Looking to Jesus

 Isaiah 51:1
 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you dug. 

The start of a new year is always a good time to reflect on the previous year. The events we experience in 2024 no doubt shaped us and molded us in some way. Hopefully, it was for the good. Personally, it was a very stressful year. Dealing with the health decline of my mother and her passing was tough. Through it all, I was reminded that life is but a vapor. We enter into this world, find our purpose, live our destiny, and leave a legacy behind us. My purpose was to live for Jesus, to follow after righteousness, and daily seek His face. To always remember that He brought me out of sin, gave me a new life, and to live a life that would bring glory to His name. We do not want to live in the past, but looking back to see how God has worked in our lives can help our faith to believe that He is still able to do great things in the future. What the future holds, God only knows. Life is uncertain as to the days we have left, but we are to be vessels, ready and willing to be used by God for as long as He gives us breath. In 2025, let us look to Jesus. He is our help and refuge, our Rock of salvation. In every situation, He will bring us out and save us in times of trouble. 

Forgiveness is a Choice

 Col 3:13
bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Is it possible to forgive, but not forget? When life happens, things sometimes happen to us that cause deep hurt. They are imprinted in our memories and don’t go away. When God forgives our sins, they are cast into the sea as far as the east from the west. (Psalm 103:12). God says, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer.31:34) To forgive means to “send away”. The slate is clean. God's forgetfulness means that He will not bring it again and hold us accountable. When we confess our sins, He forgives our transgressions and wipes them away with His precious blood. The blood now covers sin and shame and we are made clean, whiter than snow. When others do things to us or our loved ones, the temptation is to become resentful and bitter toward those who have caused hurt. Forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a choice. I may never feel like forgiving, but by the grace of God, I choose to forgive. Forgiveness does not take away the hurt and disappointment, but it does bring peace to the heart. We can take it to Jesus, and leave it at the foot of the cross, and give it to Him. Healing is sometimes made easier when apologies are made, but apologies may never happen, and forgiveness may not happen in a moment of time, but God’s love and grace is able to bring healing and forgiveness to a heart that seeks it!

Remember Me

Luke 23:42

“Jesus, [please] remember me when You come into Your kingdom!

The cry of every soul when death draws near is to be remembered. The criminal on the cross would be remembered by those around him for the evil deeds he had committed . Scripture will forever remember this man who recognized his sinful condition and called out for mercy. We all deserve to die, for the wages of sin is death. Physical death comes to all. We will all someday take our last breath, the heart will cease to beat, and our mind will no longer function. Our soul will continue to live on, and we will come face to face and be judged by a Holy God who knows our heart and desires. He will remember when we yielded to His tender love and confessed our sins. He will remember our commitment to follow Him and to obey His word, He will remember our humanity and failures in life. We desire only to hear the words, “Enter in my good and faithful servant…” Remember me Lord when I pass from this life into eternity. 

Can God Forget?

Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

How is it possible for God to forget? He knows the past, present and future. I believe it is impossible for God to forget anything that happens, but I do believe that God forgives and will not hold us accountable for the sins we have committed. “If we confess our sins, He is faith and just to forgive.” He remembers not, or wipes clean our slate as it was never there. He does not bring them up and dangles them before us, sin is gone, cast into the sea of God’s forgiveness. As far as the east is from the west, our sins are cast away.  Satan may bring up the past, for he never forgets, but when God looks at our past, all He sees is the blood of Christ that has cleanse our heart from all unrighteousness. If your sin has been confessed to God and forgiven, don’t look back, keep your eyes on Jesus, walk in the light of God’s love. Stay under the blood of Christ. His blood causes God to “forget”.

Legacy to Remember

2 Tim 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Let those that follow behind us find us faithful. The song writer must have been referring to Lois and Eunice. They left a godly example for Timothy to follow. They held on to their faith in spite of the circumstances they faced in their day. The faith passed down from generation to generation. A legacy of hope given to son and grandson. Such is the desire of all who follow Christ. As time moves on and the sun begins to set on the horizon of life, what is the legacy we leave behind? How will we be remembered? There are a lot of good things in life that have been accomplished, but it is our faith in Christ that will last for eternity. The things of this world will fade away, my hope is built on nothing less, that Jesus Christ and His righteousness. A legacy of love, hope and faith.

Faded Gravestones

Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

The fact is that in 100 years most people after they have passed on will not be remembered by anyone alive. All that is reminds is a faded gravestone or a name etched on some plaque or memorial stone. The things we did in life are buried in history and for the most part, most people are not interested in the life we lived. As Christians, we don’t live for this life. This world is not our home, we are only passing through. Our life is but a vapor, we live a mere 70-100 years, then we move on. Generations pass, and all that is left is our legacy and influence we made in the lives of other people. The choices we make in this life, for good or bad will leave an everlasting impression with those that walk in our footsteps. The print we leave will not be forgotten. It is marked by God. It has been graven in the palm of His Hand. He will not forgot the things that were done for Him and His kingdom. This world will pass away, but that which is done in His name will live on forever.

Landmarks In Our Lives

Joshua 4: 7 ..these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

Putting the pass behind us and moving forward is good advise. We should not let the things in our pass keep us from going forward with God. But the pass is not all bad, it is good to take some time in our busy lives and stop to remember all that God has done. The journey behind us is filled with sorrow and tears, but along the way we see how God has walked beside us. The landmarks in our lives can be a reminder of the mercy of God and His grace that took us through a difficult time. Landmarks that tell of His provisions when we He answered our prayers. It is good to put down some memorials, a place to point to show others that our God is Jehovah-Jireh, He who provides for all our needs.

Count Our Blessings

Psalm 139:17.18 “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with Thee.”

Count our blessings one by one, it will amaze you how high you can count. Remembering to count is often forgotten when we are in the mist of things happening that cause us despair or stress. It seems at times that everything is going wrong and nothing seems to be going the way we like it to go. Broken vehicle, flooded basement, late for an important appointment, car accident, and many other things that happen because we live in a broken world. But God, who knows what we are going through and sees our frustration still shows His love to us in many ways. The good things He provide cannot be numbers, they are as the sands of the sea. We should stop and start to count when it seems that all is falling apart. Daily He floods us with His benefits and His love is everlasting. Take time today and begin counting. 

Remember

Psalm 77:11“ I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Thy wonders of old.”-

It is easy to forget what God has done in the pass when we are facing hard times in the present. We are not to look back on our past failures and dwell on things that bring back memories that defeat us. But, we can look back and see how God has brought us through those times in our lives when it did not seem possible that we would find a way through. Let us not forget the wonders of God’s deliverance and His mighty power to answer prayer. In every situation we face, God has a plan to see us through. the Red Sea of today is no problem for God, we must remember that He is still the God who parted the Red Sea of yesterday. Let us remember and consider what God has done and how great He is. He is still in the miracle working business. He still wants to show Himself to us in all of His might and power. The giant we face today can be defeated when we remember that it is God who directs the stone and He never misses.

Putting on Christ

Num. 15:38, 40 “Put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue....that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God”- 

God does not want us to forget who brought us out of sin. Keeping Christ at the center and focus of our life will help us to remember who saved us from sin and that He desires that we follow Him and do His commandments. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we put on Christ it is our badge of identity. It reminds people who we are and who we belong to. Living a life of sin and putting on Christ are not compatible. We cannot say that Christ is living in us and through us when we live contrary to His commandments. When we are tempted to live in the flesh and fulfill the lust of the flesh, He is faithful and willing to deliver us. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us...” Being holy unto God is to be set apart and ready to be used by Him. To be holy does not mean that we live a perfect life without error, it means that our heart’s desires more to be like Jesus. Having put on Christ, we are reminded that in everything we do in life, it is done knowing that Christ is the center, and doing His will is the only things that really matters. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Roman 13:14