DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle 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."

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 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 as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

Joshua 4:1-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Joshua, Chapter 3, ended, we saw where God reenacted a miracle before the Israelites, parting the Jordan River while it was at flood stage to allow His people to cross over into Canaan.

As Chapter 4 opens, we see where the entire nation had crossed over when Joshua command that one person from each tribe, twelve in all, were to “take up twelve stones from the middle 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."
So each person walked onto the Jordan River bed, picked up a stone, twelve in all, and “carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down”. Joshua then “set up the twelve stones…at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood”. The stones were to serve as a reminder for the Israelites…an Old Testament reminder of God’s miraculous power that He had displayed at that place and time. And this reminder wasn’t just for this generation of Israel. No…for Joshua gives the following guidance:

“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."

God’s miraculous works weren’t performed to be forgotten. He expected His people to always remember them and tell others of them so His reputation would span generations.

God’s only Son…our Savior Jesus…was a worker of miracles as well. After all, he was God in every way…perfect, almighty, powerful, majestic and holy in every way. Nothing was beyond the power of His hands, including victory over death to a resurrection into eternal life. And he didn’t just do it for Himself but did it so that sinners like you and I could follow. All we had to simply do was believe and trust in Him as our Savior.

Jesus, like His Father, didn’t want us to forget what He had done either. His suffering on Calvary’s cross and subsequent ascension into heaven to sit on God’s right hand were to never leave the minds of His disciples. And so He left words of remembrance for the people He loved and died for…words and follow on actions that were intended to serve as reminders to all who would believe. Hear these words from the scriptures:

“…The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Do this in remembrance of me. The words cry out for us to never lose sight of what Jesus endured to pay the price for our sins. As we participate in the sacrament of communion, we are to always remember that His body was broken and bruised instead of ours. We need to always remember that His atoning blood streamed from His head and hands and feet washing away all sin and bringing a new covenant, a promise of life eternal for all…whether Jew or Gentile. Indeed, when Jesus entered the gates of heaven, He left them open for others to follow and join Him one day when He calls.
As we go into each and every day, we simply must never forget the call to remember. We must remember God’s goodness and power as He used it to bless His people. We must remember how His Son modeled this Himself while healing, teaching, resurrecting, loving and eventually dying for not just some but all. And we must remember that as Christians, we are to mimic the life of Christ…embodying His self-sacrificial, loving attitude in all we do. We couldn’t show Jesus that we do remember Him in any better way. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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