Joshua 24:15, Mark 13:35-37

By Through the Bible, Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Joshua 24:15 (NIV)15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

It seems as though some of the Israelites still had little golden “gods” that their parents had taken from Egypt. Archeologists suggest that they were very small, one to three inch long gold images of cows or other creatures. They thought of them like some today think of a good luck charm. Joshua was about to die, and he told them to get rid of those things. Amazing how gracious God had been to allow that compromise for so long! Now Joshua was saying that if you can’t give them up, go worship them, but I’m not going to.

You have to come to a crossroad where you must decide once and for all. Make up your mind. Choose today! Pick between the gods of Egypt and the Amorites, or JHWH! My family is going to serve JHWH!

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Standing on the fence is really not serving Jehovah. He will have no other gods before Him. Life is about making this choice and then carrying it out to the end, as Joshua had done. Have you settled the issue in your heart? Have you chosen to serve the LORD? Are you sticking with that choice with 100% commitment?

The future of the nation depended on their choice that day. Your future depends on your choice. If you are reading this, God has probably made His sovereignty known to you. If you have not already made that commitment Joshua made, do it today.

Consider: Choose! See that your family chooses. Then make the rest of your life a service to that commitment.

Evening

Mark 13:35-37 (NIV) 35 "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back--whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'"

Jesus likened His return to a master who went on a journey. He asked the keeper of the door to stand watch. To watch meant to be vigilant. It meant to actively be attentive. Though the master of the household is away, the servants are supposed to go about their business and not take advantage of His absence. We do not have the manifest presence of Christ here before us reminding us that He is Lord. The gentle Holy Spirit within our hearts is easily quieted by our stubborn willfulness. These words of Christ came at the end of His discourse on the destruction of the Temple and His Second Coming. In the millenniums in between, many Christians have heard this warning to remain at their post.

The world would lull us to sleep with ease and comfort, but we must remember we don’t know the number of our days. No one is guaranteed 80 years. Accidents and disease strike without warning. You could enter into His presence today. Will He find you were vigilant to the end? Will He find your first love was still burning strong? Death may find you in your youth, in middle age or in your twilight years. Remain vigilant to the end. Jesus may return when you are not expecting. What will He find you doing? At 12 years of age He said He had to be about His Father’s business. At 30 years of age He said He had done the work the Father had given Him to do. Jesus is our ultimate example of remaining actively attentive to the will of the Father throughout His life.

Those servants who are found to be faithful at His return will be rewarded. Those who are asleep, lulled by the world into inactivity, will be dealt with. Are you watching?

Consider: Will this day find you actively attentive to the work the Master has given you to do? Endure! Watch! We must be about our Father’s business.

Used with Permission