building altars

 ^"When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,  “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 

Joshua 4:1-3

building altars stone by stone

3 Stone carriers bring the blessings, and build the altar and do the will of God. There are many stone carriers in our life. I mentioned in the last post about the packages we receive...these are directly from the hands of the stone carriers. God has asked the stone carriers to make their mark, out of obedience, in honour and remembrance of what God has done for them. The weight of the stone in the carrier's hands feels REAL...a tangible symbol for a God whom we can't see yet we know is the most real of anything that we can know or imagine. What an honour to carry a stone for the altar. To feel the smoothness fo the stone, the heaviness. To be weary from the carrying, just a bit, as a reminder of the weariness in searching and crying out to God for a miracle. The relief in the setting down of the stone, a gesture mirroring the release of our burdens by a God who hears and cares and delivers us from our enemies. The importance of building something that generations will see and know that God Was Here. God Is Here Now...in this place. This is holy ground, because He is here with me. My cries are heard, I will be weary no longer. My burden taken up by a stone carrier and built into something that I can look back on and remember, when remembering is hard because the pain is too encompassing.

"But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name."

Isaiah 51:15