Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face. (Psalm 89:14)
Before we move on in this psalm, I want to share one other thought this verse inspires. It is based on what was shared in the previous devotion, which is, our acts of obedience are recorded and accumulate in Heaven. Having been stored in Heaven in a way that we can only imagine, there is an expectation on our part that in the world to come, God will reward those who did store up treasures in Heaven. That being said, should there be any expectation on our part that we will receive the benefit of our faithfulness in this life? In other words, as we store up treasures in Heaven will we see an impact here on earth?
This question takes us to the book of Acts and the encounter a man by the name of Cornelius had with an angel. The Bible tells us that he was “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always” (Acts 10:2). One afternoon, while in prayer, he saw a vision of an angel that said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4). He was to send a delegation to fetch Peter who was in Joppa. As we know, the encounter between Peter and Cornelius was the first time the Gospel was presented to non-Jews, an encounter that eventually led to many more Gentiles coming into the Kingdom. That was a big deal and came about, in part, due to one man’s dedication to do what is right in the eyes of God. As the angel said, his prayers and giving came up before God as a memorial.
In Hebrew, the word that would be translated as memorial it based on a root that means “to remember,” as in “God remembered Noah” for example. Obviously God didn’t forget about Noah or anyone else He “remembered” — and so what it is the meaning? When God remembers, He begins to act on behalf of the person He remembers. In the case of Cornelius, the angel was saying that all of the righteous deeds he performed had accumulated in Heaven as a memorial to his faithfulness. Consequently, God “remembered” him and was about to act on his behalf, and as it turned out, on behalf of so many others.
The point is our faithful acts of obedience do not go unnoticed in Heaven. How God records and stores them is beyond our comprehension perhaps, but the fact remains that He does. Not only that, there comes a time in our life — perhaps in the most desperate of times — when we call out to Him and He remembers. Remembering, He begins to act on our behalf and on behalf of those we love. Therefore, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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