Remember.

There are a few different forms of "remembering" things: (1) we can cram for two hours before a huge test so that we will remember the answers when we need to know them and forget the next day (2) we can think about something so much that we can't help but remember (3) or we can know something so well that it's always in our brains, but never makes it to our conscious memory. I'm not going to deal with the first one right now, because it is not as big of a deal as the others...I mean, study and know your stuff. The end.

The second type of remembering is the best kind to have...as long as the things we are thinking about are the right things. "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." --Philippians 4:8. Those are the things we should be focusing on. When I wrote out the definition of (2), all I could think of was the things that we are focused on...so much so that they are almost an obsession. We usually think of obsession as a bad thing...because we have known people who were obsessed with other people, or sports teams, or the way they look, or worrying. But the ultimate obsession is not like this. We should be so obsessed with the story of our Maker that we think about it without ceasing...we should always have His promises on our minds and His commands permeating our hearts...we should never be satisfied with the amount that we talk about our Savior. One thing I've noticed while attending Liberty: the more I and the people around me grow closer to the LORD, the more we talk about Him...it gets to the point that every conversation somehow comes back to the focus of our lives, our Mighty God...that's one of the results of sharpening each other, as Proverbs 27:17 speaks of. Another thing that came up recently in a conversation with my "sharpener": the more we study the Bible, the more we spout out Scripture without even thinking about it. I mean, I really could find something in Romans about most any situation that I'm confronted with.

The third form of remembering, I believe, is the most detrimental. I am ashamed to say that sometimes when I read stories in the Bible, particularly in the Gospels, I think "oh, I remember this...I know what happens next" and a switch turns off in my brain...I think that since I already know the story, I don't need to read and comprehend it again. False. I am amazed that every time I read the Bible, the Holy Spirit highlights different portions of the Scripture, different themes, and different main ideas. If, for instance, we read the story of the crucifixion as if it was the first time every time, I think we would be a lot more impacted by the truths of the words we are reading. It is certainly possible to become so familiar with something that we almost become numb or lukewarm towards it. This only opens us up to the attacks of the enemy...which can lead down the deep, dark paths of sin.

"But don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in the mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like." --James 1:22-24.

Fight the good fight. Care. Comprehend. Remember.