Today, I had a memory just pop into my conscious thoughts. Why do memories of long-past mistakes, failures, and sins pop up in our minds? The memory may be something as small as forgetting to shake someone’s hand to something that was very ungodly. I know many Christians struggle with memories. I’m not referring to problems rooted in medical conditions.

Some Christians fear that these sudden memories come from the enemy, and this may be true if the memory was triggered by one or more of our five senses. However, we need to remember that the enemy is not like God. He is not a mind reader.

If we are believers in Jesus Christ, our Lord, these unexpected memories are often from God for our good. God may be showing us something for us to rejoice in because God has forgiven and delivered us; we are no longer that person. Most of us have many “bad memories” that can be a cause for us to rejoice in Jesus, our Savior. How marvelous it is to discover that we are no longer that person!

Now, God may remind us of memories because we need to deal with them. Have we removed the moral weakness that was at the root of a “bad memory?” Do we need to be reconciled to someone? Is there a pattern in those memories that point to some moral weakness in our character?

“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
― Edmund Burke

Because of God’s love, He will remind us of things that we need to deal with. The good news is that because God loves us, He shows us what can be conquered in us by Him! He is for us and not against us. Those that don’t know their buried issues are doomed to repeat them.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:11

God’s compassion is boundless. As I grow older, my brain becomes quieter. Yes, for now, my ability to recall life as it happens is still as effective as ever. But what I’ve discovered is that, in the quiet, I hear God’s still voice (1 Kings 19:12). I recall blessings from long ago. Blessings from God’s hand.

My life is built upon those blessings. Where would I be without God’s forgiveness? Had God not extended His compassion to me, and called me, you would see a life shipwrecked, tangled in rocky crags of this lonely, wicked world. But my life isn’t that because it isn’t mine; it belongs to Jesus. I am a man rescued by Jesus Christ, my Lord, and Savior. And that same Spirit will do the same, and more, in you.

You have kept count of my tossings;
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?

Psalm 56:8

In this verse, the word translated as “tossings” can also be translated as “wanderings.” Whether we toss at night in bed because of troubles or wander aimlessly, God cares. He keeps a memory of these times. He puts our tears in His bottle and writes them down in His book. Be encouraged, for God loves His children! Our hurts are not forgotten. You are not forgotten.

Eastern Gate

32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” Mark 14:32

The many of us, there’s a joy that stirs within us when we see our “family home.” Our father’s home is deeply rooted within us. Every time I read Mark 14:32 I picture in my mind’s eye Jesus, while in Gethsemane with His disciples, turning and looking across the Kidron Valley, through the Eastern Gate, and to the Temple, His Father’s House. That had to be an encouragement.

The Eastern Gate, facing the Mount of Olives across the Kidron Valley, is unique in that it is completely sealed shut. Some commentators see the Eastern Gate’s obstruction as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. In Hebrew, it is Sha’ar Harahamim, the “Gate of Mercy.” The Eastern Gate was sealed shut in AD 1540–41 by the Ottoman Empire. – Got Quetions

For us, the “Gate of Mercy” is Jesus Christ (John 10:9). Still, how wonderful it was for The Mercy Gate (Jesus) to have looked from Gethsemane through the “Mercy Gate” and to His Father’s House.