Daily Devotional for Tuesday, September 6

Stones Taken Up

The old man instructed me to turn right, then left. I worried about whether the directions were correct at all since I had to help him find the right exit to get off the interstate. His mind had been slipping lately but he seemed so sure of himself now. In spite of all the new shops and houses, he bore down on our destination without hesitation. “There, that’s where it started,” he said. He pointed to a concrete building which seemed a little out of place beside the sprawl of urban growth around it. Then he began to tell me stories of a time before I was born. 

Some call it discipleship, others call it mentoring, but throughout the Scripture there is a clear model for good spiritual formation where believers pour into other believers from their own life experiences. While John, the apostle made clear that the Holy Spirit within the believer will teach the believer truth, the same Holy Spirit inspired the wise men of old to write intentionally to teach the children. We cannot neglect our obligation to raise up our youth in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Beyond that, we also cannot neglect any of the spiritual children with whom God has blessed us. 

To that end, God will direct you from time to time to set up monuments: memorials designed to jog your memory and to make your children ask questions. Joshua went one step further and not only set up the memorial God commanded at Gilgal but also a personal reminder in the middle of the river. When the children began to ask questions about the stones placed at Gilgal, perhaps Joshua’s mind drifted to the stones in the river as he told them stories of what God had done before they were born.

REFLECTION: What memories of God’s work in your life do you need to share with someone today?

David Thompson