REMEMBER AND NEVER FORGET

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children." You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 4:9-14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

At the start of Chapter 4, Moses encourages Israel as they are prepared to enter Canaan. In his words, he offers words that show the rewards that came with obedience to the Lord’s commands and decrees. I proposed that these rewards still come to us today as we serve the Lord ourselves. So his initial message was to continue to obey because obedience brought favor.

As we continue in Chapter 4, Moses continues to share his message with Israel but in this passage, the theme was different. The call was to remember.

For Moses told Israel:

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

We can’t go forward to succeed in the future if we don’t remember the things we have learned from the past. And the things Israel learned not only included what God had taught them but also what resulted from the mistakes they made. The combination of these learning processes were going to be critical for Israel as they now entered the land God had promised them.

But note that it wasn’t only important for them. For Moses instructs Israel to teach their children what they know so that they might in turn teach their children who would teach their children and so on and so forth. The hope was that there would be a continuous pass down take place through the years that would lead to a people who would be more and more obedient and thus more and more in God’s favor.

Just in case the people weren’t sure what they were supposed to remember, Moses reminds them saying:

“Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, ‘Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.’ You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses provided the Israelites with a reminder of what God expected of them before he left them and they entered Canaan. His word was a reminder of God’s word.

Today, the things that Israel was required to do are tasks for us as well. For we are to:

1. Remember and never forget the word of God, given to us to instruct us in every facet of our Christian walk.
2. Teach our children about His word so they will be obedient to Him as they grow older and can pass His word, will and way to the next generation.

There is no gray area here. If we live in sin, then we are living as if we have forgotten the word and will of the Father for us. In other words, we have become His disobedient children. And if we are living in disobedience in the midst of our children…the very children the Lord has entrusted to our care, then we are raising up another generation of disobedient adults who will most assuredly do the same to their children.

There’s much at stake here and we need to heed this message seriously. We are systematically losing our youth in America to Satan and these young people are going to be raising up the next generation. If we don’t intervene and seek to change things now, soon Satan will have immersed the earth in the very sin that God hates and Jesus died for, essentially sucking the life out of Creation. And then, we know that Jesus will look to return for Satan will never have the victory.

Friends, you know I don’t typically write in alarmist fashion but this is a time when it is needed. Let’s commit to do our part to rescue our children, return them back to the Lord and reverse our direction toward righteousness and away from sinful apostasy. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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