Focus

Experience silence in the midst of your busy day. Take some time to relax into a time to be with God.

Read

1 Timothy 1:18-20 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Reflect

Recently I have been ministering with a gentleman who suffers from dementia and memory loss. It hurts him greatly. He tries to remember events and people that are dear to him and says that the memory is just beyond his grasp, though it is so close. He laments his fear of losing who he is, his own identity. Specifically, he believes that if he forgets who he loves and has spent his life with, he will cease to be himself.

In our text today, the writer reminds us to remember. While we might not all suffer the type of memory loss that my friend has, we are indeed very forgetful in general. We forget our Lord and the sacrifice of Christ. We forget the calling that Christ has placed in our hearts for the redemption of creation. We forget that while Christ is Lord, we are not. We forget that we have been called to live a different sort of life than those who do not yet know Jesus. We forget that everyone we meet bears the mark of the creator who loves them, and we treat them poorly. So, may we remember, you and I. May we remember the love of Christ and the purpose that we have been called to in this world, “so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience.”

Pray

Lord of all creation, we confess that we are a forgetful people who are prone to forget your love, mercy and grace. Please help us to hold on to the memory of Christ and his sacrifice, so that we might, attain the power of the resurrection in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Go with God!