2-12-2016

        Good Morning All!!   

        Jonah 2:7; “When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.”

   Remember!!  That seems to be a common theme in the Bible especially in the Old Testament.  Remember, remembered, remembrance occur over 200 times in the Old Testament but what is it?  To many of us, remembering is to sit and recall a past event.  Most of us are like Al Bundy from “Married With Children” when he would tell of scoring four touchdowns in one game.  We bask in the glory of past and sometimes “enhanced” recollections.  It is like the saying goes “the older I get the better I was”. 

    We remember how the old stuff was so much better than this new stuff; no matter what “stuff” we are talking about.  We remember walking in snow, uphill, both ways to school.  We remember how difficult a certain teacher was or how some of our friends or classmates acted.  We remember all these things.  For us it is a mental exercise, a time to relish past events usually with a warm and fuzzy feeling.  But this is not the way the word “remember” is used in the Old Testament.  Like most Old Testament words “remember” is a very active word.  It means more than to recall; it also means to act on this remembrance.  To remember is both mental and active.  We might see it best as the husband who, while driving home from work, remembers it is his wife’s birthday.  He then turns around and shops for a present.  He remembered.

    In our verse, Jonah, while in the belly of the fish, remembered the Lord.  As Jonah saw his life slipping away; he remembered the Lord in prayer and he prayed.  He had a mental event which was followed by action.  This was not just a stroll down memory lane.  This was a time to take action.  Jonah recalled the promises of God and he recalled the faithfulness of God so he cried out to God.  God heard his prayer and answered him.  God saved Jonah.

    God will hear your prayer as well.  Even if it has been a long time since you last prayed.  Just remember; remember the mercies and promises of God.  Remember that he sent Jesus to redeem you and to bring you back out of the belly of the fish that you were in.  God sends his Spirit to guide you and to aid you in your journey; the Spirit actively calls upon you to remember, to recall and to act.  When we remember what God promises us; salvation, forgiveness of sins, the certainty of our hope and the comfort and consolation of today; we can confidently and boldly come before God and his throne with our fears and our cries.  We can stand before him and he will respond as the loving Father who cares for his children.

Father, in you we have hope.  You hear our cries from the depths of our despair and you give us hope.  Your mercy engages us and brings us to the realization that without you we have only despair.  Guard us with your Spirit and lift us up by your wonderful love.  Hear those who are crying out in pain or sorrow.  Shelter them in your wings and give them peace.  In the protective name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret