18
Sep '17

A Stone of Remembrance

Posted on 09/18/2017 in Devotions, Soul Care | Tags: ,

18
Sep '17

Everyone experiences moments in life that are big.

Birthdays like… 13 (finally a teenager!) 16 (now I can drive!) 18 (I’m an adult!)
Graduations & new jobs
Wedding day & new homes
The birth of your first child & raising a family
All those same milestones with your children and grandchildren
Your own life transitions and eventually, retirement

It seems that our church is in the middle of one of these types of moments right now as we’re working through the purchase of a new campus for our grade school.

 
 
What about moments that mark other big personal life changes?
Reaching a major life goal
Paying off your house
Getting a promotion
Discovering a new thing about yourself
Experiencing deep personal healing
Restoring a lost relationship
 

It seems that the biggest life moments tend to center around the deeper and more personal things. They shape our lives and create the deepest memories.

 
Sometimes they can be harder to talk about, and sometimes we can’t wait to stand on a roof and crow. They are the moments that tend to mark the change from what was to what has become. The last thing we want to do is go back to the old life of what was.
 

In Joshua 3 & 4, we find the story of Israel crossing the Jordan River on their way into the Promised Land. This moment marked the end of two eras in Israel’s painful history: 400 years of slavery in Egypt and 40 years of desert wandering. This particular generation of people was well acquainted with the on-going pains of desert life; food and water were a constant concern, safety from dangerous neighbors plagued them and a continual sensation of not belonging anywhere reminded them they still had not found home.

God told them to cross the Jordan River with the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant. Joshua describes the waters immediately receding as far north as the city of Adam (15 miles upriver), as well as all the tributary streams down river toward the Salt Sea (Dead Sea). By the way, the river was already at flood stage as always at this time of year.

While crossing, Joshua picked up 12 stones from the middle of the river and built an altar of thanks to the Lord in the exact place the priests were standing, while all Israel crossed in front of them on dry ground. He also ordered the leaders of Israel to pick up 12 more stones in order to build another altar of thanks after they finished crossing. That altar was built near the city of Gilgal.
 
Joshua named this altar a “Stone of Remembrance” to remind Israel that what was will never be again, and what has become
is now their new freedom.
 
The “Stone of Remembrance” was a permanent symbol of God’s faithfulness.
It visually showed that…
God provided through their painful hardships
God declared they had come to their place of promise and freedom
God provided a reminder that freedom deserves reverence
God provided a visible barrier to never return to the way things were.
 

Mark your big moments with a “Stone of Remembrance.”
Raise it so it’s plainly visible in your life and home. Keep it as a reminder that by God’s grace, You will never return to the way things were.

 
Author: Jon Marx, Lead Pastor at Faith Assembly
 
 

 

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