Voice Of The Valley Volume 2 Issue 2 April 1996

Insufficient Memory! by Brian Price

It would not take long to prove that computers have become a great asset and tool (for me personally) in helping to re-proclaim the message of Jesus Christ. The use of a computer is utilized in producing this bulletin you are reading now. They are helpful in making charts and other visual aids that help us to teach the Word of God. They are great sources to store vast amounts of information without filling floor space with filing cabinet after filing cabinet. The list can go on and on of the usefulness of computers. I have always been an advocate of the use of computers to aid in my preaching of the Gospel. However, in the several years I've been using computers, not once, until recently, had my computer ever actually taught me something. In my attempts to do more and more with my computer I continually found myself staring at a line of words stating that there was insufficient memory to do the particular task I was requesting that the computer execute. The manufacturers suggestion to resolve this problem was that I may wish to add some extra memory modules to my computer. As I pondered this thought I couldn't help but think of what a wondrous thing it would be if we as human beings when our memory begins to fail us, could simply add a memory module to settle the problem. Everything would be wonderful and our forgetfulness would be a thing of the past. So I thought! Seeing that there are no such memory enhancers for men I decided to go ahead and install the memory modules into my computer and at least my computer problems would be over. Much to my disappointment, fixing my computers memory difficulties was not so easy after all. I found that not only did I need to add the memory modules, but I would also be required to add memory drivers to actually make any use of these modules. During this period of attempting to get these drivers setup correctly (by the way, at the time of this writing they are still not correctly functioning) is when I learned the lesson from my computer that I will relate to you now. As I continued to compare my computers problem with memory, to mans problem with memory, it dawned on me that we too need memory drivers. Prompts or instruction that pushes us into remembrance. The Bible supplies us with several such instructions. Within the text of the King James Version of the Bible the word remember, or a form of the word, is used 158 times (for your information, my computer counted them for me). God wants to bring us to remembrance by placing these "drivers" within our minds. In Exodus the 13th chapter the Lord commanded Moses to set in order a memorial to remind the Israelites that it was the power of God that brought them out of Egypt and that they were to remember his law. In Numbers 15:38-40 the Jews were to put fringes in the borders of their garments that would serve as a reminder to them and generations to come to remember the commandments of the Lord and to be obedient to them. The list could continue of things that God placed upon man to prompt his remembrance of the Lord. Even the ultimate of memorials that is accomplished through the partaking of the Lord's Supper. A memorial set in order that we might remember the Son of God and the great sacrifice that he made for us. God understands the nature of man better than man knows himself. He knows that man is often prone to forget. Because of this he has set these reminders in order. He recognizes the danger in forgetting about him for even a short while, thus the warning he gives in Ecclesiastes 12:1 to remember the creator in the days of youth, in order that we might have the ability to remember him also when we are old. God has provided for us all that we need to remember him and the great love he has for us. Understanding that we might forget, he gives us instruction that should prompt us to remember. If God expects us to remember these things then we must conclude that he, being the creator of man, has given man the ability to remember. The difficulty comes in mans willingness and effectiveness in installing these reminders properly in his memory. The apostles spent much time putting the reader or listener into remembrance of things previously taught and especially the facts surrounding the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. If I'm going to remember the things the Lord expects me too, I must determine that I will look into his word and use the reminders, prompts, or "drivers" that the Lord has established for me and place them into my memory to stimulate me in my service to the Lord. P.S. I wrote this article a couple of years ago. The Bible principles are the same however the computer in which this article was republished on is not. Isn't it nice to know that even though technology continually changes, we can rest assure that the Bible won't.