Do you remember when…
- You were in the first grade?
- You had a first best friend?
- You were given your first tricycle, big wheel, or bike?
Do you remember…
- Subjects you studied in 3rd grade?
- The color of your classroom?
- The name of your elementary school?
Some of us remember more details than others about our childhood. My wife remembers many details about her childhood, while I struggle with the details. Though I have trouble with the small stuff, important events stick with me. Remembering a crisis, a happy event, a new job, marriage, or a new relationship seems to come easy. Minor details tend to slip away.
I remember talking with my granddad about his childhood and it seemed he could remember more about his childhood than I could about mine. The medical profession tells us that the older we get, the better our long-term memory becomes, while our short-term memory is degraded. My dad illustrated this by saying that he was getting so old that he could hide his own Easter eggs!
No matter how good your memory, you either can or cannot point to a moment in your life when you made a decision to invite Jesus Christ into your life.
Once, I proposed to a disturbed counselee to share with me about the peace that Christ brings to one’s life. He became more disturbed!
“Don’t hand me that stuff,” he said. “I’ve asked God for help many times, and it doesn’t work.”
“When did you ask Him to come into your life?” I asked.
“I’ve been a Christian all my life,” he said. “I grew up in church.”
I persisted. “When did you ask Him to come into your life?”
“I can’t remember,” he said.
To clarify this step to Him, I asked if he remembered when he purchased his last car. That he could remember. He also remembered exactly when he got married, when he accepted airplane tickets for his last flight, and when he accepted his present job.
When the God of the Universe takes up residence in you, it should be a memorable event! Jesus gives you access to God’s resources: peace, joy, hope, patience. Once you receive this gift, then you can put everything and everyone into His hands. You need not be hesitating over anything. You can stop striving and let His peace guard your heart, mind, and body.
It does not follow that, because you have access to strength from God, you will give Him your troubles, injustices, hatreds, hostility, conflicts, or ill will. You can, but you can also nurse them within your body. Memory of your unconfessed wrong acts helps you to have complete repentance in your life. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…(Rev. 2:5).
It is important to note that the acts of the sinful nature are not beyond God’s ability to heal. Nor are these acts beyond the biblical counselor’s level of competency in providing help to you. If you want God’s help to turn north, you have access to His resources. If you turn south, you put yourself in the world’s hands.
Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent…(Rev. 3:3).
Helpful insight! Strange how often we forget that those who come to us for counsel may have never had an authentic transformational encounter with Christ. If sin is the problem it is imperative to know if one has been introduced to the cross.
There are folks however, who cannot pinpoint when they first came to Christ, in contrast to the many for whom conversion was a memorable “stand out” event. But for those introduced to Christ as very young children, remembering when one first came to Christ is a bit like remembering the first day we began walking. They were told the Good News and in child-like faith accepted Christ . Heaven celebrated that event, like Mom and Dad celebrated their first steps, but memory of the event is lost to them.
But assuming one belongs to God’s family when one does not belong is dangerous business. So it is critically important to be sure for every professing Christian that we truly belong to God’s family! How do we do that? As a practical matter, I find it helpful to think of things in the present tense. “Am I trusting in Christ alone as my sin bearer and Lord?” Salvation rests in Him and not in an event I may or may not remember. Likewise, I find it helpful to ask those who claim a conversion experience but show no evidence of it, “Are you presently trusting in Christ as your sin bearer and only hope of salvation?” The words of an old hymn come to mind.
“My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Everliving One,
His wounds for me shall plead.”
“I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.” [Lidie H. Edmunds, 1891]
Hello Kerry from one of your original counselors. As my forever mentor I need to share something with you as to my spiritual growth. Last Sunday I assisted Paul Ezell in alter counseling two little boys who gave their hearts to Jesus. I felt it was real & it helped me realize how precious Grace really is. I went home & realized the awesome work that Christ did for me & those young boys that we cannot do for ourselves. He fulfilled the Law, He defeated the works of the Devil, He defeated sin on the Cross & defeated death when He arose from the grave. It was so over whelming that I began to cry in thanksgiving to God for what Jesus did for me. Because of my past I still had a little root of independence but praise the Lord I now have none. I put a statement on my refrigerator that says: “Don’t let Satan steal, abide in Jesus & He will defeat the works of the Devil”. I now realize without doubt it is the power in what Jesus has done that works & when I abide in Him, He promises to abide in me which then results in that power working in & through me. I remember in “Men of Mobile” Pastor Thomas saying that the Christian life should be an “adventure” & it darn sure has been for me !. Didn’t mean to be so wordy but the Love of God has to come out. God Bless you in your “adventure”.