"As For Me And My House"

"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

Joshua said these words to the Israelites thousands of years ago, yet they still ring true today. Every generation, every tribe and nation, every family, every individual must make this choice at some point in their lives.

Whom are you going to serve?

It's a very simple question. The answer, however, seems to trip up a lot of people.

I'm so incredibly thankful my parents made the right choice when they were young adults. Both were raised in Christian homes, but like me, there came a day when they had to choose for themselves whom they would serve. The God of their parents had to become the God of their heart.

On May 13, 2013, the day after Mother's Day, my precious Mom went to be with her Lord. She went Home. After 11+ years of living with Alzheimer's, her body finally gave up the fight. But Mom -- Annabelle -- lives on in her heavenly home. How do I know? Because Jesus said we would, if we but believe in Him. In John 14:1-2 he said, "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you."

That very day Jesus was already making preparations for Mom's home-going. And He was preparing for mine too. These bodies were not made to last. We will all die eventually. Psalm 139:16 tells us God knows all the days ordained for us before we're even born. Mom and Daddy both were given 85 years to do the work God intended for them to do before their time on earth came to an end. Time is not in our hands.

Driving away from the cemetery, leaving Mom there, was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. Even though my heart knows it was just her shell, or "tent" as the apostle Paul called our bodies, I couldn't help but feel like we were all abandoning her. I gained a measure of peace when she was laid to rest in the same grave site as my Dad, a WWII veteran buried in the National Cemetery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Couples share a grave if they want, and Mom and Dad are now resting with each other until God resurrects us all on that blessed day that is hopefully not too far in the future.

I know for certain I'll see my Mom and Dad again one day. I know this because they answered Joshua's question with the same answer he gave that day. It's the same answer I've given as well.

"As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Thank you, Mom and Dad! I'll see you on the other side! Love you both!!

"Then You Will Know Which Way to Go"

Being the proud mother of two amazing young men, I have a front row seat to watching their lives unfold. It doesn't seem that long ago I was the one making the decisions for them -- when to eat, what to wear, where to go. And I admit, it wasn't easy giving up the power a parent has over their children and letting them go out into the world to make their own decisions...and mistakes. A good parent, after all, doesn't want their kids to suffer, whether from harm or disappointment.  

But life isn't like that. We all have to spread our wings and leave the nest. If we've been blessed with Godly parents who gave us a biblical foundation to stand on, we will hopefully seek God's counsel in the big decisions, like where to go to school, what job to take, and who to marry. God is, after all, the author of our story. He knows the beginning and the end. It's up to us to follow his lead to make sure the middle chapters are full of all the blessings He planned since before we were conceived. 

Sadly, lots of young--and old--people are out there trying to find their way in this dark world without the Light to lead them. As a Christian parent, I did my utmost to make sure my sons knew Jesus Christ. It will, of course, be up to them if they continue to follow him, which is my daily prayer.

When the Israelites were ready to take possession of the Promised Land, a land they had never been in before, they needed direction. God appointed Moses, then Joshua, to lead them. For me, Joshua 3:3-4 says it all:

"When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before."

There is a life-lesson in Joshua's words for all of us!

• "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God" reminds us to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2) 

• "...you are to move out from your positions and follow it" tells us we may have to move if we're going to continue following God's lead in our lives. It may be a physical moving, a mental moving or a spiritual moving. 

• "Then you will know which way to go..." isn't about getting good directions (aka advice) from your friends and family. It's about knowing Who is in the lead and Whom you choose to follow.

• "...since you have never been this way before." None of us know what tomorrow holds. None of us know where we will be a year from now. But God does. He knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11). He knows the path we need to take to get where we're going. We've never been there, but God holds all our tomorrows in His hands. Trust Him!!

Do you know where you're going?

God does!

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This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:

USA, Ukraine, Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Philippines, South Korea, Germany

You Can't Hide Nothin' From God!

Have you ever done something wrong and then tried to keep it a secret? You felt so guilty and knew it was so wrong that you didn't want anyone to find out about it. Not even God!

I have. You probably have, too. Being disobedient and then trying to hide it goes all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Remember? They ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, then they hid from God when they heard Him moving through the garden.

Did it work? Hiding, I mean.

Nope.

God knew where they were and what they'd done.

Joshua 7 tells another story of a man who tried to hide something from God. His name was Achan. Achan was from the tribe of Judah. He was there with the rest of the Israelite men when the walls of Jericho fell. (Joshua 6) He was there when Joshua gave explicit instructions not to take any plunder for themselves because it all belonged to God.(6:18)

Well, greedy ol' Achan figured no one would know if he took some of Jericho's riches for himself. He found a beautiful robe, some silver and some gold, took them to his own tent and buried them. My guess is his wife and kids knew what he'd done, but they probably had a little greed in their hearts as well because it appears they didn't tell anyone, including Joshua, about it.

No one knew about it then, right?

Wrong!

God knew!

When Israel loses the next battle, Joshua falls to his knees, moaning and groaning and complaining to God about it, but God wont' listen and sets him straight! (7:10) He makes it abundantly clear that someone in Israel has sinned and that is why they lost the battle.

And don't we all know that sin has consequences?

Tribe by tribe, family by family, man by man. Everyone is called before God to see if they are the guilty party. Finally Achan is the only one left standing. He can't do anything except confess and the plunder is found in his tent.

What happens next should be a lesson to all.

Achan and his entire family are stoned and burned.

We can't hide anything from God, folks! If we try, then we risk being punished. It's as simple as that.

Achan had a choice. The same choice we have today: Obey God or suffer the consequences.

Because you can't hide nothin' from God!

A Prostitute Named Rahab

The Book of Joshua describes a very interesting woman in biblical history. At least, she's interesting to me. Her name was Rahab and she was a prostitute. I don't know about you, but that grabs my attention pretty quick. I mean, why would God include a story about a prostitute in His Word? And not only is her story included in the Bible, but if you'll take a look at Matthew 1:5 you'll see that she is included in the lineage of JESUS!!

Now if that doesn't grab ones attention, nothin' will!

Rahab lived in a town called Jericho. The Israelites, led by Joshua since Moses had died, are preparing to overtake all the towns and people that occupy the land that God is giving to them--The Promised Land. Jericho is part of that land. Two spies are sent to Jericho to scope things out. Rahab hides them in her house so the king's men can't find them. Then, to top things off, she helps them escape after obtaining a promise that when they do come back and destroy the city, they'll keep her and her family safe. (Joshua 2)

OK. I have about a million questions at this point!

WHY did Rahab help these guys? They were strangers to her. They were foreigners. WHY would she risk her own life to hide them and then help them escape?

HOW did the two spies know they could trust Rahab? HOW did they meet her? Some translations and scholars say Rahab was simply an innkeeper, so the spies obviously sought her out for a place to spend the night. But Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 refer to her as a "prostitute." I'm no Hebrew language scholar, but I don't see how the word for innkeeper could be mistaken for prostitute. If both James and the author of Hebrews, who was by all accounts a very educated Jew, refer to her as a prostitute, then I'm swayed to go with them.

Anyhoo...

Despite the dark life Rahab leads, she obviously has knowledge of God. In verses 8-13 she speaks of "the Lord" and knows about the Promised Land. When the spies tell her they'll save her if she'll let down a scarlet cord from her window--the same window she used to help the men escape--she does what she's told.

The author of Hebrews credits Rahab with faith (11:31) while James calls her righteous (2:25). Then there is the indisputable fact that she is listed in the lineage of our Lord and Savior.

How does a woman go from being a prostitute to being called righteous and being listed as Jesus' Great (etc) Grandma?!

I believe something pretty amazing happened to Rahab from the moment the spies first entered her home. Maybe even before they arrived. I think Rahab had an encounter with El Roi, the God Who Sees Me. The same God who saw Hagar back in Genesis 16. The same God who sees us today. I think Rahab's heart was ready to hear God and to know Him in a way she hadn't experienced before.

It changed the course of her life.

It also changed the course of her loved ones' lives. Because Rahab was faithful and obedient, her entire family was saved (Joshua 6:22-24) while Jericho and its inhabitants were destroyed.

This story begs a question.

Can I be as faithful as a prostitute?

A prostitute named Rahab.