Memorial Stones: Serve the Lord

The final memorial stone was established during Joshua's final address to Israel. Joshua challenges the people to choose whether they will serve the gods in the lands of around them or whether they will serve the God who brought them out of Egypt. In Joshua 24:25, he finishes with this well known phrase, "...As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The people all enthusiastically agreed with Joshua and he set up a stone near the sanctuary to remind the people of the vow they made to serve the Lord.

We have this verse everywhere in Christian homes. It's a great verse to have on cross-stitch, pillows, blankets, knick knacks, etc. And it is a great reminder that we have chosen to follow the Lord. But the book following Joshua is Judges and it only took one generation for the nation to forget their vow and go serve other gods. One generation. That's scary. As a parent, that is the thing that I pray for my kids most often - that they will remain faithful to the Lord.

How do we serve the Lord? How do we demonstrate that to our children so that it's more than just a pretty saying on the decoration of our homes? The first thing that comes to mind is ministry. Do your children see you involved in church? If not in church, are you involved in Christ-centered ministries outside of the church? Each of us has gifts and talents that are God-given and intended to be used to help the body of Christ. Service isn't a suggestion, it's a requirement. Galatians 5:13 says, "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." 

When you serve, how is your attitude? Are you grumbling and complaining or are you joyful and excited? Believe me, kids pick up on attitude quickly. If you're serving, but you seem miserable, your kids are thinking, "I'm not going to get stuck doing that when I'm grown up." If you are enjoying it, then your children will look forward to the day when they can minister to others too. What I've found is that if I'm miserable in a certain ministry, that's not where God has called me to. When I have joy while serving, that's when I know that I'm doing what God wants me to. So if you're not enjoying your service, maybe that's not where you're meant to be. Maybe you're an eye trying to be a toe. When you're able, step out of that service, and prayerfully find somewhere else to serve. Being where God has placed you makes a world of difference.

Sunday School, church, Christians schools are great, but parents are the number one influence on their children. They have more time with their kids than anyone else. So what do we teach our children when we're at home? What things are more important than anything else? When our children do wrong, do we teach them what is right by using the Bible or do we give them a list of rules? Do they see the same parents on Sunday that they see the rest of the week? Is God only for church or is God visible in the home? Believe me, I'm asking these questions for my own benefit. Serving the Lord doesn't just occur on Sundays. Serving the Lord is a lifestyle. It should permeate everything we do. It should be apparent 24/7/365. It should be seen in a desire to know God more. It should be seen in a prayerful life. It should be seen in a desire for others to know Christ. It should be seen in the way that we love others. It should be seen in true, living obedience to God's Word. 

I want my children to really, truly know God. I want them to follow Him their whole lives long. I want them to pass it on to their own children one day. I don't want them to be that one generation removed from "my house will serve the Lord" to "everyone did what was right in their own eyes". That's scary. One generation.

Memorial Stones: Unity

God is faithful. We are unfaithful. God gives us second chances. We need to obey God's Word. God is gracious (even in our mistakes). We should demonstrate unity.

The sixth set of stones in Joshua was political in nature. The conquest was over. Land had been given on the other side of the Jordan River to a few of the tribes before Israel had entered the Promised Land. It was time for them to return home. As soon as they got over the river, they built an altar of stones. This got the rest of the tribes upset and they came ready to battle. They thought that the altar was a sign that these tribes were already departing from the one true God. The tribes from the other side of the river explained that they had set up those stones as a reminder in generations to come that they are just as much a part of Israel as the other tribes were. They didn't want future generations thinking that they didn't belong to Israel. They wanted a reminder that they were one people, one nation.

I feel like I need to be careful with this set of stones, because this was a political monument, not necessarily a theological one. But I do feel like there can be some (loose) connections.

Within the local church, we need to be one body. At the church I grew up in, after communion we would always circle the auditorium, hold hands, and sing "Blessed Be the Tie That Binds". As we sang and looked around at one another, we were reminded that there were all part of the family of God We might not always agree, or get along, but we were one body. It was always a time for us forget what differences we have and celebrate that Christ died for all of us and through Him we have redemption.

Have you ever visited a church far from your own home church, maybe even in a different country, and felt that same bond? It's incredible! After my senior year in high school, we went on a mission trip to Mexico City. The youth kids there didn't have a lot in common with us, our language barrier made conversation interesting as we stumbled through our poor Spanish and they stumbled through their poor English, yet there was a bond that only existed because we shared the same Father. We had all been saved by the blood of Christ and that was enough. That is the unity we find in the Gospel.

I want to issue a warning though. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is one, and not everyone who teaches in the name of Jesus knows who He is. There are many false teachers, false doctrines, and we need to be able to draw distinct lines between truth and lies. We need to stand firm on the Bible, and not compromise for the sake of unity.

Just like the tribes were one nation, we are one body. But when we talk about unity we need to make sure that we are unifying the body and not trying to unify with the world. There is no accord between Christ and Satan.