Time to Choose

Verse of the day: Joshua 24:15 “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.”

Which god do we serve? Do we serve god or do we serve God? Is our day focused on us and what we “need” to get done or want to do, or is our day prayerfully directed and guided by the Lord? Did we start the day asking the Lord what He would have us do today, or did we just do what we do every morning simply because it the “same old” routine? How much of our day will we waste on our own agenda, and how much of it will we use to serve the Lord with? The bottom line is that today we will either serve God, the devils, or whoever and whatever are our gods. We will determine who we will serve by our attitude, our actions, and our deeds. We will either serve God or deny Him. Romans 1:16-17 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” Will we seek out someone to share Christ with today, and boldly (with humility) speak to them the Name of Christ? Will we step out by faith to do that which God calls us to do? Will we face today’s life challenges with faith? When tempted to act like everyone else around us, and get involved in the same inappropriate conversations, will we choose to stand alone, if necessary, and not partake in the filth? In Daniel chapter 1, Daniel made a decision that for some of us may not seem like a big deal. Daniel was among a group of young men who were picked to be trained to serve the Babylonian king. As part of their training, they were ordered to eat of the king’s delicacies and the king’s wine. This may not seem like a big deal, but for Daniel it was, as he was a Hebrew young man and followed God’s dietary laws. In verse 8, Daniel made a decision that could have cost him his life. Daniel 1:8 tells us, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” On that day Daniel made the same decision that Joshua made years before, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Daniel was not ashamed of God and proved it by standing firm on his faith, and taking a giant step of faith that could have ended his life. Daniel 1:9 tells us this, “Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.” When Daniel chose to purpose in his heart not to defile himself, for God’s sake, God had not revealed to him that he already had favor with the king’s eunuch. So it is with us today. When we step out by faith to serve the one and only true God, we do not know with whom He has already given us favor. We simply have to trust Him. If it happens that our faithful dedication and service leads to persecution, then it is a “win, win” situation. How you ask? Well, because Jesus told us in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” He then went on to tell us that we are salt and light of this world (in Him of course). As salt, we are to bring flavor into the life of others, and as light Jesus said this in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Today, we have a decision to make, will we serve self and the other gods in our life, or will we take a stand and serve the LORD, no matter what anyone else says or thinks?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).