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Why is it that God spends so much time in the Bible telling His children to “remember” Him?

I’d like to venture four reasons I believe are grounded in scripture and then, over the next several weeks, give you five practical and biblical ways to remember the Lord as a family.  When we fail to remember God we risk…

• …Falling into idolatry/trusting ourselves or our possessions (Deut. 8:13-14)
• …Never growing in trust of/faith in God (Isa. 40:20-21)
• …Stumbling into sin and suffering the Father’s discipline (Deut. 8:19)
• …Forfeiting a generation to the enemy (Judges 2:10-11)

So how can we be a family that is all about remembering God?  As we head toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, two big “reminders” built into our culture, I want to take some time to discuss each of the five ways, listed below, that God has ordained for us to remember Him, who He is, and all that He has done.  I’ll also include some practical ways for us to incorporate these into family life.

1. In His Word – God’s Word is our primary means of remembering who He is and all that He has done throughout history.  As parents our most important duty in the kingdom is to take the words of God and, “Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
2. In song – Remembering God in song is a theme we see in scripture over and over again.  How wonderful it is that our Creator gave us music, knowing the power it has to help us remember as well as to connect our heads to our hearts and emotions.
3. In prayer – Prayer should not only be about asking for help but about remembering to God all that He has done. When we thank God in our prayers we are “remembering” that God alone is responsible for providing our every need. (Nehemiah 9)
4. In true Christian fellowship – Fellowship is much more than potluck dinners or bowling night.  It is about gathering together to remember God to one another.  (1 Corinthians 14:26)
5. In traditions and memorials – Traditions and memorials are things that we, in the bible church movement have largely banished from the life of the church.  While a healthy dose of caution about tradition becoming idolatry is warranted, the Bible is also clear that God has given us tradition and memorial to help us “remember” who He is and all that He has done.  (Joshua 4:4-7, Luke 22:19)

I hope that these “reminders” will serve you well in making your home, for this holiday season and throughout the year, a place where you are remembering God for who He is and what He’s done.  Tune in next time when we’ll look at what it means to remember God in his Word.