Joshua 24:15 - Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve.
Joshua 24:15 (NLT) But if you are unwilling
to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you
will serve. Would you prefer the gods your
ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be
the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now
live? But as for me and my family, we will serve
the LORD.
INTRODUCTION
One of the most famous of Old Testament
affirmations of faith, As for me and my household, we
will serve the LORD [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]
[God's] invitation is clear and
nonnegotiable. He gives all and we give him all. Simple and
absolute. He is clear in what he asks and clear in
what he offers. The choice is up to us. Isn't it
incredible that God leaves the choice to us? Think
about it. There are many things in life we can't
choose. We can't, for example, choose the weather.
We can't control the economy.
We can't choose whether or not we are
born with a big nose or blue eyes or a lot of
hair. We can't even choose how people respond to
us.
But we can choose where we spend
eternity. The big choice, God leaves to us. The
critical decision is ours.
That is the only decision which really
matters. [Grace For The Moment SB By Max Lucado]
COMMENTARY PEARL
We must inevitably be under the control
of the one or the other of the two great powers
that are contending for the supremacy of the
world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to
choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in
order to come under its dominion. We have only to
neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light.
If we do not co-operate with the heavenly
agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and
will make it his abiding place. The only defense
against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the
heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless
we become vitally connected with God, we can
never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love,
self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many
bad habits, for the time we may part company
with Satan; but without a vital connection with
God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him
moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a
personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual
communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall
do his bidding in the end...
Every soul that refuses to give himself
to God is under the control of another power.
He is not his own. He may talk of freedom, but
he is in the most abject slavery. He is not
allowed to see the beauty of truth, for his mind is
under the control of Satan. While he flatters
himself that he is following the dictates of his own
judgment, he obeys the will of the prince of darkness.
DA324, 466
COMMENTARY
Choose
It seems like a choice that should have
been made long ago. In fact, it was, at least at
times and in certain degrees. Israelites who had
made it to the Promised Land had already pledged
loyalty to God and His chosen leaders at key
moments. They had expressed their intentions. Yet
idols remained among them (Joshua 2:23). Like many
of us, they had been following God while
hanging on to a supporting cast of deities. But the
supporting cast wasn't very supporting, and in fact
undermined their best intentions. We see that clearly
as Scripture and history played out over the
next few centuries; no one can truly serve
multiple masters. One has to reign supreme.
That's why Joshua called the people to an
emphatic, decisive commitment. "Choose today whom you
will serve." God had called for this choice
repeatedly, reminding His people that He was the one who
had delivered them from captivity, defended
them, protected them, provided for them, and made
a covenant full of extravagant promises for
them. But even at the end of the conquest, they
needed to be called again to a choice. They needed
to make a commitment that would stick.
So do we. We can't criticize ancient
Israelites very harshly because we are guilty of the
same pattern. We make once-and-for-all
commitments to God again and again and again, only to
find ourselves clinging to worthless idols years
later. We have to remember that we were born into
this life to love and to serve. Period. We belong
to another, and everything He has designed for
us is good. Every choice we make in our own
self-interest that contradicts His choices for us is
really a self-inflicted wound. We have to plant a
stake in the ground as a marker forever and choose
- not just once, but every single day - whom
we will serve. And whatever it takes, we have
to ensure that this commitment never fades into
the background of our lives. [The One Year
Heaven On Earth Devotional by Chris Tiegreen]
Free to Choose
When I stop and ponder deeply how the
Creator chooses to interact with you and me, it
takes my breath away. The source-of-life Creator
is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and
everywhere present. He gave us life, and then chooses
to love you and me unconditionally and have a
close personal relationship with us, His dearly
beloved. But He doesn't force, cajole, or even coerce
us to have that relationship with Him, one that
He longs for. Rather, He leaves us completely
free to choose Him - but only if we want to.
Since He is the source of life, becoming His
friend leads to even greater life. But refusing a
relationship with Him is, in fact, selecting death.
Embedded within each one of us is a still small voice
(moral compass) to help us choose life rather than
death. It gives us reliable directions as long as
we regularly download updates through Bible
study and prayer. If we choose not to download
updates and choose to ignore the directions, the
voice tends to go away and not bother us anymore.
Sometimes I wonder why God doesn't simply
give us a DVD that shows us how and when He
created this world. No doubt He has even better
wireless technology than we do, making it easy for
Him to give each of us a personal, full-color,
3-D, surround-sound-with-mega-bass movie of what
He did at Creation. Oh, I can feel the floor
shaking as the thunder crashes on the fifth day. Of
course the movie would have full documentation.
With that information there would be no question
that God is the Creator-God. The entire
devil-designed flimflam yarn of naturalistic origins
wouldn't stand a chance, and all of us would be
convinced of the Creator's authenticity and rally
around Him, electing to have that personal
relationship.
But then I realize that this kind of
proof would take away real choice. I would be
forced to decide. But a true lover never forces.
The beauty is that God gives me enough evidence
to choose Him if I like, but He will not erase
all doubt. I get to decide for myself. What a
lover!
Lord Jesus, what a freedom is mine when I
realize that I am free to choose to believe or not.
Just now, for this day, I choose to believe. [God
of Wonders by David Steen re 1 Kings 18:21,
James 4:4]
I've noticed that some days, I'm all gung
ho to serve the Lord. But there are other days
when I don't feel nearly as determined. We all
have these dull, unenthusiastic days, and
sometimes we're just in a bad mood. That's why God
challenges us each and every day to choose whom we will
serve. It's more than a once-in-a-lifetime choice,
more than a yearly choice, more than a daily
choice. There are times when we have to renew our
decision moment by moment.
All our choices are this way, really. We
choose to stay in love with our spouses, we choose
to continue to attend meetings, we choose to
open up to our friends, we choose to be honest
about our situations, we choose to put others
first. So why would it be different with our
decision to serve God?
The good thing is that all those mental
gymnastics don't mean a thing. They are just feelings,
and for the most part, feelings can't be
trusted. So we shouldn't put ourselves down on those
days when we're less than gung ho. We just choose
to go on, knowing that God sees our hearts and
knows our true motivations.
Father; forgive me for those low days
when I struggle with commitment. I choose to
choose you each and every day In Jesus' name, Amen.
[Celebrate Recovery Daily Devotional by John & Johnny
Baker]
ILLUSTRATIONS
After living with quadriplegia for a
short time, I finally got tired of being fed at
our dinner table. But as I tried to feed myself
with paralyzed arms, I felt like giving up. I
wanted my arms back! Wasn't there an easier way
than having a bent spoon inserted into the pocket
on my leather armsplint? Then straining my weak
shoulder muscles to scoop food on the spoon? Then
balancing and lifting it to my mouth? It was
humiliating to have my food land more times on my lap
than in my mouth.
I could have surrendered - it would have
been easy and many wouldn't have blamed me. But I
had to make a choice. Was I going to let
disappointing failures overwhelm me? I decided the
awkwardness of feeding myself outweighed the fleeting
satisfaction of self-pity. It pushed me to pray, O God,
help me with this spoon! Today I can easily feed
myself. No, I didn't recover the use of my hands,
but I was able to leave self-pity behind, as
well as cultivate a little bit of humility. It
meant making the hard choice many, many times.
My growth in Christ can probably be
boiled down to one word: choose. Choosing the right
path is hard. Often we have keep pushing through
failures. Sometimes it seems easier just to ignore
God's instructions. But Proverbs 8:10-11 says,
"Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge
rather than choice gold...."
What a difference you can make for the
kingdom if you will follow the lead of the Savior
and "Choose life, so that you and your children
may live and that you may love the Lord your
God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
For the Lord is your life...." (Deuteronomy
30:19-20).
Father, every day is filled with so many
choices. Touch my awareness, open my eyes, quicken my
understanding to the eternal implications of seeking your
heart and choosing your path. [Joni Eareckson Tada
Daily Devotional:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional]
Why Choices Matter
My son Jonathan and his wife, Brittni,
were in Peru awhile ago to work on some projects
with Compassion International. Jonathan brought
along backpack full of toys and other things, and
while they were hanging out with a family,
Jonathan played soccer with a little boy named
Anthony.
Then, as Jonathan and Brittni were
getting ready to leave, Anthony ran to Jonathan,
hugged him, and presented him with a little gift: a
small bank in the shape of a dog. Obviously, this
was a very precious object to Anthony. He had
very little, yet he gave his very best to
Jonathan.
What is the most precious thing to you?
What is the most precious thing you can give to
Jesus? Yes, you can give Him your resources. You
can give Him your time. But most of all, you can
give Him your life. Present your future to the
Lord.
The best thing you can do with your
future is to choose to follow Jesus Christ. That is
the best choice. The best choices Ive made in
my life were to give my life to Jesus Christ at
the age of 17 and to marry a girl named Cathe.
Those are two choices Ive never regretted.
And heres why choices matter: You make
your choices, then your choices make you. You
will never regret choosing to follow Jesus
Christ. So make that choice now and then choose to
dedicate your life to the Lord.
At the age of seventeen, I didn't have a
lot to offer Jesus Christ. I was a confused kid.
I had gotten into drugs and made some bad
decisions. But I said, Here I am, Jesus. And
whatever good has come out of my life has been God
taking very little and multiplying it.
So lets give our very best to God. He
deserves nothing less. [Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING APPLICATION
Better than the Worlds Best
Can sin be fun? You might be surprised by
my answer. Yes, of course, there is pleasure in
sin. Otherwise, why would we do it? But its a
short-lived pleasure. Then the problems will follow.
Thats why we want to make the right choices.
Joshua stood before the people of Israel
and said, Choose for yourselves this day whom
you will serve. Then he added, But as for
me and my house, we will serve the Lord
(Joshua 24:15 NKJV).
Elijah stood on Mount Carmel and spoke to
the vacillating, fickle people of Israel and
said, How long will you falter between two
opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him (1 Kings
18:21 NKJV).
And Moses decided to choose difficulty
over ease. Hebrews 11:25 says of him, He chose
to share the oppression of Gods people
instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin
(NLT). Yet because of his right choices, he was a
man of personal integrity.
Gods worst is better than the world's
best. What is the worlds best? Its a few
short-lived pleasures. And what is Gods worst? Its
persecution, rejection, being mocked, and things of that
nature.
On the other hand, Gods best is peace,
purpose, meaning in this life, a relationship and
friendship with God Himself, and the guaranteed
assurance of Heaven beyond the grave. What is the
worlds worst? Its misery, guilt, emptiness, and
a future of judgment in Hell.
No matter what choices you make, you will
stand before God one day. But only one road leads
to Heaven, and its through Jesus because He
died on the cross for our sins and rose from the
dead.
If you want to know that you will go to
Heaven when you die, you need to ask Jesus Christ
to forgive you of your sins and begin to follow
Him as your Savior and Lord. [Greg Laurie from
Harvest Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY
Joshua 24:15 - Choose This Day Whom You Will
Serve. (update)
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20120422-0937.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
