Remember the Former Things

Today we celebrated my Mom's 80th birthday.  No one enjoys a party more than her.  My brother, sister and I knew that one thing mom would love at her party was to hear her three kids sing together. And not just any song, we had to go back to the oldies.  We sang. "I'm Feeling Fine" and "My God Is Real". Good ol' southern gospel songs.  Then we did a bluegrass accapella number, "Three Men on a Mountain".  No one harmonizes like family.

If you know me, you know I am not one to look at the past.  Because most of the time when people do, it stirs up a longing for the past.  But God does tell us to remember the former things.  In Isaiah 46:9-10 (NIV) it says, Remember the former things, those of long ago, I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

What a powerful passage. When God instructs us to remember the past, it is not so we can long for those days again.  It is to look back and remember what God has done.  He declare, "I am God, there is no other." As we rehearse all the good things God has done, it stirs up new faith for what God can and will do in th future.  When I look back at the 60 years I've known my mom, I remember things like singing around the piano on a Sunday afternoon.  I remember her making me do a night time prayer... out loud!  I remember when she got baptized in the Holy Spirit.  When I look back, I see all the things God was doing to shape my life and my relationship with Him.  God said, "I make known the end from the beginning, and from the beginning (ancient times) I tell what is to come. And then He declares, My Purpose Will Stand!  Can't you just hear God thundering those words?

Every now and then it's nice to take a walk down memory lane, but the next time you do, look for God in your memories.  He was there through every victory and every defeat.  He was there in the darkest night and your brightest day.  He was there when you were wounded and there when you were made whole.  He was there when you turned your back on Him and there when you ran toward Him.  He was there because he knows your end from the beginning.  And long ago, in ancient times, he decreed your future.  And He says over all of us, "I AM God!  There is no other, and my purpose will stand and I will do ALL that I please.."  

Now that is a comforting thought.

Pastor Dale & Debi