Becky Austin

Samson: Godly Strength, Human Weakness (Judges 13-16)

11:30 PM




The story of Samson and Delilah is a universally known story.  Samson is typically depicted as a strong, muscle bound man with long, flowing hair. I’m not sure he was physically sporting a body builder physique, however.  Scripture tells us that his “ super strength“ would come at specific times and the source was divine.  Each episode was linked to God being the source of that strength: “ and the spirit of the Lord rushed upon him”.  You would think that because Samson had God’s favor that he would be very careful to honor God but Samson had many weaknesses as well. I’m sure that it was challenging as a parent to watch events play out in Samson’s life.  
Let’s take a closer look. 

We are told that even before Samson was born, God chose him to be special and to have a special purpose.  He was promised to a barren woman and he was to be marked as a Nazarite, meant to be devoted to God. “for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.””Judges 13:5  Samson’s mother followed all of God’s instructions regarding raising Samson and we are told that “ the young man grew and the Lord blessed him”. 

Samson was raised by God honoring parents and he was greatly favored by God, but Samson was prone to stray and follow the foolish pursuit of his desires.  He failed to heed the godly advice of his parents and chose to seek a wife from the Philistines. He told his father “ Get her for me for she is right in my eyes.” How hard it is as parents to watch our children make unwise decisions and suffer for pursuing worldly things.  But, God can use our mistakes and the mistakes of our children and still bring his will to pass. “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines...” Judges 14:4 God knows our weaknesses and the mistakes we will make, and yet He is always in control of the outcomes. 

Samson was prone to be turned by a pretty face and to be a poor judge of character.     Too many times he played into the manipulative devices of his love interests and suffered the consequences of those circumstances.  As parents, it can be heartbreaking to watch our children be swayed by wrong choices in friends or date people who use or manipulate them. How important it is to pray for our children to have Christian values and relationships that nurture and strengthen those values. 

How tragic that Samson was so reckless with his pursuits.  He let his love for Delilah blind him to the danger of her lies and her selfish disregard for his wellbeing. This ultimately led to God removing His favor and Samson losing his physical sight as well. As parents we may also have to watch tragedy play out in the lives of our children or loved ones as they push God out of their lives. But, sometimes that may be necessary for spiritual awakening. In the end, Samson remembered the source of his strength and he asked humbly for God’s help. He also remembered his purpose of saving his people from the Philistines. 

No matter how far from God our children may go, there is always hope that they will lay down their will and desires and seek God with eternity in mind. “And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.”
Judges 16:30 

Personal Application: 
God knew Samson would struggle with his sin driven weaknesses.  And yet, God blessed him and worked through his life to accomplish His purposes.  God knows the weaknesses we will struggle with as well. He loves us.  He wants to help us. He can and will impart strength to us if we ask to accomplish His purposes. 

“Samson's Story Shows Us A Profound Truth Of Christianity: Ours Is A Progress From Strength To Weakness, Not Weakness To Strength. It Is When Samson Is At His Weakest That He Is Most Powerfully Used. Samson Ends His Life Blind And In Chains. He Is Weak. So Are We. God Promises, In His Son, To Perfect His Power In Our Powerlessness (2 Cor. 12:9). So We Can Own Our Weakness. We'll Find God's Strength In It.”
— Tullian Tchividjian —

custom

Giving Back What’s Already His {Judges 9-11}

12:00 AM





Did it surprise you that Jephthah kept his vow to God?

“At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites.  And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites,  I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” Judges 11: 29-31

What, or who did he expect to come out of his house to greet him after his victory? An animal, a servant? Surely not his daughter! Only, "When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters.  When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. “Oh, my daughter!” he cried out. “You have completely destroyed me! You’ve brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.” Judges 11:34-35

Surely Jephthah hadn’t expected his daughter to be the first one to greet him, but God knew! He could see that day as clearly as he saw into Jephthah’s heart and knew him to be a great man of honor and integrity. He knew Jephthah would keep his vow even if it meant giving God his most prized procession.

We all know the Lord’s enemy well enough to believe he had to have come and whispered in Japhthah ear, “What if your wife comes first? What if it’s your daughter? What if…? We can be confident he was doing all he could to keep Jephthah from keeping him from being the honorable man he was and keeping his vow to God during those days on the battle field and even after the victory.

The writer of Judges is careful to let us know that this was his only child.  He also allowed us to see Jephthah anguish when he sees his daughter come out celebrating, but he doesn’t permit us to see further into all Japhthah endured fulfilling his promise to God. We can only speculate what Jephthah felt that fateful day as he had to sacrifice his daughter and how he felt everyday afterwards until this life was over for him.

All parents have gained a bit of a glimpse of how that day must have been every time,

  • We have  to hand our infant or toddler over to a caregiver to go back to work outside our home
  • We’ve had to entrust them to a doctor or surgeon in hopes they will return them to us whole and healed
  • We send them off to school for the first time. It gets easier over time until we hear of another school shooting.
  • We wave and watch our child drive away in a car, on their own, for the first time.
  • We sit them on a plane to visit relatives and pray the plane reaches its destination safely.
  • We send them off to college or the military when there are always threats of war. 

Some of us may know exactly how Japhthah felt to have to bury his child and try to figure out how he’ll manage to live life without her, for that’s just not suppose to happen. All of these are known as release points, and I’m sure you can probably think of others you’ve had to live through.

When my children were little, I prayed for them each day; I’d pray for their day, their health, walk, etc. I even prayed for their future spouses and children! And often The Lord would come as I was praying for “my" children, and whisper, “Whose children, Sue?” and I’d answer back, “Mine”. He knew my heart; therefore I figured there was no point in compounding my sin by lying. Sure, I was very thankful to Him for giving them to me, but for now they were mine!

I even discovered a cleaver way to get around having these constant discussions with Him. I decided I could avoid saying, “mine” or “yours”, by simply praying for them by name. I honestly thought I had cleverly outsmarted God! (Can you imagine?)  

That was until one day, I had to board a plane that would take me thousands of miles away from “my children” to live. They were both adults according to the law, but they were still my babies and children were supposed to leave home, not the other way around. The walk to the plane was the longest, hardest steps I’ve ever had to take. It felt like I had cinder-blocks tied to my feet and I was walking through at least a foot of wet cement! The Lord was right there, “Keep going, don’t look back, one more step and then another.”   I managed to keep it all together until we walked into our new home; where I no longer had to try to be strong and the tears just burst forth, and kept coming.
Last photo taken before our move to TN in '99

I went through about a nine month period of mourning. Every day I’d put on my happy face and tried my best to make it through each day without letting on that my heart was broken on the inside. That was, until finally one day, the revelation hit me that an entire year would go by before we could all be under one roof as a family once more, and then for only one week.

I sank down to the floor in my sitting room and the "Martha" in me came out! “Lord, don’t you care!?” (Luke 10:40) How could He make me suffer so? Wasn’t He supposed to be a loving God? (It was NOT one of my proudest moments) BUT, The Lord answered back immediately, “This is why I was asking you to give your children back to Me all those times, so many years ago. I knew this day was coming, and I was trying to spare you this pain.”

I learned two very important lessons that day, actually three:

1.)    Our children are His! In truth everything we’ve been given is simply on loan for a time. We would do well to constantly be mindful of this fact, and be good stewards of all we’ve been given.
2.)    He truly loves us and always has our very best interests at heart, even when things don’t make any sense at the moment. He can be trusted.
3.)    He can walk with us through hardships because He knows the blessings that lie ahead. Both of my children are married to their best friends today! The Lord has given us  seven grandchildren (#8 arrives in August) and all of us now live only 10 minutes from one another in the same county! Our home is our grand’s second home!

That day, I realized that I had trusted God for my salvation, but I had never made Him Lord of my life, for I was still trying to be in charge. That day I trusted Him not only with the children He had given me, but with my life as well.

I’m sure The Lord helped Japhthah walk through those days and years afterwards. And I’m sure both he and his daughter are worshiping The Lord together today. I loved how the author mentions that a custom came about because of the two of them, (This became a custom in Israel—That the daughters of Israel went yearly to mourn the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.) for I’ll bet as the daughters remembered the daughter of Jephthah, their fathers were remembering his integrity.

God's faithfulness 19 years later!

Gideon

Questions of Love {Judges 6:1 - 8:35}

12:30 AM


Image result for Judges 6:15




I couldn’t help but wonder what makes a person leave their first love?   I searched reasons why we step off the path God sets before us.   I discovered this from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.  We face the same challenges that the Israelites had.  Jesus calls us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).  Our first love is the love Christ gives us for God and each other.   

Take time as you read this list; you may discover just how easily you slip.  After spending time reading this list, ask God to help you remove these distractions (idols) and make you strong (like Gideon) to take the next step of faith.  After all, God is sending us out and He is with us!

40 Evidences That You May
Have Left Your First Love
By Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
 PDF
  1. You can go hours or days without having more than a passing thought of Him.
  2. You don’t have a strong desire to spend time with Him.
  3. You don’t have a strong hunger for the Word; Bible reading is a “chore”—something to mark off your “to do” list.
  4. Spending time in prayer is a burden/duty rather than a delight.
  5. Your worship is formal, dry, lifeless, merely going through the motions.
  6. Private prayer and worship are almost non-existent . . . cold and dry.
  7. You are more concerned about physical health, well-being, and comfort than about the well-being and condition of your soul.
  8. You crave physical food, while having little appetite for spiritual food.
  9. You crave human companionship more than a relationship with Christ.
  10. You spend more time and effort on your physical appearance than on cultivating  inner spiritual beauty to please Christ.
  11. Your heart toward Christ is cold and indifferent; not tender as it once was, not easily moved by the Word, talk of spiritual things, etc.
  12. Christianity is more of a checklist than a relationship with Christ.
  13. You measure spirituality (yours/others’) by performance rather than the condition of the heart.
  14. Christianity is defined more what by what you “do” than who you “are” (“doing”  vs. “being”).
  15. Your obedience and service are motivated and fueled by expectations of others or a desire to impress others, more than by passion for Christ.
  16. You are more concerned about what others think and pleasing them, than about what God knows and pleasing Christ.
  17. Your service for Christ and others is motivated by a sense of duty or obligation.
  18. You find yourself becoming resentful over the hardships and demands of serving Christ and others.
  19. You can talk with others about kids, marriage, weather, and the news, but struggle to talk about the Lord and spiritual matters.
  20. You have a hard time coming up with something fresh to share in a testimony service at church or when someone asks, “What’s God been doing in your life?”
  21. You are formal, rigid, and uptight about spiritual things, rather than joyful and winsome.
  22. You are critical or harsh toward those who are doctrinally off-base or living in sin.
  23. You enjoy secular songs, movies, and books more than songs or reading material that point you to Christ.
  24. You prefer the company of people who don’t love Christ, to the company and fellowship of those who do.
  25. You are more interested in recreation, entertainment, and having “fun” than in cultivating intimacy with Christ through worship, prayer, the Word, and Christian fellowship.
  26. You display attitudes or are involved in activities that you know are contrary to Scripture, but you continue in them anyway.
  27. You justify “small” areas of disobedience or compromise.
  28. You have been drawn back into sin habits that you put off when you were a young believer.
  29. “Little” things that used to disturb your conscience, no longer do.
  30. You are slow to respond to conviction over sin—or you ignore it altogether.
  31. You enjoy certain sins and want to hang onto them. You are unwilling to give them up for Christ.
  32. You are not grieved by sin—it’s no big deal to you.
  33. You are consistently allured by certain sins.
  34. You are self-righteous—more concerned about sin in others’ lives than in your own.
  35. You are more concerned about having the right position than the right disposition.
  36. You tend to hold tightly to money and things, rather than being quick to give to meet the needs of others.
  37. You rarely give sacrificially to the Lord’s work.
  38. You rarely have a desire or burden to give, when you hear of legitimate financial needs within the Body, your church, or a ministry.
  39. Accumulating and maintaining material “things” consumes more time and effort on your part than seeking after and cultivating spiritual riches.
  40. You have broken relationships with other believers that you are unwilling or have not attempted to reconcile.
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands."

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.

I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent . . . .

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (Rev. 2:1–7)


Deborah

A Mother in Israel {Judges 3:7-5:31}

12:00 AM










The Hebrew title for the book of Judges is Shophetim, which means judges, rulers, or deliverers. These judges appointed by God, were responsible for settling disputes and leading the people politically and militarily.

After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel became disobedient and idolatrous; forsaking their covenant with God time and again. Every man did “what was right in his own eyes.” (Judg. 21:25) What resulted was corruption and defeat. Yet  even when they turned against Him, God remained faithful to His people. He heard their cries and raised leaders to break Israel free from their bondage and return them to fellowship with Him. And one of these “judges” was Deborah, a mother in Israel.

Even though the culture at the time meant that men usually did the ruling, this time God, who isn’t bound by tradition, chose a woman. “Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgement.” (vs. 4:4-5) The Israelites were being persecuted by Jabin, king of the Canaanites and the commander of his army, Sisera. The people cried out under their oppression and it was Deborah who answered the call.

Under the direction of God, She summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam to gather ten thousand men for battle. But she didn’t stop there. She also promised to lure Sisera, to the riverside and deliver him into Barak's hands; which she did successfully. Deborah loved the Lord and served Him faithfully. She obeyed and insisted that His will, not hers be done. Because she followed God’s direction, the armies of Canaan were defeated and their king destroyed. And the Lord rewarded Deborah by giving her the honor for the Israelites win.


After the victory instead of patting herself on the back, Deborah, like Moses, sang a song giving God the glory ending with, “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord; but let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” (v. 5:31) A sentiment echoed in Daniel 12:3 which says, “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” 

Deborah is a beautiful example of a woman whose faith in God made her shine as a light to her people. Her story shows us that that no matter who we are, male or female, great or small, when we are open and willing to be used by God, great things can be accomplished in His name. Because Deborah listened and obeyed God’s direction, Israel experienced a great victory and were led back into righteousness. And even better, because of her service to the Lord,  “the land was undisturbed for forty years” (v. 5:31) 

I pray to have the heart of a Deborah! How about you? Do you have the same strong faith and commitment to serving God? Are you willing to listen to God’s direction and follow His plans? Are you willing to go to battle to see His will done?

“To have Faith in Christ means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him”....C.S. Lewis

iWorship Bible

SoulSearching Sunday~Confession

12:00 AM

Sunday, February 25, 2018

SoulSearching Sunday!



Week Eight

Welcome!  We pray that you have all had a precious time worshipping the Lord this morning!  Below you will find some thought provoking questions that will provide you a starting point to your journal writing to complete this week.  We hope that you will find this time soul satisfying!

Our reading this week was Deuteronomy 31:1 - Judges 3:6.

 1. When are you most afraid? What steps could you take to fully embrace God's promise that He will always be with you and will never abandon you? (Joshua 1:5)

 2. When did you wrong someone and then try to keep it a secret? Is there anything in your life that you have not yet  been truthful about? God is glorified when we speak the truth. He can be worshiped even in confession. (Joshua 7:19)

 3. What "gods" try to pull you away from the Lord? List a couple of ways that you intentionally choose to serve and worship God. Ask Him to give you strength to choose Him daily. (Joshua 24:15)

Crock-pot

Crock-Pot Potato Soup

11:00 AM



Crock-Pot Potato Soup

2 large onions, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups water, divided
4 cups chicken broth
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1-1/2 cups mashed potato flakes
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, sliced

In a large skillet, saute onions in butter until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker.
Add the broth, potatoes, potato flakes, bacon, pepper, salt, basil, thyme and remaining water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cream; heat through. Garnish with cheese and green onions. About 10 servings.



follow

Scripture Saturday~Worship the One True God

12:00 AM

Saturday, February 24, 2018




Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

 This coming week's memory verse is Ruth 1:16...

 But Ruth replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God..."
Have a blessed and precious day and week everyone!

Christ

Our Only and Secure Inheritance {Joshua 12-19}

10:30 PM



God speaks to an old Joshua about the land remaining to be possessed (Jos 13:1). His time and his ministry as leader was almost ending, and God gave him the final instructions regarding the remaining land to be conquered and how it was to be divided as an inheritance among “the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” (13:7) Joshua was a faithful servant and even in an advanced age, God still instructs him about a job that needs to be done. This makes me realize how much have I, or have I not conquered as a Christian… and sadly I must confess there is still so much to be done!  No matter how much we have served in our Christian lives, there still remains much to do!!

Verses 13:8-32 describe the portion of land divided among Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.  It was the land of king Sihon of the Amorites and king Og of Bashan.
We find something unique in verses 13:14 and 13:33:

“ 33 But to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He told them.”

Yes, the Levites had no land for an inheritance, but instead had the sacrifices Israel brought to God. They also received a greater inheritance than that: God Himself.

In this sense, Christians are spiritually connected to the tribe of Levi, since we also are called priests: 1 Peter 2:5(AMP)

5 You [believers], like living stones, are [a]being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

We also have a special inheritance in God:  Ephesians 1:11(AMP)

“11 In Him also we have [a]received an inheritance [a destiny—we were claimed by God as His own], having been predestined (chosen, appointed beforehand) according to the purpose of Him who works everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His will,”

1 Peter 1:4 (AMP)
4 [born anew] into an inheritance which is imperishable [beyond the reach of change] and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,”

What undeserved privileges we attain as children of God!! (Col 3:24) And yet many of us are dissatisfied with our workplaces, our earthly possessions (finances), maybe even with our Church ministry!  We wish that God would have given us something different, and we can even get bitter towards Him about this! We must remember who we are in Christ (Ro 8:17) and see ourselves as priests, and understand that our real inheritance is God Himself!!



Before I close, let me ask you: How much of Jesus do you have?  Do you walk in the blessing of leading others to Jesus Christ, our only and Secure Inheritance? How much of the Promises God has given you, do you possess as yours?

There remains very much land yet to be possessed: while there is life, there is still much to do!  God wants us to keep pressing on!

Blessings!

Mari

Becky Austin

When The Lord Fights For You (Joshua 7-11)

4:01 AM


The Israelites listened to God’s instructions and celebrated the victory of Jericho.  But, this victory was soon followed by defeat.  As we study Chapter 7 we find that God was not consulted and the people went forth with self confidence, thinking they would easily find victory again. What a blow when they failed and the precious lives of about 36 men were lost that day. “..And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.”  Joshua 7:5 

Joshua took his sorrow and concerns to the Lord in prayer.  “The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies.  Joshua 7:10-12 
God made it clear to Joshua that sin was the problem and it needed to be dealt with. 

Achan coveted some of the “ devoted things”, things consecrated to either be used for the service of God or destroyed.  This was a very serious offense in God’s  eyes. Achan thought he had hidden these things and would not be found out.  We can’t hide our sin from God, however.  That sin causes trouble not only for the sinner but for others in the sinners life. That sin gave the enemy the upper hand. 

What a contrast is seen in Chapter 8 when the Lord is the one instructing the people in their battle plan and ensuring their victory. “And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land.” Joshua 8:1   We can see these principles play out in our own lives.  When God is consulted for wisdom He leads in victory. When we harbor sin, however, our sin gives the devil an upper hand in our lives and negatively impacts others as well. 

Unfortunately, the Israelites would make the same mistake of taking matters into their own hands instead of seeking direction from God. The inhabitants of Gibeon deceptively pretended to be travelers from a far away land seeking a protective type of agreement with the Israelites. “So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord.” Joshua 9:14 They made a covenant with these people that had to be honored even when the deception was realized. Even though we may make decisions that seem good  and perhaps in the best interest of others, without God’s counsel we are likely to be deceived or negatively impacted. God wants to be Lord of all aspects of our lives, including our decision making. 

All seems well for the Israelites as they enjoy their battle victories and then the enemy gathers collective forces to come against them with a unified massive force.  The Israelites travel all night to confront the enemy and likely are very tired. But, no matter how challenging the enemy forces may be, they are no match for the power of God who controls all things. God threw the Amorites into a panic, He unleashed large hailstones upon them, and He even made the sun and the moon stand still. 
“There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.” Joshua 10:14

In Chapter 11 we find that Joshua continues to obey God’s instructions and God continues to give victory after victory to the Israelites. “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.” Joshua 11:23 

We fight spiritual battles too and God wants us to be victorious as well. If we will honor Him as Lord of our life, seek his counsel and deal with the conviction of our sins, God will fight for us and send our enemy running. 

crossing

Stones of Remembrance {Joshua 4-6}

12:00 AM



Today we’ve finally arrived to one of the greatest climactic events in the entire Bible. The Israelites have waited forty years for this day!! Many weren’t even born when their families had begun their journey, and many may have been too young to remember crossing the Red Sea, but I bet they had all heard about it year after year.

It’s also true that this was just a river, not a sea, but it was raging and already overflowing it’s banks making it nearly impossible to cross, and it was their only barrier left between them and the promised land! They were almost home! Can you imagine the excitement!?  

A new chapter was about to begin! Just across the river lay a land richer than they dared to dream, more beautiful and fruitful than they could hope for! And it was about to become theirs because of God's steadfast promise.

It must have seemed surreal to finally stand in Canaan. Do you remember crossing the threshold to your first home? If you’re anything like me, at the time it must have seemed like a palace! You'd planned, imagined what you will do with it…but when you step in that front door, you’re overcome with emotions! Just imagine what it must have been like to realize you are part of the fulfillment of an ancient promise to Abraham. I like to think there must have been songs and shouts of celebration as God held back the water before them and allowed all of them to cross.

After Israel crossed, God gave Joshua some very specific instructions however, in Joshua 4:1-3,  “After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, "Choose 12 men from the people, one man for each tribe, and command them, 'Take 12 stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests' feet are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.' "and Joshua and the 12 men did exactly what God had commanded. But why?

Because stones don't naturally stack, there would come a day when Israel's children would ask their elders about these stones, and God went onto say He wanted the next generation to know: "Tell them the story, of how the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the Lord's covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan's waters were cut off." Then in verses 23-24, “For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. This is so that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord's hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God."

This is what happens when the impossible meets the promises of God! 

Can you remember such a time in your life? Have you set out stones of remembrances in order to share with others, or even to jog your own memory when another miracle is needed?
The word, “remember” is found 131 times in the Old Testament and 36 in the New T. It's safe to say, The Lord wants us to remember Him and what He has done in the past. But what is the true significance of these stones?

1. The stones remind us that it's all about God
The stones would forever cry out, "God did this! By His hand we crossed this river. By His power and faithfulness we were able to reach the promised land!"Seeing that rock pile and hearing the story, the people of Israel would know clearly that they had not crossed the Jordan River on their own. Have you set up memorials in your home to pass on the stories of all God has done to the generations to come?
Here are just a couple reminders:
  •   “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor over it in vain (Ps. 127:1).
  •  "’Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.” (Zech. 4:6). 
  •  "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life!" (Pr. 13:12) (When my grown children all arrived in TN to settle down next to us)

2. The stones remind us that we have a missionary purpose.
Joshua told Israel that the stones would serve as a reminder that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord's hand is mighty, and so that they may always fear the Lord their God." (v. 24). We too have a mission known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). We’re here to know God and make Him known and I can’t think of a better way to brag on all He has done for you in the past than to make some sort of memorials for others to see.

3. The stones remind us that we must step out in faith if we want to go with God.

The stones out of the Jordan marked the movements of God among His people. They also testify of the willingness of the people to leave what they had known in order to go with God; to take a huge step of faith and step into the water, and believe in what they could not see.

I guess it’s now been more than eighteen years that I began writing on river stones and placing them in the potted plants. I usually will write one of God’s names, or a verse of Scripture and on the back I’ll include a date and a few words of explanation. I'm reminded of them every week when I water the plants. I also have a friend who has build a path to her garden using “stepping stones of faith”.

This week I had my group of study buddies begin a list with victories on one side and battles on the other. Whatever battle you are in today, looking back over past victories (and we all have them if we are in Christ) will help us hang in there and watch and wait on The Lord!