Crosswalk the Devotional - Jan. 18, 2008

January 18, 2008

Stones Do Speak 
by Fred Alberti, Crosswalk.com Manager of Communities

And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."
Joshua 4:20-24

We recently enjoyed some rather unseasonably warm weather. Not one to let such an opportunity get away from me, I asked my wife and family to join me in a walk of the fields surrounding our house.

As we went along we began to observe and identify all the various animal tracks left in the soft ground. First, we came across our resident guinea hen's track, then we saw a dog track, next it was plenty of deer tracks and then a raccoon track.

Each track was a sign that something had been there. The track was a lingering witness to the presence of that animal on our property.

In the scripture focus today we see that God used the Israelites to help him leave a testimony to the power of the Lord.

They had just miraculously crossed the Jordan River on dry ground when God gave instructions to have a representative from each of the twelve tribes pick up a stone from around the priests' feet. These stones would be used to help the people remember what God had done for them. But that wasn't all they were for. They were to be a testimony to all the people of all the earth that the Lord is powerful and that He is to be given reverence.

We sometimes forget that. We forget that God is not just a good ol' buddy who we can pal around with and be flippant with. He is a God that is to be shown respect and reverence.

January is an excellent month to take account and to think of the events over the last year and how God has left prints in the sand of time to indicate His presence in your circumstances.

The Israelites were constantly using stones to be a testimony of a special event in their lives. Maybe that isn't such a bad idea.

Maybe it is time to start picking up some stones… no, not to toss at anyone but to remember what God has done for you.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Collect some stones and clean them off. Next write on them with permanent marker something that God did in your life over the past year. Finally, arrange them in a flower bed or some other area of your yard where you will see them regularly.

Further Reading

Joshua 4
Your Testimony
1 Peter 2:4-12