Devotions >> Bible Study >> February 2009 Bible Study
Remembering Our Heritage
By Melinda Holder, Teacher, Varnell Elementary in Dalton, GA.
Melinda is married to Steve Holder and teaches English as a second language.
Key Verse: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
There are experiences in our life that we will always remember, and others that we pray to forget! The Bible encourages us to never forget the many blessings of God. We are instructed to remember His faithfulness. God told Joshua to have one man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel go get a stone out of the Jordan River as the priests stood in the middle holding the Ark of the Covenant. He had worked a miracle and divided the Jordan so that the Israelites could cross over on dry land. The stones were to build a memorial so that when future generations asked about it, they would share the wonderful story and explain that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that they would fear the Lord their God forever.
It is important that we remember the spiritual landmarks in our lives. The devil attacks by trying to convince us that the Lord does not care about our needs and is not able to help us. We need to take him to the spiritual memorials where the Lord saved us, healed us, provided for all our needs, and saved our lives from destruction! The old song expressed it well by stating, “I can take you to the place where the Lord saved me by His wonderful grace!”
Another spiritual landmark for me is when God healed me completely after a serious car accident in 1976. Steve, my husband, was working as the Minister of Youth at the North Cleveland Church of God (Cleveland, TN), and I was teaching at an elementary school in Dalton, GA. On my way to work one morning, a man went into a diabetic coma and crashed into my car. Both the man and I were rushed to the Cleveland hospital and then taken to a Chattanooga facility because of the seriousness of our injuries. The doctor told Steve that he did not expect me to live, and if I did, I would be paralyzed and blind.
Our family and friends began to pray. They believed that by His stripes we are healed! After an extensive test, the physician returned to Steve and told him that he did not know what had happened. I would not be paralyzed or blind, and most importantly, I would live. The only thing of concern was my femur bone—which was shattered in over one hundred pieces. He explained how he would perform surgery the next day, and that I would not be able to walk for two to five years, and then I would have a noticeable limp.
The day of surgery, Steve asked him to x-ray the leg one more time. A miracle had occurred! The pieces of bone were coming together! God healed the bone completely without surgery, and there is no limp! The doctor told us that God had done the work, but we were going to have to pay him for it! We will always remember the work of the Great Physician and give Him the glory and praise!
A few years ago, my ninety-three-year-old uncle suffered a heart attack and was not expected to live. While the family was standing by his bed, he began to speak in the most beautiful heavenly language. The family was so thankful that as this precious saint of God faced death, he could feel the comfort of the Holy Spirit. A nurse came in and said that she did not realize that the patient spoke German. The family said that he didn’t. She said that she was German, and that my uncle was telling her the plan of salvation in perfect German! Praises began that a modern-day Pentecost was occurring!
Six other nurses came in to see what was happening. Each nurse was from a different country and was amazed that the patient was speaking in a language he had not studied. The Holy Spirit continued to speak and told about the love of Jesus in six other languages, each that could be clearly understood by one of the nurses! My uncle opened his eyes and said that his time was very short, but that the coming of Jesus was very near and for us to keep our priorities straight. He then looked up and said that he wished we could see what he was seeing. There were saints from all the ages praising the King of kings and the Lord of lords! He began to call out names of those he could see in heaven and said that he could see my father running to meet him! Praise God that the sufferings we are going through will be worth it all when we see Jesus! Never let a day go by that you don’t say, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Stay ready! Pray as you have never prayed for the lost! Go back often to the spiritual landmarks of your life, and remember His faithfulness!
M writing this month is taking me down memory lane to remember the faithfulness of God! Always remember where He brought you from and where you are today! Remember the works of His hands and how He has given the victory and peace over all the trials we face!
Remembering Our HeritageBy Melinda Holder, Teacher, Varnell Elementary in Dalton, GA.
Melinda is married to Steve Holder and teaches English as a second language.
Key Verse: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
There are experiences in our life that we will always remember, and others that we pray to forget! The Bible encourages us to never forget the many blessings of God. We are instructed to remember His faithfulness. God told Joshua to have one man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel go get a stone out of the Jordan River as the priests stood in the middle holding the Ark of the Covenant. He had worked a miracle and divided the Jordan so that the Israelites could cross over on dry land. The stones were to build a memorial so that when future generations asked about it, they would share the wonderful story and explain that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that they would fear the Lord their God forever.
It is important that we remember the spiritual landmarks in our lives. The devil attacks by trying to convince us that the Lord does not care about our needs and is not able to help us. We need to take him to the spiritual memorials where the Lord saved us, healed us, provided for all our needs, and saved our lives from destruction! The old song expressed it well by stating, “I can take you to the place where the Lord saved me by His wonderful grace!”
Another spiritual landmark for me is when God healed me completely after a serious car accident in 1976. Steve, my husband, was working as the Minister of Youth at the North Cleveland Church of God (Cleveland, TN), and I was teaching at an elementary school in Dalton, GA. On my way to work one morning, a man went into a diabetic coma and crashed into my car. Both the man and I were rushed to the Cleveland hospital and then taken to a Chattanooga facility because of the seriousness of our injuries. The doctor told Steve that he did not expect me to live, and if I did, I would be paralyzed and blind.
Our family and friends began to pray. They believed that by His stripes we are healed! After an extensive test, the physician returned to Steve and told him that he did not know what had happened. I would not be paralyzed or blind, and most importantly, I would live. The only thing of concern was my femur bone—which was shattered in over one hundred pieces. He explained how he would perform surgery the next day, and that I would not be able to walk for two to five years, and then I would have a noticeable limp.
The day of surgery, Steve asked him to x-ray the leg one more time. A miracle had occurred! The pieces of bone were coming together! God healed the bone completely without surgery, and there is no limp! The doctor told us that God had done the work, but we were going to have to pay him for it! We will always remember the work of the Great Physician and give Him the glory and praise!
A few years ago, my ninety-three-year-old uncle suffered a heart attack and was not expected to live. While the family was standing by his bed, he began to speak in the most beautiful heavenly language. The family was so thankful that as this precious saint of God faced death, he could feel the comfort of the Holy Spirit. A nurse came in and said that she did not realize that the patient spoke German. The family said that he didn’t. She said that she was German, and that my uncle was telling her the plan of salvation in perfect German! Praises began that a modern-day Pentecost was occurring!
Six other nurses came in to see what was happening. Each nurse was from a different country and was amazed that the patient was speaking in a language he had not studied. The Holy Spirit continued to speak and told about the love of Jesus in six other languages, each that could be clearly understood by one of the nurses! My uncle opened his eyes and said that his time was very short, but that the coming of Jesus was very near and for us to keep our priorities straight. He then looked up and said that he wished we could see what he was seeing. There were saints from all the ages praising the King of kings and the Lord of lords! He began to call out names of those he could see in heaven and said that he could see my father running to meet him! Praise God that the sufferings we are going through will be worth it all when we see Jesus! Never let a day go by that you don’t say, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Stay ready! Pray as you have never prayed for the lost! Go back often to the spiritual landmarks of your life, and remember His faithfulness!
M writing this month is taking me down memory lane to remember the faithfulness of God! Always remember where He brought you from and where you are today! Remember the works of His hands and how He has given the victory and peace over all the trials we face!
