The Decision Dare
Joshua 24:14-25
Life is full of choices. We are constantly making choices – some significant and life-changing, and some insignificant. The most important choice we will make is about our relationship with Jesus Christ. When we accept His salvation, He wants us to dare to surrender to Him in all areas of our life. As we walk with Him, our choices should be guided by the Holy Spirit.
As Joshua was nearing the end of his life, he delivered his farewell address reminding the people of God’s power, guidance, and faithfulness in caring and providing for them. He encouraged them to be strong in their faith, to obey God’s laws, to be loyal to God, and to worship Him in sincerity and truth. Joshua urged them to get rid of the idols their fathers had worshiped in Egypt and to worship the Lord alone. It was time for them to make a decision. Who were they going to serve – the gods of Egypt, the gods of the Amorites, or the Lord? He told them that he and his family were going to serve the Lord.
The people responded that they were not going to forsake the Lord to worship other gods. They were going to worship the Lord who had brought their fathers out of slavery in Egypt and had performed great signs before them. They acknowledged that it was the Lord who had protected them as they traveled to the Promised Land. He was guiding them in driving out the people who were living there. Certainly, they were going to serve the Lord their God!
Joshua warned that if they turned away from the Lord and worshiped foreign gods, God would turn away from them and completely destroy them. The people answered that they were going to worship the Lord. Joshua told them that if they were ready to surrender their hearts to the Lord to get rid of all the foreign idols that they owned. The people assured Joshua that they had made the decision to worship and obey the Lord.
Joshua made a permanent and binding contract between the people of Israel and God. They were going to worship and obey the Lord alone. They kept their promise as long as Joshua and his generation were alive. Then slowly they turned away from serving the Lord and turned to foreign gods again.
As believers, we must dare to make bold decisions in our lives. We need to get rid of the idols in our lives and serve the Lord. Our idols are the “things” that we put before our worship and service to our Lord. Let’s learn a lesson from the children of Israel and not make the mistakes they made when they turned away from serving the Lord.
Johnston– Lessons in the ETB series for the summer quarter are being written by Virginia Johnston, a member of First Baptist Church, North Charleston, where her husband Dan is pastor.