Tuesday 11 Sep 2018

September 11: Joshua 24:14-22

Key Verse: Joshua 24:19
Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.

Devotion:
When the Israelites had crossed over the Jordan river, they moved into lands where people worshipped many gods, each area seemingly worshipping a different god. God knew the people would look around and mix with the local people and He knew they would give in to the ways of the people around them unless they made a stand in the beginning. When we go into a new place as missionaries, we go in with our God and we go in to tell them of our God. If we go in and join in with their gods, then we are diluting Gods power and might by allowing the local gods to flourish in His presence!

Joshua’s words were quite harsh to the people; either they gave up being tempted to go after the local customs and gods, or they would find all manner of evil things happening in their lives. Yes, God loves us. Yes, God protects us. But if we run around ignoring God and even lifting other gods up instead of Him, don’t expect Him to continue offering the same love and protection openly. Yes, He still loves us in times like this, but to show that love may well seem harsh on the receiving end.

If a parent continues to ignore what a child is doing wrong, that child is going to start thinking they are doing the right thing. But if the parent pulls them up for doing things wrong, they will learn what is right and what is wrong. They then have a choice as to whether they continue to ignore their parents and continue to get shown what is wrong or turn around and obey their parents and receive the love the parents want to show.

The same is happening in our lives with God. We run off and do things, God tries to show us what we are doing wrong, and then we are faced with “difficult” choices. Do we continue to do what makes us feel good, or do we stop and think about what is righteous? God will continue to try and persuade us toward the righteous paths; and we may not like some of that persuasion!

Points to Ponder:
Do you get involved in your local community?

Do you show your local community Gods ways?