The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 21 January 2020 – TOPIC: EXTEND THE GOODWILL

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TOPIC: EXTEND THE GOODWILL

READ: JOSHUA 4:1-14 (NKJV)1. And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying:2. “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe,3. “and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ “4. Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe;5. and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,6. “that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones [mean] to you?’7. “Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”8. And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.9. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.10. So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over.11. Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.12. And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.13. About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho.14. On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.*THE MESSAGE:*In your reflection today, take a mental picture of how your town, the city where you live and other areas you know were, or are would have been one hundred years ago. Do you know that the old Church buildings you see today that look very odd were the best when they were built? A good sense of history will teach you where we were and the level of sacrifice some missionaries made to bring the light of the Gospel to us. The people of Israel were asked to set up memorials to teach their children about the great things God did so that God’s miraculous works would not be forgotten by future generations (verses 6-7).Regrettably, most of us today, without proper considerations, destroy historic structures and settings the early missionaries left. By so doing, we tend to forget that we are destroying basic tools for teaching our children. The faith of our fathers is one of the greatest gifts to our generation. They came and conquered darkness covering our land with the name of Jesus. Today, we have left the basic way of that faith and started pursuing shadows, just to gain positions and possessions.Make your own history leave something behind that will extend the propagation of the Gospel. Find every good means generation. Keep records that can help others to know the faithfulness of God. Who knows how the world will look like in 50 years’ time – what we do today might be one sure way to sustain the faith of our younger generation.*PRAYER:* Give me the grace oh Lord not to create generational gap.