"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE"
Joshua 24:23 “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.”
Joshua 24:24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”
Some explanatory thoughts/application, and a prayer:
These were some of Joshua's final words of exhortation and direction to the people on how to live their lives for the Lord. Let's take a look at several of the clear and encouraging direction that we can apply in our own lives.
1. Put away foreign God's which are among you. Or destroy the idols among you. The people has allowed themselves to compromise their lives with God, by allowing some of the pagan idols into their lives. They were now being told by Joshua, "put these things away" "Get rid of those things that don't belong in your life"
Joshua 24:23a “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you. This is tremendous counsel from God. Remove that which does not belong in your life.
2. Incline your heart to to the LORD God of Israel. Or turn your hearts to the LORD, who is the God of Israel.
This is the proverbial other side of the coin, put away sin, and pursue the Lord. It starts in our hearts. By His grace and power, we can turn our hearts towards Him, and draw near to Him, and He will draw near to us.
Joshua 24:23 “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.”
3. Make a decision to serve God and to obey Him. That is what the children of Israel did in response to the words of God through Joshua. They were simply saying, “We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey him alone.”
These two things make for a wonderful life here on earth. Serving God and obeying God. Or trust and obey.
Give yourself to the Will of God, and then walk in obedience to what He says to You.
Joshua 24:24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”
4. In summary.
(1) Get rid of what does not belong in your life
(2) Put away sin, and pursue the Lord with all your heart.
(3) Decide today, "I'm going to serve God, and I'm going to obey God"
(4) Remember, You can't do these things on your own, but God will give you the grace and the power to do them, and He will bless You as You do them.
A prayer:
Father, thank You for the clarity of Your Word. It literally and simply makes things so clear, bringing into focus who You are, and who we are, and where we are going, and where You want us to go, and what will happen if we go our way, or Yours. We want to go Your way Lord.
Would You this day, please forgive us of our sins, and bring the power, strength and might of the Holy Spirit into our lives this day. In Jesus name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier.
Calvary Chapel Visalia.
