But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD (Joshua 24:15).

Joshua knows he is dying. He has led the Israelites into the Promised Land, helping them defeat the peoples of the land. Before he dies, he articulates the choice before Israel: follow the ways of the people of the world OR follow God. Choose.

This is when Joshua declares, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Notice, that choosing one is the elimination of the other. There is only one LORD. One God. One who gets to say how we are to live. Either we will live by the dictates and values of the world around us, or we will live by the dictates and values of the LORD.

Choose.

Moms and dads of the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace, you leading your family to love and worship God in your home is your primary ministry. Help your children choose the LORD, choose worship, choose obedience. Do this through your priorities and your actions.

If your child were to say to you, I don’t want to go to school. It’s boring there. I don’t like the teacher. I don’t like the kids there. What do you say? Do you, therefore, let the child decide whether they are going to get an education or not?

Of course not!!!

Education is important. Education is essential for the future of your child.

Your child’s relationship with Jesus is important. It is beyond essential. It’s a matter of eternity. Don’t mess around with your child’s eternal destiny. Set an example and set a tone for how you and your household will serve the LORD. Do not follow the patterns of this world.

Love what Spurgeon wrote: You are as much serving God in making your household a church for God as you would be if you had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of hosts.

Choose.

Choose to serve the LORD.

Pray always (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

God commands us to pray. The verb pray is written in the imperative. If you are a Christian, you pray. Not just some days. But always. Constantly. Continually. Without ceasing. You are spending the day constantly praying to God, constantly aware of God’s presence.

Why does God command us to pray? Because God loves answering prayer.

Wait a minute, preacher man! I have been praying for the Mariners to win the World Series every year.
Wait a minute, preacher man! I prayed for God to cure my sister of cancer.
Wait a minute, preacher man! I prayed for God to save my marriage.

God commands us to pray always because God always loves answering prayer.

Notice, God never promised that he would answer prayers the way we want them answered. And for good reason. Because we are not God. And because we are not God, we do not know what God knows.

But what we can be sure of is that God knows, and God wants what is best for us.

So, every time we pray, we can be sure our prayers are answered exactly the way we would want them to be answered if we knew everything that God knew.

Pray always. Constantly. Continually. Without ceasing.

He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10).

I have a sin problem. My sin problem is that not only that I am a sinner, but that I am a regular repeat sinner. Not only am I a repeat sinner, but I am pretty sure I am going to struggle with sin until the day I die!!!

Gee!

It’s a good thing I am not God. I don’t think I could put up with a repeat sinner like myself. I mean, how many times do I expect to be forgiven for the same sin over and over and over and over and over and over. I can go on…

Thank God God is God.

God tells us, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” Thank God! Because without God being this God, I have no hope.

You and me…we’re going to struggle with sin until the day we die. AND because God is a God who knows that and still loves us, our job is to keep struggling with sin. Keep repenting of sin. Keep striving after God’s righteousness.

The worst thing that we can do as repeat sinners is to quit struggling with sin, and accept sin. That would be tragic!!!

Keep at it. Keep struggling. Keep repenting. Keep striving. AND remember to thank God God is God.