Create reminders for our children
Reminders are the method God told us to use to teach our children. In Joshua 4, God commanded his sons to make a heap of twelve stones as a memorial. The stones were specifically stacked to provoke questions from his children!
When tomorrow your children ask their parents, saying: What do these stones mean? (Joshua 4:6, 4:21). The parents’ response is to explain what He has done for them. The lesson is that God cares for his people and provides for us.
And those twelve stones that they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set out in Gilgal. And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: When your children ask their parents tomorrow, saying: What do these stones mean? Then you shall tell your children, saying, Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until you crossed over, as the LORD your God did with the Red Sea, which he dried up before us, until we crossed over, so that all the people of the land may know the hand of the Lord, which is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. (Joshua 4:20-5:1)
In I Samuel 7, the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod. God was merciful to Israel and allowed the Ark to return after punishing the Philistines for taking the Ark. So Samuel took a “stone” and placed it near Mizpah, six miles north of Jerusalem. This large rock became a “war memorial,” a reminder of God’s power in battle.
In Numbers 15, God told the Hebrews to put fringes and ribbons on the edges of their clothes in remembrance of the commandments*. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them to make fringes on the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue ribbon on the borders of the borders: And it shall be your fringe. , so that when you look at it you may remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and do not seek your own heart and your own eyes, after which you used to fornicate (Numbers 15:37-39).
The Hebrews have a tradition of placing a mezuzah on the doorposts of their houses (Deut 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). It is customary, when entering or leaving a Jewish residence, to reverently touch the mezuzah. This bow acknowledges the belief in the “Shema Israel” Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. (Deut 6:4). Various Christians have also adopted this tradition.
I once read about a pastor who displayed a smooth, polished rock on his desk with the inscription “The Foundation Stone.” as a continual reminder of John 8:7, He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone.
Some people wear a mustard seed pendant necklace as a reminder of the words of Jesus. If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain: Move from here to there; and it will be removed; and nothing will be impossible for you (Matthew 17:20). The rainbow is also a warning, to remind us of God’s covenant with Noah.
I have a friend who uses every shirt she wears as a reminder to pray for that family member. I have another friend who uses each day of the week as a reminder to pray for a specific grandchild. The superstition that walking under a ladder brings bad luck actually began as a reminder to remember God, because medieval theologians suggested that a ladder leaning against a wall forms a triangle and is therefore a symbolic reminder of God. Trinity.
Creation reveals God. Jesus used ordinary things that people interact with on a daily basis, such as fish, sheep, fruit, and bread, to illustrate spiritual truths. We need spiritual reminders, and we need to use those reminders to teach our children. We don’t interact with the outside like people did in biblical days, but we can be creative and bring reminders into our home.
Our Vineyard Home Decor
I decorate my house with reminders of Bible lessons. We have the Ten Commandments on our living room wall and a ram’s horn on display. We have a large image of Jerusalem to remind us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We have a special meal and light candles on Friday night, the beginning of the weekly Sabbath, to remember to honor the fourth commandment. Our Vineyard in the Kitchen The Bible is full of rich spiritual illustrations using the vineyard and if we lived in biblical times we would probably be near or pass near the vineyards often. However, since we didn’t go through any vineyards, I did bring some vineyard reminders into my home through decor. Our home is decorated in the rich colors of the vineyard: deep purples, burgundy and greens. Our kitchen and dining room are decorated in a vineyard theme. The decoration is a reminder like the Joshua stones. John 15 records one of Jesus’ last messages to his disciples before his death.
Jesus chose a vine and branches to show us the way to a fruitful life.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he removes; and every branch that bears fruit, he cleanses, so that it bears more fruit. You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Stay in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, if it does not remain in the vine; you can no longer, unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches: He who remains in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; because apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he will be thrown out like a branch and will wither; and they gather them up, and throw them into the fire, and they burn. If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. In this my Father is glorified, in that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.
The vine motif gives me several opportunities to remind my children how the vine’s dependence on the branch is a model of our relationship with Christ. The vine reminds us that we must remain in Jesus to bear good fruit. If we keep his commandments, we will remain in his love. As we remain in Jesus, we see more and more of Him and grow more and more like Him. Our job is simply to remain. To abide is to hold on and remain in loving obedience. We don’t just stay with Him, standing nearby, watching what happens. We are united to Him, grafted onto Him. Our identity and existence are linked to Him.
Israel is also the vine or vineyard of God; see Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-6; Jeremiah 2:21, 12:10; Ezekiel 17:5-6; Hosea 10:1; Joel 1:7; Psalm 80,8-16. The vine symbolizes both the Jewish people and our Messiah and reinforces Jesus’ close identification with Israel (Mt 2:15). The remnant of God, the Hebrews and the grafted branches (Rom. 9:6ff., 11:1-10, 17-24) will obey his commands, will remain united to the true vine and will have the power and strength of the true vine . which results in bearing good fruit (Matt. 7:16-19).
Drying dishes with vine-trimmed dish towels or cooking with vine cookware is our subject for several Bible lessons, such as reaping and sowing or a discussion of how a successful harvest must be preceded by timely planting and continual care ( watering, weeding, etc.). .). Jesus taught using such parables. that show things we value take time and food. There is no quick fix for healthy, lasting relationships in a friendship, marriage, family, or anywhere else. If we neglect them now, we cannot expect positive results later.
I pray that my children will see the reminders and remember that Jesus taught. If a man does not abide in me, he will be thrown out like a branch and wither; and they gather them up, and throw them into the fire, and they burn. I want it to be foremost in their minds that in any living vine, the function of a branch is to bear fruit. But it cannot fulfill its purpose unless it remains in real living connection with the vine. Without applying that precious relationship it remains in Me, it will never complete what it was designed to do. They need to know that those who do not abide in Him will be as empty as a branch torn from the vine with no prospect of bearing fruit. A real illustration of this would be to bring a vine cut from a branch, make it your centerpiece or topic of conversation for a few days as you die.
The vineyard images are also a reminder of the Proverbs 31 woman who saves money and instead of wasting it, buys a field, buys some seeds and plants a vineyard. The Greek word for plum literally means to cleanse. Clearing away excess foliage is pruning, but the context also clearly implies cleansing from sin. The only way to continue to be clean (pruned) and bear fruit is to maintain a vital spiritual connection with Christ the vine.
Reminders are the method God told us to use to teach our children. Each of the biblical festivals listed in Lev 23 tells a story to remind us of God’s mercy and faithfulness.
Include reminders like these in your home decor. Wouldn’t a lamb theme be perfect for a baby or toddler nursery? Think of all the indications in the story of the sheep and the shepherd. Pray that God will reveal things to you to teach his children. A quilt can be a reason to talk about Joseph’s coat of many colors. Baking bread has numerous lessons from the loaves and fishes, to the unleavened bread that symbolizes Christ, or the bread of idleness mentioned in Proverbs. Of course, the greatest reminder of all is an open Bible.