Remember - HOW
Mark E. Haskins
May 22, 2026
Among other things, our heart is the storehouse of memories pertaining to our Triune God. The two immediate prior blog posts presented thoughts for your heart regarding why we should be intentional in remembering all we can about Him, along with thoughts pertaining to what to remember. This final installment in the “Remember” series notes that our storehouse of memories of Him is of no use if its contents are haphazardly augmented, locked away, and never brought to bear in our lives. The beauty of those memories is that they can spark hope, clarify purpose, nurture encouragement, foster perspective, and remind us of Him who knows us best and loves us the most.
Just as conscientious athletes engage in repeated practice to develop muscle memory for their sport, we can find it beneficial to develop our memory muscle. Besides reading, meditating and even praying the scriptures,1 here are some ideas for collecting, safeguarding, and having at the ready, a storehouse of your memories of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These ideas are not intended to be recipes from a “Remember Jesus” cookbook. Rather, they are but a few ways that I and friends have found helpful to steward memories of our Triune God that make Him real every day. Perhaps the simplicity of these ideas will encourage you to be more intentional in developing memory muscle that best works for you to preserve and access your sweet memories of Him. Like Peter, let’s help each other remember all that our heavenly citizenship has brought our way (2 Peter 1: 12-15).
Holy orientation. We can begin each day by asking the Lord to, (a) help us see others as He sees them and (b) to see the day as one that is full of possibilities for Him and from Him. “When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don’t, they don’t.”2 We can desire to see more of His “coincidences” and then in seeing them as from Him, they become experienced blessings not easily forgotten.
The “Who.” We often do not have the perspective to see how “bad” things in life are for our good and His purposes (Romans 8: 28). We want answers. We want clarity. We want relief. When I hear myself utter words like “Why is this happening to me?”, I try to heed the advice of a spiritual mentor: “Don’t ask ‘why?’ but ‘who?’” The answer to ‘who?’ is always Jesus! With that simple change in question, we are re-oriented to seeing more of Him in any situation. If we are patient, His memorable presence will come into focus.
Boldness. For most of my Christian life, faith was a private matter only shared with close friends and family. Perhaps that has been your nature. Don’t ask where that attitude came from, it just was. Like Jesus’ friend Peter, however, we must boldly step out of our comfortable “boat” if we want to “walk on the water” to our Lord.3 Today, I am conscious of wanting to be bolder for Him. Bolder in showing His love to others. Bolder in speaking His name to others. Bolder in asking others about their faith. Bolder in offering to pray with others. Without fail, bold moves rooted in Him spark memories of His faithfulness.
Gospel. A good friend has a favorite saying worthy of practice: “Preach the gospel to yourself every day.” How do I do that? Quietly so that nobody hears my perfect monotone, I often sing Amazing Grace. I can hear you chuckling, especially those who know my musical ineptness. But it is true; it is an easy way of preaching the gospel to myself on the way to an appointment, in the yard, putting a young child to bed, or as I drift off to sleep. The gospel is in that song. It is an uplifting, truth-filled song that triggers an array of remembrances of who He is and what He has done for me. How might you preach the gospel to yourself every day?
Fellowship. One of the most powerful aids for remembering all that we have experienced and know of our Triune God is to, as has been said by others, “re-member.” In other words, it is beneficial to take the initiative to gather with other believers as often and as intimately as possible. Those times of connection, sharing, and storytelling can ignite warm and wonderful recollections of Him in your own life, and then over the years, you can be doubly blessed to have recollections of Him in your friends’ lives.
Silence. With radio stations of old, it was sometimes hard to hold onto one when traveling. Similarly, as we motor through our days, the static of life often interferes with reception of a heavenly frequency. Why not take a quiet midday break? During a midday quiet time, you can specifically have a memory minute wherein you ask the Holy Spirit to bring to the fore a memory of Jesus or our Heavenly Father—the Spirit will respond because He loves to point to both of them. Perhaps it is worth starting a memory journal to capture and aid in the ready recall of special, heavenly memories. A bulletin board in a home office, an array of electronic folders on a laptop, a written or audio notes app on a phone, are also handy means to capture and recall encounters with, and words from, Him.
Wonder. As posed in the “Childlike Wonder” blog (December 2025), we can be more alert to the many wonders around us that remind us of Him. He will assist us in that for, “He hath made wonderful works to be remembered…” (Psalm 111: 4 ASV). It is heartwarming to embrace the simple things, the beautiful things, the big and small things that declare His lavish creativity and care. Allow the recollections of Him that arise in your heart from those observed wonders to put a smile on your face and praise on your lips.
Cues. Memories often surface when we picture ourselves at a certain age, with a particular person, or engaged in a certain activity. Likewise, a special calendar date, a specific location you pass, a trait noticed in another person, or a picture on your phone that pops up can each prompt specific recollections. Heed such cues in the course of your day. For any recollections that arise, ask: “Lord, what do You want me to recall about that? How can I use that memory to see more of You today and to bless others?”
Pauses. With a desire to slow life down, it is useful to pause at a particularly poignant moment when watching a movie, reading a book, listening to a piece of music, or even watching the news in order to sense what is welling up in your heart. The Lord is in that “welling up”, bringing to bear what is remembered of Him in perhaps a new light, a reassuring light, or an expanded way.
Tomorrow. If we follow the streams of yesterday’s memories of Him, they will take us to an ocean of hopes for tomorrow—the tomorrow He has promised. Remember when Jesus spoke to His followers and said, “I go and prepare a place for you. I shall return and take you to be with me...” (John 14: 3-4 TCNT). And then Paul wrote, “No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, never so much as imagined anything quite like it—what God has arranged for those who love Him” (I Corinthians 2: 9 MSG). I love that future. Let’s not stop thinking about how the greatest love story of all time ends in this age—it ends with a wedding and with the bride (us) and groom (Jesus) literally living happily ever after (Revelation 19: 7-9). And once we have embraced Jesus at that wedding, I know He will say, “Let me take you to meet Father…the One who loved you from the beginning…the One who made this all possible.” Let’s remember how perfect that will be.
In a very real sense, “memory is the personal journalism of [our] soul.”4 So let’s be intentional to coauthor in our hearts with Jesus, all the stories that capture the moments we have shared with our Triune God. May they be a priceless treasure. Lord forgive us for forgetting. Help us to remember all the precious things we know of You and the ways we have seen You in our lives. They remind us that You are indeed our loving, faithful, patient, Good Shepherd!
As this 3-part series on “Remember” comes to an end, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the “why”, the “what”, and the “how” pertinent to your holy memories.
1See Biyal Garrick (July 5, 2025), “Praying the Scriptures: How to Turn God’s Word into Powerful Prayers” available athttps://biyaigarricks.com/2025/07/06/praying-the-scriptures-how-to-turn-gods-word-into-powerful-prayers/ (accessed 3-1-26) as one source for information on praying the scriptures.
2“Anglican icon, spiritual giant: 9 quotes from Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple”, Christianity Today (October 26, 2017) available at https://www.christiantoday.com/news/anglican-icon-spiritual-giant-9-quotes-from-archbishop-of-canterbury-william-temple (accessed 7-29-25).
3A great book in this regard is by John Ortberg (2014), If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat, (Zondervan Books, Grand Rapids, MI).
4Richard Schickel (January 23, 1984), “Theater: Connections,” available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949970,00.html (accessed 3-16-10).
NOTES: TCNT (Twentieth Century New Testament), Revised Edition, Published in 1900-1904 by Fleming H. Revell Company, in the public domain. ASV (American Standard Version), Published in 1901, in the public domain. MSG (The Message) Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
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