Jeremiah 31:31-34 - God's Memory

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Isn't human memory fascinating? It's so crucial to our lives that without it, we couldn't even manage simple tasks like walking or swallowing. Yet, our memories have a funny way of working. Have you noticed how we're more likely to remember the bad stuff and forget the good? We often dwell on our failures and flaws, while our successes and talents slip our minds.

Let me ask you something. When you think of David from the Old Testament, what's the first thing that pops into your mind? Is it the scandal with Bathsheba? Or do you think of David as "the man whose heart belonged to God"?

1 Peter 5:8 - Are You Watching For Snakes?

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

When I was 14 years old, my cousin, my uncle and I were fishing along the bank of a remote river in California. I was walking a bit up ahead of the others, and was having a great time hopping from rock to rock.

To the side of the trail, I saw a bundle of twigs on top of some rocks. It seemed out of place somehow, so I stopped to look. And – I almost didn’t see what it was! I had almost stepped on a baby snake sunning itself on a rock. It wasn’t moving, just laying there all twisted up.

Mark 8:34 - Are You a Disciple?

Mark 8:34 (Also Matthew 16:24-27 and Luke 9:23)

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Give it some thought, then answer these two questions: