Day 1 – Serving the Lord

“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

This very popular verse is part of Joshua’s covenant made at Shechem between the Israelites and God where they swore their loyalty to the Lord by serving only Him and no other deity. And though so many times quoted out of context, there is still a fundamental truth – Joshua’s choice (as head of his household) for himself and his family to serve the Lord. Truly and honestly SERVE the Lord.

But what does serving the Lord as a house look like today? In other words, how are you and your house serving the Lord? Would your neighbor refer to your family (your house) as God-fearing people? Are you the house people come to for prayer, truth, and encouragement? A few things to ponder I think…

See, Joshua made this covenant for his house – his family. He asked “are you sure, Israel? For the Lord is a holy God” and the nation said, “Yes Joshua, we are sure”. I’m wildly paraphrasing here and in my mind’s eye, I imagine a few elders rolling their eyes at Joshua with his persistence. But as soon as we flip the page to the borders of war in Judges, we soon realize Israel could not keep to this seemingly simple promise. Time and time again they failed, and time and time again through His immeasurable love and mercy for His people, God saved them. Was it because they did care about God and His commandments or maybe forgotten the miraculous journey that brought them to where they are? They were human – just like you and me and our houses. Yes, the house of Israel failed. And yes, our house sometimes fail too. It is in our human frailty that we can say, “Me and my house may fail many times, but because of the saving Grace through the cross of our savior Jesus Christ, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!

Prayer: Father, thank You for my family and that I can boldly declare like Joshua that me and my house will serve the Lord.  I know that we are not perfect and You alone are Holy but thank You, Jesus, for Grace and that even through our shortcomings, we can serve you with warm hearts and hearths. Amen.

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