Psalm 77:11 “I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Herk preached that as we remember and honor those who served and protected this nation’s freedom and liberty, where all sacrificed some and some sacrificed all, on Memorial Day, we need to remember and honor Jesus Christ, who gave His life to pay for our sins and to give us lasting freedom and eternal life. By the grace of God, through faith in Him alone, we have forgiveness and victory over sin and death has been won. But, where do we go from here, now that the victory for our eternal lives has been won at the Cross of Calvary? What’s next?
Jesus bought our freedom over sin and death with His life and that can never be taking away from us. Why are Memorial days and events so important? We get so caught up in the preparations to get by the roadblocks into God’s purposes, promises and plans for our lives. Sometimes, with the temptations and distractions in life, we tend to lose focus. So, how are we to maintain our integrity, intensity, and purpose to continue moving forward once the goal is achieved? Unfortunately, far too many defeats happen after a victory, because there is no vision of what to do next. To continue to move on it God’s purpose after the victory, we have to build upon the victories. We have to look down the road and anticipate what comes next, then make precautions for it, all the while remembering the victory into the Promised Land that began it all. Have a memorial.
Joshua 4:4-7 Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your c. hildren ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
A memorial is that which preserves the memory of something; anything that serves to keep in memory. An object or act that reminds people of someone or something that happened in the past as part of our history (victories or tragedies). In the Bible, memorials were built to remind everyone of God’s mighty acts on behalf of His people. And how soon people forget! We read how God brought the seven plagues upon Egypt, provided the Passover, freeing them from captivity and slavery, provided a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night to lead the Israelites, parted the Red Sea for passage across on dry land, miraculously provided food and water in the desert wilderness, yet how soon they forgot. Take a good look at our country today. God has performed miraculous acts in the establishment and providential maintaining of this nation, and we are doing the exact same thing as the Israelites in Exodus.
Psalm 106:13-15 “They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.”
There should be something that reminds us not to forget what God has done in our lives and in this nation. What has provided and given us; what God has done. All His redemptive works and wonders of old. God has changed the laws of nature in supernatural ways as we understand them, opened doors that could not be opened, miraculous healings and changed lives. But, we have also experienced setbacks and defeats in our lives. It hasn’t all been victories in this fallen world. There are tragedies, heartaches, loses and troubles in life, but by going through these setbacks and defeats, we sense and know that God is walking them with us. Our heavenly Father let’s us feels his presence and love in our lives at those times and our faith is strengthened. If we forget what God has done in world history and in our own personal history, we pay for it down the road. Set up a memorial to never forget or stop thanking the Lord for what He has done for us.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's memorial message in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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