“And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.” Joshua 4:3.

A memorial is typically a structure or object established to remind people of a significant person or event. In Joshua chapter four, as Joshua prepared to enter Jericho, God instructed him to have twelve men take stones from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm in the Jordan River. “And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.” Joshua 4:3.

God performed a miracle by drying up the Jordan River, allowing the people to cross on dry land. The twelve stones served as a memorial to God’s power and deliverance, reminding future generations of His might so that they would honor and revere the one true and living God. “For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.” Joshua 4:23-24.

My friends, God is the Great I AM, and He continues to perform miraculous works in our lives today. We are responsible for raising our children in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. As parents, caregivers, and beloved children of God, we must witness to His power, majesty, and unconditional love, consistently teaching and reminding them through both words and actions of God’s goodness. The Bible instructs us to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6.

It is not enough to simply say how good God is; we must let it shine in the way we live. Children learn by example…what are your children, grandchildren, and other younger individuals seeing and hearing from your walk-in life?

As born-again believers, we are the living stones that proclaim God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ our Lord, letting all the world know that He died and rose again, that whosoever believes in Him may have everlasting life. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:;16-17.

Let us reverence and serve God each day of our lives – a walk and talk that leaves memories etched in the heart of future generations so that they will continue to reverence, praise, worship, and give God the glory for being our Creator, Deliverer, and All Sufficient One!  

God’s blessings, peace, and joy be with you all.