“This day shall be for you a memorial day and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout all your generations as a statute forever” (Exodus 12:14).

As a nation, we celebrate a very important holiday this weekend. Instituted in May of 1868, Memorial Day was initially intended to honor soldiers who died during the Civil War. Since that time, it has come to be our most solemn American holiday as we remember the sacrifices of the men and women who died in the defense of our freedoms. We owe those who have served our country a tremendous debt of gratitude, a debt we can never fully repay.

Although Memorial Day has been an official American holiday for 142 years, the concept of memorializing is not new. In fact, it was instituted by God on the evening of the first Passover just prior to God delivering his people from captivity in Egypt. After God gave his people specific directions regarding how they were to celebrate the first Passover meal, he told them that they were to remember (to memorialize) the Passover “throughout all generations.” God did not want them to minimize or forget his work in freeing them from bondage. To this day, the Passover is celebrated by Jews throughout the world.

As I’ve thought about the principle of memorializing, I couldn’t help but wonder whether we as Christians take sufficient time to meditate upon the incredible gift of salvation we have in Jesus Christ. After all, God wanted his people to remember forever their deliverance from Egypt. Should we not also remember how God freed us from bondage to sin through Christ?

In that light, let me ask you something. Do you have a regular pattern of recalling how God saved you? Further, have you made it a regular habit to thank God for his faithfulness in your life? If not, why not? I think you will derive great blessing from intentionally recalling the events of your salvation, as well as memorializing God’s faithfulness in your life. Here’s a simple way to get started.

Each time you drive into the church parking lot, thank God for sending Christ to save you. Every time you pick up your Bible, try to recall at least one example of God’s faithfulness to you. Further, as part of your regular prayer routine, set aside time for the express purpose of thanksgiving (no petitions, just thanks). My conviction is that we should take seriously the memorializing of God’s goodness to us. As Americans, we celebrate Memorial Day once per year. Yet, if we incorporate these simple suggestions into our daily routine, every day becomes a memorial day. Would you agree?

“Godliness consists not in a heart which intends to do the will of God, but in a heart which does it” (Jonathan Edwards, 1756).

One of the most frequent observations I make about people, including myself, is that we often have good intentions to live in a particular way, but lack the will to follow through with our intentions. Make it personal. How many times in the past month have you determined that you would do something that never got done? We all know what it’s like to have good intentions, don’t we?

The words of Jonathan Edwards speak to me on this point. He knew people well enough to know that many have great intentions to have a soft heart toward God, while they still live a life devoid of God’s influence. Good intentions in spiritual matters mean nothing. It’s only as we act in faith upon what God is asking us to do that his leading results in our intentions and actions coming together in a way that honors God and blesses us.

The New Testament is filled with examples of our need to act upon our intentions. For example, Paul said in Ephesians 6:6, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter ten, “For you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised.” Further, the Apostle John wrote in I John 2:17, “And the world is passing away with all its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” It’s clear, is it not? God places a premium on “doing” as opposed to good intentions. 

There is a very practical point of application for each of us in this. The Christian life is a life of continual growth in personal godliness. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us in this. He is continually showing us how we might reflect his presence in our lives. That’s what he does.  In speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” What this means is that when we feel a “good intention” regarding spiritual things, it’s the Holy Spirit bringing it to us. That’s his ministry. However, he does not force us to follow through; that’s where “doing the will of God” comes into play. That’s our part.

I would be willing to guess that you can identify at least one “spiritual intention” the Holy Spirit has brought to you recently. How did you respond? Did you act on it or simply intend to act on it?

Listen again to Jonathan Edwards. He wrote, “It is therefore exceedingly absurd, and even ridiculous, for any to pretend that they have a good heart (good intentions) while they do not bring forth the fruit of holiness into practice.” His words speak to me. How about you?

“The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11).

The words “pride” or “proud” appear in excess of 85 times throughout the scriptures. In every instance, the meaning of the words is essentially the same. The words mean “lifted up, exalted, or lofty.”  Would you agree that there is something in the DNA of all men that seeks to be lifted up and exalted?  No doubt pride takes many forms, but its desire is always the same, to exalt the creature above the Creator. In that light, can you see why God said that he hates pride?

This now is where the words of the prophet Isaiah speak powerfully against pride. Note how Isaiah worded his warnings. He said that the “haughty looks of men will be brought low” and that the “lofty pride of men will be humbled.” Friends, that’s God speaking. When God speaks against something, he means what he says; and further, it’s always for our good.

Here’s what I mean by that. God knows that at the root of all sin is pride. Pride seeks its own way instead of God’s way; pride ignores the counsel of God in favor of the counsel of men; pride places value on the wrong things; pride pursues the wrong goals; and finally, pride looks to this life for fulfillment and nowhere else. God has so much more for us than our counsel, our values, our goals, and our happiness. God knows that none of these things can bring us the inner joy and peace that come from Him alone.

But there’s more. God knows that, when left unchecked, pride can lead us into all types of sinful behavior. The end result is generally pain and loss. God wants to spare us from the painful and devastating consequences of sin fueled by pride. Take a look again at Isaiah’s words: “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low…the lofty pride of men shall be humbled…the Lord alone will be exalted.” 

In that light, let me ask you a very penetrating question. Do you want to be brought low? Do you want to be humbled by God? My answer to that is NO! When God chooses to bring us low and humble us, the pain is far more than we might have ever anticipated. Simply put, you don’t want to go there. It’s not worth it, no matter how enticing prideful actions might appear. My prayer for myself and for you is that God would keep us humble so that he does not have to humble us. There’s a difference. Would you ask God to help you identify the roots of pride in your heart? And further, would you ask him to gently remove it before he sees the need to humble you?

“When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him” (Psalm 39:11).

I am constantly amazed at the contrasts that are present in the book of Psalms. There are passages that cause our hearts to soar, as well as other passages that cause our spirits to tremble. The verse cited above causes my spirit to tremble. Let me explain what I mean.

There are few weeks that pass by without my spending time with people who are struggling with the consequences of their sin. One the one hand, they know that their sin is forgiven in Christ. That’s the power of the cross. That’s the good news. But just as surely, forgiveness does not necessarily guarantee freedom from the consequences of their sin. You see, in God’s way of dealing with us, we must realize that sin always has consequences. There are times when, because of our sin, God “consumes like a moth what is dear.”

One of the most frequent things I hear from those who are dealing with the consequences of their sin is this: “If only I knew how much this would cost, how much I would lose.” One of the primary things sin does is to blind us from what it may cost us. Yes, sin may truly cost us “what is dear.” I’ve seen this happen in the lives of far too many people not to tremble in light of David’s words. Sin may cost us our health, our job, our family, our friends, our reputation and even our life. Sin is quite good at consuming what’s dear to us.

What’s the solution to the devastating impact of God’s rebuke? The Apostle Peter put it well when he said, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul.” Peter knew that the way to avoid the high cost of sin is not to engage in it. As Christians we must embrace the fact that we are at war. There’s a never-ending inner battle constantly raging in our hearts. Our flesh wants its way, even when we know what we want is wrong. That’s the basic nature of the inner war we engage in daily. 

This is a good news/bad news situation. The bad news is that in our own power we are doomed to fail, thereby suffering the inevitable consequences of sin. The good news is that, through the power of Jesus Christ, we can have victory over the sin that seeks to hide itself from us so that it might cost us everything. My prayer for myself and for each of you is that God will never need to “consume like a moth” what is dear to us. David’s words cause my spirit to tremble. How about you?