Yom Shi-shi, Av 4, 6002 – July 28, 2017
Making A Commitment
It is easy in life to try to just move through it. Maybe we have had experiences that “taught” us to not become involved in other people’s lives. Maybe we are just trying to hold on ourselves. Or maybe times are so good that we are just enjoying the moments, one after the other. Whatever the reason, there are times when we are faced with a need on our part or the part of another that requires someone to make a commitment to action. It is in those moments that the future is truly shaped, for even inaction is an action. There are many scriptures that could be used here to address this point, but there is one that expresses it very well.
Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God.
19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.
24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
Ultimately, the action our Father is always calling us to take is to serve Him, and leave behind those things, those gods, which we served in days past.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name Yah! Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Heal us from the inside out. Deliver us from the evil here. Restore unto Your people all that has been taken or held back in any way, and the more besides. We assk all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.