A STONE OF WITNESS
Suggested Reading: Genesis 31
Mount Hermon is at the north of Israel and is the highest point in the land. A peak in this area rises to 2,236 m (7,336 ft). Psalm 133:3
{To view the location of today’s photo on Google Maps, click here.}
Key Verses: Genesis 31:3, 44-45
Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”…”Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and Me.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.
Jacob heard from God and from his father-in-law Laban. Back in Genesis 28:18 Jacob set up a stone as a pillar of witness to God’s restating of the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac. God reaffirms the same with Jacob. Now Jacob does the same as a witness to his covenant with his father-in-law, Laban. These stone pillars would be permanent reminders of the life-changing commitments made to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and now, Jacob; also to Jacob’s family. Be assured that the twelve sons of Jacob and his daughters were listening to the story of Jacob’s encounter with God and now watching as their Dad and Grandpa Laban made their commitments to each other. Here’s a lesson: pass on to your family “stones of witness,” e.g. your testimony for Christ in your will, special mementos, etc.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Dear Lord, help me to be creative in the reminders for my family of those times I have encountered You, as well as my committments to others. Cause these items and/or documents to bless my children, their children and beyond. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I carefully chose a great and beautiful “Stone of Witness” from a quarry near our Severn Bridge, Ontario, Circle Square Ranch, transported it to the Crossroads Centre in Burlington, Ontario, and erected it in front of the main entrance. Along the stone’s foundation a Bible verse is written, “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV). The cost of doing this was paid for by Leno Mori of Niagara-on-the-Lake in memory of his wife who had recently passed into Heaven. It is a powerful witness to the Mori family and to all of us. Norma-Jean and I are still working on the “witness” we want to pass on to our family. It won’t be a great stone, but we believe it will serve to remind generations to come of God’s faithfulness.
Yours sincerely for blessing our families,
David
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I agree David, memorials are very important. Memorials mark events, places and time … but more than this, memorials also mark the sacred. I think of the greatest memorial of them all instituted by our Lord Jesus on the night before his death. Based on the much earlier event of “Passover”, Christ shared this special meal in remembrance of an event where God saved the Hebrew nation as they cried out to Him and were freed from their bondage and enslavement. Christ gave a newness of meaning to this meal as a new sign which would point towards Himself and which He deemed should be celebrated as a perpetual memorial in remembrance of Him. God came to ‘save’ the Hebrews from their bondage, Christ came to ‘save’ us from our bondage of sin. So memorials mark an event, place and time but they also include elements of a sacred memory I believe … if they point towards Jesus. David made a great suggestion … create an event and share a memorial with your family … mark an event when Christ entered into your life and made a great change. Celebrate it as a family and pass it along!
Hi David, What a lovely idea to set up a Family memorial in thanksgiving for our Salvation and the many wonderful things our Lord is constantly doing for us,known and unknown. I’m sure we are saved from all kinds of disasters, just this week l came out of a church parking lot and l honestly didn’t see any cars coming so l pulled out when this big car seemed to come out of nowhere,thankfully he swerved just as we would have crashed into one another. l shook my head and quietly said “Thank you Jesus”, l guess the guy in the other car probably said something else!!!
On my morning walk I was thinking and talking to my Lord about putting together scrapbooks for my grandchildren of things and notes I have kept over the years. I was asking that my grandchildren would see Jesus and learn to love Him more through the beautiful memories He has blessed me with. Then I came in and read your blog for today. I’m going to get right at it.
John chapter 14 declares Jesus preparing our place. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think according to the power working within. We have received gifts, Spirit of Truth, dwelling within and peace that passes all understanding. What a beautiful inheritance is ours as we receive. Thank You, Jesus!
No better monument can be built than of stone and a right heart.
Good morning, David!
Thank you for your faithfulness in providing this interesting devotional by way of your 100 Word blog. Today’s post talked about blessing someone else. Nearly every morning I ask God to make me a blessing to someone and it is amazing how God may use me that day. I don’t always know if I have been a blessing, but recently I was in a checkout line at the grocery store and the lady behind me with her two half-grown children in tow, all total strangers, wondered aloud if she had enough bags with her. I had two extra re-usable ones and gave them to her. She asked if I was sure. I replied that I just wanted to bless her. Eventually it got us talking about church and as it turned out, her family was looking for a local church to attend. They were clearly Christians and I don’t know if they will come to our church, but it was wonderful to connect with her so quickly. All over a couple of grocery bags, and I think that I got the bigger blessing.
By the way, my husband, Norman and I pray for you every day, asking God to keep you strong, as you are battling your disease and thanking God for your faithfulness in serving God.
Blessings on you,
Elizabeth.