Memorial Stones: Joshua 4:1-9, 19-24

Memorials such as we celebrate on Memorial Day have always been important not only to societies but to God. For example, when Israel crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land for the first time, God commanded Joshua to pile up a mound of stones at the place. They were memorial stones of God’s great grace, power, and most of all His faithfulness.

Because of a tendency to forget, we need memorials. Read Deuteronomy 6:12. The stones gathered from the Jordan river were intended to help the Israelites remember, as was the Passover celebration.

The reality is that all of us have short memories and the older we get the shorter they seem to be. Some things probably should be quickly forgotten but some things, especially as they relate to God and His blessings on us, should not be forgotten and should be recalled often. Memorials help us do just that. God centered memorials have a variety of uses in addition to helping us recall blessings and celebrate special events.

Memorials enable us to pass on the importance of certain events to our children. God specifically declared that the memorial He told the Israelites to set up as they crossed the Jordan was intended to teach your children. Read Joshua 4:6-7 and then Joshua 4:21-24. 

Not only were God’s memorials important tools to teach each generation important aspects of their faith, but they were also an important tool to reach others with the message. Read Joshua 2:24. Israel was intended to be a testimony of God’s grace and power to the nations around them. Memorials were designed to help with that. Twice in Joshua we read of the impact of how a testimony to God’s power had on others. In Joshua 2 we have the record of Rahab hiding the Israelite spies. Read Joshua 2:10-11 on how a testimony can impact someone.  That pile of rocks that the people of Israel put up stood out from the rest of the rocks in the area. When someone inquired about them the Israelites were to tell the story of the miraculous crossing of the Jordan river. Anyone hearing that story was bound to declare, “Wow, what a powerful God you worship.” 

One of the primary responsibilities of a believer is to be a living memorial to a lost and dying world. Read what Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16. 

As living memorials, we are to evoke questions from others about our life, which of course means that we are to live it in such a way as to cause those who see us to want what we have. 

While the text in Joshua does not spell out all of the details, common sense makes a couple of things obvious. First, the Israelites gathered large stones from the riverbed. Stacked pebbles don’t evoke either wonder or questions. We are called upon to live so boldly for Jesus that our faith and God’s faithful response to it stands out in a world that desperately needs to see a miracle of transformation.

Second, that pile of stones had to be in a place where others would see it. If no one passed by where it was, no one would ask about its meaning. If a church exists just in a building no one will ask about our Lord. Unless the church leaves the building to live as a testimony or memorial out there in the community, no one will know or care what you believe or what our Lord can do for us.

Third, to be a genuine memorial it must endure for a period of time. I am sure that every Israelite saw that memorial on the day they crossed over into the Promised Land and drew strength from the reminder of God’s power as they prepared to attack Jericho and then conquer the land. But God wanted more than that. Read Joshua 4:7. A genuine testimony is one that has a lasting impact. It is a consistent Christian life that stands out as a memorial to God’s saving and transforming power and causes people to marvel at the difference He has made in a life.

The Bible reminds us of the testimony of those who have gone before us and encourages us to bear a similar, lasting testimony to those who follow after us. Read Hebrews 12:1. A goal for every Christian should be to leave behind a testimony that will be a challenge and inspiration to those who follow.

God, knowing the importance of memorials as reminders of His faithfulness, established some for the church. A significant one is the Communion Service.  At the heart of the Communion service is the phrase, “do this in remembrance of me.” Communion is a memorial service and like all legitimate memorials it not only reminds us of God’s love and provision for redemption, but it stands as a testimony to others. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 11:26, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 

Every time we partake of communion, we broadcast to those who are with us what God did for us and what that provision means to us. In the case of communion, it may be in the building so not necessarily a testimony to the community. But it can also be a teaching time for our children as we explain the meaning of it to them. It can also be a testimony to the community. Every one of us will have someone ask on Monday, “So how was your weekend?” How about, in addition to “I mowed the lawn,” we say, “I was in church on Sunday, and we had communion. That was such a special time for me.”

Want to know what God’s most important memorials are? He has two. The first is His church. Read in I Peter 2:9 how Peter described the church.Note that Peter wrote that the people, not the building, are a holy nation intended to declare God’s praises to the world around us. When we cease to be a positive testimony in the community, we cease to be a church, perhaps remaining as a building but not as a church of Jesus.

Of course, since the church is made up of individuals, each of us is a memorial. Read I Peter 2:5. The Israelites collected stones from the Jordan to set up as a memorial, but Peter declares we are living stones designed to be a memorial to our precious relationship with God. What kind of memorial are we?

On a Memorial Day can you think of anything uglier than someone going to a cemetery where soldiers who gave everything that we might be free are buried and knocking over tombstones and painting disparaging graffiti on them? We would all be outraged. Imagine how God must feel when a Christian, who are supposed to be a memorial to His saving love, tramples on that love or hides it so no one can see it.

On Memorial Day we say thanks to the men and women who gave everything for our freedom and to their families for the loss they suffered. Hopefully, we remember them more often than once a year. In addition, remember every day as Christians we should be a memorial to God’s transforming power. Let us be faithful in that testimony.

Ephesians 4:25-32 Put off so you can Put on!

Paul began this section of Ephesians by writing, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”In the verses surrounding that statement Paul wrote about the changes that ought to be a part of every life that is seeking to live worthy of a life in Jesus. Paul was noting that we have been redeemed so we can have fellowship with God and to enjoy that fellowship we need to reflect His character. That character is, according to Galatians 5:22-23, the Fruit of the Spirit. A life still lived as the Gentiles or non-Christians do, means that the Holy Spirit has failed in His task of transforming us. Failure via an improper lifestyle grieves the Holy Spirit as noted in Ephesians 4:30.

Beginning in verse 25, Paul listed 5 areas of everyday life where we ought to reflect our walk with Jesus. Paul noted areas that we should avoid and then gave the counter part that should be seen in each of us. 

In verse 25 Paul wrote, “put off falsehood” and then noted, “speak truthfully to your neighbor.” In other words, “stop lying and start being a person whose word can be counted on.”

In verses 26-27 Paul wrote, “In your anger do not sin” and went on to note that when we exhibit righteous anger, we must not hold onto that anger long enough for it to “give the devil a foothold.” If you have legitimate cause to be angry, be sure that anger does not fester to the point where it lashes where it should not.

In verses 28 Paul wrote that Christians should “steal no longer,” with the counterpart being, “work, doing something useful with their own hands.” In other words, honestly work so you can earn sufficient income that you do not need to steal to meet your needs.

In verse 29 Paul wrote that “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths” and instead speak “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” In other words, useyour ability to communicate in a way thathelps and encourages others. 

Finally in verses 31-32 Paul wrote, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” Instead of that, Paul’s admonition was to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” The contrast there is obvious.

Paul’s first “Put off so you can put on” is found in verse 25. The word translated “falsehood” would be better understood as “lie.” The stronger command is to “speak” and the word “truthfully” is actually just “truth.” The phrase “speak truth to your neighbor” is a quote from Zechariah 8:16.

We live in a culture that sees little wrong with lying if it is done supposedly for the right reason. Over and over, we hear things like, “Everyone does it.” In thinking about what we call a “little white line” we hear it justified as, “It was the kind thing to do. Americans feel it is legitimate to tell any lie that seemingly allows one to avoid anything that may seem unpleasant. 

While Americans minimize the importance, God does not. Read Revelation 21:8. Why is God so concerned about lying? Keep two truths in mind. First, remember that God is the God of truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” To follow Him is to be truthful. Read Proverbs 6:16-17. 

Second, remember what Jesus said about those who tell lies. Read John 8:44. Satan is a liar and those who habitually lie are following him. Recall that in his first encounter with mankind he lied to Eve, telling her that even if she ate of the forbidden fruit, she would not die as God had said she would. When you tell the truth, you are imitating your Heavenly Father whereas when you lie you are imitating Satan.

When one becomes a Christian, he switches his loyalty from the father of lies to the one who is in every way true and therefore one should always seek to tell the truth. Read Colossians 3:9-10. Lying often seems like the easier way out or even the right thing to do but in the end, it is always wrong. 

Lying, of course, involves far more than simply declaring something that is obviously not true. Lying includes the deliberate decision to not declare that which we know to be true. That is especially true when we are withholding information in a deliberate effort to deceive or mislead someone. Lying includes exaggeration intended to convey an idea that is not true. Lying includes making promises we have no intention of keeping. Often lying and stealing go hand in hand so one lies on a tax form to get more back or lies on an application of a resume to get something he should not have. Lying can come in the form of silence when silence conveys the idea that you approve of something you do not.

What we call white lies are often the most difficult to deal with. We assume that the truth will do more harm than good, so we lie and convince ourselves it is the lesser of two evils. The reasoning seems correct but since when is doing evil, even the lesser evil, acceptable?

Two side issues. Being truthful does not mean you have to tell everything when that everything includes things told in confidence nor does it require you to unload your feeling about someone under the guise of just being truthful. In addition, speaking the truth in the wrong way is not acceptable. Read Ephesians 4:15. 

Read Ephesians 4:26-27.  Again, there are lots of implications to this but let me suggest an area that too many of us seem to fall short in. I know there are Christians who have anger problems and fly off the handle at a neighbor, at the driver in front of them, even at family. We all know that is wrong and I suspect all of us have had to go to someone and apologize for our actions or words we have. On occasions I have had people tell me they have a right to be angry and I would be also if I knew the whole story and what someone once did to them. Good news, you are half right, some things definitely deserve vindication or revenge. The half where one is wrong there is in thinking he has the right to take that revenge upon himself. Read Romans 12:19.  

I would like to point out, however, that while there is an anger that is wrong, anger by itself is not necessarily wrong. In fact, we read examples in Scripture when God became angry. Jesus displayed His anger at the moneychangers in the temple area, at His disciples when they were hindering children from coming to Him and at the Pharisees when they objected to Him healing on the Sabbath.

Anger that is vindictive, undisciplined or stems from bitterness according to verse 31 is wrong and we know that. There are, however, areas where Christians should be angry and are not. Christians should be angry at injustice, unrighteous acts, racism etc. The attitude of live and let live has no place in the attitude of a Christian toward evil. There is a real danger that as Christians, while we do not accept many of the sins of our society as being right, we have not become angry enough about them to stand up and act. It is easier to be silent when an off-color joke is told instead of objecting. It is too easy to ignore racist comments or actions instead of speaking up. Sin of any kind should upset us.

But there is a caveat to even righteous anger. Paul wrote, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Why did Paul write this? Because it is far too easy to let even righteous anger morph into bitterness. Be angry at sin, not the sinner and move on. Speak out against sin but then calm down and act rationally. 

Paul’s challenges are to be honest is our speech and to deal with improper anger while showing legitimate anger at injustice. 

Can others depend upon our word and do they know we hate sin while loving the sinner?

Ephesians 4:17-24

In Ephesians 4:24 Paul wrote, “Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Literally Paul was reminding the Christians in Ephesus that while they lived in a pagan world with standards and practices radically different than those of a Christian, they must maintain their Christian lifestyle. I’ve heard stories of Christians who declare they have never been challenged in their faith by those they go to school with or work with because they never let on they are a Christian. Too often Christians have one testimony on Sunday and another during the week. It is generally not a case of denying one’s faith but of letting the sinful lifestyle of the world dictate how we live instead of seeking to live as God has directed.

Paul introduced this half of Ephesians, according to 4:1, with, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” In verses 17-24 Paul elaborated on that concept, presenting another description of what it means to live worthy of their life in Jesus.

Paul understood the pressures the Christians in Ephesus were under, so he encouraged them to put on or literally wear their faith in a way that it stood out in a way that pleased God and offered a testimony to the world around them. Read Ephesians 4:17.

Not only was Paul insisting they live out what that new relationship with God meant, but he implied that the command to be different comes from God Himself. That being the case, it is essential that we listen to and heed his challenge.

By way of explanation, when Paul used the term “Gentiles” in “you must no longer live as the Gentiles do” he was using a term that the early church used that today we would use “non-Christian” in place of. In the early church the term was used to depict those who were not a part of the family of God via faith in Jesus. Paul was saying, “I insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the non-Christian world does.” 

How did/does the Gentile/non-Christian world live? In verses 17-19 Paul described the sinful factors that controlled their behavior. Paul described the unsaved mind as being controlled by our sinful nature and therefore, controlled by “futility of their thinking,” “darkened understanding,” having “hardened hearts,” and “having lost all sensitivity.” Read Ephesians 4:19. It is not a pretty picture of non-Christian thinking and acting but it is God’s picture of those outside of His saving and transforming faith. 

Here in Ephesians Paul described the life of everyone who has not experienced a personal relationship with Jesus. What is interesting is that in Romans 1 Paul presented the same detailed description of one outside of Jesus and there he expanded on it. Romans 1:18 describes the non-Christian as those, “who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” In Ephesians 4:18 Paul described them as those who “are darkened in their understanding.”  Romans 1:21 describes non-Christians as those whose, “thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” In Ephesians 4:17 Paul wrote of their, “futility of their thinking.” Because of the refusal to acknowledge God and allow Him to transform them, Paul wrote in Romans 1:24, 26 and 28, “God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.” That compares to Ephesians 4: 18 where Paul wrote that they are, “separated from the life of God.” Then in Romans 1:24 and 26 Paul wrote that because of their refusal to acknowledge God “God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts.” Here in Ephesians 4:19 Paul wrote, “They have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”

Paul was not suggesting that every non-Christian lives a lifestyle that can be compared to that of a Hitler or mass murderer, but he was saying that unregenerated individuals all have the same components that are not only present but to one degree or another control the individual. 

If you get the daily news, you constantly get reports of crimes that cause us to ask what can be done. Society is out of control. Some suggest the answer lies in more legislation or stronger gun laws. Others in better education or all we need is training in diversity. God’s answer to our sin driven society is Jesus who alone can transform the inner being so sin no longer controls them. God’s Word presents two options and only two. We can live like the Gentiles, that is those who are ultimately controlled by their sinful nature or we can invite Jesus to be our Savior and begin the process of transformation that will find its completeness in a heaven where there is no sin or temptation to sin.

Paul’s description of the mind and motivation of non-Christians not only explains why sin is so rampant, but it explains why Christians cannot convince non-Christians of the wrongness of many of their actions. Their depraved minds, controlled by Satan, cannot think otherwise. That is why Christians cannot explain to non-Christians that God has a standard for both morality and marriage and any other practice is sin. Man’s sinful minds simply cannot compute that. Non-Christians don’t hear us because Satan has closed their minds and blinded their hearts to what God has to say. The only way to change the behavior of a society that ignores God is to present Jesus to them as a Savior who not only forgives sin but transforms them into the likeness of Jesus.

Paul’s purpose in writing this to both the Romans and Ephesians was to remind us of what their lives were like before being transformed via faith in Jesus. Paul went on to contrast that to what they should be now in Jesus. Read Ephesians 4:20-21.  

Here is where it gets personal for Christians. Paul wrote that the lifestyle of a Christian is to be different from that of a non-Christian. Paul noted that the standard for a believer is that which Jesus both taught and modeled. Read Ephesians 4:22-23. Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus, and through them us, that God has a different standard that we are to follow.

The question that raises is, “Why, if we have been transformed through our salvation, do we struggle with living the old life to the degree that Paul tells us we have to work at putting off that old nature?” The answer to that is clear. The moment we accepted Jesus as Savior we were forgiven of our sins and promised the blessing of spending eternity with God in His home in new and glorified bodies. The reality is, however, that we do not yet have those bodies or the full transformation that will one day be ours. We still live in bodies that retain some of that old sinful nature. Depending on the degree we have grown in our walk with Jesus that old nature may still influence a major part of our decision-making process. 

You and I are a strange mixture of what we were and what we will be. Initially after our acceptance of Jesus the influence of the old nature is strong. The goal is to grow in our walk with God as we spend time in the Word, spend time in prayer and spend time in fellowship with Jesus which includes worship. Regardless, however, of how much we grow, there will not be a time this side of getting our new bodies that we will not have to be on guard against the tendency to slip back into the old live. When we do that, we will find ourselves accepting the philosophy of a sinful world or feeling the need or desire to act like we did before we made Jesus our Savior.

The challenge is to evaluate our thinking, our attitude, and our behavior by the new standard of being a child of God. It’s a personal challenge because Satan is going to attack us from different directions depending on our strengths and weaknesses. Because he will attack, we are challenged to, as Paul put it, “put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds.”  That is a challenge God wants us to take seriously because in seeking to live as He wants us to, we find blessing and joy.