Tell the Nations What He Has Done
Darci J. Steiner, Guest Writer
Today’s Treasure
The sweet, honey-loving bear in the English tale “Winnie the Pooh” has a forgetful mind. He often forgets where he has placed his last honey pot. “Think, think, think,” he says as he gently taps his brow, trying to remember. How easily we forget, too. We make lists, keep calendars, and ask Alexa because we are forgetful creatures. Forgetting leaves us vulnerable. You don’t want to forget your company dinner tonight, or your boss may look less favorably on you. Forgetting leaves us vulnerable when standing at our front door looking far and wide for the house key or when we are at the grocery store with two things in hand, but our spouse asked for three. We don’t want to forget. But sometimes we do.
After the Lord saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, they forgot (Jdg. 2:12). How can you forget something as important as that? But they did. And we forget important things, too. When we forget God, we go astray and even forsake Him by going so low as to follow other gods, including wealth, self, affluence, and work. These gods aren’t Zeus, Pluto, or Venus, but gods, nevertheless. All of us are guilty. Let us not forget but regularly practice remembering the one true God. Think, think, think!
Communion was instituted as a time of remembrance so we would not forget the Last Supper of Christ. “Do this in remembrance of me,” Jesus said as He ate a final meal with His friends. Why do you suppose Jesus connected this meal to remembering Him? Think, think, think. Because He had witnessed and experienced the Israelites straying from God. The people were vulnerable and turned to other gods that couldn’t protect them. Jesus wants our leaky brains to think and remember that the Lord does not abandon those who seek His help” (v 10b). He doesn’t want us to leave Him to follow false gods. Remembrance of Him and all He has done will help us stay on the right path.
David believed in God’s existence because of the Torah and God’s miracles; this is how his faith was formed. Today, hearing Bible stories repeatedly can help us remember those same miracles as evidence of the Lord’s existence.
Remember, by faith, the Old Testament believers sacrificed a lamb in their homes the evening of the first Passover, which resulted in God's angel of death passing over their families. Remember the Lord their God, who then orchestrated the physical deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the land of slavery, by the parting of the Red Sea for the Israelites to escape, then sealed their deliverance with the annihilation of the entire Egyptian army.
But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Matthew 13:16-17 NET
Write down the Old Testament miracles you remember. Now, do the same for New Testament miracles. Think, think, think! What would you have thought and felt if you had crossed the Red Sea? Make your description as real as possible. These miracles set God apart from other gods who could do nothing but sit like a bump on a log. They were not living and active like David’s God. David could trust in the living God, and so can you. Miracles were recorded to help us remember and believe! As prophesied, that same God came to earth, died, was buried, then resurrected. How much more evidence do we need to trust in him? Remember him and all he has done for you! Think, think, think!
PRAYER
Lord, help us tell the nations what You have done! Help us think, think, think, so we don’t forget. We want our friends and children to know You. May our words bring them to Your Word, the Bible, so they can see all You have done. We remember You at communion, and we remember You now. Help us never forget Your blessings. We remember You and are grateful for all You have done. Amen.
