Always Keep Remembering God - Deuteronomy 8-10 and Mark 11:19-33
Notice how many times the word "remember" or the concept of remembering is repeated in these passages. One of the worst things we can do is forget what God has done for us and forget that He is always with us. However, people have weak memories. There are many things that cause us to forget God. Forgetting God always leads to sin. Therefore, we must make it a priority to remember all that the Lord has done for us.
Moses delivered a warning to the new generation in Deuteronomy 8-10. He told them not to forget God when they came into the land of Canaan, and they had everything they needed. He knew that it would be easy to think that they had done it all themselves and to forget that it all came from God. That is how our flesh works. Pride leads us to forget that God gives us the ability to gain wealth. Being comfortable leads us to complacency. When we are proud and complacent, we forget God. Moses also reminded them to remember how they had sinned at Mount Sinai, when they made the golden calf. It took them less than 40 days to forget God. He reminded them of the times they complained in the wilderness, because they forgot how God had led them across the dried up Red Sea and how God had defeated Pharaoh. Their poor memory led them to be a stiff-necked and rebellious people. God had to punish them, and a lot of the reason was a poor memory.
Think about Mark 11 in this way. The disciples had seen Jesus curse the fig tree the day before. Now, Jesus called them to remember, so they would see the power of prayer. God can cause anything in His will to happen, but we must believe in His power. One way we are led to believe more is to remember what God has done for us already. When we forget what He has done, we are less likely to believe Him in a new circumstance. When Jesus was asked about His authority by the Jewish leaders, He asked them to remember John, the Baptist. Why did He do that? He wanted them to think about what God had done through John. They were forgetting it already. When He caused them to remember, they were afraid of what the people would do, since there was no doubt that God had worked through John. What are you forgetting? How has God worked in your life? What are the Spiritual Markers, the great moments in the your life when God did significant things in you and around you? Don't forget them! Keep them in mind, even if you have to write them down and refer to them often. We must all constantly remember God and His mighty works in our lives.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 11-13 and Mark 12:1-27.
Moses delivered a warning to the new generation in Deuteronomy 8-10. He told them not to forget God when they came into the land of Canaan, and they had everything they needed. He knew that it would be easy to think that they had done it all themselves and to forget that it all came from God. That is how our flesh works. Pride leads us to forget that God gives us the ability to gain wealth. Being comfortable leads us to complacency. When we are proud and complacent, we forget God. Moses also reminded them to remember how they had sinned at Mount Sinai, when they made the golden calf. It took them less than 40 days to forget God. He reminded them of the times they complained in the wilderness, because they forgot how God had led them across the dried up Red Sea and how God had defeated Pharaoh. Their poor memory led them to be a stiff-necked and rebellious people. God had to punish them, and a lot of the reason was a poor memory.
Think about Mark 11 in this way. The disciples had seen Jesus curse the fig tree the day before. Now, Jesus called them to remember, so they would see the power of prayer. God can cause anything in His will to happen, but we must believe in His power. One way we are led to believe more is to remember what God has done for us already. When we forget what He has done, we are less likely to believe Him in a new circumstance. When Jesus was asked about His authority by the Jewish leaders, He asked them to remember John, the Baptist. Why did He do that? He wanted them to think about what God had done through John. They were forgetting it already. When He caused them to remember, they were afraid of what the people would do, since there was no doubt that God had worked through John. What are you forgetting? How has God worked in your life? What are the Spiritual Markers, the great moments in the your life when God did significant things in you and around you? Don't forget them! Keep them in mind, even if you have to write them down and refer to them often. We must all constantly remember God and His mighty works in our lives.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 11-13 and Mark 12:1-27.