​As I mature as a human being, this forgetting routine is becoming up close and personal. 
 
Recently I went into the bedroom to get something and could not remember what I was supposed to be getting! Too embarrassed to ask my wife. My dog Daisy looked at me wondering why I looked confused.
 
Someone said there are three indicators of getting old. First, the loss of memory—and we cannot remember the other two!
 
Natural memory loss inhibits us from remembering things we should not forget.
 
In our verses for this week Jesus’ closest followers were long on forgetfulness and short of memory.
 
“Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you took up?” Matthew 16:9-10
 
Setting: the religious leaders were testing Jesus (verses 1-6).  The Lord warns the disciples to watch out for them and their sign-seeking. Their response to His wise warning? A discussion group.
 
They missed the lesson because they focused on not having any bread (verse 5). The disciples failed the bread test (verses 7-8). Enter Jesus into discussion. “You men of little faith.”
 
 My goodness, (my paraphrase!) you watched the miraculous feedings of the 5,000 and 4,000 and their families. And you still don’t get it? Have you forgotten what you should be remembering?
 
Think about it. They personally witnessed with their own eyes and held the bread in their own hands when Jesus fed two crowds that numbered in the thousands. Two major physical miracles in the short span of a few days. “Little Boy’s Lunch Of Loaves Of Bread And Fish Feed Thousands” makes for huge headlines in the Jerusalem daily journal!  
 
And they are talking about “no bread”. How in the world could they be so lame-brained, memory drained, forgetting about all those who “ate and were satisfied” and the overflowing baskets of leftover bread? (Matthew 15:37)
 
The disciples lapsed into SPITIRUAL MEMORY LOSS which is very dangerous to our faith life!
 

• In the battle for the mind, Satan wants us to forget what God wants us to remember!

 
Slick strategy by the evil one. Deception is his game. Hey Christian, forget what God did yesterday. Are you sure you can trust Him to act on your behalf today?
 
Forgetting can easily led to lack of faith and unfaithfulness to the Lord.
 
When we are in need, how easy, frustrating and unproductive it is to forget how God has met our needs in the past. So often the message of Moses and the prophets to Israel was “REMEMBER YOUR GOD!” (Deuteronomy 8:1-18).
 
Forgetting stifles faith while remembering stimulates faith.
 
REMEMBER THE LORD needs to be our banner and battle cry when life turns upside down. Remembering what we should not forget will turn life right side up.
 
An insightful person wrote “God gave us our memories that we might have roses in December”.
 
Remember These Ten Things When Tempted to Forget
 
1. God is Almighty. There is nothing too difficult for Him! (Jeremiah32:16)
 
2. Absolutely nothing can separate you from God’s love.    (Romans 8:35-39)
 
3. What God did for His people Israel; He will do for you because you are His                      people.                                                                                   (I Peter 2:9-10)
 
4. God is a god of deliverances who has delivered you before!  (Psalm 68:19-20)
 
5. God made a way for you in the past when there was no way! (Isaiah 43:19)
 
6. God supplied your need yesterday and will supply today.   (Philippians 4:19)
 
7. God sustained you through a previous crisis and will sustain you now.
                                                                                                            Psalm 55:22)
8. God came through last time and will come through this time. (Joshua 4:23-24)                                                                                                         
 
9. God blessed you yesterday and will bless you today and tomorrow. (Job 42:12)
 
10. God has never failed you and will not fail you today!             (Hebrews 13:5)
 
TRUTH: We should not forget what we should remember.
 
 “Remember to forget your losses, your setbacks, and your defeats. Do not forget to remember your blessings, your triumphs, and your victories!”  William A. Ward:
 
Don’t forget to remember what God has done for you!
 
Experiencing a tough time? Remember--- the same good God who took good care of you last time will take good care of you this time!
 
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, yes and forever.”  Hebrews 13:8
 
A Word For Your Week: Remember today what you should not forget.  

How you ever thought about what makes a person great?


Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-26 that great people in God’s Kingdom are the ones who serve. “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whosoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant.”


Servanthood is a significant sign of greatness according to God’s Word. Humble service makes men and women great in God’s eyes.


In Psalm 18:35 we read another truth that makes you and me great.


“Thou has given me the shield of Thy salvation, and Thy right hand upholds me; AND THY GENTLENESS MAKES ME GREAT.” Psalm 18:35


In his day, David was a great man. David had a heart for God, serving the Lord and God’s people all his life. Before he was anointed king over the nation of Israel, the shepherd boy David slew giant Goliath. King David was a mighty warrior and courageous leader who never lost a battle to Israel’s arch enemies the Philistines.


King David exuded greatness among the Israeli people. Psalm 18, penned by David, is a song of praise for God’s deliverance from enemies. David extols God’s delivering power and exalts His name for rescuing him time and time again. Then, in verse 35, after saying that God has shielded David with His salvation and that God’s right hand upholds him, David declares “And Thy gentleness makes me great.”


Sometimes God’s Word just reaches deep down into your spirit and grabs you! This phrase grabbed me and will not let me go. Do you see what I see?


David said he was great because of God’s gentleness.


God’s gentleness made David great. The mantle of greatness was David’s because of gentleness from God.


Usually, when we think of great men and women, we think of awesome abilities, personal charisma, power and influence. God does indeed empower His people through the Holy Spirit to do mighty spiritual exploits in His name. But gentleness and greatness?


David attributed his greatness to God’s gentleness.
I am blessed with a son, daughter and four precious grandchildren. I remember with fondness and happiness the days when they were newborns and young children. I would spend as much time as possible with them.


As babies, I hugged them up, gently cradling them close to my heart. A soft, caring, compassionate touch from grandpa (they call me Doodah now) always produced a smile on their angelic faces worth a trillion dollars for Doodah! As well as a huge smile in this old man’s heart.    


People of all ages, not just newborn babies, need to receive gentleness from Christians.


We who know Christ possess the gentleness of God that works in our heart and makes us great servants. In Galatians 5:22-23, gentleness is listed as one of the nine fruit of the Spirit. Many believers strive to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience…but what about gentleness and then of course, the last one on the list, self-control?   


Our brokenhearted, sin-sick, lost world lacks a gentle touch. Let’s face it: life without Christ is hard and cruelly harsh.


The devil knows no gentleness. Roughness, toughness, harshness, and cruelty causes people to become hardened and bitter. As a crisis counselor, I see too many people who are emotionally and sometimes physically bruised, battered and beaten up by harsh words and hard-hearted actions from others.


My friends and fellow Christians, where will hurting people receive a gentle touch unless God’s people who know God’s gentleness share His gentleness with them through serving them?


Please be gentle with God’s gentleness.  Be a great person in the lives of people you know, love and serve by being gentle.


Be gentle with your words and deeds. Make gentleness, compassion, mercy and lovingkindness the marks of your witness, service and ministry to people.


When tempted to be hard or harsh, do not be that way. Choose to be gentle. When someone has been harsh toward you, do not respond in kind. Return gentleness for their harshness. When you have opportunity to show a fellow human being the gentler side of life, show it. When you can soften the hard edge of someone’s situation, go ahead and do it.


Something to think about: God has been gentle with us. Shouldn’t we who bear His name be gentle with people for whom Christ died and rose again so they could find forgiveness and live forever? Just a thought.


Would it not be awesome if people would say of you and me: There goes a great person because they are a gentle servant of Jesus Christ?


Who do you know that needs the gentleness of God through you today?


“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.”  Matthew 5:5      


“Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”   Matthew 11:28-30
​

A Word For Your Week: If you want to be great…be gentle.

When was the last time you reflected on your past and then rejoiced in the Lord?

It is a sad fact of human behavior that most of us reflect upon our yesterdays with regret and remorse.

Thoughts of the past usually generate bad press. Too often we look back wishing yesterday was different than it was. Instead of singing God’s praises for being with us in the past, we often sigh and even cry over yesterday. We decreed yesterday as bad news. But what about all the good news our yesterdays were made of?
The Psalmist had a holy habit, and I believe a healthy habit, of reflecting upon yesterday WITH JOY!  He habitually remembered God’s great works on His behalf and then rejoiced in God’s goodness to him. (Psalm 71:19, 66: 5-7,16, 105:1-7, 111:1-4, 126:1-3). 

“I remember the days of old, I meditate on all Thy doings; I muse (reflect and ponder) on the work of Thy hands.”  Psalm 143:5

“Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He uttered by His mouth.”   Psalm 105:5

Remembering and reflecting resulted in rejoicing for the Psalmist.
What is your habit when reviewing the past? Is your reflection process holy and healthy like the Psalmist? Do you remember what you should remember with joy?
As fickle people who struggle with remaining faithful to God, we tend to forget things we should not forget and remember things we should not remember.
Psalm 78:11-12 declares of God’s people Israel “and they forgot His deeds, and His miracles that He had shown them. He wrought wonders before their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoar.” Like Israel, we forget God’s good deeds, miracles and wonderful works in our lives.
We forget because we are forgetful.
We forget because the devil does not want us to remember and rejoice. We forget because we are surrounded and influenced by a society of forgetters. We forget because we focus on our failures instead of our successes, our nightmares instead of our dreams, our strike outs instead of our hits and home runs, our defeats instead of our victories, our pains instead of our gains, our lack instead of our provision, and our tears instead of our cheers!
I used to view my past with regret. But I have (and still am) learning to rejoice in yesterday. Why the shift in attitude? Because there are plenty of reasons why I should rejoice when I look back to yesterday.

• God has always been with me.
• God has sustained me.
• God has protected me.
• God generously provided for me, my family and ministry.
• God has directed my steps.
• God has spared me. God has delivered me.
• God has graciously corrected and matured me.
• God has healed, restored and renewed me.
• God has richly blessed every area of Steve Roll’s life.

Above all, God saved me through the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ for which I am eternally grateful.
Christians have every reason to rejoice when they look back to remember what God has done for them through Jesus Christ.   

My fellow Christian, remember and rejoice in all the life you have lived under the watchful, loving, merciful, gracious eye of Almighty God. Your heavenly Father has been Lord over the good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly in our lives.   

We should rejoice in our yesterdays because…

• What God did for us yesterday makes us who/what we are today.
• What God did in and through us proves His love for us.
• Yesterday provides us with a personal testimony of God’s goodness.
• Rejoicing in our yesterdays encourages others to redeem their yesterdays.
• What God did yesterday He will do today and tomorrow. (Hebrews 13:8)

When we look back to yesterday, we are confronted with a choice. We can remember and regret or we can REMEMBER and REJOICE. Our choice to rejoice in yesterday will inspire us to rejoice in today. And everyday is a better day when we rejoice in the Lord!

Set aside some time this week to reflect on the past. Write down all the wonderful things God has done for you. Then give Him thanks for every single one!

REMEMBER AND REJOICE!!!

“I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; surely I will remember Thy wonders of old. I will meditate on all Thy work and talk of Thy doings. Thy way, Oh God, is holy; What god is great like out God? Thou art the God who works wonders…”      Psalm 77:11-14a ​

A Word For Your Week: Give thanks today for God’s goodness to you yesterday.

When you and I need something to happen, God often meets that need by surprising us in a way we did not expect.
The above is true. I personally like this truth!
Isaiah 64:1-4 is a prayer request by Isaiah the prophet for God to be merciful to Israel and send help to deliver the nation from adversaries.
“Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains may quake at Your presence. As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, to make known Your name to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence.
WHEN YOU DID AWESOME THINGS WE DID NOT EXPECT; You came down and the mountains quaked at Your presence. For from of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides You WHO ACTS ON THE BEHALF OF THE ONE WHO WAITS FOR HIM.
You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways. “
Isaiah asked God to come down in dramatic fashion to deal with His enemies. The Almighty did. A fireworks show that was out of this world. Isaiah recognized that what God did was not what they expected, a surprise if you will in taking care of their adversaries.
God blessed His people in a way they did not expect.
The Bible from cover-to-cover reveals God doing things His people did not expect.
 A shepherd boy slays a giant…A few fish and loaves of bread feed thousands…An uncrossable sea parts to save God’s people and drown an enemy army…A dead brother is raised from the grave…A lame man walks… Blind men see…A godly man is saved from hungry lions…Three boys escape from a fiery furnace…A demon is cast out from a tormented man. An Ark spares a righteous family and humanity. A crucified Savior rises from the dead. On, and on, and on…UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS!
Miracle after miracle after miracle. God has done things and still does things His people do not expect!
So, what about you and me? Does the Lord do things for us that we did not expect? Surprise us? You bet He does!!!!
God the Father loves to surprise His sons and daughters. He specializes in surprising us with things we did not expect. Makes life fun for Him and us!
When you need something from the Lord according to His promises in the Word, do not worry, do not be anxious, do not doubt, do not be fearful. Instead trust Him to deliver what you need according to His will, His way and in His time. Wait on Him to do His thing.
Leave room for a surprise that will knock your spiritual socks off! Without question many of the blessings the Lord has given me were unexpected….and received with great joy!
Expect the unexpected in a good way. As a father and grandfather, I get a tremendous kick out of surprising my offspring with blessings they had no idea were coming. The surprised, happy look on their faces warms the heart of this graying old gentleman.
A Few Thoughts About Expectation

• Our faith journey is so exciting and rewarding when God does WHAT WE EXPECTED and WHAT WE DID NOT EXPECT!
• You and I get what we expect and much more when God does what we did not expect.
• Faith is fortified when God does what we did not expect.
• People take note when God does something we did not expect in our lives.
• God is glorified when we praise Him for doing the unexpected.
• Share with others who need encouraged the unexpected blessings God did for you.

My friend, the next time you need a blessing from the Lord, expect Him to do the unexpected! Do not be surprised when God surprises you with something in your life that you did not expect!
Take a few moments today. Think about things God has done for you that surprised you. Make a list. Relive each item. Reflect on how it blessed you. Pray over each unexpected thing God did, thanking and praising His name.
What are you expecting the Lord to do for you according to His Word? How are you expecting Him to surprise you from time to time? Are you open to a surprise blessing?
EXPECTED OR UNEXPECTED God is always working in our lives to glorify Himself, strengthen our faith and build us up for the next round of life!!!
Are you ready for His next surprise in your faith walk?
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us. To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations for ever and ever. Amen. “ Ephesians 3:20-21
A Word For Your Week: Expecting the unexpected is an exciting way to walk with God.