"Memory Work Assignments"
Oct. 7, 2019
He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever.
— Psalm 111:4-5 (ESV)
Do you still do memory work? We will often try to learn and remember favorite verses from Scripture. God wants us to remember His Words and works and, in fact, "He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered." He inspired the prophets and apostles to record His mighty deeds. Jesus promised His disciples, "The Helper, the Holy Spirit ... will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (John 14:26). God's mighty works are certainly worth remembering and, according to the psalmist, those works full of splendor and majesty reflect God's enduring righteousness.
Among those mighty works are the many ways in which the Lord provides food—manna for the Israelites in the wilderness (see Exodus 16), bread and fish from the hands of the Savior (see Matthew 15:32-38), and "grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate" (Psalm 104:14b). Still today "He provides food for those who fear Him," not only our daily bread, but the sacred food of Jesus' body and blood in Holy Communion. It is the food of the covenant, the new covenant in Jesus' blood. Although we may at times forget His mighty works, God "remembers His covenant forever."
The new covenant in Jesus' blood has something to say about knowing and remembering. According to that covenant, God will write His law on the hearts of His people and, He says, "They shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest." But the new covenant has something to say about not remembering, too. According to the terms of His covenant, terms established in our Savior's blood, God says, "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:33-34).
This mighty work of God, the remembered covenant through which He does not remember our sin, is a covenant in which God removes our sins from us "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12a). Yet there is something that God remembers about us: "He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14). We do not always remember what God has done for us or live according to the law written on our hearts, but God looks with compassion on His dusty, forgetful children and, for the sake of Jesus, He does not remember our sins. We rejoice in God's forgiveness. We remember His mighty works, works that, according to the psalmist, are "studied by all who delight in them" (Psalm 111:2b). It's time to get back to that memory work!
THE PRAYER: Almighty God, we give You thanks and praise the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life that are ours by Your grace through faith in Jesus. In His Name we pray. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- Do people in general have an awareness of God or some supernatural power? Is this something that's internal to humans or does it come from outside ourselves?
- How does God cause His works to be remembered?
- Do you memorize Scripture? Are there times when doing so would be handy?
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Do people in general have an awareness of God or some supernatural power?
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