MY STONE OF REMEMBRANCE

As we continued on our journey, it was a time of memories, a time to reflect on our fifty years of marriage and what God has done in our lives.  Do you have “Stones of Remembrance?”  Those are the places where God has met you on your journey.  I shall tell you of one “Stone of Remembrance that has been precious in our life as we have walked with Him and depended upon Him for help and strength in times of trials.

It could be a place where God answered prayer in a particular way.  It would be a place where God rescued you out of a storm in your life.  It may have been a storm where it was so dark you couldn’t see your way ahead, and God met you there and brought great peace to your soul.  There are many “Stones of Remembrance” we could recall in our walk with the Lord and our journey toward our heavenly home, but this “Stone” is one of “Help.”

We were so young when we started our journey in life together.  And then the children came, and sometimes we did walk through stormy places, but God was always there to meet us.  One of the “Stones of Remembrance” that I recall is when our second daughter was born, and how God answered prayer. 

The delivery was complicated and we nearly lost our precious baby, but there was a pastor friend on his knees in the early morning hours praying for our baby, and we took her home from the hospital in two days.  There were many times when our young family had financial needs, and our God always intervened in marvelous ways.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying “Thus far the LORD has helped us” I Samuel 7:12.

This was the time when Samuel was the Judge in Israel, and Israel had just defeated the Philistines, with God’s help, and Samuel set this stone up to help them remember what God had done.  And we can also set up a “Stone of Ebenezer” and remember how the Lord has fought the battles for us all down through the years.

No matter where we have been in life, or where we are at the present, God is always there and has never left our side.  No matter what the age, down through the generations and years of time, God is and has always been there.  He has always been the help for His people

He is the God of today, the God of whatever experience you are going through right now.  In our fifty years of marriage, He was always there, even when at times we drifted from Him, but His arms were open and ready to receive us as we ran back into His arms.

I am reminded of Moses and the burning bush: And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”  And He said, “Thus shall you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” Exodus 2:14.

And Jesus in the Temple facing the Jews declares in John 8:58: Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”  Jesus was the God of the burning bush! 

 So as we look back over our “Stone of Remembrance” we remember “I AM!”  He was the God of that very hour, God of that very day.  He is the God of yesterday, today and forever, but He is the God of “Right Now!” He is the very “Rock” upon which we build our faith.

 There is a wonderful hymn that has become very dear to me.  And it is the second verse of “Come Thou Fount” which reminds us of this “Stone of Help.”

“Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come; and I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.  Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger interposed His precious blood.”  (Robert Robertson)

So my friends, is He your “Stone of Help?”  If you are wandering from the fold of God right now, He is waiting to receive you into His fold.  He shed His precious blood for you, to bring you into His eternal home.  Call upon Him now, time is so short.  We see the world falling apart all around us, and Jesus is coming soon.  Don’t miss Him, please?  Just bow right now, right where you are and asked Jesus to come into your heart, to wash away your sin, make you a new creation in Him.  And He will bring you joy and peace whatever you may be going through right now.  He wants to be your “Stone of Help.”

Then I would encourage you, my friend, to find a good Bible believing church, and a pastor who can share more with you about the love of Jesus and encourage you in the Word.  And there you will find fellowship with other believers and can grow in Christ.  I pray that many of you out there will be encouraged to seek the Lord for whatever needs you may have, and may God bless you and be your “Ebenezer”, your “Stone of Help.”

 In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon