Remember the Lord!

I'm sorry that it has been SO long since I have written on this blog. Between getting married 5 weeks ago, moving to a new town, setting up house, quitting my job of 6 years & starting our own family business, things have been quite busy as of late, to say the least!

Anyway... This is what is on my heart today...

 This past Sunday, my husband, his family & I attended Church (the Lord's Family Fellowship) with some of our friends. During the sermon, the pastor touched on this verse-

"And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers.
And there arose another generation after them who did not know
the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel."
- Judges 2:10

This verse struck me. In just one generation, the entire nation of Israel forgot the Lord (we see this happening over & over in Israel's history, as layed out in the Old Testament). Because one generation of parents failed to tell their children ofthe Lord & all of the great wonders that He had performed for them personally and for their forefathers in years past, an entire generation "forgot" the Lord. What a tragedy!

 "Hear this, you elders;
    give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days,
    or in the days of your fathers?
Tell your children of it,
    & let your children tell their children,    & their children to another generation."
- Joel 1:2-3

It is our duty & responsibility to tell the next generation what the Lord has done for us personally/ individually and for our nation over time. We must pass on our Christian heritage. We must hold on to the Promises. We must not lose our convictions or our sensitivity to the Spirit's touch! Our time on this earth is short. None of us know when our time might come. This is of the utmost importance. Too much is at stake!

 "When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord
said to Joshua, 'Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man,
& command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of
the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, & bring them
over with you & lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.' Then Joshua
called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed,
a man from each tribe. Joshua said to them, 'Pass on before the ark of the Lord
your God into the midst of the Jordan, & take up each of you a stone upon his
shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this
may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to
come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that
the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant
of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan
were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
- Joshua 4:1-7

How will the next generation know who they are, if they do not know where they came from or why they are the way that they are, what has caused them to be who they are & make decisions the way that they do?

"Posterity shall serve Him;
    it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
they shall come & proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn,
    that He has done it." - Psalm 22:30-31

We must recognize the Lord's Sovereign hand upon our lives AND in our nation's history. We must see God drawing us out of the World & Calling us to Himself (Ephesians 1:4-10).

"My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
I will utter the hidden things, things from of old- things
we have heard & known, things our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their descendents; we will tell the
next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
His power & the wonders He has done. He decreed statutes for
Jacob & established the law in Israel, which He commanded
our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation
would know them, even the children yet to be born, & they would
in turn tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God &
would not forget His deeds but would keep His commands. They
would not be like their ancestors- a stubborn & rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to Him..."
- Psalm 78 (especially verses 1-8)

 "REMEMBER! REMEMBER! REMEMBER!" Remember who you are, remember your history remember what God has done for you (& your family, Country etc), remember who you are Called to be, and remember Who you serve.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all
your soul & with all your might. These words that I command you today
shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children,
& shall talk of them when you sit in your house, & when you walk by the way,
& when you lie down, & when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,
& they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on
the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
- Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Related articles-

December 2012- "Hindsight"August 2012- "The Staff & the Sword"

July 2012- "A Multi- Generational Vision"May 2012- "Thank You"

April 2012- "Remember! Remember! Remember!"

March 2012- "Do Not Give Up"

February 2012- "Whose Vision Are You Serving?"
October 2011- "Remember! Remember! Remember!"

August 2011- "Are We Remembering Those Who Came Before Us?"

August 2011- "Only What's Done For Christ Will Last"
August 2011- "The Tragedy of a Wasted Life"

Are You Washed In the Blood of the Lamb?

Last night I was able to go English Country Dancing with some of our friends. I arrived home very sweaty & grimy. This morning, I was trying my hardest to scrub away the smell. But the harder I tried, the more futile it seemed. I washed & washed, but it seemed like I could NOT get clean.

Then God gave me an analogy (which I'm sure I've heard before)- No matter how hard we try to "achieve holiness & godliness" in & of ourselves, we cannot attain it. No matter how hard we try rid our lives of sin, we cannot remove the stain. No matter how many times we promise to not sin, we always manage to do it again.

This is why we desperately need a SAVIOR. He is God's gift to us- undeserved & unmerited Grace.  As Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I am reminded of Ephesians 2:1-9: "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions & sins... All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh & following its desires & thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved... For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."

Our time on this earth is short. We do not know when the Lord will return. Are you assured of your salvation? What of your family & friends? I hope you sense the urgency of the situation. Dear friends, the time is NOW.

In Bible study recently, we have been talking about the necessity of doing things in His Power, Strength & motivation; for His glory. NOT in our own strength, not with fleshly motivation. "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain..." - Psalm 127:1

I will close with the precious words of this hymn:

"Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
 
Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!"

And with this- "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9

REMEMBER! REMEMBER! REMEMBER!

"After that, a whole new generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD & served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their ancestors' who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed & worshipped various gods of the peoples around them." - Judges 2:10-13

We are Called to REMEMBER what the Lord has taught us. This includes recognizing His sovereignty in our own lives,  tracing His Providential Hand throughout history (planning the future of nations), REMEMBERING our Christian heritage, seeing the role of the Church in history... As well identifying God's Hand of Grace on the lives of us, our parents & grandparents. And passing that knowledge on to the generations to come.

I remember being at the CHEF homeschooling Conference this past June, hearing scores upon scores of strong Christian leaders hammering home the importance of remembering. Our past, what God has done in our lives, who we were, who we are & who we're going to become (by the Grace of God).

We must teach our children about what the LORD has done in our lives. We must pass on our Christian heritage. We must hold on to the Promises. We must not lose our convictions or our sensitivity to the Spirit's touch! Our time on this earth is short. None of us know when our time might come. This is of the utmost importance. Too much is at stake!

"Those who cannot remember the past are bound to repeat it." - George Santyana

Over & over again we see the Israelites going through a repetitive cycle of forgetting the Lord, commiting sin again His Name, remembering their God, repenting, being restored & forgetting Him all over again... We do not want these aparent "memory lapses" evident in our own lives...

"My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will utter the hidden things, things from of old- things we have heard & known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendents; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, His power & the wonders He has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob & established the law in Israel, which He commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, & they would in turn tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God & would not forget His deeds but would keep His commands. They would not be like their ancestors- a stubborn & rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to Him..." - Psalm 78 (especially verses 1-8)

"Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is One. Love the LORD your God with all of your heart & with all your soul & with all your strength. These commandments I give to you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home & when you walk along the road, when you lie down & when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands & bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses & on your gates." - Deuteronomy 6:6-9

"Be very careful then, how you live- not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's Will is." - Ephesians 5:15-17