A Note from Michael Gossett
“Remember”
Many of us can remember things from our past that bring us great joy. I remember one of the first times I ever played golf. My dad took me out to play a round of golf with him and I’ll never forget that moment. I remember playing baseball, playing football, playing basketball, going fishing, and camping with my family.
When it comes to remembering, it would be impossible to over-emphasize the calling from Scripture to remember. In fact, the word “remember” is used around 350 times throughout Scripture. If we add every variant of the word, it is closer to 550 times. We are called to be a remembering people. Psalm 106:7 says, “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.”
We are called to remember. However, as sweet as my memories are of playing sports, important moments in my life, or even tragedies that occurred, God calls us to remember much more. We are called to remember the wondrous works of the Lord. When you survey the years of your life, whether you are young or old, do you remember how the Lord has worked in your life? Psalm 106 addresses a time when Israel was at a point where it was a necessity to remember. Remembering God’s works of the past serves as a fuel for the present and gives hope for the future. There are times that our memory of the past makes us long for the past instead of providing the necessary energy to keep going. Right now, the church is experiencing unprecedented decline in America. The statistics seem depressing, and we are too familiar with the bleak state of morality in our nation. However, this can drive God’s people to either long for the past or to press further into the mission. How do we press on?
- Remember God’s power.
Do not forget the power of God in the life of the church and in your life personally. Jesus said in Matthew 16 that He will build His church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against her. This promise is not based on anything other than the power of Christ. The people of God must remember God’s power that will continue to propel us and His church into the future.
- Remember God’s faithfulness.
Do not forget that God is faithful to do what He says He will do. Jesus has placed every one of us as His followers on a mission. In Matthew 28, Jesus declared that our mission is to make disciples of all nations. And He promised to be with us until the end of the age. God’s power continues in the life of the church because of His faithfulness. Therefore, do not lose heart, instead keep going in the mission He has given us. He will be faithful to see His mission through and He desires for you to be a part of it.
- Remember God’s goodness.
There are times we forget the goodness of God. I love one of the songs we sing together as a church that says, “All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.” God’s goodness will never change. Our circumstances will look different from season to season and even from day to day, but through it all, God remains good. His work is good, His mission is good, His love is good, and His ways are good. Remember the goodness of God.
When we remember God’s power, God’s faithfulness, and God’s goodness, we have the formula that is necessary for endurance. When things become difficult, when things are confusing, when things don’t seem right, we can lean in to remember that God is still on the throne. We are a forgetful people by nature, so let us press on and remember who God is and be encouraged to live for Him today.
Come celebrate Mother’s Day with us This Sunday. We will continue our study in Hebrews 10:1-18 as we consider “A Greater Sacrifice.” Begin reading and preparing now. Hebrews 10:1-18 says, “Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said: You did not desire sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me. 6 You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings. 7 Then I said, “See— it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, God.” 8 After he says above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law), 9 he then says, See, I have come to do your will. He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. 11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified. 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after he says: 16 This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, the Lord says, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds, 17 and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts. 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.”
I cannot wait to worship with you this Sunday!
You are loved and prayed for!
Michael Gossett