Skip to main content

Whom Do You Serve?

Day 68

Reading: Josh. 22:1- Josh. 24:33

God desires we serve Him alone. Every day is given to us to serve Him, to live for Him. When we give of ourselves to God, He fights for us. We are living in a day and age where many don't recognise that serving God is the key to unlock their destiny. God desires to show forth His power however, He needs committed people who are hungry for Him. The book of Joshua is about what God can do for those who are given to walk in obedience to Him wholeheartedly. 

The soldiers from Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh return to their land on the eastern side of the Jordan. They had fulfilled the request and commandment of God to go help the brethren possess the land. They now were being released to go back as their duty was over. This attitude of fighting alongside our brothers and sisters in fighting for their inheritance is so needed today. The sin of selfishness has caused many believers to never consider fighting with another believer to achieve greatness. 

The children of Israel heard that the two and a half tribes living across the Jordan had built an altar. They immediately wanted to fight them so as not to suffer a plague or judgement from God. However, a wise strategy of sending Phinehas to them with leaders to find out why they had done what they had done was first employed. This action averted war. Just because your brother or sister has done wrong doesn't mean you should kill them. No, talk with them and find out why. It's better to win your brethren over than lose them. One of the biggest challenges in the church today is that we kill our own yet we expect to be in heaven all together. I think we are deceiving ourselves when we think like that. 

Joshua in his old age speaks to the people. He encourages them to be courageous in serving God; to see the nations that God has removed from the land as examples of what happens to those who are disobedient to God. He encouraged them to take heed that they love God only. This implies that loving God was not to be casual in approach but in a proactive manner. Not one good promise of God failed to pass. Joshua reminds them that this was because of their unswerving love and obedience to the commandments of God. Put away every foreign God from your heart and God will shower you with His blessings.

Memory verse: Josh. 23:11

Decree:

Personalise this portion of scripture

Now, Charles, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourself 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. I choose to declare that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Deut 24:14-15(italics mine)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Absalom's Treachery

Day 91 Reading: 2 Sam. 14:1 - 2 Sam. 15:37 One of life's most painful lessons is the treachery of human beings. When family or friends hurt you and leave you grieving the pain is not the same as when someone out on the street does something wrong. The pain goes deeper and it's easy to become bitter. Absalom had fled from Israel knowing that he was a wanted man for the murder and revenge on Ammon his step-brother. Joab arranged for a wise woman to go see David and get him to forgive Absalom. The wise woman made David realise that he was not setting a godly example by exiling Absalom. The wise woman made David understand that God will not banish anyone but he will seek the person out. God will do everything in His power to restore the banished person. The wise woman was asking David not to forget the grace of God that enables one to enjoy forgiveness. David gets Absalom brought back to Jerusalem however for 2 years he didn't see him. Now, this was worse than ...

Work & Prayer; Prayer & Work.

Day 135 Reading: Nehemiah 1:1 - Nehemiah 4:23 One of the things I am learning is that God is not interested in my being so heavenly minded that I am not of any use here on earth. God placed man in the Garden of Eden here on earth, not heaven. We are created to be creators here on earth. God made us for work. If God made the earth how much more should we also work if we are His children? We have a responsibility to work and at the same time be vessels that bring honour to God's Kingdom. Today we begin the book of Nehemiah. This gentleman was not a king but the cupbearer for the King and he did mighty things for God.  Nehemiah was burdened with the state of Jerusalem. We are told of how he enquired to know the state of the returnees from exile and was perplexed at the sad state they found Jerusalem. He was saddened to hear that the Jerusalem, the focal point of the children of Israel, was desolate. He took it to prayer that God would restore Jerusalem. We meet Nehemiah p...

The Priestly Blessing

Day 40 Reading: Num. 5:1- Num. 6:27 Do whatever God instructs. That is obedience. Remove whatever is displeasing to God from your life. Whatever or whoever is causing discharge from your life that contaminates your faith should be far from you and I. I do realise that in today's dispensation some will say that they have nothing to do to walk with God, however, God won't come and move your feet away from a place sin. You go runnings and that is an instruction from your brain to your feet in obedience to the Word of God to walk in purity. I found it interesting that after Moses tells the children of Isreal to remove every leper from the camp God then speaks on restitution. The law was not just about worshipping God but also about relating right. God desires that we not only are in right standing with Him but also with others. I realised that first God began by clearing whoever may bring defilement to the camp before not dealing with relationships. Restitution is a fo...