Remember…

I was a history major in college and I remember hearing over and over the line, “If you don’t know the past, you are doomed to repeat it.” It seemed like every history class I took started with that line. However, I took a class on the “History of the Holocaust” and the teacher changed the expression. He said, “If you don’t learn from the past, you are doomed to repeat it.” You see, there is a difference between knowing the past and learning from it. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines remember as “To have in mind an idea which has been in the mind before, and which recurs to the mind without effort.”

Today, I would like to simply remind each of us of some Scripture that is well known, but perhaps we have forgotten. We may have forgotten that the Bible even says these things, or forgotten how they apply to our lives. As you read these verses, go slow, and think about what God may be telling you, what he may be telling us as a community of faith.

Romans 6:23-“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

John 3:16-18-“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Romans 5:8-“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 3:23-24-“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Hebrews 13:5-6-“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”

Philippians 4:6-7-“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

John 14:6-“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Revelation 21:3-5a-“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”

Matthew 28:18-20-“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

Matthew 4:19-“And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”

There is an eternal God who knows us, loves us, and desires a relationship with us. My prayer is that we would repent of our sin, turn to Him, remember Him, and follow Him.

*This was first published in The Chappell Register on September 19, 2013.