Devotion: Remember the Good Old Days

Remember The Good Old Days

by Marsha Iddings

Deuturonomy 32:7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

Have you ever seen the magazine, Reminisce? It's all about remembering the good old days.

Our scripture tells us to remember the old days. "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations:"

Why?

1. so we will not repeat the mistakes of the past.

This verse is a call for the children of Israel to remember how God led them and blessed them in the past. Had they remembered these things they would not have been so quick to sin and bring on the condemnation of verses five and six.

We, too, need to remember the old days. It has been said of history that those who don't remember the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. We need to seek out primary sources of history and search for the complete accounts of the events that happened because much of what we are being fed in public schools and universities is either sadly lacking or changed to reflect a more politically correct view. Like Israel, if we don't look at where we came from and learn from it, we will repeat the sins of the past.

2. so we will see what God has saved us from and appreciate His grace that much more.

The Apostle Peter gives us a picture of what God has saved us from and shows us God's grace clearly.

2 Peter 1:2-12 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

3. so we will not become discouraged when life gets difficult.

The Psalmist said, "This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. (Psalm 77:10) Over and over again in the Psalms we see the writer picking himself up out of discouragement by remembering God's faithfulness of the past. When we can remember His past faithfulness it encourages our hearts because we know He will still be faithful.

We are to respect our fathers & our elders. " ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee."

The older people have much wisdom they can share with us. It seems in our society that many of the older people are looked at as "too old fashioned". In fact, I had a pastor tell me one time that I shouldn't listen to the advice of my father because he was too old fashioned. As it turned out, this pastor could have avoided a lot of trouble had he taken the advice of the elderly. He ended up in an adulterous relationship, ruined his family, and left his church hurt and bewildered. We are to respect and listen to the wisdom the older generation has to offer us.

Do you listen to the wisdom of the older generation? Do you respect your elders?

So how is your memory? Are you amazed by God's amazing grace when you see in Scripture what He has saved you from? Meditate on these things and you will see God's grace more clearly.