March 28, 2019
by Kristen Burkhart

Joshua 4:1-13

We do not have to go far in the Holston Conference located in the Appalachian Mountains to see the beauty of God’s creation. As we look at his creation may we be reminded that he created each of us in his image. Do we forget this? How often do we drive or walk or sit at a ball game and forget to thank him or remember why we should? During this time of Lent we are to be seeking to walk with our Savoir to the cross and to do something which helps strengthen our relationship with him.  
Read Joshua 4:1-13
When I was a teenager every time I would leave the house without my parents my father would say to me, “remember whose you are”. Yes, this sounds like bad English, and it being said in a West Virginia mountain voice makes it even more predominate. In Joshua 4:1-13 the people are crossing the Jordan, they are leaving something they know for something they are not familiar with. These were stones not shaped by man, but shaped by Creator God. These are to remind the people that they do not cross because of their skills or power, but because of God’s love and power. So God instructs the entire nation to set-up twelve stones, one from each tribe. Each stone is to be a sign of faith of the people and God’s faithful covenant to them. Verse six tells us that “when your children ask what do those stones mean?” then you shall tell them what God has done. Or you shall tell them who they are again, and not just who they are but who’s they are.  

After they had place the stones then they crossed over with, as verse thirteen tells us, “forty thousand armed for war”. Lent is a time for change and preparation for what is to come. When folks go hiking sometimes they set up a stack of rocks on the trail called a cairn. Different people do this for various reasons, but they remain a landmark of human presence. Sometimes people pass by them and add more to it, as a way of saying they were there.   

What will you set-up this Lenten season as a way to remember your faith and God’s faithfulness to you in sending his son our savior? How will you “remember whose you are”? Will you cross over into Easter with your own skills, charisma, power and strength? Or by relying totally on God because he is faithful? And how will that action leave a legacy for those that come after you, so that they may see your preparation for battle and in turn seek to prepare themselves remembering God’s faithfulness to Joshua and the twelve tribes of Israel.  

Joshua 4:24 “so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty”  

Let Us Pray: Mighty and Everlasting God, we thank you for the opportunity to once again walk with you on our Lenten journey. As we walk may we be reminded, through the beauty of your creation, “whose we are” as individuals, churches, and a conference. Help us to leave a legacy for our children as we remember once again your covenantal faithfulness with us and remain faithful in all that we do for your glory. Amen.