by Jerry Ousley
Remember His Words
Luke 24:5-8 – “Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’’ And they remembered His words.”
Remembering … sometimes a very hard feat to accomplish. I forget a lot. I know some think, “How does he remember that?” in reference to birthdays, anniversaries and so forth. Well, my secret is my computer calendar. I trained myself to get into the habit of opening it first thing every morning and I leave it up on my computer all day long. In it is stored all of these important events and things I want to accomplish on a daily basis. That’s how I remember. If it weren’t for that I would be in big trouble.
I keep a store list on my dresser along with what I call my “pocket stuff.” You know, keys, wallet and so forth. Those items you take with you wherever you go. As soon as I run out of something I write it down on this list and when I go to the supermarket, I know exactly what I need to get. The other day I needed milk. So, I grabbed my handy store list and off I went. I got everything on the list but when I got home and began putting those items away, I discovered that the one thing that I went to the store for – milk – I hadn’t got. Guess why . . . yep; I didn’t put it on my list.
Not remembering can be boiled down to just a handful of reasons. First, one may have a sickness or disease of the mind that causes brain cells to turn off and then they can’t remember. Second, it could be something that happened long ago and is buried deep in the recesses of human memory banks. But usually with some time to think we can draw those things back to the surface and remember. Third, we could be so busy that we just inerrantly omit something. I’ve done that. For instance, I was cooking dinner the other day and my wife asked that we put cheese on our smoked sausage and chili sandwiches. I served them and she never said a word. But the next day I realized that I completely forgot the cheese. I hadn’t forgotten it; I just was so busy getting it ready that I failed to complete that step. Lastly, and this is the biggest reason of them all, we don’t listen well. Later when confronted about it we say that we forgot. But in reality, we didn’t place it high enough on our listening list to make it register as important in our minds.
In the text we read the account of where some of the women and disciples had rushed to Jesus’ tomb on the third day only to find that His body was missing. What they found in the cave-like tomb instead were angelic beings who reminded them how that He had told them plainly that this would happen. He would be delivered into the hands of those who wanted Him dead, He would be crucified, and three days later would rise again (see Mark 8:31). After the reminder of the angels Luke simply tells us that “they remembered His words.”
The Bible is worth remembering. I know some people seem to have almost the entire Bible committed to memory. They cans spout off scriptures word for word, quoting chapter and verse. It is quite impressive. But then some of us, and I’m in the latter group, have a tough time with that. I know a lot of scripture and what it says, though I may not always quote it verbatim. And I can usually find it in the Bible if you give me a couple of minutes. But to spout it off word for word, ending with the chapter and verse, don’t happen often with me.
But while I don’t want to minimize the importance of knowing God’s word, I do want to emphasis that knowing what it says is really more important than quoting it verbatim. Of course, we want to stay in context and not make it mean something it doesn’t really mean. But to grasp the idea of what it is saying, and to apply that idea to our hearts and lives, is much more important than spouting it off without a clue as to what it means. Not possible? It was for the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day. They were well learned in the scripture or they wouldn’t have had their positions. They could quote whole sections of scripture. But when it came down to what it really meant they were religious fools.
So, I say, just don’t memorize. That’s okay. But we need to know what it says and what it means. The scripture is worth remembering. It brings calm, and peace to our hearts and souls.
For instance, Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Now that’s worth remembering.
How about John 14:3 that tells us “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” That’s a great heart-comforting scripture.
And finally, (but this is really only the beginning. There are so many rich passages that will encourage us in the Bible) after relating how he knew how to prosper and also how to be abased and suffer need Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13).
When you are in trouble; when you are afraid; when you are in doubt; when you are discouraged; when you are lonely and you don’t know what else to do, stop, take a moment, think and remember His words.
. . . Praise the Lord . . .
Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ïSoul Challengeï, ïSoul Journeyï, ïOrdealï, ïThe Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ïThe Shoe Tree.ï Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.
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