“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of 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 NIV

Joshua had been chosen by God to lead the Israelites to the promised land after Moses’ death. Joshua was a man of great faith.  This allowed Joshua to be a good leader for the Israelites.  It allowed him to be a mighty warrior and commander of the Israelite army.

So in this scripture passage Chapter 24 begins with Joshua telling the Israelites what God has told him.  He tells them of the success they have had in crossing the Jordan and inhabiting these established cities and being brought into the promised land that had been promised to them 40 years prior when they were led out of Egypt.  Now the interesting thing about this 40 year journey is that the distance they had to travel should have taken them 14 days, not 40 years but that’s a whole other story.  So Joshua has led them through some battles where they have seen miraculous victories.  God has handed over these armies to them.  So here Joshua is telling them that although their ancestors have served other gods and the people now living in the land they inhabit serve other gods, they have a choice.  They too can choose to serve other gods or they can choose to serve the one true God that has brought them through this incredible journey and into the promised land.

But Joshua leaves no room for doubt.  While he gives them a choice, he assures them that as for him and his household, they will serve God.

So my question today is who will you serve?  Now this is an important question for you as an individual, but it is even more important for your family.

I don’t have children, but I was blessed with nieces and nephews that I love dearly. I have also been blessed with an awesome stepson.  My stepson has had the good sense to introduce a beautiful young woman into our lives that I hope is with us for the long haul. I want the very best for them.  If you have children, I am sure that you want the very best for them also.  Now you can buy them nice things and I’m sure that will make them happy.  But you can give them an eternal peace and joy that costs nothing but time and effort.  You can set an example for them by serving God.

I’m often perplexed by people who say that they will allow their children to make their own decisions about attending church and serving God.  Really?  That’s your big plan?  So on something that will determine their eternal destiny, you are gonna let them decide for themselves? Now parents that tell me this don’t attend church.  So what they are essentially telling me is that they are not going to expose their children to church and they are just gonna see if their kids pick it up somewhere along the way.  That is, if they choose to.  Hmm, that’s an interesting approach.  Now would you use the same approach with crossing the street safely?  I mean do you give the child the option to dart into traffic without holding your hand?  Would you use the same approach with school attendance?  Just don’t make them go and see if they decide in their later years to get an education? That’s a fascinating concept to me.

You see, my mother served God.  She not only attended church and brought us to church, but she taught Sunday School for 50 years, she served as the church clerk as 50 years. She was a member of the Women’s Missionary Union for many years. She taught Vacational Bible School for many years. She was always willing to serve God in any capacity that he called her for.  She brought me and my sisters to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I thank God for her influence, even now in her mid 80’s she attends church regularly.

Now I will admit as I got into my 20’s-40’s I decided that church attendance would be optional.  Now I did not dare give church up all together.  I attended a couple times a month but I was lazy about it and my church attendance was based on what suited my needs.  I chose a church that I could go to early so that I could go down the river with my friends on their boat in the afternoon.  I chose a church that did not offer Sunday school so that I did not feel guilty about missing that.  I also chose a church that did not have Sunday night service.  No guilt about missing that either.  So you get the picture.  I was given a choice but my mom exposed me to church at an early age and I chose to fall away from it.  I am happy to report that in my 40’s I met a man who had been out of church for some time.  He decided one Sunday that he wanted to go to church with me.  Well, he got all into it.  He started wanting to attend Sunday school, Sunday night services and Wednesday night services, oh boy.  So guess what?  I began doing the same thing my mom had me doing as a child.  And you know what? I began to love it.  I realized that I can’t have too much Jesus.  I have been blessed to have pastors that don’t shy away from preaching God’s word and I love being fed.  I also love serving.  I have begun to teach Sunday School and AWANA. I love to work at my church and I love to serve in the community.

So my question today is this, who is your family serving?  Are you serving your job?  Are you just so busy with work that you just don’t have time for God?  Are you so busy playing with the fancy toys that money has provided that you don’t have time for God?  Are you just so tired on Sunday that you are choosing to veg out on the sofa and watch movies instead of going to church and being fed with God’s word?  Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

In AWANA (which stands for approved workmen are not ashamed) it is the goal to reach children that are unchurched.  In our closing ceremony the children yell out the goals of AWANA.  The first goal is to reach boys and girls with the gospel of Christ.  The second goal is to train them to serve Him.  Now this is what we should be doing with our family members of all ages.  We should be setting an example for them.  We should be encouraging them to establish a relationship with God and to serve Him.  AWANA is a great place for children to learn about establishing a relationship with God and to learn about serving Him.  I don’t know about all AWANAs but I know ours offers classes for children ages 3-17.  If you know a child that is unchurched, this is a great way to introduce them to God.

I thank God daily for a mother and a paternal grandmother that modeled the Christian lifestyle for me.  They taught me that nothing this world has to offer is as good as the eternal salvation found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.  They taught me to fear and respect my heavenly Father.  They taught me that no one on this planet will love me like God will love me.  They taught me that even when things don’t go as I had hoped or planned, that God is with me and has a good plan for my life.  And most importantly they taught me the peace and joy that can only come from serving the one true God.

I pray for you that you will decide not only to serve God, but that you will do all you can do to encourage your family to do the same.  You see there is nothing you can give your family that is more precious than an eternity spent in glory with their heavenly Father.

Have a great day!