Remember

Deuteronomy chapter 6 is an important passage for me to remember. It comes right after the Ten Commandments are laid out in chapter 5 and is an admonition to right living. It is actually a command on how to remember who God is in the life of every person and how to raise up the next generation.

Throughout the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) there is a command to remember the slavery of Egypt and to remember the amazing miracles that God did for them. They were commanded to tell the story every single year. Passover is this celebration of remembering that they were once slaves but now are free by the hand of God. We are never commanded to stop celebrating the fact that once we were all slaves (to sin), but now are free (in Christ).

So in chapter 6, this is where we find the same passage that Jesus gives when asked by the teachers of the law what the greatest commandment is. It is to love God with all our heart, soul and strength. Then immediately one of my life verses (vs. 7-9) "Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (NLT) Why do you think there was such specific instructions to put God's word continually before them if they did not need to remember?

I write so I can remember the goodness of God when things are not as good as I hope they were. I need to be constantly reminded of the promises God has given me, so that when I am waiting for the fulfillment of those promises, I can remain in the fullness of joy that he is working all things out for my good. I need to be the one to remind my children that God is the one that is for them, and not against them, and that no weapon formed against them can prosper. We need to be reminded constantly that we are not a slave to fear but have been given the mind of Christ to have power, love and a sound mind.

In the New Testament the Word of God is a sword. It is used by the Holy Spirit to bring about change, clarity, and confirmation of what God is doing right now. It is our weapon in the fight against the unseen realms that attack us day and night. In order to win the fight against depression, anxiety, and fear, we must put the miracles constantly before us. We may have an army of fear coming behind us, and we might be facing the biggest sea of depression in front of us, but I know a God that can part the sea, calm the storm, and make a way where there is no way. Remember the miracles.