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As For Me and My House

             But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, 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 24:15)

When I first saw this verse, my thought was “Again?” Biblegateway.com seems to be using verses that I have used comparatively recently. However, a few more minutes of thought brought me to the conclusion that it was the perfect verse for me for today. I got back home last night. I am in the process of emptying the truck and trying to get my home started in the direction of being a home. I almost feel as if I should be saying, “Hi, my name is Karen” because this marks a big change in my life. I know other folks who are heading to Florida to be snowbirds, and they’re facing a variation on the same idea. It’s a new beginning all over again. And, less than 8 weeks from now, we’ll be bidding 2024 farewell and greeting 2025. And, quite frankly, today is a different day from yesterday. We can always draw a line in the sand and say, “This is my starting point.” It’s just easier for me today.

So, Joshua issued this challenge. Even if no one else in Israel was going to serve the Lord, he and his household would. Some of us are likely to stand up and echo his declaration. But what does “serve the Lord” mean? How do we know if we’re doing it? We could try to live according to every commandment given in Scripture, but we could still get it wrong. We might miss instructions, especially if we’re busy trying to get everything right.

So how can we say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”? By the grace God gives us and by our cultivating an attitude of willingness to do so. 

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