Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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AS FOR ME AND MY FAMILY

Joshua 24: 14-22
‘If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, …….As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord’. (Joshua 24: 15)
The book of Joshua begins with events right after the death of Moses, with God’s call to Joshua as the new leader, followed by many historic incidents such as the conquest of Canaan, distribution of land, Joshua’s farewell address, establishing of a covenant with God and ending with Joshua’s death. Joshua means ‘God saves’. As the right hand man to Moses, he was a great warrior as well as a spiritual leader and most importantly ‘a servant of God.’

Decide today whom you will serve… (24: 15): Joshua at the age of 110 years, wanted to make sure that the new generation of Israelites would continue to remember their history and be obedient and faithful to the God who brought them to the Promised Land. Knowing well how easily they forget their blessings and rebel against God, he turned to the people and said,’ Decide today whom you will serve’…giving them a conscious choice to decide to serve the Lord who had proved his trust or to serve the local gods. This was a very bold call for individual choices, especially in the context of the Old Testament. Then he turned and stated his choice ‘As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord ’. Then all the people boldly claimed that they would never forsake the Lord. ‘We will serve the Lord our God and obey him’ (verse 24). Joshua’s faithfulness and obedience to God as well as his spiritual leadership encouraged his people to make the right choices.

Family—A divine gift: As Joshua advised the Israelites in the Promised Land, we the Diaspora community enjoying the bounties of our new land, need to be mindful and intentional in passing our spiritual values to our future generations. What do we learn from Joshua’s farewell message? Choices: We often replace God as the center of our lives with idols that give us false security and happiness. These idols may be wealth, career, education, technology or pleasure. Following Christ in a world filled with such other choices becomes a challenge. In the gospel of Mathew, Jesus said we cannot serve two masters. We have to choose. Faith: Joshua, one out of the twelve spies sent out to Jericho believed in God’s promise and disagreed with the other ten opposing voices. Consequently, he and Caleb were the only ones allowed to enter the Promised Land. Joshua left a strong legacy of faith.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me to make the right choice, to remember your blessings and leave a legacy of faith to our children. Amen

Nirmala Abraham, Philadelphia

















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