In the Habit of Remembering

We all have good memories and bad memories.  Sometimes we dwell on those memories for the wrong reasons.  We think over and over again on the bad memories and drive ourselves insane with what we could have done differently to make the outcome better.  We focus on good memories to pump ourselves emotionally.  Remembering things is important.  God expects us to remember.  However in Psalm 63:6 – 8 God gives us instructions on the best way to use our time to remember things:

“6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.”

David was on the run from King Saul when he wrote this Psalm.  He was hiding in the wilderness.  His life was in shambles.  His family’s lives were at risk.  He spent his time thinking about what God had done.  He realized that God had been his help all that time and that He should stay faithful and rejoice in what God is doing.

Like David when we have free time, we are to focus on God.  For example, many of us have trouble falling to sleep.  We are consumed with the stresses of our day at work or in our family.  That’s a great time to think on the character of God.  We can spend time remembering the stories we have read or learned out of the Bible about God and His people, we learn about how God thinks and works.  We see fellow believers struggling with issues and learning to hear God and obey.  We see God responding to needs and providing.  We realize that we are not alone and God is there for us.  We, too, can rejoice in what God will do in our lives knowing that He love us.

So, start changing some of your thinking habits.  Get in the habit of remembering what God has done for those in the Bible and what God has done for you and your family during your lifetime.

The Best Investment We Can Make

People good with their money will usually take some of their money and invest it in safe investments to earn some interest on their money.  They may buy land or stocks.  Of course as many of us have seen over the last few years some of the things we thought were safe and sound investments have turned in to major losses.  There is something else we can invest in that is even more important.  As good parents we should be investing in our children emotionally, physically and spiritually.  We should be spending time with them physically.  We should be encouraging them emotionally and teaching them spiritually.  The Bible takes this investing a step further.  Read Proverbs 13:22:

A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

All of us love our kids, even when they drive us nuts.  So why not after we have spent years investing in them to help them have a good life as they grow up shouldn’t we be leaving them an inheritance to remember us by and help them out in the future when we are gone?  It just makes good common sense that when you love someone that you would want to help them in any way you can.  It’s interesting to note that this scripture makes the point leaving an inheritance helps to define us as a good parent or grandparent.  This inheritance can be in a variety of forms.  Maybe it is the obvious, money.  Maybe it is some land.  Maybe it is some prized possession or family heirlooms.  Maybe it is book that you have written full of the wisdom you learned living your life.  Maybe it is family history outline and photographs.  Even these sentimental things are a wonderful inheritance.  Not everyone has money that they can leave behind.  Things happen in life to destroy excess money.  However, we can leave something special to our children and grandchildren that will either help them in life physically, emotionally or spiritually.  The important thing is that they see through this inheritance gift your love and a reminder of what you were to them in their lives.  So start now thinking about how you can invest in your children and grandchildren after you are gone with an inheritance you have left for them.

In the Habit of Remembering

We all have good memories and bad memories.  Sometimes we dwell on those memories for the wrong reasons.  We think over and over again on the bad memories and drive ourselves insane with what we could have done differently to make the outcome better.  We focus on good memories to pump ourselves emotionally.  Remembering things is important.  God expects us to remember.  However in Psalm 63:6 – 8 God gives us instructions on the best way to use our time to remember things:

“6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.”

David was on the run from King Saul when he wrote this Psalm.  He was hiding in the wilderness.  His life was in shambles.  His family’s lives were at risk.  He spent his time thinking about what God had done.  He realized that God had been his help all that time and that He should stay faithful and rejoice in what God is doing.

Like David when we have free time, we are to focus on God.  For example, many of us have trouble falling to sleep.  We are consumed with the stresses of our day at work or in our family.  That’s a great time to think on the character of God.  We can spend time remembering the stories we have read or learned out of the Bible about God and His people, we learn about how God thinks and works.  We see fellow believers struggling with issues and learning to hear God and obey.  We see God responding to needs and providing.  We realize that we are not alone and God is there for us.  We, too, can rejoice in what God will do in our lives knowing that He love us.

So, start changing some of your thinking habits.  Get in the habit of remembering what God has done for those in the Bible and what God has done for you and your family during your lifetime.

The Breath of Praise

God gave every living thing on Earth a very important and easy instruction in Psalm 150:

“1 Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. 2 Praise Him for His powerful acts; praise Him for His abundant greatness. 3 Praise Him with trumpet blast; praise Him with harp and lyre. 4 Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with flute and strings. 5 Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals. 6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD. Hallelujah!”

It is interesting to think about the fact that God expects every living thing that breathes to praise Him.  He expects all the creatures on this Earth to give Him honor verbally.  The birds that sing just might be singing to God.  The wolf that howls at the moon just might be praising God.

Some times as humans we get so caught up in ourselves that we forgot to remember who God is and how big He is compared to us.  We forget how wonderful and powerful He is.  We spend a lot of time using our breath to talk about ourselves and what we have accomplished.  For the small insignificant or grandiose things we might do with our time, we love to get a pat on our back.  Now think about our Almighty God who has done such mighty and magnificent things.  Doesn’t He deserve a pat on the back?  We need to make ourselves little “i”s instead of the big “I” that we usually try to make ourselves out to be.  We need and must use our breath to praise the Lord.

Next time you hear one of God’s animal kingdom creature’s making a noise for no apparent reason with their vocal chords, stop and think about what they could possibly be doing.  They could be praising the Lord.  Stop and praise the Lord with them.  Next time you are conscious of your breathing, stop and praise the Lord.  Just stop what you are doing and praise the Lord.