building altars

^"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

building altars stone by stone

^"The LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’” 

Exodus 16:11-12

2  Sometimes we grumble. Ok, maybe often... Especially early on in our life here in CZ. Even now it can happen when there has been a particularly bad day. We get homesick. We miss family, we don't remember why we are here. We feel lost or strange. It is disconcerting and unpleasant. We forget His goodness and faithfulness. Just like the Israelites.

"The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions."

Exodus 16:2-4

Manna from heaven can take many forms. It is simply a reminder that God is faithful, just, loving, aware of our needs. The God of heaven, Creator of the universe, Most High, Almighty God is aware of our needs and cares about them. On those days we were most homesick, dying inside here, wishing to be back in America, kids coming home from school crying, saying they can't endure it one more day...these days we barely made it home. Empty husks...nothing left to give. Grumbling..."Why are we here? Why were we brought to the desert?" we'd cry to Him. Him who hears.

Oh, God, I love you. I love you for hearing our cries from the desert.

Manna takes many forms...ours would often come in the form of a box. A simple box from America, with American things in it. Our manna. His provisions given to us to help fill an emptiness. Heal a wound. Refresh the parched. We gather around the box and we are filled with gratitude, tears spilling in thanks to the God who hears and provides. To the God who knows what helps. Manna is small and simple, but it satisfies the hungry.

Many of you were God's hands in feeding the hungry and filling the empty and healing the hurting with this simple manna. Isn't that amazing??

God is good.