Always Remember
“For love of country, they accepted death.” — President James Garfield
Flags, parades, family and picnics. This coming Monday, we will remember.
Memorial Day is a day that we remember the more than 3.9 million men and women who have courageously given to us the ultimate sacrifice — their lives for the guarantee of our freedom. It is a day where “we come not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them” (Francis A. Walker).
I am very grateful for the heroes, the men and women who have fought in my stead so I can live life in freedom. I encourage you at all times to recognize and thank every veteran and every active military member who remained at his or her post so that we can sleep safely at night.
We must remember; we must never forget!
God has created us with the amazing capacity to remember. Sometimes those memories can haunt us or be a blessing of happier days gone by.
The Apostle Paul challenges us to think often about and remember the good things. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”
The word “remember” is used 150 times in the Bible. Think of the church of Ephesus in Revelation, Chapter 2. It was told not to lose its first love, to remember God’s faithfulness. And today, the Spirit that lives within you and me is whispering to us not to forget, but remember.
It is so easy to get caught up in life and our problems and forget the One (Jesus) who has set us free from death. He fought for you and me on a hill at a place called Golgotha, or “the place of a skull,” and it was there that He won our freedom.
So this Monday, this Memorial Day, let us remember and praise those who died in our stead so that we can enjoy our life and liberty.
Please don’t allow it to become just about picnics, vacation or family reunions. But also please remember every day, the One, Jesus Christ, who laid down His life so that we may have eternal life — the One who fought that ultimate battle of life and death and won!
The gospel of John 15:13 reads, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Jesus Christ and the American solider are the only ones who have done this for me, so on May 26, 2014, I will remember and honor those who have fallen, and I choose to honor and obey the One, Jesus Christ, who laid down His life for me. I will remember Him every day, every minute and every second of my life!
Running with you, Pastor Dave