“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isa. 43:2 NIV) 

As long as you live in this world you will face challenges, everyone does! “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Cor 4:8-9)

The Lord your God goes with you 

Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:6)

The Lord goes before you

“The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” (Deut. 31:8)

Fear no evil

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Therefore

“Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.” (Psalm 32:6) 

Quote

“God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them.” -  C.S. Lewis

“‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive.’” (1 Cor. 10:23 NIV)

Rights: Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory.

Defend the rights of the poor, needy, afflicted and the destitute

“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Prov. 31:8-9 ESV)

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” (Psalm 82:3 ESV)

Jesus didn’t cling to his rights but humbled Himself as a servant – you must have the same mindset toward others

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature a God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:5-8 NIV)

Therefore

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11 NIV)

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Gal. 5:13)

Quotes

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Jesus

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’.” - Jesus

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Prov. 19:21 ESV)

You are a mist

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (James 14:6 ESV)

God’s plans for you

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” ((Jer. 29:11 ESV)

Therefore 

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” (Prov. 16:3 ESV)

Quote 

“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” - Abraham Lincoln

“Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” (2 Cor. 10:12 ESV)

Comparing yourself with others is a fast way to get trapped by the sin of envy! God has a specific plan for you, and you discover and accomplish it by looking only to Him and not looking at others.

“Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.” (Gal. 6:4-5 NIV)

Seek God’s approval and be a servant of Christ

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10 ESV)

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Phil. 2:3 ESV)

Therefore

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Rom. 12:3 ESV)

Quotes

“Comparison is the death of joy.” – Mark Twain

“When the Lord makes it clear you're to follow Him in this new direction, focus fully on Him and refuse to be distracted by comparisons with others.” – Charles Swindoll

“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4 ESV) 

Repentance: Sincere remorse for a past sin, wrongdoing, or the like, and turning away from it and towards God.

Jesus preached repentance

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17 ESV)

God wants all to repent and none to perish

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 ESV) 

Therefore

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31 ESV)

“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 ESV)

“Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matt. 3:8 ESV)

 Quote

“We must correctly distinguish regret, remorse, and true repentance. Regret is an activity of the mind; whenever we remember what we’ve done, we ask ourselves, “Why did I do that?” Remorse includes both the heart and the mind, and we feel disgust and pain, but we don’t change our ways. But true repentance includes the mind, the heart, and the will. We change our minds about our sins and agree with what God says about them; we abhor ourselves because of what we have done; and we deliberately turn from our sin and turn to the Lord for His mercy.” - Warren Wiersbe

“So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”  (Rom. 14:12 ESV)

Nothing is hidden from God who sees all and we must give account

 “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Heb. 4:13 ESV)

People will give an account for every careless word spoken

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36-37 ESV)

Therefore

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10 NIV)

Quote

“Although we have responsibilities to others, we are primarily accountable to God. It is before him that we stand, and to him that one day we must give an account. We should not therefore rate human opinion too highly, becoming depressed when criticized and elated when flattered.” – John Stott

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13:14 ESV)

Not only should we remember certain things, we also should forget certain things as well.

What to forget

• Forget the sins of others

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32 ESV)

“For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Heb. 10:12 ESV)

• Forget your old ways of sin

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” (Isa. 43:18 ESV)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12 ESV)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17 ESV)

“Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62 ESV)

Therefore

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1 ESV)

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isa. 43:25 ESV)

Quotes

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” - Johnny Cash

“We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.” - Rick Warren

“… I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day…” (1 Tim. 1:3) 

I once heard an elderly friend of mine say, “My forgettery works better than my memory.” It made me laugh, but truthfully, the older I get, the more I value being able to remember things, especially when I’ve forgotten where I placed something like my glasses or car keys. And I find myself making more notes these days to help me not to forget important things, especially when traveling, as I often do. I once forgot and left a suitcase while going through airport security, and I had to go back to find it. Good thing it was still there! And now I use AirTags just in case.

Different kinds of memory

Memory is generally categorized into three types: sensory memory, short-term memory (or working memory), and long-term memory. Sensory memory holds information for a very brief period, while short-term memory can hold a limited amount of information for a short duration. Long-term memory can store vast amounts of information for extended periods, sometimes even a lifetime. And the Bible has a lot to say about what God wants us to remember and why we should.

What to remember

• Remember the words of the Lord Jesus 

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35 ESV)

• Remember others and thank God for them

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,” (Phil 1:3)

• Remember prisoners and those who are ill-treated

“Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.” (Heb. 13:3)

• Remember your creator in the days of your youth 

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them…” (Eccles. 12:1 ESV)

• Remember your Christian leaders

“Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (Heb. 13:7) 

• Remember the poor

“They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.” (Gal. 2:10)

• Remember Jesus with communion

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19 ESV)

“In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor. 11:25 ESV) 

Good news, God will help you remember!

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26 ESV) 

Therefore

“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you…” (Deut. 8:2 ESV)

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” (Psalm. 77:11 ESV) 

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.” (Psalm 143:5 ESV)

Quotes

“Put your mind on the gospel. And remember - there's one God for all.” - Mahalia Jackson 

“Receiving, reading, researching, remembering, and reflecting on the Word of God are all useless if we fail to put what we learn into practice.” - Rick Warren

“They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Tim. 6:18-19) 

The above passage describes four kinds of treasure to store up in order to have a good foundation for the future.

1.     Do good – “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9 ESV)

2.     Be rich in good works – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16 ESV)

3.     Be generous – “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Cor. 9:6 ESV)

4.     Be ready to share – “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Heb. 13:16 ESV)

The passage at tops ends with the reason we must continually do the above four things. “…so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

Therefore

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:19-21 ESV)

Quote:

“The person who thinks the money he makes is meant mainly to increase his comforts on earth is a fool, Jesus says. Wise people know that all their money belongs to God and should be used to show that God, and not money, is their treasure, their comfort, their joy, and their security.” - John Piper