Tag: Forget

Forget-Me-Not

Deuteronomy 29:1-6

After experiencing the many wonderful blessings of the Lord in our lives, how do we so easily fall back into sin and the errors of our past? With each trial and struggle the Father brings us through, our faith should be strengthened, and trust in God’s sovereignty amplified to greater levels, but how do we give in to temptation, after witnessing miracles, healings, and wonders in our very own lives? If you took a brief moment to think of all the things God has provided for you, or kept you from, you’d go from counting on your fingers and toes, to writing them down on paper.

Contrary to how the world portrays God to be, He is indeed in favor of righteous indignation, but desires to bless those who willfully obey His commandments. Unfortunately, humans have a tendency to enjoy blessings for a moment, then revert back to their former way of thinking. This harmful cycle of living was prevalent amongst the children of Israel in Scripture. During times of good and plenty, they somehow allowed themselves to get caught up in idol worship and riotous living. The Israelites were reminded of the time when God delivered them from Pharoah’s oppression in Egypt, in addition to how for 40 years, their clothes and shoes never wore out, nor did they have to work for food. God took care of His chosen people, yet they still found time to murmur and complain. How much was enough? I mean, how much did God have to do, to keep their attention on serving Him?

The people of ancient times may not have had the technology or distractions we have today, but it’s evident their eras were littered with ungodly things to block them from serving God. But, despite the inevitable traps and snares set before them, God provided ways for His people to prosper, and do well in the earth. As in the past, God daily loads the people of today with benefits, the likes of which cannot be replicated by human strength or intellect. Who in the earth has ever created anything God didn’t bring into existence? God gives us the breath of life, and a sound mind to fulfill our daily duties. While we may not all become rich, wealthy, and famous, God gives every man what he needs to fulfill their assignment in the earth.

Appreciate the blessings of God, whether you consider them great or small, and don’t allow yourself to easily forget how wonderful He is to you every day. Keep your heart, mind, and eyes fixed on the Lord, so that when temptation comes to pull you away, you’ll keep a firm stance on holy and righteous living.

Don’t Forget

Luke 24:5-10

“The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.” (Luke 9:22). “Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.” (Luke 9:44). “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that were written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Luke 18:31-33).

On multiple occasions, Jesus warned His followers of the horrible things that were destined to happen to Him. He made mention that He would be rejected by those who were supposed to support Him, beaten, mocked, bruised, scourged, and even put to death. But, He never left out the most fascinating of all prophecy; He would rise again, after death!

Our text references the tail end of Jesus’ brief, yet impactful ministry, and also rings some very alarming bells. Following His death, Jesus was taken from the cross and placed in Joseph’s unused tomb. Days following the Savior’s death, the women who had followed Jesus and witnessed His burial, had prepared spices and ointments to use on the body of their loving teacher, while the disciples were keeping themselves out of sight. Ding! Ding! Ding! Helloooooo! Did these folk forget what Jesus had told them, time and time again? Apparently so. But, how could they be in the very presence of Jesus, witness miracles done by His hand, yet forget the most important message He ever told them; “and the third day, He shall rise again.” What purpose was there to prepare spices and ointments, if the Son of man would rise from the tomb? Why hide yourselves from those who were responsible for the death of Jesus, if you knew He would be dead only three days? The disciples and those who followed after Jesus weren’t distracted by Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or any other media source, but were fully focused on the prophetic events that took place during their time. I can understand if they were with Jesus during the 21st century, when men are so easily beguiled, but there was hardly anything happening to take their focus off Jesus’ words (that’s just my opinion).

How could they so easily forget that Jesus would rise again? Maybe they thought it was a fairytale, or that Jesus meant something else, or they possibly just didn’t believe. For this reason, God already had a someone in place to remind the people, His Son was indeed raised from the dead. Do you believe what the Bible teaches, or do take in some parts, and disbelieve others? All verses of Scripture are interconnected, and the root of every text is Jesus. The Words of God were written for our instruction, whether we think they are fairytale or not, but despite what we believe, all Scripture will soon be fulfilled.

Remember Me?

Deuteronomy 8:1-11

What is prayer? Prayer is rendering to God sincere words of worship, praise, thanks, or petition. Why do men pray? Men pray for various reasons, but most importantly, to God in their hearts and minds. How can a person forget God, who is the great “I AM”, and creator of all things? To forget is to fail to remember, inadvertently neglect to do, bring, or mention something, and to put out of one’s mind, or cease to think of or consider. In this lesson, I’d like to focus on the latter description of the aforementioned term.

When God blesses His people, it’s only fitting that they return praise and thanks to Him for all He does, but history has its share of instances, when men allowed their success to supercede the source of their blessings. God loves to bless, and He is ready and willing to bestow good things to those who obey His commands. Unfortunately, men are susceptible to allowing all their good, to cloud their focus on the purpose for being blessed, which causes them to develop a bad habit of putting God out of their minds. For example, after God miraculously brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea, and on dry land, they were soon after found murmuring and complaining. Even after wandering through the wilderness 40 years, while God kept them fed, protected, and their clothes never got worn, the people were still found being ungrateful.

Men ought to always pray, not only because of how great God is, but so that we can keep Him first in our hearts. Be mindful to always keep consistent communication with the Father. Thank Him for waking you up, bless His name for giving you salvation, praise Him for the strength He gives to move as you do, and honor Him for every breath you breath, and wholesome thought you think. When you find yourself getting close to brink of complaining, consider all the things God has done, is doing, and will do for you, then let praise and thanks flow from your lips in humble submission to His unmatched love.

Forgive And Forget?

Philemon 8-21

Do you believe in forgiveness? Better yet, do you possess a knowledgeable understanding of what forgiveness truly is? Forgiveness is a term that’s understood in parts. For example, when a man commits a sin, he must first be aware that his action was indeed wrong, and demands justification, so that he won’t be bound by his error the rest of his life. After realizing that you’ve fallen short of God’s glory, and are wise enough to know that only the blood of Jesus has the power to cover a multitude of faults, you must then ask to be forgiven, believe that you are forgiven, then live as if you are free from the sin that once held you captive.

Every man has sinned at some point in their lifetime, and needed to be forgiven, so it’s important that we treat all men fairly, even though their past, or present faults may linger in our minds for a season or two. God never stopped loving us, despite all the ungodly things we did willingly in His sight. Instead, He continued to shower us with life, health, love, and protection, even while we wallowed in our iniquities. When we get to the point where we start judging men for their faults, after they’ve been forgiven, we are in danger of receiving a lesson in humility from God the Father.

Throughout the New Testament, the apostle Paul had been a great role model for many young men seeking to walk after the Spirit. One man, in particular, was Philemon. Paul had found Philemon to be a man of kindness, love, and compassion, who was sincere in his walk with God, and had committed himself to the call of the Lord. Paul trusted that Philemon was mature enough to teach the Word of God to those under His watch, so he sent a young man to serve under him, and offer assistance wherever it was needed. Some time after serving under Philemon’s watch, something happened which caused young Onesimus to run away. This act undoubtedly left a bad vibe with Paul’s disciple, and caused him to wonder what could have caused this to happen. A while after his act of neglect and rebellion, Onesimus found his way back to Paul, who took the time to rebuild the faith and hope of the once reliable lad. Paul refused to hold a grudge against Onesimus, because of his act, but chose to edify him instead, so that he could be better prepared in his service to Philemon. Yes, Paul sent the runaway back to the place he fled from.

The average person would turn their faces from one who had abandoned them, but Paul knew that Onesimus was now ready to minister with Philemon, not as a servant, but as a beloved brother. Do you hold grudges against those who’ve made mistakes, or caused you grief at some point in your life? Are you able to forgive, and eventually forget about the errors of those who have wronged you? Use this lesson as an example to motivate you to be strength to those who may have fallen in sin, because at any moment (when you least expect), you could fall too.

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

Don’t Get Caught Up

Deuteronomy 8:11-20

Prospering in this life, is what most people strive for. Whether obtaining wealth by way of money, land, or other means, the average person longs to be in a position where suffering and struggling are non-existent. Prosperity is no doubt a blessing from God, that offers benefits all believers can enjoy, but there are two things men must be mindful of while reaping the harvest of God’s blessings. Temptation is a very dangerous thing, and when associated with prosperity, men usually get caught up in pride and self-exaltation, or develop the tendency to forget God in place of “things”. How would you feel, if you blessed someone with everything they desired, and rather than show gratitude, they moved on as if you did nothing for them? They didn’t even consider telling you “thank you”, but took your gifts, and bounced. The average person would have an inkling to snatch all their gifts back, because ungrateful people don’t deserve certain things. How do you think God feels, when He blesses us over and over, then we turn and give our time to all things except Him?

The children of Israel were issued a grave warning in our text. After receiving all good things from the Lord, they were warned not to forget Him. God knows the hearts of men, and their susceptibility to want to take the credit of others for themselves, so He made certain to inform them of the great consequences they would face, if they forgot the Lord, and walked after other gods. Obedience to God is the difference between blessings and curses, prosperity and poverty, and eternal salvation and eternal damnation. God gives us the ability to prosper, and we should always acknowledge Him no matter what season we experience. In times of plenty, God deserves our obedience. In times of trial and testing, we are still commanded to obey the Lord.

Although the warning in our text was given to the children of Israel in ancient times, God will not let the church of today, get by with giving what He deserves, to something or someone else. God promised to destroy Israel for their disobedience, and He’ll be certain to punish us as well.

The more God blesses you, the more humble you should become. The higher God takes you in this life, the lower you should bow before His presence. Walk in humility, to avoid falling into pride, and possibly allowing your blessings to cause you to forget God.

Walk in love,

Ell

God will not abandon you

Deuteronomy 4:25-31

God’s mercy endures forever, and what He promised, He’s sure to fulfill. Regardless of how far away we may stray from the confines of covenant agreement with the Father, He will never go against His word, while allowing us time to regain focus, and turn back to following after Him. God’s patience is immeasurable, and His forgiveness knows no limits, but He can only release His favor once we are standing in alignment with His Word, will, and way. This was proven time, and time again in Scripture, when God promised to bless Israel, they would disobey His commandments, wallow in their misery, then reconsider their actions and turn back to Him. God is not like man, who holds grudges against one another, and refuses to forget times of mistrust and failure, but He’s always ready to forgive, and forget those things we do, that are not pleasing in His sight. God loves to bless His people, not only because He promised to do so, but so that others can see His God works through them, and hopefully be influenced to learn His ways as well. How often do you meet people who are willing to support you, no matter how much wrong you may have done to them? Even relationships between good friends fall apart when trust is broken, and one is unfaithful to the other, but when God makes a promise, He’s willing to keep His word, so long as we repent, turn away from distractions, and commit to a life of dedicated service to His plan. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Walk in love,

Ell