“You shall remember the Lord your God…
(Deuteronomy 8:18 ESV)
Exhortation:
Remember. This command is repeated throughout the scriptures. We can retrace the storyline of the Bible framed in terms of remembrance. In the Old Testament, God calls and rescues a people for himself and tells them to remember that He is the Lord their God who rescued them. And what happens? They forget the Lord and forsake him. But God continually calls them back again and again, and they, in turn, forget again and again. God remembers His promise and sends His Son – the Lord Jesus Christ – to fulfill every condition of His covenant with them and make a new covenant – one based on the sacrifice of Christ. Christ made that sacrifice and called his disciples to remember him – he calls us to remember him—as often as we take this bread and drink this cup.
Is it not true of us that our spiritual waywardness is directly linked to our remembrance? Remembering the Lord, His promises, and the way in which Christ fulfills those promises on our behalf is essential to our daily walk with the Lord. For that reason, we gather again in worship today—to rehearse, to hear it again and again, and to ask the Spirit to drive it deep into our being that we would not forget and forsake the Lord. Remembering His past faithfulness helps us to continue to follow Him in the days ahead.
Let’s do that together in worship today. Let’s pray.
Prayer of Preparation
Heavenly Father, we confess that we are a stubborn, forgetful people. You have done great things for us and promised to provide for us everything we need for life and godliness, and yet we go about our days worrying – as if we don’t know or believe your promises—as if you haven’t been faithful in the past.
Spirit, give us eyes to see and ears to hear afresh. Help us to remember the Lord our God – remember His past faithfulness and live with great hope in the surety of His promises.
Triune God, we look to You. Be glorified in our worship today. Amen.