How Is It Possible?

"Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number." - Jeremiah 2:32



Over the last several days, I have begun to read through the book of Jeremiah.  I have read through it before, but this time Jeremiah has come alive to me in a way like never before.  As I was reading yesterday, I came across this verse in chapter 2 that really stood out to me and spoke to my heart.

Could you imagine a bride forgetting her dress on the day of her wedding?  She shows up at the church ready to marry her soon to be husband, but there is one small detail that was overlooked, she forgot her dress.  Even though it has probably happened to someone somewhere (I don't put anything past people today), we would say that it would insane for a woman to forget her dress on the day of her wedding.  With that in mind, think about God is saying to His people here in this verse.  The idea that we would forget God should be as preposterous to us as a woman forgetting her dress on the day of her wedding, but God says His people had forgotten Him so long that the days could not be numbered.  To be quite honest, it is hard to wrap your mind around the reality of what the Lord is saying.

Let us bring this verse into our world where you and I live.  Considering all that Christ has done for us when He suffered the agony of the Cross, shedding His blood for our sins, how is it possible that we should forget Him?  Considering how Christ has been with us every step of the way, how He has wrought such mighty works in our lives, how is it possible that we should forget Him?

The sad reality of this is that, even though it sounds ludicrous that we would forget Christ, we do forget Him.  I am so guilty of this in my own spiritual life.  We are so busy with our lives and living for us that we totally leave Christ out of it and forget about Him.  I know that as a pastor, there are many days when I get so bogged down with administrative things in the ministry, that I forget to spend time with Christ in prayer and His Word.  It is so easy to start your day with all the hustle and bustle, thinking that you will find or make time for Christ later, but later never comes.

Maybe you do not struggle with this, but I know that I do.  According to God's Word, forgetting Him is as preposterous and ludicrous as a bride forgetting her dress on the day of her wedding, but yet we do forget the Lord.  Just like the verse says, I have lost count of the number of times that I have forgotten Christ in some way or another.  What about you?

How is it possible that we can forget about Jesus Christ, considering who He is and what He did?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, forgive me for all the times that I have forgotten You.  Lord, forgive me for times when I put other things ahead of You, thus forgetting You.  Father, help me by Your power to always remember who You are and what You have done for me.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Forgetting Where We Came From

"Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." - Exodus 23:9



As I was reading through the book of Exodus the other day, the above verse really stood out to me.  I think that it reveals a fundamental problem that many churches and Christians have when it comes to the lost around them.  I'm afraid too many Christians today have forgotten where they came from.

The word oppress has many meanings, one of them means to put down.  This is the way that many lost people see us Christians.  They see us looking down our noses at them, making condescending statements about them, they see us condemning them rather than condemning their sin.  The Lord warned Moses and the children of Israel not to oppress a stranger.  He told them that they knew what it was like to be a stranger because of their time in bondage to the Egyptians.

As Christians, we must never forget where we came from!  We know the heart of a lost person, because we used to be one.  Before we trusted Christ as our Savior, we were strangers to Him, we were in bondage to our sin and to the world.  The Lord was reminding Israel of how they were treated by the Egyptians and was telling them not to treat strangers the same way.  Think back to your days as a lost person and remember how you felt, think about your burdens, think about your sorrows, and how you just simply needed someone to show you the love of Jesus Christ.  Please do not misunderstand what I saying, we cannot and must not overlook sin or turn a blind eye to it, but we must show those around us that we care.

During Pastors Conference at FBC Jacksonville Johnny Hunt made the following statement, "The longer I'm a part of God's family, the further removed I am from those for who Christ died."  That is such a sobering thought!  Too many Christians in our churches today have isolated themselves in a bubble from the world around them.  The result of this is that they have forgotten where they came from, they have forgotten the heart of a lost person, and they have become cold to the lost.

May God break our hearts and give us a consuming compassion for the stranger and the lost!  Have you forgotten who you were and where you came from before Christ saved you?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, may I never forget who I was and where I came from before You saved me!  Lord, break my heart for those who are lost and give me a consuming passion for those who are hurting and desperately need You!  Father, thank You for Your mercy and grace demonstrated toward me when You saved my unworthy and wretched soul!  As You have loved me, shown me mercy, shown Your grace to me, forgiven me, help me to do the same to those that are still in bondage to sin.  In Jesus name, Amen!