“A Crucial Decision

“A Crucial Decision”

 

 …if you refuse to serve the LORD then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates?  Or would it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? As for me and my family we will serve the LORD.  Joshua 24:15

 

The Children of Israel at this time were settled in the land that the LORD had promised them.  Joshua was very OLD and about to die.  But he wanted the Israelites to make a very CRUCIAL DECISION.  Joshua reminded them of ALL the things that God had done for them and even for their ancestors.

The ISRAELITES, to whom Joshua, was speaking to, were the adult children that were born in the wilderness, their parents were the ones that Moses led from EGYPT into the WILDERNESS. And were not allowed to enter the PROMISED LAND, because of the SINS they had committed during their journey. 

Throughout the twenty-fourth chapter, Joshua is reminding them of ALL the things God had done for them.  And there was ONE thing that bothered Joshua and that was, the fact that NOW, they were WORSHIPPING IDOLS, the ones that were left to them by their deceased family members.

So, Joshua told them to FEAR the LORD, which meant to take God SERIOUSLY and not to take their RELATIONSHIP with Him as a mere CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP.  They were to PUT AWAY the IDOLS FOREVER and to SERVE GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY.  And to SERVE the LORD ALONE. But if they REFUSED to SERVE the LORD then they had a very CRUCIAL DECISION to make:  Did they prefer the IDOLS that their ANCESTORS left, or would they WORSHIP and SERVE the gods of the Amorites?  And Joshua told them: “But as for ME and my FAMILY, we WILL SERVE the LORD. 

The Israelites reply was: “We would NEVER ABANDON the LORD and SERVE other gods.  We, too, will SERVE the LORD, for He ALONE is our GOD.”   The Israelites had a problem with IDOL WORSHIP. Do you have that SAME PROBLEM?

An IDOL is NOT just a statue that someone has made, and that one bows down to and PRAYS to it.  An IDOL is any UNJUSTIFIED PERSON, PLACE, or THING that a person may look to as a source of PURPOSE, PROMISE, or PROVISION.  An IDOL can be MONEY, POWER, POPULARITY, SEX, INFLUENCE or another PERSON, etc. There’s ONLY ONE OVERALL SOURCE to MEET our NEEDS——GOD!! 

You MUST make that CRUCIAL DECISION NOW, will you come to Him by way of His ONLY SON, who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED and RESURRECTED, in order to REDEEM mankind from their SINS.  Well, this is what you MUST DO:  ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.  BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for YOU before God.  CONFESS your SINS to HIM and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  WILLINGLY TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and MAKE that CRUCIAL DECISION, NOW, because if you REJECT IT, YOU will end up being REJECTED by GOD. And HELL will be your FINAL DESTINATION. So, make that CRUCIAL DECISION NOW, PLEASE!!  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON, Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!