I thought last month’s blog on digging up rocks was a bit intense. I mean, if you really think about it, the work of digging up anything can be messy and intense. I also knew that praying Psalm 139:23-24 (Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way) was a bold prayer to pray but I did it anyway because I know that I know that I know the beauty God creates always outweighs the uncomfortable, and sometimes painful, process of removing rocks.
But let me just tell you that I was unprepared for the rocks the LORD began digging up in my life starting the very next day after my blog went live. I learned a valuable lesson that sometimes rocks that inhibit growth in our life aren’t due to sin in our life but rather how our souls have settled into Rhythms of Remembering that are unhealthy and unhelpful to growth. Let me explain.
The day after I posted my blog I heard someone share their testimony and like we often do, I found myself in part of her story and began to contemplate my own story. I started wrestling with an already confessed and redeemed situation in my life and asked the Lord what to do with it. As I was visiting with a friend over lunch, out spilled parts of my story as I remembered a situation from long ago. Having been brought to the surface once again, the next ten days I wrestled with memories and thoughts, pain and regret, and, frankly, it became quite consuming and miserable. At one point, I opened a document on my computer and typed out pages of painful memories seeking to release these to the Lord once and for all.
Less than 24 hours later something wonderful happened. The LORD gently reminded me that all these sins were washed away. This debt was paid. I no longer had to be bound by the shame of my past. I was Set. Free. I took that document and deleted everything on the page. Even though it had already been dealt with and restored years ago, shame had to be dug up and released once and for all to the LORD. This was the moment I realized that some rocks that inhibit our growth are not current sin to repent and turn away from but is sometimes a Rhythm of Remembering that needs to be restored.
You see, I was taking this time of my life and remembering it through a lens of shame instead of a lens of redemption. But nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to hold on to shame! Instead, the Bible tells us, ‘Whom the Son [Jesus] sets free is free indeed!’ My responsibility with these memories, my Rhythms of Remembering, was to release my perspective of the past and instead clothe myself in Christ’s perspective of my redemption. Bought by the blood. Redeemed and Set Free.
John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.
Psalm 103:11-12 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. 12As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Throughout this process of God searching my heart, and then surrendering my concerns to the Lord, He showed me that it was HIS rhythms of remembering that He wanted me to embrace, not my own. His rhythms lead us to remember His story of faithful love, merciful redemption, and Resurrection Hope.
As we enter into the holiday season, we also embark on many different Rhythms of Remembering. Whether we realize it or not, when we decorate our house, buy and wrap gifts, or play familiar carols, just to name a few, we embark on rhythms of remembering as old traditions hold fast or new ones are created. In fact, how many times do we participate in a holiday tradition simply for nostalgia’s sake or, on the flip side, avoid something during the holidays because of the memory it evokes instead? Yes, whether consciously or unconsciously we all have Rhythms of Remembering that we fall into. Some are healthy and elicit cheer and thankful hearts, while others are unhealthy and inhibit growth, which is where I found myself earlier this month. Praise the LORD that He searched my heart and showed me, again, the Truth of who I am in Him. Bought by the blood. Redeemed and Set Free.
Do you find yourself cycling through Rhythms of Remembering that need to be redeemed and set free? Perhaps painful memories where you feel like God has forgotten you, or shame from your past that wants to define you? Or maybe you find yourself trapped in rhythms of ‘not being enough’ or the dreaded Comparison, once again? If so, You are Not Alone. The Enemy is real, and he wants to keep you locked into rhythms of remembering that leave you feeling isolated, unworthy, unloved, or forgotten. But I have good news for you. Those are lies and you can break those painful patterns by replacing them with God’s Truth. And Beloved, the Truth will Set You Free.
Here are “10 Rhythms of Remembering” God’s true redemption story for all mankind.
1. We have all sinned and don’t deserve grace.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – 9not from works, so that no one can boast.
2. Jesus — born as a baby — is the greatest gift of all.
Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
3. God didn’t send His Son to condemn but to save.
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.
4. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.
5. Jesus paid the debt for our sin.
Romans 5:8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
6. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord can be saved.
Romans 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
7. We are Set Free from the bondage of sin.
Romans 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin.
John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.
8. In Christ we have Redemption.
Colossians 1:13-14 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Ephesians 1:7-8 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.
9. We have Resurrection Hope — a living hope through the resurrected Christ.
1 Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
10. We are Not Alone — God is with us.
Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
Matthew 28:20 “…And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Beloved, have you been stuck in a Rhythm of Remembering that doesn’t align with God’s perspective of you? For far too long, I lived stuck in cycles of hopelessness, feeling so alone. It is time to reset our Rhythms of Remembering by releasing perspectives of our past, or even our present, and clothing ourselves with the perspective of Christ. Bought by the blood. Redeemed and Set Free. This doesn’t mean we eliminate the painful memories of our past. That is impossible. It does mean that we remember differently—with a future and a hope.
Are you ready to reconstruct your Rhythms of Remembering? You can print off your own copy of 10 Rhythms of Remembering: Clothing Yourself in God’s Truth and place it somewhere you can read every single day (the fridge, your bathroom mirror, inside your Bible, etc.…). Begin a new Rhythm of Remembering today knowing that through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you were bought by the blood and can be redeemed and Set Free. Though our feelings try to betray us, we are truly Not Alone! In Him, we have Resurrection Hope! This is the Best Gift Ever.
Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
Speaking and Praying Scripture – December
Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
John 3:16-17 (ESV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Psalm 103:11-12 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. 12As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
PRAYER:
Dear God, You are a good, good Father who loves us so much. Thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins so that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9).
Thank you, God, that you are our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. You truly are the Savior of the world, who has come not come to condemn us but to offer us salvation by grace through faith in your Son, Jesus.
Thank you for your faithful love toward all who fear you, and we praise you for the work you have already done and continue to do in our lives to Set Us Free.
YOU are our greatest gift, our Resurrection Hope, and with you we are Not Alone!
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
NOT ALONE MINISTRIES 
Jesus is the best gift of all! At Christmas, His presence is better than all other presents.
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