DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE

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In Christ, Mark

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

The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’ "

Numbers 15:37-41

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

Throughout their rather short history, the people of Israel had shown a propensity for disobeying God’s commands. We saw one such example a two messages ago when a man in the Israelite camp decided to go out and gather firewood on the Sabbath day in direct violation of one of the famed Ten Commandments. This led to God imposing the death penalty by stoning after this particular Israelite failed to keep the Sabbath holy, a day when no work was to be done.

Of course, this man wasn’t alone in being disobedient and so at the end of Numbers, chapter 15, we find the Lord providing direction to the Israelites which was intended to help them remember what He commanded and expected.

The scriptures tell us that He told Moses to address the Israelites, directing them to "make tassels on the corners” of their “garments with a blue cord on each tassel". This was to happen in the present and "throughout the generations to come".

So what was the significance of the tassels?

We read that they were to be looked at by the wearer to "remember all the commands of the Lord” so that they would “obey them and not prostitute” themselves “by going after the lusts” of their “own hearts and eyes". He wanted His people to be consecrated or holy in the way they lived but He knew all too well that they consistently struggled with fighting off their own desires which too often overrode His.

Sound familiar?

It should because if we’re honest, we’re making the same mistakes today. We should totally be able to relate to the struggles of Israel because more than 2,000 years later, we’re still failing and falling in many of the same ways as they did, disobeying God’s commands while surrendering and submitting to the desires and lusts of our own hearts.

In light of this, we need to keep in mind that God’s expectations haven’t changed either. Just as He wanted Israel to remember His commands and be obedient to them, so too does He want us to do likewise.

So how can we remember this? Is there anything we can use as a visual reminder that God expects us turn from sin so to live in righteousness and holiness?

It’s been a few years now but maybe you can remember when people started wearing bracelets with four simple letters on it that represented words to be formed into a question: W.W.J.D. or “What would Jesus do?” These bracelets were to serve as a constant reminder to behave as Christ did through any and all life circumstances. And since Jesus lived in ways that were perfectly right and righteous, then anyone who would do as He did would live in ways that were obedient to God, just like the Israelites would do by looking at the tassels on the corners of their garments.

Need one more example of something worn by a believer to remind them of what God expects from them?

Well, even though the novelty of the "W.W.J.D." bracelets wore out, something that hasn’t is the wearing of a cross, jewelry intended to remind the believer of the place where Jesus died for us to pay the price for their sins, the place where they were reconciled to God through the sacrifice of His only Son. Indeed, it’s at the cross that one finds the greatest depths of mercy, grace, forgiveness, salvation, and most of all, love, all from a God who wants us to remember Him and His commands as well as the commands of His Son, the Son who told His disciples to remember Him as He shared His final Passover meal with them. In that upper room, less than 24 hours before Jesus would be crucified, the scriptures tell us this:

The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

“In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Jesus commanded His followers to eat bread and drink from a cup, what we know as the sacrament of Communion, so to remember Him. It’s a staple in Christian churches because of this, just one more way that believers get to remember their God and the Son He sent to bring the promise of Heaven to anyone who would simply believe in Him.

Friends, we have many ways today to remember God, Jesus His Son, their great love for us, and their commands they have given. And so there’s no excuse really for living in the ways that we’re expected to live as believers. One thing is certain...they haven’t forgotten any one of us as they anxiously await the day when we join them to enjoy the eternal life they promised.

For everyone who believes in Jesus, glory awaits and is in their future. Let’s not allow the things of the world to keep us from remembering this.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.