Write it down

My family and I just returned from a vacation. My wife instructed me to take a break from work, so I did not submit a column last week. On the drive home, I was reminiscing about the vacations that we have taken since I have been married. I realized that my memory is foggy on the details, I am happy if I can remember where we went what year, let alone the itinerary for each day. I decided when I got home, I would write down something about each day last week.

There are some people who are uniquely gifted and can remember details of every day of their lives, but most of us cannot remember many details from last week. This reminds me of an illustration. A lady told her preacher that she could not remember the sermons, so she was not sure she was receiving proper instruction in the faith. The pastor asked if she could remember all the meals she had eaten. She replied that she could not. The minister replied, "Nevertheless, you received nourishment from those meals, and they have sustained your life."

In the Bible, God instructed and inspired people to write down historically and theologically significant events. Sometimes stones were used to mark locations where miracles took place. Joshua had the twelve tribes take twelve stones from the Jordan, and stack them in a prominent place, so future generations would remember how God enabled them to cross the Jordan River on dry ground.

At the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John were with Jesus when they saw him change into his glorified form along with Moses and Elijah. Peter asked if they should build shelters or tabernacles to mark the place as holy. This would be a way of remembering the miracle that took place.

Many times, we think the things we say and do are not important, but the Bible tells us to choose our words carefully. We are warned that we will give an account for every idle or careless word in Matthew 12:36. I believe we will even answer to God for those things we have shared or tweeted on social media.

Christians do not worship the Bible, but we cherish it as God's voice speaking to us. It tells us what we are to believe and how we are to live. When we start rejecting portions of Scripture, we lose the protections and benefits that biblical teaching offers. If we ignore the Bible, we will end up destroying ourselves. Throughout the Old Testament, Scripture challenges the people to remember what God has taught them.

In the New Testament, Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper shortly before his betrayal and arrest. Jesus wanted us to always remember his work of atonement for us on the cross. This holy communion is observed in Christian churches by partaking of wine or grape juice and unleavened bread. Various Christian traditions have differing ideas about the elements and what they represent. They fall somewhere between believing the cup and bread transubstantiates into the actual blood and body of Jesus, to believing the elements are purely symbolic. The key truth is that Jesus did not want us to forget that his body was broken, and his blood was shed for us on the cross.

By remembering the gospel: the story of Jesus, beginning with his virgin birth, sinless life, death on the cross, resurrection from the grave, ascension to heaven and his second coming, we are reminded why we need a savior. We have sinned, and our good works cannot get us to heaven. Jesus lived the life we could not live, and he paid the price we could not pay. He did that for all who believe because of God's great love.

Life is precious, and each day we have is a gift. By writing down key details, we can remember that it is God who provides for us, and God who sustains us. Keeping a prayer journal is a good starting point. Write down prayer concerns. When God answers, write down what happened. May we be a people who remember The Lord.