THE REMEMBRANCER

"He will . . . bring to your remembrance all the things that I have said to you." John 14:26 I think doing this study on the names of the Holy Spirit has made me more aware than ever before of some of the things He does in my life. One of His roles for which I am MOST thankful is as My Remembrancer.

As I've grown older (just had my 66th birthday a couple of weeks ago), I've made a joke about how much more I need Him to help me remember things. But the truth is, even though old age is supposed to make you more forgetful, I don't find myself any worse off in that category than I have ever been. I have ALWAYS needed the Holy Spirit to be my Remembrancer.

Oh, how He has filled that role in my life! In my 20's as a young married woman when I put my plans and activities in a place of greater priority than living for God, He faithfully brought words of scripture I'd memorized as a child to the forefront of my mind and used them to woo me back to Him. In my 50's when I had descended into the darkest pit of depression I'd ever known, He reminded me of His presence even in that lonely abyss. What a faithful Remembrancer He is!

I did not rest well last night. All night long I had fitful dreams. Not nightmares - just dreams that were filled with frustration - a number of different scenarios - but all of them served to leave me with an agitated spirit. I awoke physically tired and mentally confused. I poured a cup of coffee and moved to my quiet time chair; but I could not seem to wake up my fuzzy brain and become alert enough to concentrate. My 66 year old body simply needed more rest. I let my coffee grow cold and climbed back into bed asking the Lord to minister His peace to my irritable spirit.

When I awoke an hour later, the Rembrancer had these words singing through my mind: "Thank You, O my Father, for giving us Your Son - and leaving Your Spirit 'til the work on earth is done." Do you remember that old chorus? I hadn't thought of it in years - but last night, as I wrote the post about the Helper's roles, I'd been thinking about the wonderful truth of the Holy Spirit restraining sin on earth until Jesus returns and how vital and precious that is. I awoke with a heart full of gratitude not just for the Spirit's work but for the fact that His work on earth is the Father's perfect plan and purchased for us by the sacrifice of Jesus. I'm so grateful for the Spirit's reminder!

Ah, but the Remembrancer wasn't finished... not even close. Quickly, He reminded me that God does not want me to be anxious about anything but to pray about everything (Phil. 4:7). He reminded me that God wants me to cast all my cares on Him because I know He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7). He reminded me that when I fell asleep last night my mind was filled with anxiety over my "to do" list for today and Saturday. I was feeling frustrated at the prospect of not being able to accomplish everything I needed to do. And I did not pray about it. I did not ask God's guidance about how to handle the tasks before me. I did not ask for the Spirit's enabling to meet the challenges before me. I simply fell asleep mentally planning and plotting my own course of action. Ahhh .... that explains the fitful dreams, doesn't it? Forgive me, Father!

But the Remembrancer still wasn't finished. He reminded me that I had fallen asleep last night with the television running. There is a crime drama program that I like. I don't like the degree of violence and some of the atrocities that are shown on it. Some of them are so shocking I shiver just thinking about them. But I love the mystery involved in solving the crime and I love the character development of the "crime-solvers" on the program. This program has long been a favorite of mine and I have seen every episode - some of them numerous times. That's what makes falling asleep with it on VERY easy! But, don't you think your semi-conscious mind in its sleep state still hears and absorbs the sounds of the program with all its frantic action and violence? Sure it does. It stands to reason that it wouldn't be conducive to very restful sleep, doesn't it?

Do you want to know what the Holy Spirit said to me about this program? 1 Corinthians 6:12 "Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial." Hmmmm - I made some fresh commitments with the Lord regarding healthy eating a few weeks ago and I've been meditating on that verse a lot. Let me explain. I am not dieting. I am not giving up sugar. I am not restricting carbohydrates. Yada - yada - yada. No food God has made is "off limits" to me. I can eat anything I want to.

BUT - I have committed to eating "healthy" foods; so that means I have to look at what I eat and ask myself, "even though this is permissible, is it beneficial?" That means, when I attend Kebebe's wedding tomorrow afternoon, I can look at my biggest nemesis - bakery cake with confectioner's sugar icing - and I can have a slice if I want it - but only after I answer the question of how it will benefit my body. What I committed to the Lord about healthy eating has nothing to do with dieting or losing weight (even though losing some weight would be nice).

My commitment has to do with pursuing holiness. As I've often been prone to do, I had lost sight of the fact that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that He wants it "set apart" - Holy Unto the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 says that without holiness I will not "see" the Lord. I want to see Him. I want to see Him active and involved in every aspect of my life. I want to experience His participating presence in everything I do. For that to take place, I must be holy, as He is Holy. I must passionately pursue holiness as the cornerstone of my life. So, I must continually ask myself, "If something is not beneficial, how will it aid my pursuit of holiness?" That question has helped me make a lot of hard decisions lately.

This morning the Holy Spirit applied that same principle to my favorite television program! And I had to admit, "No, Father, it's not beneficial. Forgive me." Oh, thank You my sweet Remembrancer, for taking those words of scripture and reminding me that they apply to EVERYTHING in my life - not just to what I eat.