Thought for Today
Psalm 22:8 "Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver-- let him rescue the one in whom he delights!"
Psalm 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
Matthew 16:19 will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Each morning, as I go about my morning preparation rituals (coffee, ablutions, etc.,) I am greeted by a quote from Joshua 24:15 embossed on a pewter plaque on my dresser. It was given me by my wife and children many years ago. The quote reads, “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." As I read those words this morning, I thought about the words at the beginning of that verse, “choose this day whom you will serve.”
We all have limited resources of time and money. Even the dot com billionaires have limitations. Irrespective of who you are, there are only 24 hours in each day. Although Congress sometimes loses sight of this fact, there are limitations of financial resources.
Many years ago, our minister in Houston preached a sermon on worship and commitment. My takeaway from that sermon, paraphrased in my own words, was that wherever you expend your limited resources defines who or what you worship. If you spend every available hour of your time attending to your sports car (or golf clubs, boat, etc.) you are worshiping that sports car (or golf clubs, boat, etc.).
Where do you commit yourself? Where do you expend your limited resources? Those Israelites in the desert had followed the symbols of God’s presence and come to the Promised Land. Now, their enemies were vanquished. Moses had departed. Joshua had led them. Then, Joshua understood that his own time had run out. In Joshua’s own words, "23:14 And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed.”
Joshua did not make his own commitment as a sort of death bed commitment. Joshau had led a life of faithful commitment to God. At the approach of his death, he reminded the people he had led of their own need for commitment and dedication to God. What were they going to do with this Promised Land? In the words of the theme song from the movie Ghostbusters, Joshua was asking them “Who ya’ gonna call?”
Each and every morning, I am reminded by that plaque on my dresser. Each and every morning, I read those words of Joshua, “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Does that mean that every waking thought will be a prayer to God? Will every penny I spend be dedicated to worship and the church? Obviously not. Daily life is full of both necessities and distractions. I cannot be worth much in service to God if I don’t pay proper attention to my health and wellbeing. During my first career, I had to pay attention to my profession to earn money with which to live. Thankfully, I paid attention to my marriage and my family. There were chores to do at work and at home.
But our commitment remained, “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." I was a church elder; I taught Sunday School. I read, studied and reflected on the Bible. I understood my commitment to my family, my church and my community as part of my commitment and service to God.
Time moves on. Lives change. My commitment, my service to God today is in part different. God has called me to ministry. Now I serve God in a different time and place and in a different way. But, through it all, I have served the LORD.
Ponder today Joshua’s challenge to our ancestors-in-the-faith and your own answer to that challenge. Will you serve “24:14 the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt?” Will you serve the gods of the internet or of social media? Where will you expend your limited resources of time and money?
Stay safe, choose this day, trust God,
Pastor Ray