"That we do ALWAYS remember ..." (what?)

Photo credit below

Most every Sunday, many of us say amen to words¹ we give little thought to during the following week; and after that amen, we partake of bread and water in remembrance and witness of those words—one of which is ALWAYS.² Yet, if we could count our thoughts even on the day of our witness, how would our remembrance be graphed?

Below, in the footnotes,³ is a small sampling of what has become, recognized in this age of digital devices, as the foremost observable obsession / addiction / attraction / distraction of perhaps any age of world history—the ubiquitous smartphone: that thing millions always remember; that millions nigh panic over if mis- or displaced; that thing that commands attention and remembrance.

So how do we always remember Him in the face of such unrelenting distraction? For starters we can acknowledge our failing—we can raise our consciousness to a new level of knowing how little we are aware of His presence (and His desire to be present) in the hours, minutes, seconds, and nanoseconds of our lives. In this world of overload, stress, distraction, enticement, addiction, disappointment, etc., etc., (weapons of Babylon), we can raise our sights to look for God everywhere in:

»  sunrises, sunsets, and stars
»  great rivers and small streams
»  flowers and trees; fishes and forests
»  birds and bees; babies and bladders
»  fingers and toes; eyes, ears, noses, and throats
»  shoulders and spines; elbows and knees
»  breasts, bile, and bowels
»  seeds, soil, sap, and saliva
»  language, laughter, and lymph nodes
»  dreams, decimals, and deliverance
»  electricity,⁴ eclipses, endurance, and electrons
»  parsley, paper, protons, and prayers
»  water, waves, wisdom, and wonders
»  mother earth and mother hens
»  songs, seasons, and  sabbaths
»  hugs, healing, and helping hands
»  repentance, refinement, and redemption
»  sabbaths, sufferings, and salvation
»  faith, hope, and charity
»  (to an infinity of observation)

Indeed (and thought), the places to find and remember Him are innumerable and endless. God can even be found and remembered (with consciousness) in the wonders of the smartphone, but He is far more than digital images, data, or devices.

Perhaps the best place to ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM is in gratitude—for every small (to large) favor, serendipity, protection, inspiration, gift, blessing, and help.

How many times, in a day, can we say: I thank Thee⁵ ... ?

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
(New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:18)

VERILY I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 98:1)

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1. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 20:77 ~ ... and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him ... (See also, Book of Mormon | Moroni 4:3)
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 20:79 ~ ... that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, ... (See also, Book of Mormon | Moroni 5:2)
2. Always ~ adverb: 1) every time; on every occasion; without exception; 2) all the time; continuously; uninterrupted; 3) forever
3. A small sampling:
▪  Signs and Symptoms of Cell Phone Addiction ~
https://www.psychguides.com/guides/signs-and-symptoms-of-cell-phone-addiction/
▪  Understanding Cell Phone Addiction
https://www.psychalive.org/cell-phone-addiction/
▪  Phone Addiction Is Real -- And So Are Its Mental Health Risks ~
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/12/11/phone-addiction-is-real-and-so-are-its-mental-health-risks/#12eabb7313df
▪  21 Signs You’re Way Too Addicted to Your Phone ~
https://www.rd.com/advice/relationships/cell-phone-addiction/
▪  Smartphone addiction could be changing your brain ~
https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/health/smartphone-addiction-study/index.html
▪  Your brain on digital technology ~
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/your-brain-on-digital-technology-1.4562541
▪  Addicted to your smartphone? How to start kicking the habit ~
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/addicted-to-your-smartphone-how-to-start-kicking-the-habit-1.4483835
4. If you question electricity, check out The Electric Universe at https://www.thunderbolts.info/wp/daily-tpod/tpods-of-2019-archive/ ; https://www.thunderbolts.info/wp/ ; and https://www.electricuniverse.info/
5, Why I prefer “Thee” (being the intimate form and not, as some allege, a formal, respectful form); see http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2010/12/language-of-prayer.html

Photo Credit: Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash

More Skimmed Milk?

Have we become:

... such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil¹?

I found some nourishing meat the other day in a book called Fresh Eyes on Jesus' Parables by Doug Newton. If anyone is hungering for meat in a menu of reduced calories, Newton is worth considering.

Previous Skimmed Milk: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2010/10/skimmed-milk.html

Added Feb. 11, 2019

More Meat: Fresh Eyes on Jesus' Miracles by Doug Newton. Reading Newton is, for me, like breaking free from a diet of repetitive, recycling scripture sameness that has become habitual. As he says:

What if the commonplace understanding of a Bible story or a well-known Scripture passage is the very thing keeping us from seeing the text in a new, life-transforming way?

We all find ourselves facing this problem when we study the Bible. We believe Scripture is living and powerful. But many of us, after a genuine encounter with God followed by faithful Bible study and many sermons, became so familiar with Scripture that it lost its impact. The Bible became a book of riddles to be solved. Once we “figured out what a passage meant,” we checked it off and moved on. We’ve seen these stories too many times, and everyone who’s been a Christian for even a year or two knows how that voracious appetite for the Word quickly fades.

Pastors and Bible teachers craft a message from a particular text, and the lesson they convey becomes the way we understand the passage from that point on. Within a few short years, it feels like we’re hearing the same thing over and over again. We begin to approach the Bible with less zip and zeal. Familiarity may not always breed contempt, but it does tend to breed complacency.²

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1. New Testament | Hebrews 5:12-14 ~ For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. See also:
Old Testament | Isaiah 28:9 ~ Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
New Testament | 1 Corinthians 3:2 ~ I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
2. Newton, Doug. Fresh Eyes on Jesus' Miracles: Discovering New Insights in Familiar Passages (Kindle Locations 176-184). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.