REMEMBER … THAT IT MAY BE CARRIED FORWARD!

Hello Dear Readers!

January is almost over!  Sitting here this Sunday evening, the urgency of time so quickly passing lays heavy on me.  It has been a month since the Lord and I spent New Years weekend looking back on 2023 and remembering the journey, the treasures, the sorrows and the highlights in His Word and in life. 

It was an exceptionally rich and pivotal year filled with canine adventure, travel, the announcements of more great-grandbabies on the way, painful losses and wonderful joys.  It was a year filled with learning and stretching and growing…yes even at this time in my life!  But the burden that must be shared is the major paradigm shift I learned and then experienced in His Word.   

I’m sure everyone reading this understands that we “Westerners” are often puzzled by or fail to grasp many nuances in Scripture – a “Book” – written by the Holy Spirit using Middle Eastern writers and embedded in a Middle Eastern culture.   That being said…we…reading with Western minds miss many Middle Eastern norms, idioms and nuances.  One of the major consequences is we read the Word through the lens of seeking what the Lord is saying to us, about us.  Our Western way of thinking is pretty self-centered unfortunately.  *However, the Scriptures are meant to be read through the Middle Eastern lens of what they are saying about God!   

So this New Years Eve as I remembered 2023, my focus dramatically shifted to:

·        Lord, what were the important things in 2023 You showed me about YOU? 

·        And…what trajectory / adjustments must I make that will posture me in 2024 to receive more revelations from You, about YOU? 

·        Then, what are Your purposes for them in 2024?  How can I bring them forward into this new year?  

Scripture itself bears witness to God’s perspective on remembering in order to bring it forward:

“…remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place.”  Exodus 13:3

“Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy…”  Exodus 20:8

“Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these forty years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.  Deuteronomy 8:2

“Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’”  Joshua 1:13

Luke 17:32  “Remember Lot’s  wife.”

As you looked back on 2023…

·        What important things did the Lord show you about Himself?

·        Pondering these, what adjustments will posture you better in 2024 to receive more revelations about Him?

·        What might God’s purposes be as you bring those remembrances forward into 2024? 

 Why don’t you take some time and ask Him.  It is still only January.

Carolyn

*McLelland, Kristi, “Rediscovering Israel: A fresh Look at God’s Story In Its Historical and Cultural Context”, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 2023