Those stones are meant for the next generation. They point to a place and time when God did something amazing. Share those times!

Ever taken a picture of a beautiful view and your ineptness as a photographer or your cheap camera made the scene look like the empty lot at the end of your cul de sac?

Adequate pictures of the past are vital to passing on history correctly. A picture should and can equal at least a thousand words. In the Old Testament, memorials were equivalent to our modern day pictures. They pointed to history recent or distant… but history new generations needed to see. For instance, when Israel crossed the supernaturally dry Jordan River on dry ground, the succeeding generations would need to see and hear evidence of  God’s power.

So when all the Israelites had safely reached the Promised Land side of the river, Joshua gave the following instructions to twelve men, one from each of Israel’s tribes.  “Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder… We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ⁷ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” Joshua 4 4-7 NLT

 Serious question… are you taking snapshots of events in your past that were orchestrated by God and need to be seen by those following in your footsteps? If you have walked with God for any length of time, He has revealed Himself in faithful demonstrations of his care for you. Will your kids know of those events? How about other family members or even good friends with whom you share community?

Don’t kid yourself into thinking that your past is of no interest to others. If God has given you some divine mercies, or healings or supernatural instructions and you were blessed by those mercies… don’t you think someone could be encouraged by your shared ‘snapshots?’ Failing to chronicle a blessing of God from those around you is a sure way to stifle Holy Spirit’s work in our world.

Tell your stories proudly… they’re not to make you look good – they’re meant to make God look amazing. Your personalized ‘ad’ for Jesus could bring Him into their sphere of awareness and cause them to begin to investigate a personal relationship with Him for themselves.

He’s can be as close to them as the simple ‘memorial’ you share with them. That story can make you “the light of the world” to them. Matthew 5:14