An Invitation to Remember

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first” (Revelation 2:5a)    

 

Back in the middle 1980’s, I was making one of my yearly 3-day personal retreats at the Jesuit Retreat House in Lake Elmo, MN.  I had already been attending these weekends for several years and was familiar with one of the Jesuit’s who lived at the facility year-round.  He was old school for sure, but very well read and a veteran of many Ignatian retreats. On the weekend I am remembering, he was the retreat leader and said something that has shaped my walk with Jesus for over 30 years.  He was talking about the idea that we never outgrow our need for retreat, no matter how many retreats we have made through the years.  This was true he maintained because we are people of poor memory and limited perspective.  It was one of those statements where it is easy to understand the words but I have been reflecting on the implications of their deeper meaning for many years now.   

 

He was highlighting the truth that, as God’s people, we have great difficulty remembering God as He really is, all that He has done for us through the years and the many promises He has made that are yet to be fulfilled.  When times are hard, we are tempted to doubt His goodness, His character and His Word.  And when times are good, we are tempted to forget Him altogether, thinking we have earned the fruits of our labor and should be able to live as we please.  The problem is not unique to you and me of course, but it is a theme running throughout the Bible, from beginning to end.  From Genesis to Revelation there is the reminder, the call, the warning to remember.  In Deuteronomy 8, as the people of Israel are about to take possession of the Promised Land, the Lord is giving the people instruction to remember.  To remember how they were supernaturally delivered, with many miracles, from their bondage in Egypt.  And to remember how they were led supernaturally through the wilderness, a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  How they were fed supernaturally with manna, literally bread from heaven, and provided with clothes that did not wear out nor did their feet suffer harm.  They were warned to remember all these things so that when they took possession of the Promised Land, a land flowing with blessing and prosperity, they would remember the Lord their God and continue to live in covenant with Him.  Unfortunately, they did not remember and entered into an oft repeated cycle of waywardness, sin, bondage, deliverance and then prosperity again.  The book of Judges records for us at least 7 different repeats of this cycle over a 350-year period.  Amazing, isn’t it?   

 

At one time I was astounded by the hard hearted and seemingly relentless nature of their spiritual drifting and at times, outright rebellion.  That was until God showed me we are no different than the Israelites.  Idolatry, sexual immorality, tempting of God and the grumbling and complaining about circumstances are all alive and in full bloom in 21st century America, even the body of Christ.  The apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:11 “these things happened to them as an example and were written for our instruction.”  Its like Father Sthokal said 35 years ago, when things were arguably better than they are now, we are people of poor memory and limited perspective.     

 

I believe God is calling us into a season of remembering, repenting and being restored.  To remember that place from which we have fallen, to repent and to do the deeds we did at first.  For sure, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your own personal remembrance but to stimulate your thinking here a few categories you may want to consider?  

 

Remember what you have been saved from.  Prior to our conversion, we were in bondage to sin and the devil, spiritually dead and facing an eternity in hell.  Many of us are all too familiar with the manifestations of this kind of life. The brokenness and emotional pain of a life of sin, the emptiness of a life that is focused solely on selfish pursuits and the hopelessness that one experiences when there is no meaning beyond the self-realization of this life.  The immensity of the free gift of salvation is indescribable and the natural response of the human heart when considering it all is gratitude and thanksgiving.  By way of contrast Jesus says the “one who has been forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47).  What kind of a life did Jesus save you from?  And when was the last time you thanked Him for the gift of your salvation?  

 

Remember who you are.  By virtue of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we are children of God, sons and daughters of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.  We are co-heirs with Jesus and citizens of another kingdom, the Kingdom of God.  We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).  Chosen, blameless, holy, beloved, redeemed, and lavished with all wisdom and insight, having obtained a future inheritance that can never spoil or fade away.  We have been given authority and power by Jesus the King of kings to represent Him and His kingdom in the earth.  By God’s grace we are sons and daughters of God, loved unconditionally, treasured and valued members of God’s royal family. When you think about your identity what comes to mind?  The way you see yourself with all of your past failures and shortcomings or what God has declared is true about you?  Walking in your true identity is essential to our realizing your personal Promised Land.  

 

Remember what God has already done for you.  Just as the Lord supernaturally guided, provided for and protected the people of Israel, He has done the same for you and for me, whether we are aware of it or not.  Proverbs 16:9, “the mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”  One of the quickest ways to build gratitude and faith is to recount all of the ways that God has supernaturally intervened in our lives.  The doors that were opened, opportunities that presented themselves at just the right time, divine appointments with just the right people, divine healing and provision, lesser and greater miracles have all come together under God’s direction as the tangible expression of His great love for you and for me.  Grab a pen and paper and begin to list all of the times you remember when God answered your prayers or intervened in another way.  It won’t take you long before you will sense faith and gratitude begin to rise within you.  

 

Remember you have a unique Kingdom purpose no one else can fulfill.  The declaration of Scripture is God has a unique plan for your life (Ephesians 2:10) that will advance the kingdom of God.  It is common for God to place a deep desire in our heart and then begin the work of preparing us to fulfill it, similar to what is recorded for us in the life of Joseph in Genesis 37-50.  It also normative for God to reveal His plan in progressive fashion, with the plan taking on greater clarity regarding timing, location, resources required and other significant details as we live the life of a disciple, hearing Jesus’ voice and doing what He tells us.  This requires us to step out in faith, acting on what we know while we continue to grow in faith, character and skill. Therefore, we can live God’s will for our lives today, and each day in the future, with confident expectation that He will accomplish His will and purposes through us.  A key understanding however is to recognize this calling is uniquely yours.  Others may do a similar work but they will never do it the way you would with the people God has chosen for you to impact.  God desires that you find your place in His story.  Do you know what God has prepared for you?  

 

As we live into this season of remembrance, we are going to look more closely at some of these areas so be sure to check out future articles and the blog piece for Transforming Together.  There is a quality of life and a life purpose that God has for each of us that is represented in the metaphor of our own personal Promised Land.  We can know what it is and God will enable us to live the abundant and fulfilled life but it won’t happen without our being intentional in pursuing it.  I hope you will join me in that journey today.  

 

While more details will be available in the coming weeks, I want to encourage you now to mark your calendar for Friday night May 31, 2019, 7 P.M.  We are gathering for a celebration event at Thanksgiving Church called simply Remember.  Remember your salvation, remember God’s gracious care and provision, remember all of the answered prayers, remember His working of miracles, His blessings without measure and the glorious future He has prepared for you both on the earth and your future home in heaven.  With our minds filled with memories of His faithfulness and essential goodness and with our hearts filled with gratitude and thanksgiving, we are going to offer corporately our thanks and praise.  We will worship and give thanks to Jesus the King for all He has done.  I hope you will come and add your voice and stories to mine.