July 3rd is looming

Sunday is looming close on the horizon and I’m coming down from a long cold and a hard week. Needless to say, the sermon isn’t ready yet… but I’ve got the topic and direction, even the title, which is the hardest part as far as I’m concerned.Thanks to a single sentence in a Warren Wiersbe book I was reminded of one of my favorite passages/stories in the Old Testament. In Joshua, the Israelites are in danger of disconnecting from God. Having reached the promised land they were experience great comfort and prosperity, they also were now becoming several generations removed from the horror of Egypt. There was a danger of them stepping away from the God, and the covenant, that was their source of blessing and salvation. So as visual memorial to the hand of God in their midst they begin building stone monuments on the sites where they experienced the move of God’s hand. These landmarks served as a reminder to them of Yahwah’s blessing, but also served as a reminder to the heathen nations that this God was different and more powerful than their gods.As long as these monuments remained, they would never forget their loyalty, the sacrifices made, and the devotion they needed to maintain. Can you see the parallel?? It was like a lightning flash when I saw it!! As Americans we build monuments as landmarks to great people and events of the past. They serve to remind us of national loyalty, patriotic sacrifice, and devotion to country. Who can see the Washington Monument without thinking of freedom… or the Soldiers at Iwo Jima without thinking of suffering and endurance… or the Vietnam Memorial without thinking of loss and sacrifice? We build national monuments to remind us of where we’ve been, to honor those who paid a price, and to push us to greater devotion.Joshua and this Israelites built stone monuments to continually point to a living God who offered spiritual renewal and relationship to an undeserving people. There was spiritual freedom and tremendous national blessing for following the God to whom these monuments were erected.Then, hopefully, I’ll be able to bring the message home and speak to monuments in our own lives…. how landmarks are important on our spiritual journey. We should identify them, celebrate them, and continually remind ourselves, and those around us, of the powerful and significant ways God has blessed us.Make sense? Man, I hope so!