Could You Forget

Could You Forget


Is God’s Holy Word an important part of your life? Do you appreciate and acknowledge the benefits of His love for you? Is your relationship with Him your number one priority? My prayer is that your answer to all three of these questions is a resounding, ‘Yes!’ 

But whether you are currently walking closely with the Lord or not, if you have truly surrendered to Him as Lord and Savior, surely you could never forget:

His Word

• Psalm 119:16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

His Benefits

• Psalm 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:

Him

• Psalm 44:17 All this has come upon us; But we have not forgotten You, Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.

But the truth of the matter is, if our lives were easier, if our problems went away, if our ‘needs’ were met, if we were free from worry, sickness, debt, ..., we would be in real danger of forgetting the very One who provided these blessings.

‘Not me!’ you say. Be careful; the Word of God provides a very clear warning about this very situation.

• Deuteronomy 8:10-14 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

What was Moses telling the Nation of Israel in the verses above?

• Verse 10 - The Scenario
• You will experience many blessings and thank the Lord for them.
• Verse 11 - The Warning
• But don’t let the abundance provided by God initiate the turning of your attention from His Word.
• Verses 12-13 - The Change
• This can cause you to get more focused on the benefits obtained through your relationship with God than on the relationship itself.
• Verse 14 - The Trap
• Then you will start taking credit for what God has done for you and your pride will cause you to turn your back on Him.

Can you see how turning our attention from God’s Word and focusing more on the blessings than the One who blesses causes us to pay less and less attention to Him? This is a progressive cycle that starts small, increases in frequency and scope, and then leads us to a place we never intended to be.

Here are a few more verses related to forgetting God’s Word, His Benefits and Him.

• Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
• 2 Peter 3:5-7 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
• Hosea 13:6 When they had pasture, they were filled; They were filled and their heart was exalted; Therefore they forgot Me.
• Proverbs 30:7-9 Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): 8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.
• Psalm 106:21 They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,
• Psalm 50:22 “Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver:

Now the hard part.  Prayerfully and honestly answer the following questions?

• Do you spend more or less time studying God’s Word now than you did a month ago, six months ago, a year ago?
• What are you personally doing to better understand the truth of God’s Word and apply that truth to your daily life?
• What are some of the smallest and greatest blessings in your life?
• What blessings in your life are you taking credit for?
• Are you praying more or less as the years go by?
• How often do you think about God during the course of your day?
• What do the following verses reveal about the amount of pride in your life?
• Deuteronomy 8:17-18 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
• Deuteronomy 9:4 “Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you.

Could You Forget

Prayer

Dear Lord, I confess that in my pride I think I could never forget Your Word, Your benefits or You. Yet I also confess that I often neglect Your Word, take credit for blessings in my life, and try to resolve serious problems or issues without seeking You in prayer. I thank You for the clear warnings in Your Word about the progression towards forgetting You. Please grant me repentance and turn my heart towards You. Humble me Lord where I do not humble myself. Praise be to Your Holy name! By the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in His name, I offer this prayer to You. Amen. 

 

 

Those Who Fear Him

Those Who Fear Him


It was a rough night; high winds, heavy rain, lightning and thunder. The power had blinked off and on a few times, but there was never really a power outage. Thankfully, around 2:30am the winds died down and the storm dissipated. You are now very thankful for the few hours of sleep and that the house seemed to weather yet another summer storm. With the sun up and the birds singing you are surprised to see that the powerlines behind your house have blown over. Several power poles are leaning over and the power lines are suspended about two feet off the ground in your back yard. A thought crosses your mind, ‘I wonder if those powerlines are energized or not?’ What do you do?

• Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Hopefully, you don’t walk over and grab one of the powerlines! Most people who live in areas where electrical service is common have a general understanding of how dangerous electricity can be. You could say they have a healthy respect for the power being conducted by the powerlines. You might even say they have a fear of electricity.

There are several different words translated as ‘fear’ in the Bible. The word fear is often used in conjunction with God. Here are two examples

• Psalm 119:120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.
• Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Of the three verses included with this devotion above, the different words translated ‘fear’ have two meanings:

• Mathew 10:28 and Proverbs 9:10 – Can mean reverence/awe and fear/alarm/afraid
• Psalm 119:120 – Means dread/terror

With regards to fearing God, the general concept presented in the Bible is:

• We know who He is
• We know He is all-powerful and all-knowing
• We know that He is righteous and that He will judge sin
• We know that He reigns sovereignly over His Kingdom (the universe)

Fearing God is to reverence and respect Him based on a fundamental understanding of His power and His direct and righteous engagement with the affairs of man. Our continual reverence and awe towards Him can sometimes include being afraid of His response to our failures.

As we maintain a proper attitude towards Him, He extends incredible mercy to us. Psalm 103 is a wonderful expression of adoration and humility towards God in response to His abundant mercy.

• Verse 1: Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
• Verse 8: The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

There are three verses in Psalm 103 that reference ‘… those who fear Him’.

• Verse 11: For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
• The Lord’s favor and kindness toward those who reverence Him are as immeasurable as the expanse of space.
• Verse 13: As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
• Imagine the compassion a loving father has toward his children, such is the compassion of the Lord to those who are in awe of Him.
• Verse 17: But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children,
• As His existence extends from eternity past to eternity future, so extends the Lord’s mercy on those who genuinely respect Him.

We fail Him in many ways: we fall short of the life He desires for us; we doubt and worry and depend on the wrong things; we put our selfish desires above His commands to love Him and others; …

Our failures justify a wrathful response.

 

But He never fails us!

• Lamentations 3:22-23 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Prayer

Father in Heaven, without Your mercy, Your well-deserved wrath would have long ago consumed us. Thank You for Your ongoing mercy! Thank You for the indwelling presence of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for salvation in Jesus Christ. Your mercy is greater than my finite mind can comprehend. My praise and thanksgiving fall short of what is required in response to Your mercy; yet another circumstance where Your love overshadows my shortcomings. I love You and praise You. My prayer is lifted up to You in the name above every name, Jesus Christ. Amen.