In just a few short months, my grandson, Thomas, will be two. In the last week alone, he’s learned six new words. He’s finally realizing that not every baby picture is his cousin, Amelia. Many of them are him and he points to himself when he sees them. Today, he brought his mom a water bottle, something he does frequently since he’s learned to open the refrigerator by himself, but this time, as he held it up to her, he pointed to himself and said please. He was thirsty.
He’s also remembering things he’s seen or done and as we read stories or play outside, he does his best to make connections for us by pointing and using the words he’s so recently acquired. Every bird reminds him of the tiny sparrow his Poppy brought inside one cold night so it wouldn’t freeze. Before he let it go, he turned it loose in the bathroom for Thomas to see. This week at the zoo, Thomas fed a lorikeet from a cup of nectar held in his small hand. These experiences are building a rich memory base that will, Lord willing, last a lifetime!
“You, O God, are my king from ages past, bringing salvation to the earth.
Remember your covenant promises, for the land is full of darkness and violence!”
Psalms 74:12, 20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.74.12-20.NLT
“There is a powerful emphasis on God’s “remembering”—or, more precisely put, on appealing to God to remember.
It is not as if the psalmist thinks something may have slipped God’s mind, and that he must be reminded of a few basics which, under the press of ruling the universe, he may have accidentally overlooked.
These passages provide some insight into what this “remembering” means: it is an appeal to God to act in the light of his ancient covenantal association with his people, the people he “purchased of old” (Ps. 74:2), the tribe of his inheritance that he himself redeemed (Ps. 74:2).
It is a plea that, in the midst of wrath, he would “remember mercy.”
For The Love Of God: Day 266 • Devotional
https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/786/day/266?segment=0
“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord:
I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it.
I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.
I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations.
And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord.
But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it.
O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!
Then the surrounding nations that survive will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted the wasteland.
For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock.
They will be as numerous as the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem’s streets at the time of her festivals.
The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 36:22-23, 32, 36-38 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/ezk.36.22-38.NLT
“I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill.
And in the proper season I will send the showers they need.
There will be showers of blessing.
The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety.
When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord.
They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them.
They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them.
And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations.
In this way, they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them.
And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign Lord.”
Ezekiel 34:26-30 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/ezk.34.30.NLT
God’s judgement and God’s blessing are meant to bring about a common result. God orchestrated the events of the Bible so that the world will know that He is Lord, and He is sovereign over the events of our day for the very same reason.
“Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.”
Psalms 83:18 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.83.18.NLT
God’s judgement against Israel, His chosen, and her restoration becomes our example time and again throughout her long history. God’s covenant with their ancestor, Abraham, however, was set aside by Christ in favor of a new covenant. In each case, God initiated the covenant promises and God is fulfilling every last detail, for He who promised is faithful. God can be trusted to keep His promise because it is impossible for God to lie. (Hebrews 10:23, 6:18)
“The appeal to God to remember is explicit in Psalm 74:2, 18, 22 and implicit often—e.g., “Have regard for your covenant” (Ps. 74:20)
“Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.
There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.
Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.
For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.”
He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.”
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Hebrews 10:26-27, 29-31 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.10.26-31.NLT
What follows in Hebrews chapter eleven is the who’s who of Israel, those commended for their faith in the living God. Their exploits are cited but not in an attempt to set them on a pedestal. Rather, their actions stemmed from their faith in the One who was, is, and is to come, the AlmightyOne. (Revelation 1:8)
“All these people died still believing what God had promised them.
They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.
They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.
For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.”
Hebrews 11:13, 39-40 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.11.39.NLT
“In those days you were living apart from Christ.
You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them.
You lived in this world without God and without hope.”
Ephesians 2:12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.2.12.NLT
“Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.
And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord…this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:18, 20-22 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.2.18-22.NLT
“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.
(It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
God saved you by his grace when you believed.
And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:4-10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.2.4-10.NLT
“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”
Matthew 5:7, 9 NLT
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