Jump Start # 1543

Mark 8:18 “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember.”

  Our verse today reflects one of the many times that Jesus was disappointed with His disciples. The journey of faith was long and hard for them. The Pharisees had demanded to see a sign from Jesus. The Lord refused. Jesus and the twelve got into a boat to travel to the other side. Jesus used the occasion to teach and warn about the Pharisees. Their negative influence and false ways would spread like leaven. While Jesus is teaching, the disciples are thinking about eating. They talk among themselves that they did not bring any food. It is here that our verse is found.

 

Jesus then asks the disciples to remember the feeding of the 5,000. He asked how many baskets of leftovers did they have? They remembered. They said twelve. He asked them how many baskets of leftovers were there after feeding 4,000. They remembered. They said seven. He then said, “Do you not understand?”

 

They had Jesus. He could do anything. He could multiply food. He always took care of them. They were worrying about things that they didn’t need to. Jesus was with them. “Do you not remember?”

 

Do you not remember? I wonder if that’s us sometimes. We leave a Sunday with a head full of Bible information. We’ve sat in Bible classes, listened to sermons, taken notes and gained some great insights. But Monday rolls around and we forget these things. It’s not that we don’t know, but like the disciples in the boat, we fail to see the connection to what we learned, saw and understood on Sunday to our world on Monday. We may even ask our preacher a question that is bothering us. With a puzzled look on his face, the preacher says, “We just had a sermon about that.” And we reply, “Oh, yeah, I forgot.” Do you not remember?

 

It’s important that we build bridges from our faith that connects Sunday to the rest of the week. What happens on Sunday isn’t separate from the rest of the week. It’s the first day of a long week. Much to do in the week. Many meetings. Many deadlines. Many things to get accomplished. For the student, there are papers to write, tests to study for and a week filled with things to do. The stay-at-home mom, has a filled week. A generation ago, preachers used to complain about housewives who spent the day watching soap operas. You don’t here much of that these days. Stay-at-home moms are busy. Those that work, their days are packed with things that have to get done. But in all of this, it is easy for us to forget what we learned on Sunday. It’s easy to just stuff that information away and fail to see that I sure could have used that today. What we talked about in Bible classes would have helped my attitude. Or, what I learned from the sermon would have helped me make the right choices today. Building those bridges from Sunday to the rest of the week is the job of each listener. These Sundays, one after another, can sure shape our character and build our faith and make us better people. However, the key is “Do you not remember?”

 

For the disciples in the boat, and generally, the same is true with us, it’s not that we forget. The infor is stuffed somewhere in our head, we just fail to see that it’s that very infor that can help us today. We worry when we don’t have to. We get worked up about politics and elections when we know that God remains on the throne. We allow Satan to track us down and to follow us, forgetting that if we resist him, he will flee. “Oh, yeah, I forgot.” Why are we forgetting? Why do we not remember?

 

So, how can we “remember” to remember? That seems to be the key. How can we get that infor into our faith and into our lives every day? Here are a few of my suggestions. I expect that you can come up with better ones and I’d encourage you to do that. It may be just the very thing to help you get your Sunday into your Monday.

 

My list:

 

1. Take notes on what you learned Sunday. I’ve preached more than 35 years and I still take notes when I listen to someone else. We tend to remember more when we hear, write and see things. When I learn something really good about the text of the Bible, I will write it in the margins of my Bible. I underline words and circle things. Later, when I go through those pages again, I see those underlines and circled words and brief thoughts in the margins. I remember. We tend to forget things. So finding ways to help you remember is important.

 

2. Don’t leave the sermon and the Bible class info at the building as you leave. As you eat your Sunday dinner, talk about those things. Now, it’s easy for the conversation to become a critique of the preacher’s ability, but don’t do that. Talk about the message. Talk about what you liked. Share and discuss things. Take it deeper. Even with mom, dad and the kids at the table, this can be done. Lower the nets deeper and find applications in your own situation that maybe the preacher never presented. Remember.

 

3. Get a copy of the cd and listen to it as you drive to work or school. Each time you listen, you pick up things you didn’t hear the first time. Refresh your memory. Didn’t Jesus do that in our story? How many baskets? He was reaching back into their memories.

 

Do you not remember? I wonder how many things said on a Sunday could help us on a Monday if we only remembered? Remember the hymns we sang. Remember a prayer. Remember the encouraging words someone spoke to you. All of these things can help us on a Monday morning. We can feel so strong on Sunday and so weak on Monday. That shouldn’t be. Build those bridges between Sunday and Monday.

 

Find a quote that you like from a Sunday and write that down. Carry that with you. Do that with a passage that was read on Sunday. Do that with a hymn that was sung on Sunday. Carry Sunday into your Monday.

 

Do you not remember? That doesn’t have to be said of us. We know. We just need to connect the dots from what happens on Sunday to what we are doing on Monday. I think if we did this more, we’d have better weeks and we’d find that we are learning more and more and it’s staying with us. That in turn, changes our attitudes, character and heart.

 

Sunday into Monday…do you not remember?

 

Roger

 

 

Our verse today reflects one of the many times that Jesus was disappointed with His disciples. The journey of faith was long and hard for them. The Pharisees had demanded to see a sign from Jesus. The Lord refused. Jesus and the twelve got into a boat to travel to the other side. Jesus used the occasion to teach and warn about the Pharisees. Their negative influence and false ways would spread like leaven. While Jesus is teaching, the disciples are thinking about eating. They talk among themselves that they did not bring any food. It is here that our verse is found.

 

Jesus then asks the disciples to remember the feeding of the 5,000. He asked how many baskets of leftovers did they have? They remembered. They said twelve. He asked them how many baskets of leftovers were there after feeding 4,000. They remembered. They said seven. He then said, “Do you not understand?”

 

They had Jesus. He could do anything. He could multiply food. He always took care of them. They were worrying about things that they didn’t need to. Jesus was with them. “Do you not remember?”

 

Do you not remember? I wonder if that’s us sometimes. We leave a Sunday with a head full of Bible information. We’ve sat in Bible classes, listened to sermons, taken notes and gained some great insights. But Monday rolls around and we forget these things. It’s not that we don’t know, but like the disciples in the boat, we fail to see the connection to what we learned, saw and understood on Sunday to our world on Monday. We may even ask our preacher a question that is bothering us. With a puzzled look on his face, the preacher says, “We just had a sermon about that.” And we reply, “Oh, yeah, I forgot.” Do you not remember?

 

It’s important that we build bridges from our faith that connects Sunday to the rest of the week. What happens on Sunday isn’t separate from the rest of the week. It’s the first day of a long week. Much to do in the week. Many meetings. Many deadlines. Many things to get accomplished. For the student, there are papers to write, tests to study for and a week filled with things to do. The stay-at-home mom, has a filled week. A generation ago, preachers used to complain about housewives who spent the day watching soap operas. You don’t here much of that these days. Stay-at-home moms are busy. Those that work, their days are packed with things that have to get done. But in all of this, it is easy for us to forget what we learned on Sunday. It’s easy to just stuff that information away and fail to see that I sure could have used that today. What we talked about in Bible classes would have helped my attitude. Or, what I learned from the sermon would have helped me make the right choices today. Building those bridges from Sunday to the rest of the week is the job of each listener. These Sundays, one after another, can sure shape our character and build our faith and make us better people. However, the key is “Do you not remember?”

 

For the disciples in the boat, and generally, the same is true with us, it’s not that we forget. The infor is stuffed somewhere in our head, we just fail to see that it’s that very infor that can help us today. We worry when we don’t have to. We get worked up about politics and elections when we know that God remains on the throne. We allow Satan to track us down and to follow us, forgetting that if we resist him, he will flee. “Oh, yeah, I forgot.” Why are we forgetting? Why do we not remember?

 

So, how can we “remember” to remember? That seems to be the key. How can we get that infor into our faith and into our lives every day? Here are a few of my suggestions. I expect that you can come up with better ones and I’d encourage you to do that. It may be just the very thing to help you get your Sunday into your Monday.

 

My list:

 

1. Take notes on what you learned Sunday. I’ve preached more than 35 years and I still take notes when I listen to someone else. We tend to remember more when we hear, write and see things. When I learn something really good about the text of the Bible, I will write it in the margins of my Bible. I underline words and circle things. Later, when I go through those pages again, I see those underlines and circled words and brief thoughts in the margins. I remember. We tend to forget things. So finding ways to help you remember is important.

 

2. Don’t leave the sermon and the Bible class info at the building as you leave. As you eat your Sunday dinner, talk about those things. Now, it’s easy for the conversation to become a critique of the preacher’s ability, but don’t do that. Talk about the message. Talk about what you liked. Share and discuss things. Take it deeper. Even with mom, dad and the kids at the table, this can be done. Lower the nets deeper and find applications in your own situation that maybe the preacher never presented. Remember.

 

3. Get a copy of the cd and listen to it as you drive to work or school. Each time you listen, you pick up things you didn’t hear the first time. Refresh your memory. Didn’t Jesus do that in our story? How many baskets? He was reaching back into their memories.

 

Do you not remember? I wonder how many things said on a Sunday could help us on a Monday if we only remembered? Remember the hymns we sang. Remember a prayer. Remember the encouraging words someone spoke to you. All of these things can help us on a Monday morning. We can feel so strong on Sunday and so weak on Monday. That shouldn’t be. Build those bridges between Sunday and Monday.

 

Find a quote that you like from a Sunday and write that down. Carry that with you. Do that with a passage that was read on Sunday. Do that with a hymn that was sung on Sunday. Carry Sunday into your Monday.

 

Do you not remember? That doesn’t have to be said of us. We know. We just need to connect the dots from what happens on Sunday to what we are doing on Monday. I think if we did this more, we’d have better weeks and we’d find that we are learning more and more and it’s staying with us. That in turn, changes our attitudes, character and heart.

 

Sunday into Monday…do you not remember?

 

Roger