Remember and Tell Your Children

Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced Psalm 105:5


There are so many ways that memories affect us. Sometimes they make us happy, or angry, or maybe afraid. But when our memories are based on what God has done in our lives, there is comfort and contentment. God tells us to remember and to pass those memories on to others.   

Grandma and Grandpa Kasworm

My memory is definitely not as sharp as it used to be. But that doesn’t mean that it is gone – I find that it just takes a little longer for the wheels to turn, and sometimes it takes something to jog that memory.

Smells do that for me. I remember the smell of the Russian Olive trees that surrounded my Grandma Saathoff’s house, the smell of the earth when my mom was planting her garden, the heady smell of the pine trees that were so much a part of camping with the family.

I remember the smell of my Dad when he came in from working on the car. I can’t go to a garage without that picture in my mind of his greasy hands and overalls.

Remember the good times.  The Bible says to think on the "whatevers."  Philippians 4:8 (NIV) says

 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

More importantly, do you remember the things that God has done for you? When the Children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God rescued them. And He told them to remember!



“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” Deuteronomy 5:15

God told them to Observe the Sabbath day. He was referring to what became the feast of the Passover. He wanted them to remember everything about that day when He passed over the houses of His people and rescued them from slavery. God said to observe that day. He wanted them to take some time out from their regular schedule to remember.



Do you take time out to do that? I know that as I’ve gotten older, I do have more time to remember, but what I do with my thoughts? Do I spend more time reading or watching TV or doing crossword puzzles? Now there’s nothing wrong with any of that – crossword puzzles are my choice – sharpens my brain – I think. But do I spend more time remembering what God has done for me or for the ones I love?

God didn’t tell us to just remember – He tells us to tell others about Him so that they can learn to revere, respect, and love Him. He said to tell our children – to tell the people. He told the Israelites - - “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” Deuteronomy 4:10

God also said that if we remember, we won’t be afraid. If I remember the times that He has rescued me from my own bad choices, or if I remember the times that He has answered my prayers for help, I won’t be afraid. He told the Children of Israel. “do not be afraid . . . remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. Deuteronomy 7:18

 

What are you afraid of? Do you think that the God who sent the plagues on Egypt, who rescued a million people from the hands of mighty Pharaoh, and protected and provided for His people for centuries, cannot provide for and protect you? If you have fears, remember the times that God has protected and provided for you in the past. And if you can’t remember any time that happened, think of the times He protected others who loved Him.

And finally and most of all, we need to remember who God really is. He’s the rock we can stand on. He is the creator of all things. He is our Father, Redeemer and Friend.







He Will Set My Feet Upon a Rock

I’ve been reading a bit about the Psalms lately. They are provide inspiration for my soul and they touch  my heart!

About two-thirds of the Psalms were written by the greatest song writer this world has known. His name was David. David, who started life as a shepherd, became a king and shepherd of the nation of Israel. David was a flawed human just like the rest of us. He sang songs of sorrow for his sins, songs that were cries for help, and songs of praise to the God who helps and forgives.

Other authors of the Psalms were masters of the choir or singers. The individual Psalms were gathered together, written down, and used by the Israelites in worship. Jesus often quoted the Psalms in His teaching. You’ll find two in the beatitudes.

Here is one of my favorites, Psalm 27. I’ll only quote the first and the last part of it.

The LORD is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life—

of whom shall I be afraid? . . .

One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,  to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble

he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent

and set me high upon a rock.

Wow! To see God as our light and salvation, to know that He is the "stronghold,” the only thing that will not fail with the storms around us, to never have to be afraid, what a blessing.

If I can really seek God and want to live with Him all the days of my life, and if I want only to look at His beauty and goodness, oh, that is a blessing.

He will keep me safe if I hide in the shelter of His love. He will put me where I can withstand the roaring waters of this life. He will set me high upon the rock and I will not ever need to be afraid.

Morning Song

On this early fragrant morning

with a sweetness in the air

I wake to see the night wind has swept clean the path of care.

As the dew drops crisply sparkle

and the morning dove says “Hi!”

I look up and see God's paintbrush has touched the eastern sky.

A splash of pink awaits my eye,

 along with soft blue gray

and as I watch the colors change I greet a brand new day.

Soft green fur on the mountain

with granite facets aglow.

And the morning wind brings on its breath

rich perfume for those below.

To rise before the dawning and to see the dark sky turn to gold,
and to walk in His new clean morning helps me feel ever close to my Lord.

As I wake on each new tomorrow and I watch as the painting grows clear,

my heart swells with praise in the dawning light, ‘cause I know God, the artist, is here.

How will I fit in that painting? What is the picture you’ll see?

As the Painter stands back and looks at his work,

along with the beauty, there's me. 

The canvas is filled with the work of God’s hands,

the valley,

the sky

and the hill.

And He painted a women and loved her so much

that He freed her to live as she will. 

So the Painter awaits, and looks at his work,

the beauty,

the glory,

the day,

and the woman He made in His image of God, will trod on the canvas her way. 

Will she bring joy or sorrow to the heart of the Painter?

He's The Hero of My Story

When I have my grandchildren overnight, they always want a bed-time story. Many times my stories involve the remembrances I have of growing up. I imagine you have stories to tell as well – seems the older I get the clearer my memories of childhood and the foggier my memories of what I had for breakfast.

But the most important story I have is the story of how I met Christ, and how I was adopted into His family. Because you see, that’s exactly what happened. God searched for me, He wanted me as His child. He loved me, He reached out to me, I took His hand, and now I’m a child of the King.

Galatians 4 tells us that “. . . when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” He’s our Father and we are his heirs.

But I question whether my life shows that? Do my actions say I’m His child? Do they make my Father proud, or does He sometimes want to pretend I don’t belong to Him?

When my son was about 5 years old, we were in a department store and He, being his father’s child and curious as to how everything works, managed to turn off the escalator. When I saw who was involved in the catastrophe, stopping all traffic between the two floors of the department store, I continued walking, trying to pretend that Curt didn’t belong to me. It didn’t work – He yelled, Mom, I didn’t mean to do that, and came running toward me. So as everyone turned toward me, I had to claim him.

I am God’s child and He does claim me, even when I mess up and when my actions cause Him to cringe. There are so many times when I don’t make my Father proud, but I wonder - if I were to always put Him in my story - would I make as many mistakes as I do?

When I’m talking to someone who wants to complain about someone else, will I listen and repeat the gossip if God is a central part of my own story?

When I wake up in the morning, if I remember that God is a major part of my story, will I thank Him for the sunshine? Or will I complain that I have to get out of that comfortable bed?

When I sit down to eat, if I remember that God is the giver of everything good in my story, will I thank Him for my food?

When I’m hurt or afraid, do I remember that God is with me in this story? If I do, He gives me strength and calms my fears.

Recently we were in the Badlands and a terrible hailstorm came up. My granddaughters and I had just walked away from the truck and were looking at the gorgeous rock formations. Just then the clouds let go of some rain and then some hail. I called to my granddaughters that it was starting to hail and to run for the truck. They did – by this time the hail was getting bigger. I’m not as fast as I used to be, so I knew I couldn’t make it to the truck without getting hit by the golf-ball size hail, but I was able to reach a two sided shelter. From that shelter I couldn’t see what was going on with the family, but I prayed that they’d made it to the truck. The hail continued to fall, banging on the roof and sides of that shelter – hitting the ground and bouncing up and hitting my legs. As I put my face in the corner, and covered my head as best I could. I have to honestly say I was afraid for the safety of my family and for myself. I prayed there in that corner. The storm lasted for a long time, but when it finally let up I found my family mostly unhurt. The hail had broken the window and cut my granddaughter’s face a bit. The truck was quite damaged, but we were all safe. God was with us, and I knew it. He is the creator of the storm, and the master of it. He was the hero of that story.

Maybe if I remember how strong God is, if I remember that He gave me this life, if I remember that He cares deeply for me – If I remember to make Him Lord of my life – If I remember that He has written the story, He will smile and be pleased with my efforts to please Him. But even when I don’t remember, when I don’t please Him, He loves me, cause I’m His kid, and so are you.

Loving God - Doing His Will in Humility

I cannot love God as God, if God is the means for loving myself.

“I want to help out. It will be good for me to get out and do something.”

“I have a much better self-image since I started doing my Bible study regularly.”

“Being a Sunday school teacher is so satisfying. It makes me feel good about myself.”

Each one of these statements sounds so good.  But if you break them down, who is at the center of each? I’d venture to say it would be “me.”

My friend, Joe, gave me the quote at the top of the page and I’ve been trying to put it into my own words for a long time.

If I worked in Jesus’ vineyard, if I walked along the way

down rows named deeds and mercy

helping others without pay,

if a smile was fixed upon my face, contentment in my stride

because the work I’m doing
gives me such joy and pride.

Then I'd ask myself the reason that I do the things I do.

Am I walking down those avenues

for God, or me or you? 

Am I working for His kingdom or to raise my own flag high? 

Oh God, please take the “me” away.

Let self within me die.

Let me work here in Your vineyard

Let me serve You from the start.

Help me be a help to others. Let me do my little part. 

Help me focus on Your kingdom and then push the “me” aside

and I will have contentment. 

Humility will be my guide.

Attitude

Last Sunday our minister spoke about “Attitude.” He said a good many things that hit home, but the one that convicted me the most was that our attitude reflects or reveals us. It reveals what is in our hearts.

 

My attitude shows whether my heart is full of love, or of self-centeredness and pride. The way I react to situations, to people, reveals who I’m putting first.

Am I truly happy at another person’s good fortune, or do I filter it through my own wishes and desires? Do I react with understanding and patience when people inconvenience or hurt me, or do I filter that through my own self-centeredness?

Do I look in the mirror under a rose colored light? There are some rooms that are illuminated by pinkish tinted light bulbs. When you look in a mirror in those rooms, you tend to look prettier and younger. But my light bulbs at home are bright white. In them I’m able to see every wrinkle and bump. I prefer the pink ones, but if I want to really see what’s there, I need to subject my face to the bright light.

My attitude is the mirror, and the Bible is the bright light. When I look at my attitude mirror with the light of God’s Word, I find out just how close I am to having an attitude like that of Christ.

In Romans 15:5 and 6, we read

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The pink light is pleasent, but the bright one is best.

Making lemonade

Are you making lemonade out of the lemons in your life?  The Bible talks about Joseph, son of Jacob, who was a young man, chosen by God to do a great thing.  Joseph's older brothers believed that their father favored Joseph, which was true.  Jealousy can be an awful thing, and the brothers were jealous of Joseph. 

One day, when he went out to them with a message from his father, the brothers caught him and put him in a pit. Not a great place to spend the night.

That’s the first place Joseph didn’t want to be.

When a slave trader came along, they pulled him out and sold him. He was taken to Egypt.

That’s the second place Joseph didn’t want to be.

But God was working, and Joseph was sold to a man named Potiphar.  Joseph made the best of the situation and became so trusted by Potiphar that, after a time he put Joseph in charge of his whole household. He was making lemonade out of the lemons in his life..  Along came Potiphar’s wife who tried to get Joseph to sin.  He wouldn't, and the wife arranged it so that Joseph was thrown into prison.

That was another place he didn’t want to be.

But while in prison, Joseph again became so trusted by the prison warden that he was put in charge of all the prisoners. Of course, God was blessing him every day -  blessing him, but not necessarily changing the situation. You know, sometimes that’s how it works. All along Joseph was learning lessons. He was learning how to be a manager, how to deal with people, how to trust God, and how to act as a child of God should. He again made lemonade.

After a while two of the Pharaoh’s servants were sent to prison, and while they were there, Joseph explained their troubling dreams.  He was sure to tell them that the interpretation came from God. The baker would be released within three days and Joseph asked that he tell the Pharaoh about him and try to help him.  But the baker forgot all about Joseph. 

That was another situation that didn’t go the way Joseph wanted it to. 

After a couple of years, Pharaoh had two dreams that no one could interpret. Finally, the baker remembered his promise to Joseph and told the Pharaoh who had Joseph brought up from the prison.

Joseph explained the dreams. He said there would be seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine so severe that there would be nothing left. He told Pharaoh to put a wise man in charge, take a fifth of the harvest during the years of plenty and hold it in reserve for the seven years of famine.

Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the palace and the people and the produce. I wonder if that was a place Joseph wanted to be - it certainly was where God wanted him.

It worked just as God had planned. When the famine came, it not only covered Egypt, but all the lands around and after a while Joseph’s father sent the other brothers to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph recognized them and after some testing, Joseph told them who he was.  They were terrified. They knew he could do anything he wanted to them because of his position. But the most amazing thing happened.  Joseph forgave them.  Though Joseph, God was protecting the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel.) He was keeping his promise to Abraham.

With God’s help, Joseph was able to make lemonade when he was handed lemons.  He was able to be strong and righteous, instead of being angry at the situation and places he landed.

God was with him in the Pit, and in Slavery, in Prison, and in the Palace of the Pharaoh. And as long as Joseph kept making lemonade out of the lemons in his life he could move on and do what God wanted him to accomplish.

Are you making lemonade?  Just remember who is with you in the kitchen.