Good Morning, Everyone! It is such a beautiful Spring morning here in Central Indiana! What a great day to be alive and living for Jesus! This weekend is set aside as Memorial Weekend which is leading up to Memorial Day on the last Monday in May. Most of you probably know that Memorial Day was first called Decoration Day, in honor of all those who had been killed in battle. It originated in the United States during the Civil War and was first nationally observed in 1868. The US has celebrated Memorial Day as a federal holiday since 1971. Most people use this time for celebrations but some people continue to show honor to our fallen men and women, who proudly served this great Nation, by decorating their graves. I hope this is something that isn’t ever taken out of our History books because our veterans are very much worth remembering!

Now I must share with you about the “Memorial Stones” which is found in Joshua 4. I will let you read it for yourself!

Joshua 4 New King James Version

The Memorial Stones

4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: ² “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, ³ and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; ⁵ and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, ⁶ that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

⁸ And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

¹⁰ So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. ¹¹ Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. ¹² And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. ¹³ About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. ¹⁴ On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.

¹⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ¹⁶ “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁷ Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁸ And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.

¹⁹ Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. ²⁰ And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. ²¹ Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; ²³ for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, ²⁴ that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

Pretty powerful reading, isn’t it? Do you know our God hasn’t changed? His power is still worth remembering and sharing with others! If He woke you up this morning then He is worth praising! If you are able to read this then He is worth exalting! He doesn’t have to do something that others think is spectacular. All He has to do is give you your next breath and that should be enough for you to want to “memorialize” Him! Surely, He has done something for you that is worth telling someone else about. He has been so good to me and spared my life so many times! He has shown His faithfulness to us over and over again! I’d be a fool to forget Him and everything He has done! He Is my life and I don’t mind telling you because Who He Is to me He can be to you, too! Do you remember the old hymn Trust and Obey? The song speaks so much truth! To be Happy in Jesus or truly Happy in life, period, the only way is to Trust and Obey The King of all kings and The Lord of all lords, Jesus Christ. Today would be a wonderful day to “set up some Memorial Stones” in your life and for others to see and ask what they mean! Remember this, too, “If we meet and you forget me, you have lost nothing, but if you meet Jesus and forget Him then you have lost everything!

Have a blest rest of your weekend!