1576: Records Retention

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”

I had a meeting last week with a group of people from a well-known corporation where we discussed a national over-arching philanthropic program for them.  We’d set the meeting up a few months in advance and by the time it was the week of the meeting the person assisting in the organizing sent me a note requesting I send all of the documents and materials again because their records retention program automatically and permanently deletes all emails every 45 days.  45 days later, it’s all gone.  No hanging onto the past, no looking back, no pulling out any damage done or success recorded.  And so we have to depend on our memory, the current and look for the future.  It’s a good discipline but it also demands extreme attention to detail and focus on what is important to carry forward.  Records retention programs are likely to get shorter and tighter, so we are going to have to be more and more diligent on keeping the important and discarding the rest.

How do we know that God is faithful in His promises to us?  Well,  if we keep a prayer list then we are able to look back and see how He answers, over and over.  It’s okay to keep this type of record as our memories can be short and we can forget that it was God whom delivered.  What do we have in our records that we can show others for how God listens and answers our prayers?

Reference: John 14: 12-14 (New Living Translation)