Joshua 24:14-15
“”Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.””
Joshua 24:14-15 NIV
Our lives should be marked by devotion to God. And the reality is, you and I have that choice, in a sense, on a daily basis. So, just to back up. There comes a point where we all must decide if we are going to serve God, if we’re going to put our faith in Jesus to save us from our sins and submit to His Lordship in our lives.
But that is the beginning that triggers a daily denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Jesus. That’s what Jesus says in Luke 9, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself daily, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Choosing the Lord should never be viewed as a comfortable seat in a pew nor membership to an exclusive worldwide club. Choosing the Lord should never be postponed until tomorrow, nor hidden behind a mask of compromise with this antithetical world-system. Choosing to follow the Lord is the most important decision of the will that every man, woman child must make one day: "Take up your cross daily," Jesus told us, "and follow Me."
The far-reaching significance of this choice cannot be measured, for it requires the abandonment of ourselves , our personal rights, our cherished interests, and our own self-will, for His plans, His rights, His interests, and His will. We are to identify with Christ in His personal Gethsemane and plead as He did "Father, Thy will not mine be done."
The resolve to serve the Lord will inevitably cause believers to swim against the tide of popular opinion as our heart focusses on Christ and gazes steadily upon Him and His ultimate goal, which is that Christ is all, and all in all.
The man or woman, mother or father, boy or girl who is prepared to lead in this important life-choice, will most likely be one that will influence those in their own household in this eternally significant decision. They will be able to say with Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
This is why I encourage time with the Lord, the first 10 minutes of the day will set the tone for your whole day. Have sometime with the Lord in the morning, where you just go before him and say, “Here I am, a servant reporting for duty. I am here to serve you. I live today to serve you. And, I want to exalt you, I want to glorify you, I want to follow you. You are my Lord. You’re the Lord, I’m the servant. Lead me, guide me, direct me however you will.”
As for me and my house, today we will serve the Lord. God, we pray this. We pray this today. You are our Lord. We bow before you, and we are so thankful you are our Lord. You are a good Lord. The only good, wise Lord of all. The great, sovereign king over all. We are glad to be your servants. So glad, because you are so good. You lead us in that which is good. Your word is good. Your worship leads to our joy, our satisfaction, so we gladly say yes!!!
Father, thank You for this day and the amazing grace it will hold for us. Let Your abundant blessings fall from the windows of heaven upon my friend and family today. Lord, we are beginning to understand, more and more, that we cannot be divided in our loyalty, for You alone have the Words of eternal life. Lord, we choose to go deeper into serving Your people for we desire to serve You as we serve others with our whole hearts. Lord keep our family’s ever walking in Your light and truth.
Father, we love You. Amen. !
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