Preach it brother!

Linda is away during March, Clayton Bjelan brings you today’s devotion…

…that first sermon was terrible

Joshua 3:1-4:24

Reference:  4:21-22  He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ (TNIV Bible)

Explore: I first started preaching when I was 17, and that first sermon was terrible.  No, it really was!  But I got better and was reminded of that when I came across a letter the other day (which was more than ten years old) from a pastor who had invited me to speak at his church.

The letter was an incredible encouragement of the giftings that I had and the communication skills that he could see in me.  He implied that I would be used in great ways by God through preaching.

It was so nice to look back on a letter that was sent to me in my early twenties, and find that it still motivated me a decade later to know that I should do some more preaching (and have confidence in my gifting in it).

Application: The stones that the Israelites set up were even more important than a letter of encouragement.  These stones signified that God had done a miracle!

It was a reminder to the Israelites (and especially their descendants) that God was with them.  It was a reminder that God stopped the flood ravaged Jordan river in its tracks.

It was a reminder to them that sometimes you have to be brave when God calls you to do something, even when it’s scary (just like the priests who were the ones who had to dare to put their feet into a fast moving, flooded river, before it stopped!).

And most importantly of all, it was a reminder to them that, if they trusted God, he could still do incredible and miraculous things through them.

Prayer: Dear Father, may you remind me of your past involvement in my life and use it to remind me to trust you today and in the future.

What is the biggest ‘God moment’ in your life? How can that impact the way you trust Him today?

God, Joshua, moment, preach, sermon, stones, terrible