Week Four, 2026
“For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God” (Joshua 4:23–24).
Christians are a people with a story, and the Christian experience is to take your part in that story. It tells us who God is and who we are. We should stick with God’s agenda and live as faithful participants in His grand drama. The Book of Joshua comes on the heels of the great exodus from Egypt, following a forty-year journey in the wilderness.
As Joshua led the thousands into the Promised Land, he wanted to leave a sign for those yet to come. He gave specific instructions to gather twelve stones and build a memorial. It would serve as a reminder for the generations to follow of what the Lord did to set them in a new, free land.
Twelve men hoisted heavy stones to their shoulders from the riverbed and then piled them together in the Promised Land, by God’s command. They were stacked there as a sign—an unmistakable marker at the very place where God had demonstrated His power to overcome any obstacle to His will.
God dried up the waters of the Jordan until all had crossed over, just as He did to the Red Sea. This is what happens when the impossible meets the promises of God. This is the outcome when the implausible comes up against the glorious riches of God in Christ Jesus.
This history teaches us three points:
1. It’s all about God.
Seeing that rock pile and hearing the story, the people of Israel would know clearly that they had not crossed the Jordan on their own. Those stones cried out: “God did this! By His hand we have crossed this river. By His power and faithfulness, we have accomplished this!”
2. We have a missionary purpose.
Joshua told Israel that the stones would serve as a reminder “that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God” (v. 24). Let no one be confused: We have no mission here but the Great Commission. These buildings aren’t memorials to us, but to Him! We exist to know God and make Him known. Our buildings exist not to make us comfortable or proud, but for God’s glory and the Gospel’s advance.
3. We must change if we want to go with God.
The stones out of the Jordan marked the movements of God among His people. They testified to the willingness of a people to leave what they had known in order to go with God—to face challenges to their faith, to step into the water, and to believe in what they could not see.
We cannot yet see how God will do it, but we believe He is faithful. It’s time to venture with God into His future for us.
Look to this memorial in the days ahead and hear the message it preaches: This is all about God and His glory; it is about the missionary purpose for which we exist; and it is about the challenge to change so that God can manifest His glory more fully through us.
What is your mission, and how committed are you to it?
Sometimes True Stories
Scientists studied how magnesium intake affects heart disease survival. The study looked at 4,365 people in the Netherlands, ages 60 to 80, who had suffered a heart attack in the last ten years. Researchers measured magnesium intake using food questionnaires.
They found that only 28 percent of men and 33 percent of women got enough magnesium. However, those with higher intake had a 28 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease.
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Pantone, the company that calls itself the “global authority for color,” has announced that Cloud Dancer is its “Color of the Year” for 2026. I would just call it “white,” but I’m no color expert. However, I was interested in the reason for the choice. According to Time, “This year’s pick is meant to represent serenity and tranquility, which Pantone says is ever in need ‘in a frenetic society.'” —Jim Denison
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A heart burdened with sin is heavy. Jesus came to lift our burdens, set people free, and open the prison doors of sin. Often, these are the doors of our own hearts and minds. That freedom is just a prayer away if we humble ourselves and ask Jesus Christ for forgiveness. Our minds cannot be both grateful and anxious at the same time. Only Jesus offers forgiveness and peace so the heart can sing.
Quotes You Can Use
Make someone happy. Then you’ll be happy too.
My heartfelt prayer is that every single person in my family finds the Lord before their time on this earth comes to an end, because nothing else matters more.
You cannot live an ungodly life and expect godly results.
Jesus represents the most overlooked, unwrapped gift of all time. —Dwight Short
Every Christian has a choice between being humble and being humbled! —Charles Spurgeon
Tonight, be not anxious. Just trust and rest in the Lord. He will take care of everything that burdens you. Leave it in His hands. It is going to be ok.
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
If we are true to ourselves, we cannot be false to anyone. —Shakespeare
God uses such seemingly insignificant ways to prepare us for the plan He has for our lives. —Corrie ten Boom
You can’t preach equality while demanding special treatment.
Some people don’t see how much you do for them. They only see what you don’t do. You will never satisfy an ungrateful person.
Children who aren’t taught accountability for their actions grow up to become adults who think nothing they do is wrong.
A potter can only mold the clay that lies completely in his hand. It requires complete surrender. —Corrie ten Boom
The people who criticize your life are usually the same people who don’t know the price you paid to get where you are now.
Your circumstances do not determine your joy.
It takes two years to learn how to speak, and sixty to learn to keep quiet. —Ernest Hemingway
Hell will be filled with people who don’t drink or cuss and may have been baptized. Why? Because not one of those things makes someone a Christian.
It will be a sad day for the church and the world when there is no distinction between the children of God and those of this world. —Charles Spurgeon
The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.
—Theodore Roosevelt
The funny thing about growing older is that your eyesight gets weaker, but your ability to see through people gets better.
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