Remember Where You Were

Remember Where You Were

Monday

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
— Ephesians 2:11-12 (ESV)
Memory isn't always pleasant, but it's often necessary. Paul commands the Ephesian believers to remember their former condition—not to wallow in guilt, but to cultivate gratitude. Before Christ, they were separated, alienated, strangers, hopeless, and godless. Five devastating realities that marked their existence.

Why does God want us to remember? Because we easily forget. Prosperity breeds amnesia. When life is comfortable, we forget the pit from which we were pulled. The Israelites forgot Egypt's slavery and started longing for Egyptian food. We forget our spiritual poverty and start taking our riches in Christ for granted.

Take a few minutes today to honestly assess where you were before Christ intervened in your life. What was your "Egypt"? What bondage held you? What hopelessness characterized your days? This isn't meant to depress you—it's meant to prepare your heart for deeper gratitude.
1. What aspects of your pre-Christ life do you tend to forget?
2. How might remembering them affect your worship today?
Lord, give me an honest memory. Help me never forget the pit from which You rescued me, so that my gratitude might be genuine and deep. Amen.

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