Remembering & Forgetting, Part 1

A sign in a psychiatrist’s office read “Amnesia patients must pay in advance.” God wants us to remember some things and forget some things. The problem is we forget the things we need to remember, and we remember the things we are supposed to forget. Forgetting means that we choose to let go and stop thinking about a bad memory so we can get on with life. The apostle Paul told us, “Forgetting what lies behind” (Phil. 3:13). Here are 3 things to forget:

1. Forget your past sins. Do you feel guilty about something you did? When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, He forgave all your sins and wiped the slate completely clean. God says, “I will remember their sins no more” (Heb. 8:12). We have no right to remember what God has forgotten.

2. Forget your past hurts. If you hold on to your hurts, you will eventually become bitter. Unforgiveness means you won’t let go of what someone did to you. Stop hitting the “play” button on the DVR in your mind. Make a decision to let go of your hurt, place the hurtful situation in God’s hands and stop talking about it.

3. Forget your past regrets. Regret means you keep kicking yourself over decisions you should have made, or shouldn’t have made. However, your decision or indecision didn’t take God by surprise. Ephesians 1:11 says God “works all things after the counsel of His will.” You can’t change anything in your past, but God can lead you from where you are right now. 

The rest of your life can be the best of your life if you’ll stop recalling things God wants you to forget. Next week we’ll examine things we need to remember. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

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Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

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Light Came Into a Dark World

Darkness is the absence of light. This world was in darkness, so God decided to send a Light into the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Did you catch that? He’s the only person who brought the light of God’s revelation to the entire world. We celebrate the birth of Jesus because He is the Light of the world.

Darkness is also the absence of life. People are in darkness because they are excluded from the life of God. “Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them” (Eph. 4:18). “In (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4) Jesus came to earth to bring light (revelation of God’s truth) and (spiritual) life.

Why do some people reject the Light and want to remain in darkness? Three reasons.

1. They don’t understand who Jesus is. “And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5). Most people have heard of Jesus, but they don’t understand that He was God in a human body and He came to earth to save them for their sins so they can spend eternity with Him. This is why we need to share about Him to others.

2. Their minds are made up and are unwilling to change. Jesus said, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). When the Pharisees saw Jesus performing miracles, they were unwilling to believe and follow Him because their hearts were hard (Mark 3:5-6).

3. They love darkness because their deeds are evil. Light drives out darkness. “The Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). When you follow Jesus, you choose to walk away from darkness (evil behavior) and your life will change. “For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).    

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

Joseph's Side of the Story

You’ve heard the Christmas story a hundred times. Everyone hears about baby Jesus, Mary, the angels, the shepherds, and the wise men. But what about Joseph? He’s often overlooked, but is a great role model for us:

1. Joseph loved grace more than justice. Put yourself in his shoes. He finds out his bride-to-be was pregnant and the only natural explanation was she had cheated on him. I’m sure Mary explained that the angel Gabriel informed her that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and she would give birth to the Son of God (Luke 1:26-35). But that was a hard pill to swallow.

If he had exposed her publicly, the Law commanded that she be stoned to death (Dt. 22:23-24). Joseph was “a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly” (Matt. 1:19). Joseph decided to send her away secretly because he loved grace more than judgment.

2. Joseph trusted the Lord more than his own logic. His plan was interrupted when an angel appeared to him in a dream and explained that she really was conceived on the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20-23). Joseph believed the divine message even though it made no sense. A virgin conceiving had never happened before. There will be times when you will also need to trust the Lord more than your own logic (Prov. 3:5-6).  

3. Joseph accepted his supporting role in life. Some people have leading roles in life while others have supporting roles. Both roles are equally as important. Joseph accepted his role as her husband. By taking her to be his wife, it appeared to others that he had gotten her pregnant. How would it sound to say, “An angel told me that no human got her pregnant.” No one would believe that story. Sometimes you have to do what is right even if only God knows the truth!

Joseph ignored the gossip being said about him and Mary because pleasing the Lord was more important to him than his own reputation.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

Approval Ratings

Pontius Pilate conducted an opinion poll about what to do with Jesus. His approval ratings were down, so he asked the crowd whether to release Jesus or the murderer Barabbas. The chief priests stirred up the crowd and pressured him to release Barabbas. “And wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabbas” (Mark 15:15). Pilate wanted to be popular more than he wanted to be right. And many people today are more interested in being popular than standing up for the truth. Here’s how to overcome peer pressure.

1. Be more concerned about what God thinks of you than what people think.

It’s not poplar to follow Jesus and you’ll be ridiculed for standing up for what you believe. To have courage, you must be convinced that the Bible is true and everything Jesus taught is the truth. Jesus never took an opinion poll. We never see Jesus asking, “How am I doing? What is my approval rating?” He was only interested in pleasing His Father.

2. Your inner strength must be greater than the outward pressure to conform.

If I squeeze a cracker it will crumble because the outward pressure is greater than the cracker’s strength. But if I squeeze a baseball it won’t crumble because it’s stronger than the pressure being applied. Pilate thought Jesus was innocent, but he didn’t believe it enough to overcome the pressure applied by the angry crowd. He crumbled because he wasn’t strong in his convictions.

3. Realize that everyone will be held accountable to God. You and everyone else will one day stand face-to-face with the living God. “They are surprised that you do no run with them…and they malign you, but they will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:4-5). Keep an eternal perspective and don’t cave in to them. God’s approval is the only approval rating that matters. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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BIBLE STUDY: “The Dual Prophecy of the Virgin Birth” (Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled at two different times)

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

Letting Go of People

Pharaoh was a Control Freak and had kept God’s people in bondage for years. The Lord sent Moses to him with a message, “Let My people go!” (Ex. 5:1). Perhaps a “difficult person” is keeping you in bondage through an unhealthy relationship. The one tormenting you is living in your mind rent-free! Either you are trying to control and change that person, or that person is trying to control you. Both ways create bondage. God told Pharaoh to let go and He’s also telling you to let go. 

1. If you don’t LET GO, you cannot be spiritually free. You can hold on to something with your hands, but you can also hold on to something with your heart. To “let go” means to release in your heart the person or situation into God’s hands and to let Him make the corrections needed. Jesus wants you to be “free indeed” (John 8:36).

2. If you don’t LET GO, you cannot move on to the next new thing.  For a trapeze artist to reach out and grasp the new bar, he or she must let go of the old bar. The new bar is just far enough away so that you cannot grab it while still clinging to the old. If you don’t let go, you’ll keep swinging in the same old routine and nothing will get better for you.

3. If you don’t LET GO, dysfunctional people will continue to control you. Dysfunctional people can act like Pharaoh and will get upset and angry if you don’t do exactly as they say. The disciples told Jesus the Pharisees were offended by His teaching. Jesus instructed His disciples to “Leave them alone” (Matt. 15:14). In other words, “Don’t let them manipulate you with their domineering attitudes but keep following Me and what I tell you to do.”

“Letting go” doesn’t mean that you stop caring but that you want freedom more than bondage. How to LET GO: Keith Miller said, “Imagine putting the person in your cupped hands, then coming before the Lord, who also has His hands cupped. You place your hands inside His hands and gently take your hands apart, leaving the person in God’s hands.” Once you let go, let the Lord deal with that person and stop letting him or her live inside your mind.

To read more about letting go read SlayingYour Giants. ($5.99)

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

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Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

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My Wife's Lost Diamond

My wife Cindy was crying as she called me from the bank where she worked.  In a panicking voice she said, "The diamond has fallen out of my wedding ring and I don't know where it is!" Finding that diamond would be like finding a needle in a haystack. She could have lost it in our house, or in the restaurant where she had lunch, or somewhere in the bank. 

I prayed, "Lord, you know where Cindy lost her diamond. Please show me where it is." Immediately I felt prompted to go to the bank parking lot. The first place I looked was inside our minivan. It wasn’t there. When I scanned the parking lot, I saw what looked like a piece of glass laying in a crack in the pavement. It was Cindy’s diamond! 

I snatched it up and ran into the bank yelling, "I found the diamond!"  Bank customers turned around, wondering why I was shouting. Cindy burst into tears and came running out from behind her teller window. As we embraced in the lobby, it looked like the ending of a romantic movie.

We called our friends and told them how I found the diamond against all odds. Then I finally understood the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15:8-9). The woman who had lost a silver coin called her friends with joy after she found it. Sometimes we don’t realize something’s value until we lose it—and then recover it.  

The diamond hadn’t increased in value, but our perception of its worth had changed dramatically. I learned the secret of thankfulness: the value of something isn't determined by how much it appreciates, but by how much it is appreciated.

If you want to enjoy life, you will need to reexamine the value of what you have. You may have lost the appreciation for the things you once desperately wanted!

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett

God Wants to Speak to You

Peter Lord was the pastor of Park Avenue Baptist Church in Titusville, Florida, for many years. A number of years ago in December, Peter was praying when God spoke to him, “I want you to construct a building where people can pray. As proof that this is My idea and not yours, I will send someone to the church that you don’t know who will give five hundred dollars toward the building. This will happen before Christmas.” Peter wrote in his prayer journal what the Lord had said but didn’t tell anyone.

A week passed. No one brought him any money. Two weeks went by, but still no answer. He started to doubt what he had heard. On December 24, a married couple from another city pulled into the church parking lot. They introduced themselves and said, “Pastor, you don’t know us, but when we were praying God spoke to us. He told us to come here and give you some money. We don’t really understand why we needed to drive here to give this to you, but we’re just being obedient.” The couple handed him a check for $500! (If God Knows What I Need, Why Should I Pray? pp.112-113).

This not only confirmed to Peter that he had heard from God, but it also confirmed to the couple they had also heard Him speak to them. The prayer chapel was constructed and has been used for many years as a place to intercede for others.

God wants to speak to you and lead you through this life, but are you listening? Do you know how to hear from God? To learn how God speaks and how to hear Him, read the NEW BIBLE STUDY: “Does God Speak to People Today?” www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries

P.O. Box 680174

Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174

www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett