When the long wandering in the desert came to an end and the people of Israel were to take possession of the land of Canaan, a rich, watered, fertile land, the Lord warned them through His servant Moses that they should not forget their God! This admonition also applies to us as the New Testament people of God. “Lest – when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them…when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:12,14).
Forgetting often has very tragic consequences. For example, someone forgets to turn off the gas tap and poisoning or even a large explosion is caused. Train accidents have happened because people forgot to switch on the warning signals for the oncoming express train. But no forgetting is as catastrophic as forgetting God!
Below are five things that we should definitely not forget!
1. Do not forget that God is our Creator and that we, as His creatures, are accountable to Him. I believe that this is the reason why the theory of evolution is so strongly asserted in our colleges and universities and why the Bible’s account of creation is ridiculed. People want to master their own lives and decide for themselves what they can and may do.
Let us not forget that everything is manifest before Almighty God. He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He is all-seeing, and we can hide nothing from Him!
2. Do not forget that we have been given a special time of grace for repentance. In His great love and mercy, God offers grace and forgiveness to us who have earned death through our sins and transgressions! Let us be “looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God” (Hebrews 12:15). “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).
3. Do not forget that what you sow in your life will bring a harvest! “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:7-8).
4. Do not forget your Christian duty to your neighbor. “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels…Do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:2,16).
5. Let us not forget that we have no permanent place here on earth. In Psalm 90:12, we read: “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” How easily we forget that when things go well for us! We are healthy, have good income potential, and see opportunities where we can invest well to increase our wealth even further. Our lives are very limited, and everything we earn here on earth will burn up one day. Only what we have done for the Lord and our fellow humans will last for eternity. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
So beware that you do not forget the Lord your God!
Art Lange
Vernon, British Columbia
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