Remind Me Dear Lord....
`Dottie Rambo wrote the song by that title, in 1966. She wrote over 2500 songs over her life time. Some of the lyrics are.. “The things that I love and hold dear to my heart, are just borrowed they're not mine at all. Jesus only let me use them to brighten my life, So remind me, remind me dear Lord.Roll back the curtain of memory now and then. Show me where you brought me from, and where I might have been. Remember I'm human, when others forget, So remind me, remind me dear Lord”....
The apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:1 “Beloved, I now write unto you, to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance...”
Peter wants us to know that so often, to advance, we must go back to our roots and remember how the Lord has led us, and think upon His faithfulness and how faithful He’s been along the way.
This is the concept behind Christian retreats, where we get back to essentials, and remember what our purpose and our priorities are.
It’s so easy to stray from the path of our purpose and veer off on some side road and find ourselves somewhere that we never intended to be.
It has been well said that Sin will take you where you never intended to go, keep you there longer than you ever intended to stay, cost you more than you ever intended to pay, and make it hard to get back to where you began in the first place (but for God’s grace).
When I lose my way, remind me dear Lord....
The doctor told a couple that it might help them remember certain things if they wrote it down on a piece of paper. One night the couple were watching TV, when the husband got up to go to the kitchen. His wife asks "Can you bring me some strawberries?" "Sure." "Aren't you going to write it down so you don't forget?" "No no. It's fine." "Well I also want some whip cream. You should write it down so you'll remember." "Don't worry. I've got it." "I also want some chocolate syrup on top. You *really* should write it down, dear." "Don’t worry, I’ve got it. Strawberries, whip cream, and chocolate syrup." The wife gives a sigh as her husband disappears into the kitchen. After 20 minutes of the sounds of banging and clanging, the husband finally comes back and puts a plate of eggs, bacon, and sausage in her lap.
The wife looks up at him and says ohhh, that’s so sweet of you to do that for me, just what I wanted, but "You forgot my toast?"
We have statues, and monuments to remember by. There are libraries full of history so we can remember. The internet has millions of files of information that we can go back to and remember.
Thank God, we have faithful witnesses who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write as they saw and experienced.
When the apostle John was exiled on the Isle of Patmos, after being boiled in oil, but miraculously coming out alive, he received a vision which became the book of Revelation. This was a back to the future experience which brought John through a very rough time in his life. As he remembered what was waiting for him in heaven, it made the trials and tests of this life much more bearable. For centuries, it has inspired multitudes of Christians to bear up under hardships and persecutions, remembering that it will be worth it all, if we endure till the end.
John believed that If God put him in it, then He put in him, what heneeded for it! We were made for this....If He brought us to it, He will bring us through it!
A quote in Dr. Seuss, says "Don't cry because it's over, smile because you had the opportunity." Wow, you’re about to grow!
And I like this anonymous quote... "Good times become good memories and bad times become good lessons that we were destined to grow through."
Don’t just go through it, GROW THROUGH IT!!
I love the fact that with all that the apostle John endured, as he was suffering on Patmos....boiled in oil, but survived, then put to work in the slave mines on Patmos.
It says, “He was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”.... This is the disciple who leaned on Jesus chest at the last supper, he was referred to as the “one that Jesus loved”, It was this disciple that Jesus committed his mother to from the cross “Mother behold your son, son behold your mother”... Tradition tells us that as a young man, Jesus took John in and raised him like a son. So, John’s meditation, on the isle of Patmos, where he was exiled, lifted him above his emotions and physical condition, above the politics and forces of darkness and brought him into the higher spiritual plain where he ascended into heavenly realms in the Spirit. From that spiritual plain, he gave us the book of Revelation.
Remind me Lord, that you have invited all your children, to be seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Certainly, one of the major roles of every minister of the gospel, whither they be teacher, evangelist, prophet, pastor or apostle, is to help folks to remember... To stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance... We are told that this is one of the major functions of Holy Spirit.... John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”.
The scriptures tell us that this is one of the major functions of the body of Christ....which is the biological church....
Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name”.
Think of it.... Somewhere, some angel scribe is recording our conversations with one another. As we stir up one another’s thinking on the things of Christ! Perhaps there are conversations we don’t want recorded, Huh?!!!
We would be surprised at the things God is raising memorials to.... kindnesses, patience, unqualified love, longsuffering, and faithfulness.. Mark 14:9 Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in remembrance of her.”..... What did she do?.... While they were at Bethany, preparing for the last supper, this woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, and broke the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus head. This act of unbridled, sincere and selfless worship, Jesus said will be remembered wherever the gospel is preached.... It didn’t matter what people thought, it didn’t matter what they said....She worshiped with all her heart!
Remind me Lord, that you put a great value on our worship!
I’m remembering the time when the disciples were fishing all night and in spite of all their training, their skill as professional fishermen, and their knowledge of the water, they caught nothing, and their nets were empty. We all know what it means to be ‘kopos’ (the Greek word ) for being weary to the bone, feeling discouraged, and feeling like you’re the wrong person for the task. You’veworked hard with little to show for it, you’ve tried your best and come up with nothing. And the nets are empty – and we wonder how we’re going to buy groceries, pay our bills, send our kids to college, look after aging parents, and find some way to move forward in our lives. We’ve all known discouragement. And we’ve known the fear of failing and many of us – if not most – have experienced those inner and outer voices telling us that God made a mistake, we’re not the person for the job, or it would be different....
But Jesus answer to them and to us.... Remember, who you are in Christ. I can still make you what you need to be. He still knows how to fill empty nets! He still turns water into wine, He still multiplies manna in the wilderness, He knows how to turn a shepherd boy into a giant killer!
Remember who He says you are....He says you are forgiven, adopted, loved, whole, Strong, able, victorious, joyful, fearfully and wonderfully made, with a sound mind, a citizen of heaven, with a glorious future..
Remember what you have been given and who you are!
The words of a song by Lauren Daigle come to mind....
I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me, I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, You say I am Yours
And I believe, I believe, What You say of me,
If there is such a thing, I believe a lot of Christians have spiritual Dementia because they can’t remember who Jesus said they were .....
The phone rang and the lady of the house answers..."Hello can I help you."
The caller asked for "Mrs. Adoline, please." "Yes, this is her Speaking."
"Mrs. Adoline, this is Doctor Jones from the Lab that has your husband’s blood work. When your husband's doctor sent his blood sample to the lab last week, a blood sample from another man arrived with the same name...
We are not certain which one belongs to your husband. But, either way, the results are not too good." "What do you mean?" She asked with concern.
"Well, one of the specimens tested positive for Alzheimer's and the other one tested positive for HIV, but we can't tell which is which."
"That's dreadful, what am I supposed to do now?" Well, maam, "The MEDICARE Helpdesk recommends that you drop your husband off somewhere in the middle of town. If he finds his way home, just don't sleep with him! (It’s important to be able to remember certain things)
Isaiah spent the entire 40th chapter remembering the nature, power, person and character of God, and then he comes to the 28th verse.... Isaiah 40:28 “Have you not known? have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding. 29 He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But they that wait (expectantly) upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”.
If you’ve been in a health club and seen someone running on a treadmill, then that's the mental picture that comes to my mindhere. We're running as fast as we can to keep from falling off the back, and we desperately need to stop that torture machine and take a breather. But we can't reach the button that will turn the thing off. So, we keep running. For weeks. Months. Maybe years. And often we are running with a huge burden on our backs, full of all the things we think are "important" in our lives. Things like family, career, unhealthy bodies, financial plans, personal goals and "to do" lists. The trouble is, all of that running is beginning to catch up with us.We're worn out and exhausted. Even the wisest, healthiest and most capable among us feel it. There is a collective sense among us that our personal lives are controlling us instead of our controlling it, and we wonder if we are ever going to get the upper hand.
But God does have the “off button”...
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, (that’s about remembering) let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, (this is talking about a renewed mind) will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” Paul tells us that we need to make some quality choices. Guard what you let take up residence in your mind and heart. What you and I decide today will be ourfuture on or off the treadmill. Obviously, We can’t determine what will happen to us, but we can make the choices that are in our power which will get us moving in the right direction, then let God take over.
I found this item in the Preacher’s commentary...... “Remember that there is nothing that can happen to you that has not
happened to millions of others.”
“Remind yourself that as a human being, stuff can happen.”
“Remember, there are people who began their path to greatness, facing exactly
what you now face.”
“Remember to say, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to handle this, but with God, anything is possible.”
We remember the deliverances the Lord has accomplished and hope springs for greater deliverance.... We remember the way He has led, and we begin to believe for new guidance and direction.... We remember the blessings He has bestowed, and faith arises for greater provision.... We remember The victories He has won and we become confident that this battle is also won.....We remember the encouragements He has given us along the way and our joy springs forth.... and something deep within us cries out “Do it again, Lord”, “Do it again”!! “Do it again”!
The story of Adam and Eve is a story of rebellion against letting God be God. Once they believed the lie that God didn’t have their best interests in mind, they decided to go ahead without God and do what they wanted. They became, in effect, their own god. Too often, this is exactly what we do today. When God tells us to wait, we don’t trust him, but go ahead and find ways to accomplish what we want to happen anyway. We decide to be our own God.... Mark 8:36 “What good is it to gain the whole world now — (whatever it is we think we want)— and forfeit our souls’ or (intimacy with God, and staying in His will) ?
There’s a screaming child in all of us, that wants what it wants and it wants it now, if we don’t follow our better self! But we allow our spirit man to say....“Wait.” That’s miserable, uncomfortable, and sometimes painful to our flesh, so we will not let the little, baby god, take over when it wants to. We have learned that God is trustworthy and that “There is actually something happening while we see nothing happening”. God is using our waiting seasons to change us, before he changes everything else.” And suddenly we remember how we ended up on the treadmill in the first place.....AAAHHAAAAA! And, we take a deep breath, release our clenched hands, and let go of the impatient, selfish, ego part of us that wants to be God!! .
Some of the greatest figures in the Bible — Abraham, Jose"ph, Moses, David — had to wait for many years for God’s promises. Everything that happened in the meantime was used to prepare them, inwardly as well as outwardly. Then, when they reached their promise, they were blessed beyond measure. Be careful that you don’t let your ego self, take you where your Gifts and anointings can’t keep you, and Satan uses it to cause you to question and doubt your gifts and anointings.
It wasn’t about your gifts and anointings, you just got over into playing God.
Lord, let me remember that I’m not God!
The book of common prayer has a great prayer that it offers.... “If God says stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. And giveto me the Spirit of Jesus that I may be ready, Lord, for whatever may be required”.
I want to close with an amazing story ....In 1921 David and Svea Flood went with their two-year-old son from Sweden to the heart of Africa, to what was then called the Belgian Congo. This missionary couple met up with the Ericksons, another young Scandinavian couple, and the four of them felt led of the Lord to set out from the main mission station to take the gospel to the village of N’dolera, in a remote area.
There, they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his town for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to build their own mud huts half a mile up the slope.
They prayed for a spiritual breakthrough, but there was none. Their only contact with the villagers was a young boy, who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea Flood—a tiny woman only four feet, eight inches tall—decided that if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to lead the boy to Jesus. And she succeeded with the one God sent her!
Svea found herself pregnant and a little girl was born, whom they named Aina. The delivery was exhausting. Svea Flood was already weak from bouts of malaria so the birthing process took a lot out of her and she died only 17 days after Aina was born.
Something snapped Inside David Flood at that moment. He dug a crude grave, buried his 27-year-old wife, and then went back down the mountain.He left Aina with the Ericksons, and angrily went back to Sweden. Telling them “God has ruined my life!”
Within eight months, both the Ericksons were stricken with malaria and died within days of each other. Baby Aina was then turned over to another American missionary family who changed her Swedish name to “Aggie”. Eventually they took her back to the United States at age three.
That’s how Aggie grew up in South Dakota.
As a young woman, she attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis. There she met and married Dewey Hurst. They enjoyed a fruitful ministry and in time, her husband became president of a Christian college in the Seattle area. One day Aggie found a Swedish religious magazine in their mailbox. She had no idea who had sent it, and of course she couldn’t read the words, but as she turned the pages, a photo suddenly stopped her cold. There, in a primitive African setting, was a grave with a white cross—and on the cross were the words SVEA FLOOD.
Aggie got in her car and drove straight to a college faculty member whom she knew could translate the article. “What does this article say?”
"It is about missionaries who went to N’dolera, Africa, long ago. A baby was born. The young mother died. One little African boy was led to Jesus before that. After the missionaries had all left, the boy grew up and persuaded the chief to let him build a school in the village. He gradually won all his students to Christ and the children led their parents to Him. Even the chief became a follower of Jesus! Today there are six hundred believers in that village, all because of the sacrifice of David and SveaFlood." Aggie and her husband were attending an evangelism conference in London, England, when a report was given from Zaire by the superintendent of the national church there, representing some 110,000 baptized believers, he spoke passionately of the Gospel’s spread in his nation.Aggie could not help going to ask him afterward if he had ever heard of David and Svea Flood.
“Yes, madam,” the man replied as his words were translated into English. “Svea Flood led me to Jesus Christ! I was the boy who brought food to your parents before you were born. In fact, to this day, your mother’s grave and her memory are honored by all of us.”She is considered a national treasure. He embraced Aggie for a long time, sobbing.
“You must come to Zaire! Your mother is the most famous and honored person in our history.”
When Aggie and her husband went to N’dolera, they were welcomed by cheering throngs of villagers. She went to see her mother’s tomb with a white cross bearing her name. She knelt in the soil to pray and give thanks to God.
Later they were able to go to Sweden and Aggie sought out her birth father.
Aggie walked into the squalid apartment, which had liquor bottles strewn everywhere, and slowly approached her 73-year-old father lying in a rumpled bed. She called his name and He turned and began to cry.
“Aina!""I never meant to give you away!” “It’s all right, Papa,” she replied, taking him gently in her arms.
“God took good care of me.” Her father instantly stiffened and his tears stopped. “God forgot all of us. Our lives have been like this because of Him.” He turned his face back to the wall in anger.Aggie stroked his face and then continued, Papa, I’ve got a marvelous story to tell you!
"You didn’t go to Africa in vain. Mama didn’t die in vain. The little boy you won to the Lord grew up to win that whole village to Jesus! The one seed you planted in his heart kept growing and growing! Today there are 600 people serving the Lord because you were faithful to the call of God in your life!" "Papa, Jesus loves you. He has never hated you or abandoned us.”
The old father turned back to look into his daughter’s eyes.
He slowly began to talk. And by the end of the afternoon, he had come back to the God he had resented for so many years. Over the next few days, father and daughter enjoyed warm moments together. A few weeks after Aggie and her husband returned to America, David Flood died, with the knowledge that God had not forgotten....
Remind me dear Lord, that our labor, our prayers, our giving and nothing we do in your name, will ever be forgotten by You. So, all that we do, we do it unto You Lord, and only eternity will tell all that You accomplished. Little is much when God is in it!!
