Stones of Remembrance
My precious Journey Girls,
Can I just tell you how crazy I am about each one of you? You are such a blessing and encouragement to me and I love each of you so very much! God is so good and I am so thankful that He has allowed our paths to cross. I am praying for you daily! I would love to hear from you! I know there has been some issues with posting comments, but please keep trying. This is the only way that I know you are still doing well. If you have stumbled or had to stop to rest along the way, I want to encourage you. Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Allow Jesus to refresh your spirit! Continue on, sweet friends; we are in this together and God has something awesome planned for you! Also, it is not to late to invite others to join the journey! I would love to have more come with us! Allow God to use your life to be an encouragement to others. We can pick them up along the way. There is plenty of room! :) I love ya'll so very much!
Well, our journey yesterday took us to the Jordan, and we will pick up in that same spot today. Let's read together Joshua chapter 4. I love God's Word and I cannot wait to hear how He speaks to us today!
The whole nation had safely crossed the Jordan and the LORD had spared them. Once they were on dry ground, the LORD told Joshua to "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle (the deepest part, remember?) of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." (Joshua 4:2-3) Joshua did this very thing. He told the twelve men that these stones would serve as a sign among them. Lets pick up in verse 6. "To serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." So the Israelites did this and carried them over with them to the campsite where they laid them down.
God wanted this to be a reminder to the people of where they had been and how HE had seen them through. He had brought them through the desert and stopped the Jordan from flowing to allow them to cross over. He is all powerful! This was to be a memorial to remind future generations of what had happend. They were purposeful in leaving a legacy of faith to their children. They did not want to forget what they had been through because this was just a reminder of the faithfulness of God! Isn't that incredible? I love God's Word!
After the people had done just as the LORD had commanded, they hurried over (vs. 10) and crossed onto dry land. The priests, carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, followed. "No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before." (vs 18) At just the right time, when they had all crossed over, God allowed the waters to flow again. God had protected them and led them to safety.
We are to remember and leave a legacy of faith to our children. I love the part of verse 6 that says, "In the future, when your children ask you. . " Are you telling your children about Jesus each day? Are you testifying His goodness to them? This can be as simple as praising Him for working out their homework or schedule. I remember praising Jesus for a good parking place one day when Andrew was little. (It was pouring down rain and I had no umbrella!) He said, "Praise Jesus for this spot Mommy, right?" I smiled and said, "Right!" They learn from us. Let's leave them stones of remembrance along the way so that they will never forget our great God!
Can you relate to the Israelites? Has there been a time in your life when you felt as though you were in the middle of the Jordan? Maybe you felt as though instead of passing on dry ground, you were just treading water. You were trying to get to safety. Maybe you are in that very place on this journey. I've been there. Beloved, that is when you must rest in Jesus. Believe God for who He is and what He, and only He, can do! Allow Him to part the waters and set your feet on dry ground.
I will never forget when God did just this very thing in my life. We had only lived in Ashland, KY for less than a year. My family had just moved to a new church and a new home and we were trying to get established and settled. My husband had been struggling and not feeling well since we made the move. We kept shrugging it off to change in the weather and being busy. One Sunday morning, as he was getting up to preach, I noticed he did not look well at all! He got up and apologized to the congregation, saying that he was too ill to preach. I knew he had to feel bad because this was so out of character for him. Just a few short hours later, I found myself in the hospital with my husband who was very ill. The doctor said he had Acute Pancreatitis, which can be life threatening. I was in shock! Here we were at a new place with no family, my husband was laying in the hospital very ill and there was nothing I could do, but trust God. I didn't leave his side that week. I prayed fervently and waited for the LORD to work a miracle. Praise God, He healed my husband and I will never forget!
Two weeks later, my son woke up with a rash that covered his entire body. He had a very high fever and was lethargic. I immediately took him to the doctor and I will never forget what he said that day. "This is very serious. I want to run some tests. His spleen is enlarged and this is not a rash." I felt as though I was going to pass out. I got sick in the pit of my stomach. "Dear God," I prayed, "Please touch my baby and give me strength." I knew with my nursing background that he suspected leukemia. A series of tests followed and I continued to pray. My husband prayed, my family prayed, our friends prayed and my new church family prayed. I had to take Andrew in twce a week for 6 weeks to be checked. PRAISE GOD, he was completely healed!! The doctor was amazed and could not explain what had happened or why he was healed. I knew exactly what had happened. Jehovah Rapha - our healer - had touched my baby boy! Praise God, He healed my boy and I will never forget!
As I read the story of the Israelites in Joshua, I can only imagine that they felt this same kind of joy. Praise God! He had rescued them! He had been their Provider! He had been their Protector! He had been faithful! He was to be praised! They would never forget. This is why God ordered them to take stones from the middle of the Jordan. "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful. . " (Joshua 4:24a) We serve a powerful, mighty GOD!! Let us not forget that He is in control!
I challenge you today to look once again at your Jordan. What is it that God has saved you from? What river are you currently facing? How has His power been at work in your life? We can testify to the fact that HE saved us! He spared our life from eternal death. He lavished us with mercy, grace and love. He died on a cross for our sins, He rose again and is now preparing our eternal home. PRAISE be to GOD!
1 Peter 2:4-5 says, "As you come to Him, the Living Stone- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him- you also like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." We are living stones! We are a chip off THE ROCK! I love that!
Take some time today and find a stone. Maybe you can find one in your backyard or as you walk along the road. Write this scripture passage (1 Peter 2:4-5) on it and place it somewhere that you will see it everyday. Every time you look at it, it can be your stone of remembrance. Remember that the LORD is our Living Stone! Remember all HE has done for you and all that HE is doing in your life right now. Remember not only what He has done, but more importantly, remember who HE is! We serve an amazing, omnipotent, sovereign, holy, loving God. He is taking us through our Jordan to cross over to dry ground. He has stopped the waters from overtaking us! "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you." (Isaish 43:2a)
Let's campout tonight and savor His goodness and love. Let us sit around the campfire together, take some time and just remember. . .
Remembering,
Elisabeth
Can I just tell you how crazy I am about each one of you? You are such a blessing and encouragement to me and I love each of you so very much! God is so good and I am so thankful that He has allowed our paths to cross. I am praying for you daily! I would love to hear from you! I know there has been some issues with posting comments, but please keep trying. This is the only way that I know you are still doing well. If you have stumbled or had to stop to rest along the way, I want to encourage you. Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Allow Jesus to refresh your spirit! Continue on, sweet friends; we are in this together and God has something awesome planned for you! Also, it is not to late to invite others to join the journey! I would love to have more come with us! Allow God to use your life to be an encouragement to others. We can pick them up along the way. There is plenty of room! :) I love ya'll so very much!
Well, our journey yesterday took us to the Jordan, and we will pick up in that same spot today. Let's read together Joshua chapter 4. I love God's Word and I cannot wait to hear how He speaks to us today!
The whole nation had safely crossed the Jordan and the LORD had spared them. Once they were on dry ground, the LORD told Joshua to "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle (the deepest part, remember?) of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." (Joshua 4:2-3) Joshua did this very thing. He told the twelve men that these stones would serve as a sign among them. Lets pick up in verse 6. "To serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." So the Israelites did this and carried them over with them to the campsite where they laid them down.
God wanted this to be a reminder to the people of where they had been and how HE had seen them through. He had brought them through the desert and stopped the Jordan from flowing to allow them to cross over. He is all powerful! This was to be a memorial to remind future generations of what had happend. They were purposeful in leaving a legacy of faith to their children. They did not want to forget what they had been through because this was just a reminder of the faithfulness of God! Isn't that incredible? I love God's Word!
After the people had done just as the LORD had commanded, they hurried over (vs. 10) and crossed onto dry land. The priests, carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, followed. "No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before." (vs 18) At just the right time, when they had all crossed over, God allowed the waters to flow again. God had protected them and led them to safety.
We are to remember and leave a legacy of faith to our children. I love the part of verse 6 that says, "In the future, when your children ask you. . " Are you telling your children about Jesus each day? Are you testifying His goodness to them? This can be as simple as praising Him for working out their homework or schedule. I remember praising Jesus for a good parking place one day when Andrew was little. (It was pouring down rain and I had no umbrella!) He said, "Praise Jesus for this spot Mommy, right?" I smiled and said, "Right!" They learn from us. Let's leave them stones of remembrance along the way so that they will never forget our great God!
Can you relate to the Israelites? Has there been a time in your life when you felt as though you were in the middle of the Jordan? Maybe you felt as though instead of passing on dry ground, you were just treading water. You were trying to get to safety. Maybe you are in that very place on this journey. I've been there. Beloved, that is when you must rest in Jesus. Believe God for who He is and what He, and only He, can do! Allow Him to part the waters and set your feet on dry ground.
I will never forget when God did just this very thing in my life. We had only lived in Ashland, KY for less than a year. My family had just moved to a new church and a new home and we were trying to get established and settled. My husband had been struggling and not feeling well since we made the move. We kept shrugging it off to change in the weather and being busy. One Sunday morning, as he was getting up to preach, I noticed he did not look well at all! He got up and apologized to the congregation, saying that he was too ill to preach. I knew he had to feel bad because this was so out of character for him. Just a few short hours later, I found myself in the hospital with my husband who was very ill. The doctor said he had Acute Pancreatitis, which can be life threatening. I was in shock! Here we were at a new place with no family, my husband was laying in the hospital very ill and there was nothing I could do, but trust God. I didn't leave his side that week. I prayed fervently and waited for the LORD to work a miracle. Praise God, He healed my husband and I will never forget!
Two weeks later, my son woke up with a rash that covered his entire body. He had a very high fever and was lethargic. I immediately took him to the doctor and I will never forget what he said that day. "This is very serious. I want to run some tests. His spleen is enlarged and this is not a rash." I felt as though I was going to pass out. I got sick in the pit of my stomach. "Dear God," I prayed, "Please touch my baby and give me strength." I knew with my nursing background that he suspected leukemia. A series of tests followed and I continued to pray. My husband prayed, my family prayed, our friends prayed and my new church family prayed. I had to take Andrew in twce a week for 6 weeks to be checked. PRAISE GOD, he was completely healed!! The doctor was amazed and could not explain what had happened or why he was healed. I knew exactly what had happened. Jehovah Rapha - our healer - had touched my baby boy! Praise God, He healed my boy and I will never forget!
As I read the story of the Israelites in Joshua, I can only imagine that they felt this same kind of joy. Praise God! He had rescued them! He had been their Provider! He had been their Protector! He had been faithful! He was to be praised! They would never forget. This is why God ordered them to take stones from the middle of the Jordan. "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful. . " (Joshua 4:24a) We serve a powerful, mighty GOD!! Let us not forget that He is in control!
I challenge you today to look once again at your Jordan. What is it that God has saved you from? What river are you currently facing? How has His power been at work in your life? We can testify to the fact that HE saved us! He spared our life from eternal death. He lavished us with mercy, grace and love. He died on a cross for our sins, He rose again and is now preparing our eternal home. PRAISE be to GOD!
1 Peter 2:4-5 says, "As you come to Him, the Living Stone- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him- you also like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." We are living stones! We are a chip off THE ROCK! I love that!
Take some time today and find a stone. Maybe you can find one in your backyard or as you walk along the road. Write this scripture passage (1 Peter 2:4-5) on it and place it somewhere that you will see it everyday. Every time you look at it, it can be your stone of remembrance. Remember that the LORD is our Living Stone! Remember all HE has done for you and all that HE is doing in your life right now. Remember not only what He has done, but more importantly, remember who HE is! We serve an amazing, omnipotent, sovereign, holy, loving God. He is taking us through our Jordan to cross over to dry ground. He has stopped the waters from overtaking us! "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you." (Isaish 43:2a)
Let's campout tonight and savor His goodness and love. Let us sit around the campfire together, take some time and just remember. . .
Remembering,
Elisabeth
6 Response to Stones of Remembrance
Tears are flowing after just reading your post...love you! Thank you for the reminders of God's faithfulness and please pray hard for me...I'm struggling greatly these days.
Awesome, awesome,awesome word, getting better by the day!!! Go Jesus!!! Yes I remember when I prayed constantly that God would keep my child safe when I did not know where he was (many times)...and he did. Thank You Lord. I remember praying for my mom when she was sick and didn't really know how to pray, but God understood me. Thank You Lord. I have to say the Servant's Girl Journey has been awesome, I started late but oh my goodness the posting are just what Jesus ordered. Thanks for giving your time by serving and sharing Jesus. Oh so good!!!
Elizabeth your comments has been truly inspirational & encouragement to me on this journey. Just when I'm feeling a little down, I read your post and what other journey girl's have posted and no that I am not alone, thank God for that & thank you elizabeth for being obedient to him!!
Sweet Kim,
I am praying for you!!! Please know how much I love and appreciate you. Thank you so much for you love, encouragement and support! I am here for you!
Phyllis,
Thank you for your encouragment! I am so glad you have joined the journey! God is SO good!! I love reading your praises. I am praying for you!
Love you!
mzpeyton,
I too am SO thankful for the Journey Girls! You all encourage me so much! Thank you for your kind words and I appreciate you posting. I love Jesus and just want to continue to be used by Him! I am praying for you!
Love you!
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