Remembrance

One of God’s greatest gifts is memory. Today is a day devoted to memory – Memorial Day. When we remember, we sometimes sit in a recliner and reflect. Other times we DO something to in response to memory. Today people will place flowers at gravesites and memorials of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country. People will attend ceremonies in cemeteries and at national monuments. We will act out our remembrance. That is exactly what Jesus asked us to do related to Him – act on the memory of His life, death, and resurrection. In Luke 22:19, as Jesus instituted the memorial supper, He said, “do this in remembrance of Me.” Note that Jesus did not say “think about this in remembrance of me.” He told us to DO something in memory. Remembrance is something we do, not just something we feel. Thank God for memory and memories today . . . and DO something about it.

And join me in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for the eight young men who are attending the Baltic Pastoral Institute in Rega, Latvia.
• Pray for relief workers who are mobilizing to identify ways to help some of the estimated 1.2 million people who have fled Pakistan’s Swat Valley as their country’s military inflicts heavy casualties on Taliban insurgents who control the area.
• Remember the DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING FOR WORLD EVANGELIZATION: MAY 31, 2009. The focus this year is ‘loving the peoples of the hard places’.
• Pray for Melinda and Russell as they re-locate to a different ministry opportunity in a different country.
• In memory of the 400th anniversary of celebrating believer’s baptism in Holland, Baptist churches are planning a prayer journey. Intercede with those who serve in the Netherlands for this event.