Mr. Monk Never Forgets

     Monk is a quirky, lovable show about obsessive-compulsive detective, Adrian Monk.  The show ended after eight seasons but lives on through a series of very fun novels.  Mr. Monk was a successful homicide detective until his wife's murder caused him to suffer a psychological breakdown.  Now he assists the San Fransisco Police Department on the most difficult cases as a private consultant.  He uses his need for order and his obsession with perfection to see the details that the average investigator would miss.  Monk catches the bad guys that no one else would ever catch.  

But he couldn't do it without Natalie.  Natalie is Mr. Monk's plucky assistant.  Her job is to keep him calm and focused, hand him disinfectant wipes and run interference with the people he ultimately frustrates.  They get into and out of a lot of scrapes together and have saved each other's lives more than once.

         

         One of the things that makes Monk so unique and so good at solving crimes is his memory.  It's perfect.  Once during a session with his therapist, he recounts a traumatic memory and his therapist realizes that Mr. Monk is actually remembering his own birth!

          Even though there are probably no real people who have a perfect memory like this, God does.  Psalm 147:5 says, "Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite."  God knows everything.  Acts 15:18 says, "Known to God from eternity are all His works."  He knew every moment of human history before time ever began.  He knows everything that has ever happened or will ever happen to everyone. 

         God knows us, He really KNOWS us.  He knows everything we've ever done, including all the bad things.  He says in the Bible that we deserve His punishment. (Romans 6:23) 

         Now listen to something amazing - "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."  -Romans 5:8 

          He sent Jesus to take the punishment that we deserve.  When we accept that we deserve God's punishment, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are forgiven.  All of our mistakes and bad deeds and bad thoughts are washed away.  Forever.  And He continues to forgive us when we slip up because now we have Jesus as our Advocate.  (1 John 2:1) 

        God, the only One with the flawless memory, chooses to forget.  For our sake.  Just because He loves us. 

        Here is what God's forgiveness is like:  Hebrews 8:12  "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”



Finding Nemo: Just Keep Swimming

        I love the movie Finding Nemo.   It's a fun, engaging story full of endearing characters and it's computer animation makes it beautiful to look at.       
        Marlin (who is actually a clown fish) is a very protective father but his son Nemo craves adventure.  When Nemo takes a silly, disobedient risk, he gets lost and ends up in an aquarium.  So, naturally, Marlin sets off on a long and involved journey to find his son.
             Along the way, Marlin meets many of the sea's colorful characters, including a very helpful, very forgetful and very blue fish named Dory.  From the first second she hears that Marlin's son, Nemo, is missing, Dory is determined to help.

            Dory has a problem with her short term memory.  She forgets things almost instantly but she keeps moving forward on their mission to find Nemo.  Every time Marlin and Dory face a setback on their trip, Dory stays upbeat.  She forgets what just happened and keeps going.  She tells Marlin, "You know what you gotta' do when life gets you down?  Just keep swimming." 

     The Bible tells us that we Christians need to be a lot like Dory! 

     God used a man named Paul to write the letter to the Philippians.  First Paul reminds them- and us- that we can't be friends with God and get to Heaven someday by being good. We can't accomplish enough things, or be nice enough, charitable enough or good-looking enough to get to Heaven. Only faith in Jesus and the fact that He died to take our punishment for sin and rose from the dead to prove His power, can save us from Hell and give us Heaven.  But it is our job after we have become friends with God through Jesus, to try to be like Him. Not because being good enough could get us to Heaven- we could never be good enough for that- but because knowing Jesus and living the way He wants us to is amazing!
     Philippians 3:13-14 says "No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." 
     In other words: Just Keep Swimming!  When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you admit that you are not good enough and God washes all of your guilt away.  He chooses to forget it and so can you.  Now, you need to focus on just being like Him, telling others about Him and just all around enjoying the new life He's given you.  You need to be excited about someday joining Him in Heaven where you will finally be perfect.
     God wants us to let go of shame and pride.  We Christians often get bogged down by focusing on these things.  If you dwell on all the good things you do and how "awesome" you are, cut it out!  Jesus already took care of being truly awesome and you could not ever possibly compare to Him.  And if you dwell on your mistakes and how "terrible" you are, knock it off!  Jesus already took care of forgiving all of your sins and He's makes up for the new ones every day.  We need to "forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead"- Jesus!  We should just enjoy being with Him and look forward to living with Him in Heaven someday.
     We need to be like Dory the forgetful fish and JUST KEEP SWIMMING!!!