December 21 - What the Stones Say

Today's Reading:
Joshua 3:1-4:24
Acts 13:42-14:7
Psalm 60:5-12
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Focus Verses: Joshua 4:20-22,24
20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' 22 tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' - - - 24 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."

Insight:
As the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, they took common rocks from the middle of the river and turned them into a memorial witness of their uncommon God. In the future, every time someone saw that pile of twelve stones, it would remind them of the powerful way God showed himself to be their provider.

The same God who had brought them out of Egypt, safely through the Red Sea, and safely through the wilderness, now brought them safely across the Jordan into the Land of Promise. Ordinary stones from the river became milestones of their journey—a memorial of God's faithfulness to them.

Response and Action:Common things can serve as wonderful faith souvenirs that remind me of God's goodness and provision. In communion, common bread and wine become a witness of God's grace and deliverance made possible by Christ's death and resurrection. In baptism, common water becomes a witness of the new life God offers to all who confess Jesus as Lord and Savior.

What is God bringing me through today? What common thing could I pick up today and turn it into a witness and reminder of God's faithfulness to me?

O God, you are worthy of my praise and thanks. You guide and provide for your people as they follow you in faith. Open my eyes to all the common things around me that can serve as reminders of your uncommon power and goodness to me. Give me the creativity and discipline to gather small souvenirs along my life's journey to serve as witnesses of your love and mercy to me. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Luke 22:19
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

Resources:
Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts
by Harold Best