Dear Friends,
Then those who fear the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed His name. Malachi 3:16
The prophet Malachi rebukes the priests and the people for offering blemished animals, not speaking or listening to the truth, being a bad example, and holding back their tithes and offerings. Then he offers this unique verse at the end of chapter 3. Malachi indicates that God keeps a book of remembrance for those who fear Him and esteem His name.
Are there other instances of God remembering and cherishing us? Psalm 56:8 says “You keep account of my tossings/wanderings, put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?” Isaiah 49:15-16 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.”
Our heavenly Father does not forget. The only thing the Bible says He chooses not to remember is our sin. He has displaced or expunged our sins through Christ’s atoning blood, so that He remembers them no more. So why does God need a book of remembrance? In fact, He does not.
God is demonstrating to us in human terms how much He cares for us. Just as we would keep a scrapbook of our own children, He uses this same analogy. He rejoices over us esteeming His name. He loves the fact that we obey Him and seek to please Him. All the things that we do in His name are noticed and are fruitful. In Mark 9:41 Jesus says that even if we give a cup of water in His name, we will not lose our reward.
Max Lucado wrote “If God carried a wallet our picture would be in it. If God had a refrigerator our drawings would be on it.” Jesus said that the woman who anointed him with oil would be remembered for her generous act. What a wonderful illustration of how much God cares for us; He is gracious, always present, and faithful. Meditate on and express your gratitude to God for how much you are loved and are special in His sight.
We have just finished two of our busiest months that I can ever remember. We had our couples conference, our golf marathon fundraiser, and our Bernhard Langer banquet. I don’t know if you got to see interview with Bernhard after he won the senior PGA championship this past weekend. This win breaks Nicklaus’s record for the most major wins on the Champions Tour. Bernhard asked the commentator if he would permit him to read the verses that he had carried with him that day on the course. Then he read Proverbs 3:5-6.
What a great ambassador for our Savior! We are still following up people from the banquet that want information about Christ, want to be mentored, or want to be in a Bible study. Thank the Lord for the 250 men that came. Now please pray for our Summer Series that will start in three weeks.
Thank you for your partnership in this ministry. We continue to see people come to Christ, desire to grow and live the Christian life in the marketplace. Remember you are special to God and to me. Pray we continue to be faithful. We want to put a lot of things in that scrapbook, so we can rejoice and remember them in heaven.