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In more than three decades of my Christian life, I have been blest by 2 types of Daily devos'
(matter not exceeding 500 words) in universal Christian literature. Not only those Devos'
which have a different theme everyday but also the ones which revolve around a certain
theme over a period of time, say a fortnight, have richly edified me. In fact, both
styles have their own inherent advantages. If the former style caters to the varying
spiritual needs of a christian from day-to-day, the latter aims 'to ground'
a child of God in a certain subject in order he derives the full benefits of the
deep insightful study of a certain topic, spread over a fixed span of time.
In my Daily devo page, I have consciously tried to go in for 'a blend of both the
styles' whereby within a constant theme, I would be aiming to focus on different
facets of it which admittedly is a closer imitation of the 'Constant theme' style
than the 'Varying topics' one.
Having dwelt on the topic of Christian journey in the previous month, now in the month
of Febraury, I intend to focus on a monumental piece of Jewish history….the
Conquest of Canaan, with its particular relevance to modern day breed of
Christian spiritual warriors.
Once again, let me wish you a happy and an edifying read…
Suresh Manoharan
February 13th
Standing one’s ground
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the
Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God
into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to
the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future,
when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was
cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the
Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." –
Joshua 4:4-7
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In many a home, the glittering Silverware in the well-polished old trophy cabinet would stand
as a silent testimony to the achievement of the family members in different fields such as Sports,
art etc. When a younger member of the family gets curious about its origins, the Papa or Mama or for
that matter sometimes even the Grandpa or a Grandma are always around to proudly relate a tale or
two about their feats which fetched them these prized possessions (literally and figuratively),
in the first place.
On a much grander scale the elderly Jewish lot would project to a curious younger generation,
the amazing miracles their redeemer God had wrought for them after branding them as His special people
(Exo 19:4-6)
by initially stoking the fires of inquisitiveness in the younger minds through historical
monuments. The consequent narration of the stories related to those monuments would contribute in a
way to the sowing of seeds of faith in the hearts of young, moldable lot, standing them in good stead,
for the rest of their lives. Hence Joshua in line with Moses’ instructions built-up two monuments soon
after the miracle of crossing River Jordan ended, in memory of that momentous event in Jewish history,
so that this very noble purpose (of strengthening the faith of the posterity) is achieved.
What kind of legacy are we Christians, leaving behind for posterity? More than any monuments,
our lives would stand as a witness as to our priorities in our life. Would our present lives marked
by a God-honoring lifestyle inspire our children to make God ‘first’ in their lives, too? If,
so we are on the right track otherwise, we need to seriously consider our ways.
Prayer:
Father, despite our many failings, you have never abandoned us to the elements but you have time and
again faithfully restored us to our original calling. Enable us to live lives worthy of our calling in
order they would be an inspiration to posterity to choose thee above anything else. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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