Joshua 24:15, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

In the above passage, Joshua is giving his final words to the Jewish people after successfully completing his task for the Lord and is at the end of his life.  He had powerfully brought the people of Israel into the promise land and defeated the enemies of God.  However, he knew that the greatest enemy the people of Israel were going to face was going to come from their own families and homes.

In other words, Joshua knew that the only way Israel could be defeated was if the people turned their backs on God and worshipped the false gods and idols of the nations.  Therefore, he gave them the ultimatum, “you can either serve the Lord or the false gods.”  But Joshua was very clear what he and his household were going to do, he said, “but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Your house may not be tempted to serve the gods of the Egyptians or the Amorites, however, they may be tempted to serve the god of “money,” “sports,” “entertainment,” “self,” “humanism,” and, “perversion.”  Thus, you need to make up in your mind which “god” you and your house are going to serve.

If you are the leader of your house you should determine how and when everyone goes to church, does daily family devotions, obeys God’s commands and preaches the Word of God everywhere they go.  Don’t let Oprah Winfrey or American Idol have the loudest voice in your family!

However, if you’re not the leader in your home, you can start with your bedroom and say, “As for me in this bedroom, I will serve the Lord.”  And one day when you have your own house and family you can boldly say, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!”

Make Jesus the Lord of your life and the only God of your house!

Reflection

Do you and your household serve the Lord?

Action

  1. If you’re the leader in your home, establish today daily prayer times and Scripture readings.
  2. If you’re not the leader of your home, establish in your life regular prayer and Bible reading.
  3. Remember, don’t let the idols of this world become the gods of your house- serve the Lord!