Joshua 4
Bible Passage: Joshua 4
The Israelites had just crossed River Jordan, the second parting of waters that God performed for them. This time, God instructed Joshua to command 12 men to take 12 stones from the midst of Jordan, stones that must be quite big that they need to carry on their shoulders.
How do you think the stones were placed at Gilgal? Where they piled up? Lined up? Or placed in a circle? I wonder…
Since none of the images on google would correctly show what would have been the stones arrangement since it is not recorded in the Bible, I decided to post the above picture, which I found to be very adorable 3rd grade project found online for the study of the same event.
God did not want to let the event just pass by without keeping a memory of it. God knows man is forgetful… God also used these stones to remind the Israelites of the earlier parting of the Red Sea and He wants the Israelites to tell their children about these events when they see the stones and ask about them.
Do we try to keep memorial of the things pertaining our spiritual life?
Do we remember when we were convinced that there is a God and He is very much a part of our lives?
For those who are 2nd or 3rd generation believers, do you remember when the faith of our parents became your own?
Do we remember the day we received the Holy Spirit as well as our birthdays?
Do we remember the blessings God had bestowed upon us?
Human beings are really forgetful beings. Hence it is really important that we try to keep memories of precious things that happened in our lives.
Few months back, some teenagers in church experienced God in their lives and some received the Holy Spirit. I kept on telling them to record down their experience. I did not record down my own experience in the past, thinking I will never forget about it. However when I actually try to write my own testimony, I find it hard to fill in the details. And this is a regret indeed. Personal testimony is the most powerful testimony we can bear to those around us.
And other than remembering for ourselves, what do we plan to tell our children about our faith so that they might inherit the faith too?
I know of a person that keeps record of his experiences of God, and hence he has many testimonies he is ever ready to share with others. When we count our blessings, we will be amazed how close God is to us. He takes care of our lives from suffering damage and He takes care of even little details that sometimes we do not think will be significant for Him our Great God to notice or bother.
And if we do remember the grace of God upon us, let it be our motivation to serve God and lead our lives worthy to be children of God, being abundantly filled with His grace to fulfill His salvation plan above all else in our pursuits. After all, our lives would be a dead end without God, just as the Israelites were before the Red Sea and the River Jordan before God opened up the way for them, is it not?
