{"id":3397,"date":"2013-02-05T15:27:08","date_gmt":"2013-02-05T20:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3397"},"modified":"2013-02-05T15:27:08","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T20:27:08","slug":"remember-where-we-came-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2013\/02\/remember-where-we-came-from.html","title":{"rendered":"Remember where we came from"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"looking<\/a>She is never early. \u00a0Always late. \u00a0He cannot speak without using offensive or vulgar expressions. \u00a0\u201dI\u2019M marching to a different drummer\u201d is her excuse for breaking all the rules and acting selfishly. \u00a0He only seems interested in hurting others, if he doesn\u2019t get his way.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve deliberately left out names. \u00a0Because we all can fit into any of those statements but for the mercy and work of God in our hearts. \u00a0In fact, even though we have come to Lord and asked for his saving grace, one of the greatest tricks of our enemy is to erase from our memory the place where we dwelt before God\u2019s forgiveness entered our hearts and lives.<\/p>\n

\"sitting<\/a>We\u2019ve been told by the Lord, \u201cDo this to remember me.\u201d \u00a0Often to the Church, Jesus is saying, \u201cRemember me so you can be reminded of the point where you started. \u00a0Remember where you were; and you still are a sinner. \u00a0You need a Savior.\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart desires to reach out and slap some folks I know. \u00a0They aren\u2019t following the Lord up to my standards. \u00a0Or they are giving to the point of hurting the people they want to bless. \u00a0Their lives shout, \u201cI need a Savior.\u201d \u00a0Yet, their eyes are blind to their own needs. \u00a0They can see the fault of everyone around them. \u00a0Nevertheless, they cannot see their own needs and sins.<\/p>\n

Others are like me. \u00a0We are born-again but we still walk through life succumbing to sinful desires. \u00a0Or there are those of us who have become self-righteous looking through our salvation binoculars at everyone who does not know the Lord as their Savior. \u00a0Carnal or baby Christians are an anathema to us. \u00a0We cannot understand why they can\u2019t get their lives together.<\/p>\n

We understand God\u2019s amazing grace in our lives but we want to customize the way God\u2019s deals with others according to our plan and our dictates. \u00a0We have forgotten our starting point. \u00a0We\u2019ve become self-righteous to the core.<\/p>\n

\"crossroads\"<\/a>Paul instructed the church to never forget from where we came. \u00a0The Lord wants us to lead by example; not proclamation. Each year, Special Gathering ministry takes about 175 people who are intellectually disabled on a four-day retreat experience. \u00a0In my first year at Camp Agape, one of the hardest things for me to learn as a new staff person was the principle of \u201cleading by example.\u201d \u00a0I wanted to tell everyone what to do and where to do it.<\/p>\n

The problem is that telling is much easier than leading by example. \u00a0Nevertheless, God has given us an airtight way to overturn our self-righteous ways. \u00a0\u201dRemember where we came from.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

She is never early. \u00a0Always late. \u00a0He cannot speak without using offensive or vulgar expressions. \u00a0\u201dI\u2019M marching to a different drummer\u201d is her excuse for breaking all the rules and acting selfishly. \u00a0He only seems interested in hurting others, if he doesn\u2019t get his way. I\u2019ve deliberately left out names. \u00a0Because we all can fit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,7,699,715,701,13,694,19,689,6,687,700],"class_list":["post-3397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disabilities","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mental-retardation","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-simple-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nRemember where we came from - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remember where we came from - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"She is never early. \u00a0Always late. \u00a0He cannot speak without using offensive or vulgar expressions. \u00a0\u201dI\u2019M marching to a different drummer\u201d is her excuse for breaking all the rules and acting selfishly. \u00a0He only seems interested in hurting others, if he doesn\u2019t get his way. I\u2019ve deliberately left out names. \u00a0Because we all can fit…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2013\/02\/remember-where-we-came-from.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-05T20:27:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/02\/looking-at-her-watch.jpg?w=510\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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