We Shall Serve..

March 19, 2021

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord , choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord .

~Joshua 24:15~

Joshua made it very clear to the people that they had a choice according to the Lord. God made us, we are His, however He never forces us into anything. We all are put on this earth with a divine purpose; it is our choice to make whether we wish to serve that purpose or do as we wish. When we align ourselves up to our own will, we may keep stumbling or seeing things unravel in a way we never imagined. When we align ourselves up to God's original intended will for our lives, everything will fall into place as it should and although it will not always be easy; we will always be blessed from it. "Therefore I will look to the Lord ; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me." (Micah 7:7)

When we look to Jesus and choose to serve Him as Lord, our life will be in His hands, exactly where it was designed to be since the beginning of time. Most of the time we fall short and blame our difficulties and trials on God, when in fact He is not the one who causes problems in our lives. People tend to forget we have an enemy who yearns to destroy us.

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

Basically Joshua clearly states here that we can choose to follow Jesus or follow the enemy. There is no in between my friends. Just as quoted by C.S Lewis; "There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second is claimed by God and counter claimed by Satan."

We cannot be sovereign and just stand without God or the devil. We choose. This is hard to digest but it is true. Joshua states here who he will serve and not just who he will serve but who his family and house will serve. This is something that should speak volume to us all. We can choose for ourselves but it makes an even greater statment to choose as a whole unified family. We know Jesus says; "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

(Matthew 18:20)

The power of unity is everything to the Lord. The power of unity as a family is most pleasing to Him. Family is everything to God. This is the very reason He gave His Son for us, so that we could be officially adopted into His great Family; "and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

(Romans 8:17)

What an amazing gift we have to make with our own choice to receive. God's gift of free will can cause many to rebel; however He never wishes to force us to love Him. You cannot force love. You must choose it. God's love cannot be earned, He truely loves all of us regardless what we choose. It is up to us who we want our families and our children's children to grow up knowing who we loved most. When we choose to rebel and the world falls apart, we will be stuck with the rest of the sons of perdition. "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)

Christ wants all of us, not just a part. When we make a commitment to Him we are saying just as Joshua said; "As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord." We should strive for our entire family to feel this way. My family and I have become stronger, united in faith and blessed beyond our imagination when we made this same vow after I became saved. I cannot remember a time where Jesus didn't show up for us or answer a prayer we uttered together. He is faithful and we should be faithful too. He never changes His faith towards us however we are still able to at any moment. " If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." (II Timothy 2:13)

This is why we should be praying against deception and apostasy; we are all no greater then our Master. We are all capable of slipping away. Let us serve Him every day in our house holds and teach our children the true value of being God's children in this world. Joshua stood strong on this, so should we. Jesus wants us to clean house and welcome Him to sit down at our tables and eat with us. Let us be true to our callings and hold fast because we never know when His time to be called back to the earth will come.

Prayer:

Gracious God, thank you for giving me life and the ability to choose my path. I choose You Father. I choose to serve You in my house hold with my family. We are at Your feet and willing to follow Your path till the end. No matter how hard that may be at times, we shall serve our God forever. I pray to never become deceived. I pray against all strongholds the devil may try against my family today in Jesus Name. Thank you for the power and authority to pull down principalities and power that attempt to cause me to waver. My heart belongs to You Jesus, for without You I would not be alive today. Help me to always stay focused on You, Your voice and where You need me to go. I do not look to men. Praises to the Highest who shows me the manifest light in such darkness. May glory be given to You by all flesh today where You send me. As for me and my house, we shall serve You Jesus. It is in Your Name we have the capability to do so, Jesus Christ. Amen.