DATE POSTED Sunday, 2021-08-22
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Joshua 4:20-24
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ²⁰ It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River. ²¹ Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ ²³ For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. ²⁴ He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”

APPLICATION: While on business in Belize at one time, we needed to travel from Belize city to another town, but we learned that the roads were flooded. The work-around was that a flat barge had been put in place to take cars and passengers from one side of a river to the other, where they could continue on an alternate route to the other area of Belize. Fortunately, our taxi was able to drive to a point, drive onto the barge, and there were men that pulled the barge across the river along a tight cable. We were under no real pressure to make our trip, but imagine over a million Israelites arriving at the Red Sea with a strong, mean, large army approaching them from behind. They needed a miracle, and they needed it fast. So God mirculaously stopped the flow of water coming down the river, so His people could walk safely across on dry land. Once the pursuing army started their journey across the dry bed, God released the water so that His people would be free of the battle that was sure to ensue. Again at the Jordan River, Joshua faced the challenge of getting the Israelite across a body of water. While experience was on his side, I’m sure he was on the edge of his seat when he ordered the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to enter the water. However, sure to form, God brought them to this point, and He wasn’t about to let them down, so He immediately created a huge dam with just one word. For the water flow stopped, and the remaining water exited through its normal flow. Leaving a dry river bed. What would have been your immediate reaction after placing your feet on high ground on the other side of the river? You watched with your own eyes as God acted miraculously in order to accommodate your safety. What if your church saw this kind of miracle, what type service would they have next? I’m sure that Joshua considered many of the things you thought of, but I am touched by his desire to see an ongoing memorial of this awesome event. Can you hear one of the Israelites explaining that to their teenager 10 years later? In the following verses (chapter 5) we read where other nations as far always as the coast were shaking in their boots at the thought of this great army of God heading their way. They knew that if God did it before, He could do it again. For us, we should repeat that previous sentence several times each day, for our God is still alive and He could repeat the same powerful miracles for us! Lord knows we need it just as badly as the Israelites needed it! Let me suggest that we look for ways to establish a memorial at the point where God has particularly met us at our point of need, and miraculously blessed us. It would invoke questions by those who travel by that memorial, and it would certainly create conversation for you every time you pass that way with a relative or friend. Oh that the world may know our God, and believe!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God will move mountains to bless us and provide for us. Set yourself up for sharing those blessings with others. It may be the one thing that will draw them to the God who loves us and sent His Son to save us from our sin.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I stand amazed in the presence of my all-powerful, everlasting King. You died for me so that I could be accepted in Heaven one day with the Father. Thank You for reminding me of Your power and Your wisdom in guiding Your people, the Israelites, through 40 years of various obstacles and especially for providing a way for them when there seemed to be nothing but hopelessness ahead. Lord, still today we tend to feel like they did, for we face obstacles much bigger than anything we could accomplish, or have answers for. Oh that we will learn to lean on the history of all that You have done, all that You continue to do in our midst, and the unlimited power that You have to do even more. As we are encouraged today in Your Word, may we now go out and share that encouragement with others who need You. May Your kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!