Remember Not To Forget

A visit with my Aunt Judy

RISE AND SHINE FOR JESUS! \O/

By Pam Iannello (my late mother)

"Remember Not To Forget"

Proverbs 3:1 (KJV)

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

The older I get the more absentminded it seems I become! Perhaps some of you have entered that season of life as well… Mental management of the little details of daily life can be an exasperating juggling act and it seems there is great pressure upon most of us not to forget, no matter how old we are. That is why this precise exhortation is found in the Bible – we all have a tendency to forget! Therefore, anything we can do to help us remember a thing, especially scriptural things, is of great value.

To be honest, I always thought that forgetfulness was a state of mind. But what I learned from the Word of God is that absentmindedness is actually a heart condition! According to our text above, the negative side is do not forget – the positive side is let your heart keep God’s commandments. Actually, it’s easy for a command to be forgotten if it is not kept; if it is not guarded or obeyed. Are you making active efforts to keep from forgetting God’s LAW? Is your heart involved in this protective process? Would God say that you truly respect and obey His laws or generally exhibit a casual attitude toward His Word? Ladies, the truth is, once you and I stop applying the Word of God to our lives we will forget it. Or if we never start applying it to our lives, we simply won’t remember the scriptural things we have read or heard via teaching and/or preaching of the gospel.

Things that highly valued are guarded. Don’t you find ways of guarding the things that are important to you? Would you permit your toddlers to wander through your neighborhood by themselves? Would you leave your wallet on the front seat of your unlocked car? Would you let another woman get away with seducing your husband? Of course not! Once you recognize the worth of something you will take the trouble to protect what you have deemed a treasure. Is that the way you feel about the Word of God, dear lady? I hope you aren’t looking after your earthly possessions with more vigor than you are holy belongings! By the way, what IS your most valuable possession? Luke 12:34 says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Surely what you have learned from the Bible about your sin related problems and their solutions ought to be greatly valued!! Consequently, if you let them slip, it is due to a dysfunctional heart. That is why God exhorts us to be in steady study and obedience to His Word. Our hearts need constant scriptural regulation, not just mental assent to the truth.

So then, have you forgotten some of the lessons you’ve learned about how to conduct yourself as a Christian wife? Can’t remember some of those Biblical child rearing instructions that you used to employ? Have you retained the counsel you’ve received over the years as a believer and are you still putting it into practice? Do you find yourself digging around the house for old preaching tapes and/or spiritual literature that once inspired you to do right? Sounds like you might be suffering from a memory problem! Sounds like you are trying to keep your heart on the right track… And that is exactly what your heavenly Father expects His children to do! Guard what you have learned from God’s Word.

“Each man’s memory is his private literature.”

God Bless,

Pam

Isaiah 60:1&2

Copyright 2005 Pamela A. Iannello