Reminder Stones

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.” (1 Sam 7:12) This happened after God had helped the Israelites win a great victory over the Philistines, and push them out of their nation; the success of this battle, prevented the Philistines from ever entering Israelite territory again. This was great news for the entire Jewish nation, but the first thing that the Prophet Samuel did was to set up a stone, like the stones that Joshua had set up after the Israelites crossed the Jordan River many years before (Josh 4:4-7) to remind them that God- not them, had truly won the victory. Why was it so important to set up a reminder stone anyway? Were the Jewish people all going to get amnesia and forget what God had done for them? This is what it says in Jeremiah, only a couple hundred years later about the forgetfulness of the Israelites: "But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the LORD their God. “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.”“Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God. Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception; surely in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel." (Jer 3:20-23) This "forgetting" wasn't amnesia, but rather Jewish people who had no longer considered what God had done in their lives and in some cases had even set up idols and given them the credit for the Lord's work (Rom 1:21-23, 25). They had forgotten about the influence that God had in their lives and had tried to replace it. So even with the reminders that they already had, the Israelites had still forgotten about the Lord on a regular basis, if anything, they needed more reminders around them so that they could look to God.I think that we are all in danger of forgetting God. We don't forget who he is, but rather we just "forget to remember" as Kevin MacCalister says in Home Alone 2. We "forget to remember" that God is the one who accomplished all of our victories and that we live our lives through him and for him, not for us.I think the best way to continue remembering the Lord is to put little reminders all around you, like the Ebenezer stone and there are many ways that you could do this: If you wanted to you could get an actual, literal stone to use as a reminder. I have a stone that I got at a Bible study when I was seven years old. The stone was used in an exercise that we did in our class; we were all given a dirty gemstone and told to write down one of our sins that we struggled with, we then put our stones in some soapy water and washed both the dirt and the "sin" off the rock. Ever since then, I have used this stone as a reminder of who I am and how I have been made clean in Christ, how I am his daughter and how much he treasures me. This stone is probably one of my most precious possessions because it is a reminder of my personal relationship with Christ.You could go with more subtle reminders that you would see every single day as well. In the pavement that is in front of the steps leading to the front door and the back door of my house, you will find two Bible verse addresses; one of them is Hebrews 11:1 and both of them are reminders of how God has directed my family to the house and the state that we are currently living in. Another reminder that we have around is that both of our doors are painted scarlet red to signify the blood of Christ. The only way that you can get into my house (Without being thrown outside like a thief) is through the door, just like the only way into heaven is through Christ. You also could put up verses on your walls as reminders, either by painting them on your walls or by printing them out on sheets of paper and than taping them up (If you need any help finding decorative verses to tape up, I can send you some of the ones that I have made). You can also put up a picture or a memory that takes you to a time where you distinctly remember the presence of the Lord and can remember it again by looking at the picture; the background picture on my cumputer is a crucifix from a cathedral that I went to when I was in Paris. To most people it would seem ordinary, but for me it is a reminder of how I knelt at the foot of that cross for almost an hour praying and pouring my heart out to the Lord. This picture is a reminder to me that I need to be knelling humbly at the foot of the cross; it is there that I can remember Jesus' sacrifice on my behalf and that I can now simply communicate freely with the God of the Universe A third way to make a reminder is to create something that you can wear that would be a constant reminder; for example, a friend of mine named his cross necklace Ebenezer (After the Ebenezer stone) and it is a reminder of both who he is and of God's continued presence in his life, this necklace can be a constant reminder because he is constantly wearing the necklace on his person. There are many other things that you could use as a reminder; even by just looking out a window into God's awesome creation, you can see his mighty hand and remember him. I hope that some of these suggestions were helpful. Remember the Lord, what he has done and will continue to do in you life! "I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds." (Psalm 77:11-12)

Standing Alone

“So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” – Hebrews 13:6

During the music at chapel and powwow (evening outdoor chapel) a lot of the councilors and SALT’s (Assistant councilors) came up and did motions for the songs. Standing up there next to other staff members gave me a sense of joy that is difficult to describe, not only was I worshipping the Lord but I was also helping hundreds of kids at camp worship him too. No matter how crazy the motions got, I was always willing and glad to do those motions with the other staff members. One day during chapel I went up and stood next to the worship leader because the music was about to start. The music started….no staff joined me, the lyrics to the song started….still I was up there, alone. Not being the most confident person in the world I began to worry that I would mess up some of the motions. And what if the rest of the staff knew something that I didn’t? What if I was supposed to sit down? Still I stood up there and did the motions. Fear nagged at me. What if everyone laughed at the motions I was doing? What if I looked pathetic, standing up there all by myself? I considered -more than once, going back to my seat and sitting down. But something stopped me. I prayed several times while I was standing there for God to give me the courage to stand up there alone. Eventually the councilors came back (It turned out that they were having a staff meeting) and stood next to me and we finished the service. When I thought back on this event later I realized that even though I had prayed for the courage to stand alone, I was never really alone in the first place! God was there with me the entire time, encouraging me to stand there, stopping me from giving in to my doubts and fears and keeping me strong and joyful until the others got back. Whether your time of loneliness lasts for only a short while or if you have been struggling with these feelings for a long time, you never have to feel like you’re standing alone. Pray to God constantly for help and encouragement and try to remember Hebrews 13:6. In closing I would like to share the ending of the beautiful poem “Footprints in the Sand”

“I don't understand why in times when I needed you most, you should leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. “When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Yet I Will Rejoice!

Recently, I was flipping through my Bible when I found this passage in Habakkuk: "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." (Hab 3:17-18) Habakkuk was still rejoicing in the Lord even when things weren't going his way! I thought this was really interesting and it encouraged me to take a more positive look at my own life. I think that Joy and thanksgiving come from knowing that God has everything under control and that he will take care of us in spite of our current circumstances. Paul went through a great deal of suffering and persecution for serving Christ and yet he wrote Philippians "The Joy Book" of the Bible from prison! He trusted that God had a purpose for what was going on and he just believed he had a plan. I think there are times in our lives when everything just seems to be going wrong, when we begin to wonder if we can even celebrate thanksgiving because of all the hard things that are happening. I don't believe that these things should affect our joy or our thanksgiving. I am not trying to dismiss what might be happening in your life but what I am saying is that this is all temporary and while it may make us happy for everything to be going well, joy is way more permanent and can turn our grieving into dancing and our darkest night into our brightest morning. Joy comes from knowing that you are cherished by the God of the universe, that he hasn't forgotten you but is instead sending some trials your way in order to refine you and develop you. God will never leave or forsake us so here is my version of what Habakkuk said: Though my Dad's job is in jeopardy and I worry about my future,though the fridge leaks and the floor is starting to sag, though my room is a mess and my schoolwork takes forever, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior! As thanksgiving comes up, it is important to remember that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something to be thankful about; do you have an awesome family? A great job? A home? Clothes? A personal savior who gave his life to cleanse you from your sins? Are you breathing right now? I'm willing to bet that at least a few of these thing apply to you, so to be blue, be joyful and thank God for what he has done for you!

Starting Anew

This blog is something that I have actually been interested in doing for a long time. I had even started and named this blog more than a year ago. But then, like some other ideas I have had in the past; I forgot about it, I even forgot that I had started a blog in the first place! Recently I have been reawakening old ideas and starting them anew in a dedicated manner. God can use this blog for his glory, so, what I need to do is to write this blog as if I were writing it for Him.

"What is the point of this blog anyway?" you may ask. I have noticed that many of the Bible verses that I read can connect directly to a verse that is found elsewhere in the Bible, like a well written novel (The best book ever written in my opinion) there are themes in every verse that tie into the Bible as a whole . This is probably not a new concept but I have really enjoyed finding these connections and pointing them out, this is something that gives added meaning to both verses. My hope is that this will encourage us all to dig into God's word, I don't fancy myself an expert on the Bible; no matter how much of the Bible we read, we will always have more to learn about the amazing God of the universe! I planning is to use this blog to share some of the things that I have found as well as the occasional poem or "Probst tale". I think that this will be a lot of fun and I hope that I can keep this up! :)