Remembering The "Address" of Scripture!

          

         It seems the older I get the more I seem to forget things!  I forget where I’ve put my keys, what was on my list, the name of the person I met just this morning, or if I’ve taken something out for dinner tonight!  While it’s true age seems to have some affect on our memory skills for daily chores or even living, there is one area where remembering, if we allow it to be, can be huge gift; remembering the Word of God!

          I am the first to admit memorizing scripture is as difficult as it seems to get, for my brain!  It seems no matter how hard I try, remembering the “address” of scripture just seems to allude me.  That said, it doesn’t mean I don’t know the scriptures.  I just seem unable to quote it verbatim and know where to find it!  That frustrates me!

            But what is really important for us to remember?  God wants us to remember what he has done for us, and tells us so in Deuteronomy 6.  A friend shares the story of how he was waiting for surgery not real long ago and, like for most of us, waiting was not an easy or pleasant task.  His mind contemplated the very idea of being put “under,” and raced with all kinds of questions like what will happen on the operating table? What happens if the doctor makes a mistake? And what happens if something goes wrong? Still, while his mind toyed with his stomach, God provided on the table beside him a Gideon Bible.  He opened it to Paul’s prayer about being relieved of “the thorn in his side.”  God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.”  God told my friend “While you’re asleep, I will be awake!”

            God tells us to be careful to not forget His words and commands.  It’s safe to say, however,  as a society, we are forgetting God as the events of our world lean more and more away from God and to materialism, Satanism and ugliness like I've never seen!  The Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey said, “Christianity is one generation away from extinction.”  That may sound unlikely, but think of it.  The Bible shares the story in 2 Kings where Josiah worked to change the mindset of the people, rebuilt the temple and the people remembered God.  Yet the story continues to describe one generation after his death, “no one remembered the Lord.”  This was only fifty-five years!

            Can you imagine what our world would be like if in fifty-five years no one spoke the Word of God, read His Word, worshipped and fellowshipped together? The years from Adam to Noah only left eight souls who believed.  We need to be like Josiah in 2 Kings and create a "Josiah generation" ....now!  It’s our responsibility to remember, rebuild and share the word.  We need to remember what God did and be excited about what He is going to do in the future.  We should never be content with where we are now, but be filled with the desire to do more and move forward.

          Like those great Biblical heroes we know and love who did the work God gave them to do, we need to recognize we are also called to do a work.  Everyone has something of value and worth to share with a neighbor, a friend, relative, or a stranger.  Even if we can’t remember the “address” of the scripture, God promises to put the words in our mind and mouths when we depend on Him as we share His Gospel.   It is what we are commanded to do.  Do you hear God calling?  Are you the beginning of a "Josiah Generation?"