Rock Piles
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them saying, "Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying "What mean ye by these stones?" Joshua 4:1-6
This passage has been a constant in my life the last 20 years. Okay, I can hear you... really? about a bunch of rocks? Well, yes. You see, the Children of Israel had just been taken from an amazing experience and this was to be a reminder to them of what God had done for them.
I can look back on my life where I specifically placed rock piles to remember what God has done for me. No, I don't have piles of rock all over Ohio and North Carolina. What I have are spiritual moments where I can look back, remember, and think "Wow... how amazing is my God!" These are powerful when you are in the valley and it seems as if there is no hope, to look back and have that memory of what God has already done for you.
One of my first rock piles goes back to high school and my youth group. We had Winter retreats where we would go to camp for a weekend away. My parents were the youth leaders of our jr. high group, so they were also there. I can't remember what the theme was for the weekend. What I remember is we were going to have communion and then a candlelight prayer service. Before we had communion, our youth pastor was adamant about getting time away from everyone and making sure that your relationship with Christ was settled. That there be no interference between you and God because of relationships with you and any person around you. He then gave us some time to go off and make sure we were right with God before we had communion and fellowship with Him. Now, I had had a lot of communions in my life. I was a believer since I was seven years old. I knew how to do the dried cracker and grape juice thing, but those words made me stop. I went to a corner of the room, cried out to God, and then went in search of my Momma. I needed a hug from her BAD! That was the most emotional communion I have ever had, because it was the first time I realized the depth of this "ritual". It is so much more than eating a stale cracker and sipping grape juice. It is about sharing the fellowship with the Father because of the Son!
Another rock pile is not a specific moment, but about a year long event. When I was in college, I went to a bible discussion group. We did not have anything ever to talk about, but whatever questions we had during the week while we were reading. Until one week when the leader said that we were going to do something different this week. Well, that week turned into another and another and another. But we were hooked. We started the book of Esther. Yes, this was a co-ed group. We ate it up. I learned so much about myself during that time of studying the way God worked in Esther and Mordecai's life. To this day, whenever I am scared, depressed, not doing well, I go to Esther and read a couple of chapters, but ALWAYS read 4:14 "but thou art and thy Father's house shall be destroyed, but who knows whether thou art come into the kingdom for such a time as this" This is a verse I go to whenever trials and tribulations have been placed in my life. Who know why you are going through anything? Our Sovereign God does. He has you in this FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!
I have many other piles in my life, and am thankful for each one. For they are all part of my story. Yes, my story is simple, but it's my story and I am thankful that it has been written for me!
This passage has been a constant in my life the last 20 years. Okay, I can hear you... really? about a bunch of rocks? Well, yes. You see, the Children of Israel had just been taken from an amazing experience and this was to be a reminder to them of what God had done for them.
I can look back on my life where I specifically placed rock piles to remember what God has done for me. No, I don't have piles of rock all over Ohio and North Carolina. What I have are spiritual moments where I can look back, remember, and think "Wow... how amazing is my God!" These are powerful when you are in the valley and it seems as if there is no hope, to look back and have that memory of what God has already done for you.
One of my first rock piles goes back to high school and my youth group. We had Winter retreats where we would go to camp for a weekend away. My parents were the youth leaders of our jr. high group, so they were also there. I can't remember what the theme was for the weekend. What I remember is we were going to have communion and then a candlelight prayer service. Before we had communion, our youth pastor was adamant about getting time away from everyone and making sure that your relationship with Christ was settled. That there be no interference between you and God because of relationships with you and any person around you. He then gave us some time to go off and make sure we were right with God before we had communion and fellowship with Him. Now, I had had a lot of communions in my life. I was a believer since I was seven years old. I knew how to do the dried cracker and grape juice thing, but those words made me stop. I went to a corner of the room, cried out to God, and then went in search of my Momma. I needed a hug from her BAD! That was the most emotional communion I have ever had, because it was the first time I realized the depth of this "ritual". It is so much more than eating a stale cracker and sipping grape juice. It is about sharing the fellowship with the Father because of the Son!
Another rock pile is not a specific moment, but about a year long event. When I was in college, I went to a bible discussion group. We did not have anything ever to talk about, but whatever questions we had during the week while we were reading. Until one week when the leader said that we were going to do something different this week. Well, that week turned into another and another and another. But we were hooked. We started the book of Esther. Yes, this was a co-ed group. We ate it up. I learned so much about myself during that time of studying the way God worked in Esther and Mordecai's life. To this day, whenever I am scared, depressed, not doing well, I go to Esther and read a couple of chapters, but ALWAYS read 4:14 "but thou art and thy Father's house shall be destroyed, but who knows whether thou art come into the kingdom for such a time as this" This is a verse I go to whenever trials and tribulations have been placed in my life. Who know why you are going through anything? Our Sovereign God does. He has you in this FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!
I have many other piles in my life, and am thankful for each one. For they are all part of my story. Yes, my story is simple, but it's my story and I am thankful that it has been written for me!
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