Lest We Forget

Deuteronomy 8:11-14 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.”

Our small group Bible Study met this week to continue our investigation into the biblical topic of “Forgiveness”. A great discussion arose concerning our need for dependency on Almighty Creator God in our life. The lesson opened with a opened with Jesus telling a parable to a Pharisee in Luke 7:41-43 to teach him a lesson about himself, saying: “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” The story had multiple layers of symbolism and truth when it comes to how we look at and judge sin and forgiveness. The lesson guide asked us a great question to get us thinking on the subject: “How does understanding the depth of your sin impact your thoughts and actions?” No, instead we tend to separate them by quantitative verses qualitative, and forget both God’s provision and laws in our life, and by being judgmental, put ourself in the place of God and committing the greater sin.

Luke 7:44-47 Then He (Jesus) turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

Many are externally righteous with no conscience weight of the gravity of our sin, but should realize that we are sinners, who wait on our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ in tears and humility, like this woman. If not, we are in no state and have no capacity for true forgiveness, because we are looking down on others by quantitative sins, while we actually lower by qualitative sins – read Luke 6:42. 1 John 4:20-21 explains: "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” We are all sinners saved by grace. All have sinned against their just & holy God. Jesus Christ died for all sin. Never lose sight of the gospel truth. The Father sent he Son to die for "MY" sins and "YOUR" sins against Him for redemptive Salvation and regeneration of "OUR" spirit unto restoration. Are we on God’s side or has our position in life caused us to lose sight of Him, and his holy Word, Will and Way for our life? Walk in the Spirit and rejoice.

Proverbs 30:8-9 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the Lord?”

Truly, understanding the depth of your sin and allow that to impact your thoughts and actions. Don’t allow anything to keep you from forgiving as you have been forgiven ... lest we forget the Lord our God.

In Christ