Don’t Forget To Remember

​To err is human; to forget is routine.

​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.