as humans, we have an unfortunate tendency
to have brains like Dory from Finding Nemo.

we can struggle to form or recall memories, only
able to grapple with the here-and-now, failing to
remember past knowledge and understanding.

from a scientific perspective, we have two types
of memory, both short-term and long-term. the
difference between these is distinguished by:

1. the significance we attach to what we remember
2. the frequency in which we remember or recall the memory

as Hope in the Dark by Craig Groeschel says:

“we remember what matters most to us,
because we replay it often in our memory”

this is a scary, profound and powerful thought all at once.

what we remember, reveals something about what matters
to us. it is an internal emphasis we are placing on something.

this is why remembrance is important. it’s not whether or
not we can remember that is the issue (sorry Dory). it’s
what or why we are remembering what we do remember.

God designed us with short and long term memories
for a reason, so what do the scriptures teach us
about how we are to live out this God-given design?

this is what we are going to explore today. the call
to remembrance is really call to look at what matters to us.

first, let us explore further how
memory is a God-given design.

we are not given memories, and the ability to retain them,
by accident. we are given this ability by design, and so
we need to learn and understand why we were designed
this way, and how God calls and invites us to use this ability.

why have we been given this ability?

remembrance is an art. without it, we would not be able to
bridge the divide of then and now, past and present.

historians will tell you the importance of remembering history,
so not to repeat failures of humanity, and in order for us to
understand the wisdom of generations who have gone before us.

we commonly see remembrance as a term used for war, a moment
dedicated to the honour, preservation and recognition of those who
have served and fought for the peace and freedoms we now enjoy.

remembrance, then, can be a collective and an individual act.
memory too, can be a collective or individual cognitive function.

our minds, perhaps, are a micro-story of the macro-story that we
see play out on Remembrance Day. humanity has the capacity
to collectively reflect and acknowledge the past, to preserve the
stories of war, and to acknowledge the lived experience of others.

our minds, at a micro-level, preserve our own stories of self, and
we build a library of preserved and recognised lessons in our
mental filing cabinet of memories, lessons from our lived experience.

God has given us this ability to retain memories for a reason. He
knew our capacity for remembrance. and underneath this ability,
is a complex truth. we cannot retain everything. we are limited.

our libraries cannot store every little micro-detail of our days,
or remember those micro-details in the macro-scale of our lives.

our minds choose to sort our memories into short and long term,
filtering our days and data into digestible pockets of learnings.

God has given us an ability to only retain so much in our memories,
which again, we must consider as a constraint that is by design.

we all have our “Dory” moments. we forget a dear friends birthday.
we forget to action something on our to do list. we read a text
and then we forget to reply for a month. we simply, forget.

this is the double edge sword of remembrance. we have both been given
the ability to remember, but also to forget. our minds can work against us
in this, as sometimes we do not consciously file knowledge away into our
filing cabinets or “forget” cabinets intentionally. we do it automatically.

our minds work in auto-pilot to process all the meta-data of our lives.

recently i have reflected on this ability for our memories to be buried
so deep within us, locked away in our forgotten filing cabinets, that
we cannot for the life of us remember elements of our own lives.

this typically happens during trauma. our recollection of events is not
in a sequential fashion. we have pockets of recollection, disordered,
chaotically filed in our brains, because of the acute response we would
have had at the time. we see “triggers” emerge in peoples lives when
they unconsciously step right into a buried traumatic memory. it is as
though alarm bells go off inside of us, signalling to us that our attempts
to protect ourself from remembering that trauma has failed.

what this tells us about this ability God has given us, is that there is
a good and bad element to remembrance. a blessing and a curse.

memory as a blessing:

we see our memory function as a blessing when we experience
severe trauma that we do not wish to relive. we see that ability
within us to consciously or unconsciously bury memories deep
in our minds so that we have no ability to remember. this is a
coping mechanism. to protect us from the trauma and pain again.

it is God’s kindness that we have this ability to forget trauma.

the danger, to be aware of, is that while he has given us this ability, to
store traumatic memories further away from our ready-to-recall-ability,
his desire is for our healing – he does not want us to remain captive
or enslaved to our trauma. and so if this is you, invite him to gently
allow you to work through your trauma in safe places, with trained
therapeutic professionals, who can help you “undo” unhelpful coping
mechanisms, and re-wire your thinking so you are not triggered.

memory is a blessing when we hold onto what is true, lovely, worthy of praise.

memory as a curse:

our memory function is a curse when we fail to remember and hold onto
truth and memories that are full of goodness. we have a tendency to
remember the bad or negative elements of memories, rather than the good.
these are because of the emotional weighting. good emotions don’t often
weigh as heavy, or surprise us, or disrupt our status quo. but we do mentally
take note when something is not good. this recognition means we place a
significance to the moment, we register it as “not good”, and accordingly, we
store away in our memories to reflect on later. if we reflect on this at the time,
we may be able to work through our unexpressed emotions, and process the
memory appropriately, naming and acknowledging the emotions present. but.
if we allow these memories to fester, to brew. these will harbour a bitterness,
a resentment, a confusion and a deep-seated dissatisfaction. instead of using
our God-given ability to process emotions and memories appropriately, we
use this ability to store up negative memories, and this will shape us.

we fail, in this sense, to reflect, to remember, to hold onto, what is good.

in the act of cognitive processing, we can unintentionally push memories and
knowledge to the back of our minds, so that we do not have the capacity to
consciously process them. we may deem them as “too hard” to deal with, or
if we have trauma, we may deem them “too painful” and have built a coping
mechanism that allows us to avoid dealing with anything triggering at all costs.

when it comes to God’s people remembering His promises, we see this
unfortunately reality. even though His promises are a good thing to hold onto.

we see an inability to store in their long-term memories God’s promises, and
instead, the reliance and dependance on the short-term pattern of only holding
onto the negative. the “woes” and suffering of the here and now are front of mind.
there is a failure for them to remember the truth their ancestors passed down.

God calls His people constantly to remember the generational evidence of His
goodness and provision. He wants them to be able to call to mind His statues.
but instead, they often turn away, prone to wander, fixing attention elsewhere.

this brings us to why remembrance
is a God-repeated call on our lives.

how many times down the bible ask us to remember?

the word “remember” is used over 1,200 times in the Bible.
the word “forget” is used over 300 times.

we are forgetful creatures, prone to short-term memory,
to deficient and distorted attentions and fixations.

we are called to fixate or “fix” our eyes.
what we choose to see, to focus on, informs
our memories and library of knowledge.

God sends constant reminders to us of His presence, His faithfulness.
signs and wonders, prophets and the cross. He knows we need reminding.

He repeats this call to remembrance as calls to listen, to learn, to keep,
to give ears to hear, to teach and instruct others. He gives us signs (rainbows)
as reminders of His promises. and Jesus, at the Last Supper, in the Eucharist
gives us an act of communion: “do this in remembrance of me” [luke 22:19]

“this beautiful mystery [communion] is a practice of
redemptive remembering. this practice invites us to
explore our stories but also to remember and be
re-membered in God’s story” [healing what’s within]

God knows how He made us. He knows we too easily forget our part in His
story of redemption. He knows our tendency to be de-membered, a body
with many parts, not whole and healed as He intended. He knows the likelihood
that His word would go in one ear and out the other. He knows our hearts are
divided, that there are others in this world who try to teach, instruct, and
lead us down pathways of distraction, trying to re-wire our brains so that
we do not remember, do not fix our eyes on the way, truth and life in Jesus.

He knows that even if we do listen and receive,
that it might not translate to a response.

while God designed us to be able to retain
knowledge and understanding and wisdom
we often fail to retain what He calls us to retain.

we use that cognitive ability, the power of memory
for our own purposes, for our own good.

we start to play God, by choosing what matters most,
by being selective in our memory, by recalling and
repeating and reflecting on things that matter to us.

unfortunately, we also have the ability to select things that also harm us.
things that by replaying in our minds, start to steer us away from Him,
and towards another master (like Fear, Shame, Greed, Pride, etc.).

but what if God didn’t give us this ability for ourselves?

God has given us the blueprint for our attention, the start
and end points for our life maps. our northern star. Jesus.

God created us with hearts made for His heart, hearts
capable of caring for the same things that He cares about.

unlike us though, His care is infinite. eternal. His knowledge
of us far surpasses the natural realm, and spans into the
supernatural. His knowledge of us came before we were born.

yet God made us in His image, that we may share in a shadow
of the knowledge He has. He gave us this capacity to remember
so that we may respond to His call to carry our cross. to carry with
us a reminder to the world, a signal to humanity, that God is with
them and for them. that God cares about them. that God loves them.

God calls us to remembrance, because He calls us to care more about what
matters to Him. remember, what we remember is a reflection of what matters
to us. God wants to be what matters to us. God wants us to care about what
matters to Him. that is, to care about the knowledge of Him, and the sharing of
the knowledge of Him, the knowing of Him. for those who know God and know Love.

God is calling the whole entire world to be faithful reflections of His heart, His love.

we cannot reflect His heart if
we do not reflect on His heart.

if we do not remember and know His heart,
we cannot teach and instruct others of His heart.

if we do not spend time in the secret place with Him,
we cannot share from a place of abundance.

if we do not meditate on His word,
we cannot know His voice, and discern the truth.

…

when God told Moses his statutes and rules, there are
reminders gently woven throughout to “you shall learn them”
“keep my commandments” [deuteronomy 5:1, 10].

to keep something is to hold onto something, to store it
away, to treat it as something worthy of remembering.

to learn something is to acquire knowledge,
to store up an understanding in your mind.

why does God want his people to keep and learn His words?

“…and the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear
the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve
us alive, as we are in this day. And it will be righteousness for us.”

[deuteronomy 6:24-5]

God asks us to preserve His statutes and rules, because
He longs to preserve us alive – to give us the gift of life.

his Word, the scriptures, remind us that his law is life.

this is about more than retaining memories, but retaining life.

God’s call to keep and learn his statutes and rules goes beyond
just a call to remember and dwell – but to respond and do.

“be careful to do them” [5:1], “the Lord commanded us to do” [6:14]

“but be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man
observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away,
and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. but he who looks into
the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer
but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

[james 1:22-25]

notice that? if we do not respond, if we are not obedient to the doing,
then we forget. this is when knowledge goes in one ear, out the other.

hearing without doing, means we will not remember. the God who designed us
is telling us the answer to remembering well. we are to not only focus on the
cognitive storage, the collection of memories, the knowledge recall. we are to
also practice the knowledge, to translate it to doing and bring it to life. we are to
live out the instructions God has given. to walk in them. to continue in them.

we create habits. reminders. practices. spiritual rhythms and disciplines. these
are not legalistic creations, but laws of liberty (as James calls it). boundaries
that we establish in order that we may flourish. remembering, doing, being.

…

God calls us to remember, as a critical step in responding to his call to obedience.
we cannot be obedient and “do” without first understanding and learning God’s heart.

this is why James says to “look into” God’s laws of life. look means to see,
to fix our eyes, our attention, our focus, on what he teaches and instructs.

obedience is a response to instruction. God’s instructions and laws invite us to obey,
not through force or requirement, but through free-will and a call to remembrance.

so what are we called to remember?

His works: “remember the wondrous works that he has done.” [ps. 105:5]

His ways: ” and you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you…” [deut. 8:2]

what are His people reminded of? when they remember His works and ways?

His provision. His promise-keeping. His way-making.

there are so many calls to remembrance that i cannot do them justice,
but i encourage you to explore some of them if this is of interest to you.

there are also warnings, to not responding to this call:

 “take care… lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen.” [deut. 4:9]
 
forgetting is the consequence of being unfaithful to this call.

when we remember, we are faithful to God’s heart for us.
when we forget, we drift from not only God’s heart for us, but from Him.

God invites his people all throughout the scriptures to learn and have
ears to hear not just His words, His statues, His rules – but His heart.

even though God tries to get His people to see his heart so many times,
they just don’t get it. they’re too used to living according to their own thinking.
they’re too vulnerable to the culture, the customs, the earthly powers at be.

God has to catch their attention. call them back to Himself. show Himself.

until ultimately, the final act of revelation. His Son. Jesus.

I M M A N U E L
God. With. Us.

the sign, once and for all, of His presence, His Love, His Word, His Life.

and then, after the resurrection:

THE HOLY SPIRIT
God. In. Us.

the gift of His presence, His Love abiding, dwelling, remaining.

if we allow our minds to be transformed, to be renewed, in the Word, by the Spirit.
we start to replace the self with God. we start to see that what is really important
in life is beyond us, we are just a small part of a bigger story. His great Love Story.

a rescue mission for humanity’s hearts.

…

the book of Habakkuk encourages us to create a mental library and repository
with long-term memories of God. His promises. His word. His ways. His works.
we can then draw on these memories of God, when circumstances require us to.

if you have ever meditated on, and memorised a scripture before, you will know
how much easier it is to recall this to your remembrance in a time or hour of need.

this is what God wants for us. this is why He designed us the way He did. He wants
us to have long-term memories that are attentive to Him – that lead us to life and truth,
rather than being so shortsighted that we get caught up in our own circumstances.

circumstances can derail us, distress us, if we do not prepare and equip ourselves
with an armour of defence, a memory bank of truth and hope to draw upon.

…

you will notice i have referenced the book of Deuteronomy, because
that is what i have been reading through. but it seems i am not the
only one to notice this repeated theme and pattern of remembering.

Tim Tebow writes: “in the book of Deuteronomy, the verb “remember” appears
15 different times. in Deuteronomy 22, Moses reminds the Israelites to remember,
or do not forget, to remember their parents’ generation and how they were
rescued out of Egypt. they were encouraged to not forget God’s faithfulness. they
saw the sea split, they saw miracle after miracle. remember what God has done,
write down what ways you have seen him move and ultimately, when we look back
and remember, the cross more than anything else, and that it counted for us.”

Tebow echoes this call, what i have been exploring today. the call to remember.

what we remember, reveals what matters to us. God wants us to look to the cross.
to remember what really matters, what really counts, towards eternal life.

we are called to remember what God has done, to remember His faithfulness to us.

we are called to BE with Him,
the practice of Presence,
and the more we do, the less
we need to rememBEr. for we
just are. being. doing. it all for Him.

…

we see this biblical pattern:

remember – receive – respond

to remember is to dwell and abide in His presence, to recall His promises and truth.
to receive is to be filled with the riches of His grace and love, His truth and life.
to respond is to act, to heed His Word, to share the hope of salvation with the world.

another sermon i have heard described it as:

remember – repent – respond (re-do)

repentance was described as a deliberate act of surrender the intentional
decision to change your mind, and to therefore, change your action.

repentance is a topic for another day, but it is a critical step in the process
– as remembrance may call us to respond differently than we have before.

there may be a re-direction of our response and heart.

God is so gracious towards us in our response.

He gives us opportunities time and time again to listen, to return, to hear him.

He must be sick and tired of trying to get our attention… and fix our attention.

…

the call to remember is also a
call to return to His scriptures.

we are called to fix our eyes on Him,
but instead we fix our eyes on screens.

to finish, let’s look at some barriers and enablers to remembrance:

enabler: rest

if the Enemy can keep us busy, he can keep us away from rest and remembrance.
only in the quiet moments, the daydreaming, do we activate our ability to remember.

finding moments of stillness, reflection, solitude, prayer, and silence allow us to remember.

if we fill our minds and diaries with other things,
these will prevent us from dwelling and retaining.

we need to create conditions for our body to slow down,
to feel safe, in order to find knowledge and understanding.

we re-access truth, repeat hope to our hearts, when we
allow ourselves the time to be still and know.

knowing is foundational to remembering.

remembering isn’t about learning something new:
it’s reminding ourselves of what we already know.

God invites us to be still, in order than we may know that He is God:
this knowing is us resting in Him and reminding ourselves of who He is.

…

barrier: distraction

a recent Bridgetown sermon looks at this topic remembrance in relation to prayer. Tyler Station mentions the night when Jesus’ followers were repeatedly falling asleep, when he called them to pray. they were not remembering, they were distracted, overcome. sleep was stealing them away from prayer.

distractions come in many shapes and forms. physical limitations can be a mental barrier: it is far harder to pay attention, to notice things, to listen well, to remember well and be present, when we are tired. mental limitations: if we are overwhelmed, stimulated and consumed with other information, processing knowledge that is other than the knowledge of God. emotional limitations: where we allow our emotions to control or dictate our experiences, tainting our memories, and influencing our prioritisation and emphasis on words. spiritual limitations: if we remain disobedient, rebelling from God’s design for our lives, and distance ourselves from God and His word.

as i mentioned earlier, our screens can be a major distraction from scripture. from presence. we are given the illusion of presence and connection, when it only serves to fuel our absence and broken communion with God. remember. return. respond.

…

enabler: worship and memorising scripture

why are worship songs so powerful? why is reciting and memorising scripture to heart so important?

so that we remember. so that we write on our hearts the truth that God says about us and our place in this world. if we do not, we may forget. we may be tempted away from the truth. we may be vulnerable to believe lies.

but God has given us the ability to remember the truth, to remember his Word – that we may combat the lies.

so ask yourself the question, regularly: “what do i need to remember about Jesus, to help me in [insert situation or belief]”

as a Desiring God post puts it: “bible memory means stockpiling your God-given memory
with God-breathed truth [2 timothy 3:16] so that your God-given imagination can draw
from it to construct a more accurate understanding of God-created reality, enabling
you to live in “a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” [colossians 1:10]“

…

barrier: doubt and fear

if we allow doubt and fear to consume our thoughts, this will
inevitably prevent us from seeing, hearing, and remembering truth.

while remembrance focuses on God’s faithfulness,
worry leads us to question God’s faithfulness.

worries can lead us to forget God’s promises.

we turn our attention to our problems, instead of our Provider.
we fixate on lesser gods, that offer temporary solutions, instead of our great, eternal God.

remember. return. respond.

…

enabler: relationships

West Haven Baptist write that “memory is something God has
given us and calls us to rely on for our relationships as well.”

it is true, that remembrance is a foundation of relationship.
we remember another’s names, their interest and passions,
we remember details about their lives, and the closer we
get to them, we start to remember together – shared memories.

this is the power of relationship to memory formation, we go
from individual recollection to collective memory. shared
experiences and stories. if you have ever attended a large
family gathering on repeated occasion, you will know that there
are common family stories that may be told, repeated, and
passed down through the family lines. these get replayed, retold,
and they become a part of the family story, a collective memory.

if you are prone to forgetting, wandering – surround yourself
by relationships that will lead you to remembrance. that will point
you towards truth, toward knowledge that will fill you with hope.

Chuck DeGroat coins the phrase redemptive remembering,
and invites us to recall the story of God in community.
a collective redeeming narrative, shared salvation and hope.

“we need communities where our wounds are welcomed,
where our long-and-winding journeys Home are stewarded,
and where we’re known and loved”. [healing what’s within]

it is in community that we are reminded
of who we are, and Whose we are.

relationships help us remember.

…

so, why does God want us to remember and respond?
because this is the pattern he has shown to us.

God has never left or forsaken His people.
He remembers us. He delivers on His promises.
He responded to our need for salvation.

He teaches us redemptive remembering.

He remembers, not our wrongs, our sins,
our trauma, our failings. He remembers us,
His beloved, His creations, His children.

now He calls us to remember and respond in return.

…

“our first and most important spiritual task is to
claim God’s unconditional love for ourselves. to
remember who we truly are in the memory of God
… that we are God’s beloved” [henri nouwen]

…

“so how do you pull yourself out of the valley?
you remember what God has done.
you accept what God is doing.
you trust what God is going to do.”

[hope in the dark]

…

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