TUESDAY (12/22/20)

I’m Marcie and I’m new to South Bend and Riverside. We moved here from Michigan in early October when my husband Andrew joined the staff at Riverside. Andrew and I have spent the last few months settling into our neighborhood just a few blocks West of downtown, with our five children.

The passage you are going to read today is: Joshua 3-4:9

We often hear about God parting the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross, but it was not the only time God intervened in a water hazard. Today we read about Joshua, following God’s commands to lead the Israelites and the ark of the covenant across the Jordan River. The passage says the Jordan was at flood stage, so imagine the roaring waters, overflowing, an inundation of water, and Joshua leading his people to cross. Common knowledge tells us that even drowsy, slow-moving rivers often hide a dangerous current in its depths, and here we see a visibly dangerous obstacle and the story of how God shows up in a big way!

Then in the middle of the trek, Joshua, with God’s instruction, tells twelve representatives to pick twelve large stones, that they then use as a testament, a sign, of the time the Jordan’s river stopped flowing. A pile of rocks to symbolize a miracle!

Advent is also a time full of signs and testaments of the God’s intervention into seemingly impossible obstacles in our lives. We fill our church and houses with symbols that prompt our children and others to ask, “What do these stones mean?” We spend our weeks, reflecting and preparing to celebrate the Light of the World coming into the world to continue His miracle work.

  • Where have you seen God working in your life recently? What tangible object can you use to remind yourself of that work God is doing?
  • Do you have ornaments on your Christmas tree that commemorate important events in your life? Take time to share about those events with others. How did God show up in those times? How was God faithful?