The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day…when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee…wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God” (2 Timothy 1:3-6).

Paul was alone and cold in a Roman dungeon (2 Timothy 4:12-13). Now he writes to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith. Did you notice the frequency of the word “remembrance” in our verses for today? Timothy had been left behind in Ephesus to oversee the work of the local church. Paul greatly loved Timothy and so wanted him to remember those things that are important and to act upon them. I am finding that the older I become, the more easily I forget things. Perhaps some of you are experiencing the same! Have you ever considered writing out a list of the top ten things that you not only know to be true about the Lord and His Word but that you want to remember? That really would be a great spiritual exercise.

For today: Some things are good for me to forget. Others are good to remember. May the Lord help me to keep them straight in my mind.

“When they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:40-42).

They were mistreated. They were insulted. They were beaten and injured. They were criminally assaulted. They rejoiced! You read this correctly. What an amazing account of what happened to the early apostles. I am sure that their wounds hurt; however, the amazing love and adoration they had in their hearts for their Savior caused them to view this present humiliation as a great privilege. They were “suffering shame for His name.” They praised the Lord for the privilege of suffering, and they ignored the threats as they continually taught and preached about Christ. Which brings me to ask myself and my friends how is our response to trials and testing? Do we stay faithful in proclaiming His Name when times get tough just as did the early apostles? What a great privilege is ours!

For today: Don’t go looking for trouble; however, when times get tough, Christ followers stay joyful in Him!

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

Perhaps you remember poor Marcus from yesterday. Pouring out his heart to the Biblical counselor, Marcus rehearsed that he understood that God had forgiven him but that he was having trouble forgiving himself. Wisely the counselor took him to the Scriptures to confront him with the powerful and practical truths of God’s Word. Our verse was the starting point of several very special weeks of counseling. “If God said that your sins have been removed as far as the north is from the south, we’d know right where they’d be located. That would be the equator,” the counselor said with a smile. Then with a serious expression he continued by saying, “Marcus. Look at me.” It took a moment for Marcus to finally be able to look up and into the face of the godly Biblical counselor. “Marcus, God said that He has removed your sins as far as the east is from the west. Therefore we can never, never, never, never find them again. Every time that you wallow in guilt and shame, you are looking for something that you can never find again. They’re gone. They’re gone as far as the east is from the west,” the counselor said with firm conviction. Marcus was just beginning a great journey on which he would learn to forgive himself. How about you? Is there anything about which you need to forgive yourself?

For today: The turnaround for Marcus wasn’t overnight. But it was joyous indeed. How about you? Is there anything for which you need to forgive yourself?

“Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil” (Jonah 4:2).

Often I hear of people speaking of Jonah fleeing in disobedience because he was afraid of the people of Nineveh. I am aware that the wickedness of those Ninevites is hard to imagine. They were violent, wicked, murderous, and enemies of the people of God, but I do not believe that is why Jonah fled in the opposite direction of Nineveh. Clearly Jonah explained to the Lord why he fled, and we are privileged to listen in on that conversation. God saw the genuine repentance of the city (Jonah 3:10). The prophet became furious when He sensed that God was going to forgive them and not destroy them (Jonah 4:1). Jonah said he fled because somehow he just knew that this was going to happen. There are a dozen lessons for each of us. For now the great lesson for me today is that I would learn that God’s grace that saved me is fully sufficient to save anyone else who truly comes to Him.

For today: Aren’t you glad that God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness? Me, too!

“Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:2-3).

What a wise servant was this man named Nehemiah. He not only labored successfully as he orchestrated and oversaw the rebuilding of the walls of ancient Jerusalem; he also was wise enough to discern the plotting of wicked men who sought to kill him. “Come let us meet together” their invitation read. “Come to the village of Ono” they said. But wise Nehemiah saw through it and replied to the meeting in Ono by more or less saying “Oh no!” There is a key lesson for each believer in this situation. In whatever assignment the Lord has given you, view yourself engaged in serving the Most High God. The enemies may sound harmless and even inviting. Be wise and resist compromise. Stay faithful and in the Lord’s strength say “Oh no!”

For today: May we be as wise and faithful as Nehemiah! The Lord will be pleased and we will be glad as well.