did Jesus endure death on the cross to buy our freedom. Where we as Americans cry, "remember the Alamo" to celebrate our political freedom, Christians should cry, "remember the cross" to celebrate our spiritual freedom. In verse 4, the author says, "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." This is exactly what we as Americans say. "Remember those who died to give us our freedom. You must be willing to pay the price in our continued struggle against tyranny." However to Christians, the author of Hebrews says, "Remember Christ, who died to give us spiritual freedom. Now we must be willing to pay the price in our continued struggle against sin." Next time that I hear "remember the Alamo", I will also remember the cross, and pledge to continue in my struggle against sin so as to honor Christ.

Jason and Andrea Morrison