Over the past several months, Pam’s really been stepping up the uses of her iPhone.  I’m proud of her.  I won’t lie. She often struggles with technology. Computers crash, emails rearrange, text streams vanish, the TV won’t turn on and computer programs seize for her with disturbing regularity.  It’s a bit of a family joke.  When Pam attempts a task with technology on phone, computer, smart TV, whatever… it doesn’t work.  Then one of our kids takes it and does the exact same task without a hitch.  Pam protests, “But that’s exactly what I just did!”  And the kids smirk, good-naturedly roll their eyes and hand the technology back to her, while feeling slightly superior.  But it’s true.  I watch her.  She’s doing everything right. It just doesn’t work! Weird.

One feature of the iPhone that she uses a lot are reminders.  Her phone is constantly ringing, dinging, and buzzing with all manner of prompts.    Here’s a typical day for her:

7 AM phone rings a wakeup call

8 AM phone buzzes a reminder to have morning Bible time

 9:30 AM phone dings with Walmart shopping list

11 AM …text kids

11:15 …assemble and start crockpot for dinner

12 PM …one minute of quiet contemplation

12:55 PM …Afternoon piano students arrive in 5 minutes

3 PM …Send out text reminder to our Life Group about this week’s meeting

4 PM …Water newly planted flowers

6:30 PM …NO MORE EATING! (We’re both trying to cut out evening snacks and be healthier)

7 PM …Order Bible study material for women’s bible study

9:30 PM …Start getting ready for bed

One thing for sure, I never have to wonder where Pam’s at in the house.  She’s a walking alarm clock.

Seriously, though; we all need reminders.  Don’t we? There’s a gap between what we want to do and our ability to do it, between our true desires and our actions.  So, we intend to do things and don’t follow through or we make commitments and soon forget them. We’re human, fallible, flawed, forgetful. That’s why a to-do list or occasional reminder is so helpful.  It’s a means of refocusing us on our true priorities and reminding us of what’s important and needs to get done.

I think this is especially true spiritually.

As a Christian, I have a true desire to grow in my faith, to walk in the Spirit and obey God’s commands.  I really do.  My heart has been renewed and Christ now lives in and through me.  And so do you. On a fundamental level we’ve been remade:

• Ezekiel 36:26 – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
• Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

But we’re human and we still have the weakness and flaws of our flesh.  We’re easily distracted and soon forget. At church on Sunday, we participate in worship and hear God’s word and our heart is stirred to action.  But on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday, that priority seems to fade, and our enthusiasm diminishes.  We forget and are distracted from the work that God is trying to accomplish in our life. As Jesus said, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).” Maybe that’s why the Bible has 197 occurrences of words like, “remember,” “be reminded,” and “not forget.” We need to constantly be reminded.

So, let’s remind ourselves of who we are.  We are new creations in Christ, with a new heart, made in the image of God and indwell by the spirit of Jesus. And let’s remind ourselves of our true priorities- to love, follow and obey our Savior and let our light shine in this ever darkening world. Let’s “spur one another on towards love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).”