Stones of Remembrance
When my wife Alisha and I were in Israel, we quickly realized we needed a way to remember some of the most important moments of that trip.
As you would expect, at every place of significance, there was a gift shop where you could buy a souvenir to remember that place. And that’s fine, and we did get a few things here and there. But now that we’re home from that trip what I value most aren’t the souvenirs we purchased, but the rocks we picked up along the way.
When we came to the Sea of Galilee and put our feet in those waters, we bent down and picked up a rock to remember this place where Jesus once walked on water in the middle of a storm.
When we came to the Mount of Olives and prayed in the Garden, we bent down and picked up a rock to remember this place where Jesus had once prayed so intensely, “Not my will, but yours be done.”
And when our bus stopped on the side of the highway and our guide led us into a valley in the middle of nowhere only to find out that we were standing in the Valley of Elah where David once fought Goliath, we bent down and picked up a rock to remember that our God can defeat any giant that comes our way.
We need stones of remembrance to remind us that Jesus can walk on water and can rescue us from sinking when we’re in the middle of the storm and we take our eyes off of Him.
We need stones of remembrance to remind us that when we stay up all night on our knees in prayer begging God for help that He sees, He cares, and He knows exactly what we’re going through.
And we need stones of remembrance to remind us that when we’re facing the giants of addiction, financial difficulty, a failing marriage, problems with our kids, difficulties at work, or a pandemic… that our God is bigger than any giant that may come our way and He is a deliverer.
We need stones of remembrance. Too often we forget God’s promises, His goodness, and His faithfulness.
Every Promise is a Yes
The good news for us who believe in Jesus is that in Jesus every promise of God is fulfilled, completed, accomplished, realized, and approved for those who believe.
And I want to show you how I know that is true.
In 2 Corinthians 1.20, Paul writes…
For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
This is a mega statement.
EVERY PROMISE of God is fulfilled, completed, accomplished in and through Jesus and is a YES because of Jesus.
How many promises are found in your scripture? Thousands.
Everyone is fulfilled in Christ.
Everyone is a YES in Christ.
When God Promised…
When God promised Abraham that through his family the nations would be blessed. That promise is a YES because of Jesus.
When God promised David that through his family tree would come a King who would reign forever. That promise is a YES because of Jesus.
When God promised Israel deliverance, when He promised they would be a light to the nations, when He promised that we would never walk alone, when He promised that He is for us, with us, and living inside of us… all those promises are YES and AMEN because of Jesus.
When He promised He would provide for us, sustain us, comfort us, and guide us…
When He promised that He would work all things together for our good and for His glory…
When He promised that nothing could ever separate us from His love…
When He promised that He would never leave us or forsake us…
All those promises are YES and AMEN because of Jesus.
Apart from Jesus, those promises fall short, come up empty, they run out. But because of Jesus every single promise God ever made is a YES.
For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
AMEN
Paul doesn’t just say that all God’s promises are YES, he says they are YES and AMEN…
What you may not know is that the rabbis, the ancient teachers of the Word of God, of the promises of God, they understood the consonants in AMEN to be an acronym for the declaration, “God, Faithful King.”
So every time you said the word AMEN, you were not only agreeing with what had been said, you were not only adding your YES, you were DECLARING that GOD is the FAITHFUL KING!
Here’s the Question…
Are you building your life on the promises of God?
OR…
Are you building your life on another foundation?
Here’s the reason I ask that question… When the storms of life come, whatever they may be, your foundation is revealed.
Andrew and Amber Phillips were at their home in Mississippi on Easter Sunday with their 2 kids. They were watching church online like so many of us were that day, celebrating Easter at home.
Andrew is a volunteer firefighter and he knew there was severe weather in the area, so he started tracking the storm online and by listening to his fire radio. As soon as he realized there was a tornado in the area, he got his family into a safe room, a room in their house that is built out of concrete block and doubles as a closet. Seconds later, the tornado hit their house.
Here’s a picture of what was left after the storm passed.
All that remained was the concrete foundation and the storm room built out of concrete block.
When the storms of life come, whatever they may be, your foundation is revealed.
Storms
Right now, there are storms brewing everywhere. One of the major storm systems sweeping the world is the coronavirus pandemic. But the pandemic of racism has been going on much longer and demands the same if not more attention. We can’t continue to allow the hate, the violence, or even the micro aggressions continue.
Every storm system will spin off tornados in every direction wreaking havoc in a million different ways. They affect all of us in one way or another.
But there’s a sense in which a storm, no matter what it is, is no different than any other storm, because the one thing all storms have in common is that after they’ve done their worst they reveal our foundation.
Building on the Promises
So what are you building your life on right now? Are you building your life on the promises of God?
In this season of uncertainty, in this time of unknowing, when we’ve got more questions than answers, we need something we can rely on. We need truths that have stood the test of time. We need a hope that can’t be altered when bad things happen or difficulties come our way.
And we have those eternal truths. We have this Hope. We have the Promises of God. And every promise of God is a YES because of Jesus today.
If you’re walking through these trying times and you discover that more often than not, you’re forgetting the promises of God… if you’ve found like so many of us have found that it’s difficult to remember the goodness of God in the middle of the storm… if you’re wondering where God is right now as you struggle through this season and your future is uncertain… could I suggest that now might be a good time to set up some stones to remind you that…
God is faithful.
You can trust Him.
He is good.
He is kind.
That God is for you, with you, and His Holy Spirit is living inside of you.
And that every promise of God is YES and AMEN.
Broken Promises
Maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of far too many broken promises. Maybe you’re not sure God can be trusted with your current circumstance. Maybe you’re not convinced that God is working all things together for your good and His glory. Maybe you’re uncertain if God sees you, if He knows what you’re going through, and even if He does, that He cares.
For every question, every doubt, every uncertainty you have, God has an answer. And His answer is Jesus.
God’s Stone of Remembrance for You
Just in case you might forget, in case you ever doubt God’s goodness, God’s kindness, God’s love for you and His faithfulness to you…
God set up a Stone of Remembrance for you. It’s in the shape of a cross.
He erected the cross some 2000 years ago on a hill outside the city of Jerusalem called Calvary as a reminder, should you ever forget, that there’s nothing your God wouldn’t do for you.
At one time, the cross was a reminder of pain and death. To see a cross on the side of the road was a reminder of Roman rule and the punishment awaiting you should you choose to resist their temporary reign.
But now, God has transformed that same cross that once stood as a symbol of death and made it a reminder of LIFE. Now, the cross stands as a reminder of God’s great love for every one of us revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. And His rule and His reign will never end.
The cross is God’s ultimate reminder that every promise of God is a YES because of Jesus.
I can’t help but think what would happen if, in times of uncertainty, when we have more questions than answers, if instead of turning to the latest breaking news, if we turned to the eternal truths of God. If instead of turning to the latest video gone viral, if we turned to the promises of God. If instead of looking at the coming storm, we fixed our eyes on our own Stone of Remembrance, the Ultimate Stone of Remembrance, JESUS.
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