I WILL NEVER FORGET!

Transcribed From ESP Podcast with Dr. James D. Allen

https://esppodcastwithdrjamesdallen.buzzsprout.com/

My mother is 90 and still doing well, except for some memory issues. She starts out many conversations with, I will never forget and then a story. She still knows how to cook all the favorite dishes, cakes, pies, and candy from memory: it is good for tastebuds but not for the waistline.  Mom was a great mom growing up and always has been there for me.  So was DAD.

I will never forget! 

On September 1, 1923, Japan suffered a devastating earthquake that killed 143,000 people.  In a matter of hours, the United States sent a convoy of ships with medical supplies and more than ten million dollars in aid.  The Emperor sent a famous five-word cablegram to the White House:  America, we will never forget.  Eighteen years later, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, killing 2800 Americans.  Japan forgot.

We tend to forget the gifts we have received and the promises we have made; however, we are quick to recount the offenses we have suffered at the hands of others.  What makes us promise God something if He will only do this or that?  What makes it so difficult for us to sit down and count our blessings?  Why are we able to forget the 99 good things a person has done well and cling to, illuminate, and exaggerate the one wrong they have committed.  The disciple Thomas is remembered as a doubter because he wanted to put his finger in the scar of Jesus and his hand in his side.  We hear the term doubting Thomas; however, he was not a doubter.  He bowed before Christ and never put his hand upon the Lord’s scars, and before that, when he thought, Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die, it was Thomas who said: Let us also go, that we may die with him. (John 11:16) Why not call Thomas, Thomas the Courageous!

The world naturally pulls us to the negative side of things.  The news highlights the negative, not the positive.  The adage that if it bleeds, it leads, is true. We are bombarded with the negative.  To be a positive person in this world is not to ignore the negative, but to understand the positive:  God works all things for the good of those who love Him, nothing ever catches God by surprise, and His plan for His people is for good and not evil.

I struggle at times with promises I have made to God and quickly forget.  It is sometimes like the diet that begins next Monday, it is well-intentioned, but it rarely occurs.  I have often joked, that I was going to lose 15 pounds this year and now I only have 20 pounds to go!  Humor is often a defensive measure.  I have talked to people at the cemetery or hospital, and the promise is:  Pastor, I will get my life right.  I can’t allow myself to end up dead from an OD.  Or a ubiquitous commitment is Pastor, I will be in church when I get out of this hospital bed.  Often it is one trip to church and done.  I have been a pastor for decades and prayed with hundreds of people in hospital beds and have prayed and sat with the dying:  I have had only one person turn down my offer to pray.  When we are desperate, we need hope.

The USS Arizona lies below the water in Hawaii.  It is a memorial to those who died that day.  About one thousand souls are entombed there.  When you walk out on the monument, there is silence.  There are people and children, but the only thing you are likely to hear is gentle sobbing and the flutter of the flag. There is respect, honor, and quiet contemplation.

Why wasn’t the Arizona raised and the bodies removed?  The main armament was salvaged for the war effort; however, a crack in the hull compromised the ship’s integrity, and if an attempt was made to raise her, they feared it would split the vessel in half.  So, a memorial was established there.  The day they decided not to remove the bodies but to leave them undoubtedly was a day of distress.  Today, that which caused despair has given us a sanctified place to remember, thank God, and honor those who died.

There are tragedies, hurts, and pain lying just below the surface of our lives and the lives of those around us. (It is good for us to remind ourselves that every person we meet has a past and is struggling in some manner.)   The hurts are remembered, but we have not allowed them to keep us from life.  If we resurfaced them all at once, it could overwhelm us; however, as we allow the Lord to help us, they become reminders of His Grace and strength.  Take time to thank God for His blessings.  Take time to forgive others for their offenses.  Take time to recount and remember your promises to God.  Instead of a memorial to the past, let us make an altar for the future.  Let us remember and never forget that it is God who has saved us and not we ourselves.  Let God be true, and every man a liar.  Remember His blessings and rejoice in His promises.