Milestones

A Milestone is defined as:

1. A stone setup beside a road to mark the distance in miles to a particular destination.

2. A significant Event or Stage in the Life, Progress, Development of a person, nation, etc.

If you are like me, it is important to have a sense of moving forward, accomplishing goals, and seeing progress in your life.

Juli and I reached a major Milestone in our lives yesterday...

25 Years in Marriage!!

Wow. I am amazed myself. What a wonderful wife God has blessed me with to walk this life together. She is such a Godly Woman and still takes my breath away. I am excited to experience the next 25 years together!

I really believe  reaching Milestones is a God-given desire He places in each of us. 

Jesus, our model and standard, was Goal-Oriented when He walked this Earth. He came on a Mission and would not be deterred from accomplishing what He was sent to do!

Hebrews 12:2 NKJV
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He is not only the author, (the designer, instigator, architect, creator) of our Faith. He is the one to see us through TO THE FINISH! 

1 Samuel 7 relates a story of Isreal coming out of a season of transition and even doubt, into a moment of great Victory! 

The Arc of the Covenant, that golden box that contained the 10 Commandments, whose lid was called the Mercy Seat, had been stolen by the Philistines. This Arc was the core piece of Israel's worship. God Himself sat upon the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The Blood of the Yearly Atoning Sacrifice was sprinkled on this box, appealing to God's Mercy to cover the sins of Israel for that year.

Now, it was in the Enemy's hands! And not just for a week or two...but for 7 months! Then upon receiving it back, 70 Israelites opened it up to look inside and died! So they put it in storage for the next 20 YEARS!

The people became depressed believing God had abandoned His people. Yet, the truth was, God's People abandoned Him to worship idols. That is why this whole problem came about!

Here is what happened:

1 Samuel 7:3-11 NLT
Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.

5 Then Samuel told them, "Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you." 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel's judge.)

7 When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. 8 "Don't stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!" they begged Samuel. 9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.

10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. 11 The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way.

 

What a Victory from an impossible situation!

Look what Samuel did next:

1 Samuel 7:12 NLT
Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah & Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means "the Stone of Help"), for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!"

Along the Journey of our Spiritual Life it is good to hit Milestones that encourage us to KEEP GOING!

Markers like: 

• Salvation
• Baptism
• Victories over sin
• Moments of Healing & Deliverance 
• Moments of stepping out in Obedience
• Overcoming Obstacles
• Experiencing Break-Throughs as we walk by Faith

All of these Milestones are encouragements that we can look back upon as we face the next challenges life brings.

So don't be discouraged today! Don't give up!

Victory is yours!

Philippians 3:13b-14 NKJV
13b ...Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.