Just a few days ago, when the family gathered at her home for Memorial Day, she repeated her annual ritual and placed the picture of Paul, her brother, on the food table. As every family member filled his plate, he also refilled his memory of the brave World War II soldier who had died from enemy fire in Italy in 1944. Before going off to war, he had said that he knew he would not return home. When he and his fellow soldiers faced danger, he told his comrade to let him lead the way, because he knew that he was ready to die. Paul willingly risked his life for his comrade in arms and for our freedom.

We dare not forget such noble soldiers, hundreds of thousands who have secured and preserved our freedom over the centuries, from the Revolutionary War to the present war against radical Islamic terrorists. Memorial Day reminds us of the high cost of freedom and of the sacrificial service of our soldiers and their families.

Memory is important. Forgetfulness is dangerous. Not only is it important to keep current our memory of fallen soldiers, so that we remember how important it is to stop aggressors, but God tells us in the Bible that it is essential to remember spiritual truths, so that we are not deceived by the devil and lose out on salvation. I counted about 350 references in the Bible that speak of remembering. Obviously remembering is important to God.

In the Old Testament, we read how God used Moses to deliver the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt and to lead them to the promised land of Canaan.

Moses records many words that admonish the Israelites to remember their Godand His deliverance. For example, just before their exodus from Egypt. God spared the Israelites from the angel of death that struck the Egyptians, and God instructed them to remember this Passover every year, as a memorial of his deliverance. Their need to remember is evidenced by their frequent disobedience to God, their idolatry, complaining, rebellion, and unbelief.

Today, we also need to remember our deliverer, our savior, Jesus Christ, the Passover lamb. When Jesus served the Passover meal to his apostles, he told them to do this “in remembrance of me.” The Lord’s supper is a memorial, a remembrance of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, when he paid the debt for all of our sins.

When we are tempted to lie, lust, steal, hate, pride, and selfishness, we must remember our deliverer, Jesus Christ. Remembering our sinless, loving, crucified savior will help us to refuse temptation. This memory will also prompt us to confess our sins in repentance to God.

Throughout the Bible, God calls us to remember, to remember our

Deliverer, to remember our creator, to remember the Sabbath day, and to remember many other things. If your mind turns to Jesus, as did the mind of that dying thief on the cross, Jesus will remember you in his heavenly kingdom, and you will also be with Jesus in paradise.