My Beloved King, in submitting my life to You, I pledged to love You alone … to walk in Your ways … to obey Your commands … and to cling to You and serve You with all my heart, soul and mind. Your servant Joshua asked Your people Israel a penetrating question … “choose you this day whom you shall serve,” whether the gods of this world or the One True God? You have asked me the same question which comes with the command to obey You in all things. Why shouldn’t I since You have shown Yourself faithful. The problem is that it is easy to slip off in passive rebellion going about my life in my own way. I must realize that whatever I choose will control the things I do. I must choose between You, myself, or some other imperfect substitute. Even though I make the choice to serve You alone, I must make a conscious effort to reaffirm that commitment each day and strive to live up to Your calling.
In taking a stand for You there will be forces in the world that try to deceive me into abandoning You. As Joshua stated to his people, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” So, the question remains, do I stand with You pledging the same allegiance? Regardless of what others decide, I’m all in with You. I will strive to become an example of what living for You really means. I must never forget that talk is cheap. If I’m going to be a witness, I must walk in Your ways and not become embroiled in the distractions that will surely come my way. A commitment to You means living Your way … not mine. The way I live shows my commitment to serving You. As You encouraged Your people when they crossed into the Promised Land, “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law.” My commitment requires that I hold fast to You and obey Your commands.
I take consolation in knowing that You have been faithful in fulfilling all of Your promises. If I go astray, I accept the fact that in pulling away from You I have eliminated Your covering and protection and all manner of evil will come against me. The Scriptures capture a question Peter asked of You (that I also must ask myself) … “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” In a straight-forward way, Peter answered that question for me … there is no other way. Though the world is filled with many philosophies and philosophers, You alone have the words of eternal life. Many in the world search for an answer to the question “what happens when I die?” If they miss You, the answer they seek will not be answered until it is too late. Jesus’ reply to Peter tells me a lot … “haven’t I chosen you?” Based on Your same commitment to me, I’m all in. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Joshua 24:15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable, then choose you this day who you will serve … But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.