Jessica Albritton, NextGen Minister LHBC

 Joshua 4:1-9
When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” 8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.

Growing up I loved spending time with my grandmother, mainly because she would let me get away with all the things my parents never would! 

She grew up in the 30’s, post great depression, dirt poor, and her lifestyle reflected it. 

She would hide money “just in case there’s another run on the banks.” She kept stacks and stacks of newspapers, because “you never know when you might need that paper!” She would even go as far as saving the cords off or old broken coffee makers because “I might need to strip the wires for something later.” She had a great deal of wisdom, but she lived in fear of a lot of things. 

We do that with faith a lot of times, don’t we? We forget all that God has brought us through, His faithfulness, and we let that define the way we live in the present.

I often need reminders. That’s why I love all the stories of the memorials made to the Lord so much in the Bible. In Joshua 4 God instructs Joshua to set up a memorial. The dictionary defines memorial as something, especially a structure, established to remind people of a person or event. God knows we are prone to forgetfulness and often need a little help remembering. 

Memorials were also meant to evoke questions from future generations. Verse 6 states, “When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It doesn’t say if your children ask, it states when they ask. 

In verse 7 God declares that the memorial of stones will be a reminder forever, so that at any given moment if God’s people forgot they could look back and remember.

Paul reminds the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Psalm 92 compares the righteous man to a living memorial. Our lives should be an example that others may follow, a living memorial that others can look to and see God’s grace, mercy and love. 

Life is hard, people will disappoint us, we will experience pain and loss, but we can trust in the fact that God is faithful through it all. He loves and cares for us deeply. So deeply that He sent His one and only Son to die a sinners death to save us from our own unrighteousness. 

How are you living? Are you living in fear, forgetting the faithfulness of God? Or is your life a living memorial, a testimony of who God is and all that He has done? 

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord, I pray that I am a living, breathing, walking, talking reminder of your goodness. Lord, when life gets hard and I am tempted to live in fear, help me to remember your faithfulness! Let my life be a living memorial of your goodness that others can look to! 

 MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.