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)