"YOU ARE GOING TO SERVE SOMEONE!"

May 12  “You Are Going to Serve Someone!”  Joshua 24: 14-15

“Now therefore, 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 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.” (Top of FormJoshua 24:14-15)   A Sunday School teacher challenged her children to take some time on Sunday afternoon to write a letter to God. They were to bring their letters back the following Sunday. One little boy wrote, "Dear God, we had a good time at church today. Wish you could have been there." The Psalmist says this about God, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-10) … “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14-15)  Does anyone recognize these lyrics: “You may be an ambassador to England or France, You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody, Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Do you know who wrote that? Yes, Bob Dylan wrote that song back in the late 70’s – and he’s right in what he says in that song. They say there’s only two things that are certain, ‘Death and taxes’, I believe there’s at LEAST one more thing – ‘You gotta serve somebody’. Whether we like it or not, we can’t escape serving somebody. Think about it! Why did we choose to serve the God of Joshua?  I truly love the song, “BECAUSE HE LIVES!” “Because He lives I can face tomorrow; Because He lives all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living Just because He lives.” How could we not commit to serving this God?! Our prayer is that when our children are faced with the question, ’… choose for yourselves this day, who you will serve …’ they will be able to make an informed choice. They will have been able to see the love of Christ. And in so seeing they will be able to say, “… as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” I hope that you’ve made your choice. I hope the love of Christ has compelled you to serve Him. If you haven’t made a choice for Jesus, then, unfortunately, you have actually, already made a choice to serve Satan! “… as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” could have been claimed as your own.  Claiming this proclamation is very simple: ADMIT YOU ARE A SINNER ("All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23): BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS, ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND THAT YOU TRUST IN HIM ALONE FOR YOUR SALVATION. ("Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." Acts 16:31): CONFESS YOUR SINS ("If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins." 1 John 1:9)…If you would like to invite Jesus into your life, pray this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I understand that I am a sinner and I ask You for forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins so that I could receive Your forgiveness and have eternal life. I ask You to come into my life right now and become my personal Savior. From this day forward, Lord, I give you control of my life. Make me a new person and help me to live for You. Amen… If you prayed to receive Jesus, “… as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD,” is true, Praise God!   If you prayed to receive Jesus, I would like to know about it. You can contact me through this Facebook page. Praise God! Stay Strong, Stay Focused… Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!