Weekly Devotional Message from David Jones

May 26, 2006

Dear family and friends of WCPC:

Memorials are important. They provide needed reminders of things that we so often forget or take for granted. As a child and then as an adult, I loved visiting Washington, D.C., and spending time visiting the many memorials there that teach us about our nation’s history and those who shaped it.

In Genesis, after Jacob had dreamed of a stairway to heaven (Genesis 28: 10–22), he set up a memorial to his experience using a stone. In Joshua, after the people of God had crossed the Jordon River and had entered into the Promised Land, Joshua had the people assemble twelve stones and placed them where the people had crossed over as a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness (Joshua 4).

Monday is Memorial Day. First established in 1868 it has been held continually since as a time to remember those men and women who lost their lives serving their country. The problem is, most Americans don’t have any idea what Memorial Day is all about. According to a recent survey, only 28% of all Americans knew why we celebrate it. One child responded when asked, “Isn’t that the day they open the pool?”

I want to encourage you, while you relax and enjoy the “unofficial” start of summer, to take time to remember. Remember those who are serving this nation now and pray for them. And especially remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. I always remember my uncle who died in South Korea at the age of eighteen. I obviously never met him, but my mother loved him deeply.   

Let us also pray for peace. Peace not only in Iraq , but peace in other nations where war has not ceased.

See you on Sunday!

Your pastor,

David Jones