During my own devotional time, I’ve been reading through the book of Deuteronomy.  Being that it’s the last book written by Moses before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Moses spends a considerable amount of time recapping the last 40 or so years since they sat at the foot of Promised Land and decided not to enter.  One of his most repeated phrases is “Remember and never forget…” as he reminds the Israelites of God’s work to and through them by rescuing them from Egypt and providing for them during their journey through the wilderness.  Moses is charging them to remember that God saved them from slavery and has led them to the land that generations of their families have hoped and prayed for since the time of Abraham.

                One of the most famous passages from Deuteronomy is what is known to the Jewish culture as the “Shema.”  This can be found in chapter 6 verses 4-9.  The crucial part of the Shema is the very beginning that states, “Hear, O Israel:  The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”  Jews today recite this as a part of their daily prayers, so you can imagine how important it is!  This statement was to be a reminder that the Israelites were to serve and worship God only.  The following verses instruct the Israelites to “Repeat [the commandments of God] again and again…tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.”  Moses wanted to make sure that his people would remember what God had done and how he had instructed the Israelites to live.

Look up these verses and think about what God has done for you:

·         Psalm 74:2

·         Isaiah 46:8-10

·         Luke 22:19

God knows that we can be very forgetful.  He knows that as Christians, we desire to follow Him with everything that we are, but sometimes our human weaknesses like doubt and worry get in the way of truly putting our trust in Him.  He wants us to do everything we can to remember what he has done.

                As you read in Luke, Jesus told his disciples to remember him because he knew that giving up their lives to follow someone as radical as himself would be a hard thing – it would require a daily reminder that what they were doing had a purpose.  That’s why he chose bread as the reminder!  Bread was and is a part of pretty much everyone’s daily diet.  Can you imagine if every time you ate a piece of bread, you remembered Jesus’ sacrifice?  You remembered how much he cares for you?  That was Jesus point!  He said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”  In other words, “Every time you eat bread, remember me.”

It’s the same idea that Moses was putting forth in Deuteronomy – every time you look at your hands you should think of God.  “Remember and never forget…” that God sent His son for you.  That He has saved you from the slavery of sin.  That He longs to have you in His family as His child.  We need a constant reminder of what God has done.

I challenge you to pick one thing this week that will remind you of what God has done.  Mine is my toothbrush.  Every time I pick up my toothbrush to brush my teeth, I remember what God has saved me from.  Maybe yours will be your watch, your necklace, your favorite cereal.  Choose something that will remind you of God’s riches in your life.

In Christ,

Kyle