Be The One
[To Remember]

Notes

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

This time of year is a time to remember. We want to remember what Christmas spirit feels like even when the world seems angry. Remembering helps us grab onto those nostalgic feelings. We may not have recognized it when it was happening, but as we get older, we may miss the Christmas memories we made as a child.

God has put a desire for the special, for the real, for a tangible sense of goodness, in our souls. We can immediately realize that something is special and we seek after it. We have to remember that there is someone who did everything to remind us that He loves us, remember that we are valued and important to Him.

Our hearts can become hardened when we are wounded by those close to us, and that causes us to lose sight of God. The masks we put on to try to hide the pain just remind us of the fact that we are lost. If that is you, it is time to remember, to let go of what is keeping you from trusting God.

We have two choices: continue to trust God and grow in our faith, or walk away and give up on the work He wants to do in our lives. When busyness takes over, the first things we let go of are often the things God tells us are the most important: time with God, time with family, and our health.

The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

Be careful with complacency: when you think you have everything you need and want. This is when pride takes over and causes us to forget that we are people in need of God. When we forget God, we can be convinced of lies or forget the truth. We start to look for love and acceptance in other places. We forget our status as God’s sons and daughters, His royal priesthood.

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

How can we help people remember? The first step is to be available. God has called us to help people remember, to know who they are in God. We need to be available and ready when God calls us. It doesn’t have to be extravagant; it’s just showing up and letting people know that they are special and that they are loved.

I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

When we do life with each other, and when we care for each other, it shows the world that God is real and that there is something different about His people.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

God speaks through us to remind people who He is and who they are (2 Corinthians 5). Pray for those who don’t know God, because God wants them to come to Him. During Christmas, many people are searching for something meaningful. Be the one to help them remember.

Group Questions

• When you think of Christmas spirit or special Christmas memories, what comes to mind?
• What happens when we forget that we are loved and valued by God?
• What is the danger of complacency?
• When was someone available for you in a time of need? What did that mean to you?

Prayer

Thank you for loving and valuing us; help us to never forget that. Give us opportunities to be available for those around us and to show them your love through our lives.