Daiy Devotions

Joshua 24:15-23 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. 16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; 17 For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: 18 And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God. 19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. 22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. 23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.

In the first verse of our reading this morning Joshua calls for Israel to make a decision, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve”. Will they continue going back and forth or will they finally step out for the Lord? It is a decision we must all make on a daily basis. But take note of the last verse of our reading. (Verse 23) I we are going to serve the Lord as we should, if we are going to live for Him, then there are things that must be put away. What is it in your life, in mine, that draws our hearts away from the Lord? For all of us there is something and for some there are many things. It may be the quest for making money, for having fun, for sports, TV, any number of things. Could it be you are selfish about your time? Selfish about something that draws your heart away from the things of God. Whatever it is, it is an idol and needs to be put away. The problem with Israel was that they would never put away the strange gods. It only took one generation after Joshua passed from the scene for the nation to turn away from God. The reason being they had never inclined their hearts to the Lord God of Israel. Who has your heart today?

This entry was posted on Friday, May 4th, 2012 at 3:57 am and is filed under Daily Devotions. You can skip to the end and leave a response.