“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance.” II Peter 1:12-13
Bill & Gloria Gaither sing a song entitled “Some Things I Must Tell the Children.” In it they talk about so many everyday things that we teach our children, reminding them over and over of how they should act and speak. It expresses how we must do this but reminds us that the most important thing we can tell them about is Jesus and His love.
We know that children often must be told the same thing over and over before it really sinks in and they learn what they need to learn. How often we warn them about things like looking both ways before they cross a street, of not touching a hot stove, or maybe at this time of year, don’t put your tongue on cold metal. As parents we know that it is not enough to remind them once, we need to be diligent and repeat the admonitions over and over.
Peter in writing these verses near the end of his life, felt that he had to repeat some of the teaching that he had given and remind people once again of how they should live. In verses five to eight he reminds them of how they should progress in their spiritual life by adding faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. In verses ten and eleven, he admonishes them to make their calling and election sure, that they might enter the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
If the followers of Jesus Christ in Bible times needed to be reminded over again of the things they had learned, I am sure that we are no exception today. That is why the Lord has given us preachers and teachers who expound on the Word of God, bringing to our remembrance the way of life that God expects of us.
Maybe like me you have not been to a live church service for over nine months. But God has been faithful to provide a way that we could still hear the Word of God being preached over the internet. There are so many good things that we can listen to and that build up our faith. We need to be careful that we spend our time listening to them rather than things that do not give praise and glory to the Lord.
I would hope that when this pandemic is over and things go back to at least a bit like they used to be, we will be able to see that we have remembered what we have been taught and that we have used the time to draw closer to God and ensure that we are ready for His coming.
Jesus, thank you for your Word that shows us the way you want us to live. And thank you for your servants who keep reminding us of what your Word says. Help us to grow stronger in You, watching and waiting for your return.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
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