The Challenge

Day one hundred ninety-four

I have been working on enjoying the journey more and worrying a little less.  As things come up in my life, both good and bad, I am trying to see the blessings in it and not focus so much on the hardships.  My scripture study has been invaluable in my attempt to see the blessings.  I am learning more about how the Lord works in His peoples lives and how to recognize Him in my life.  I am also learning to recognize what a blessing is and to see it in my own life.  There are many blessings happening everyday that I never realized were blessings before.  I have been missing out on seeing the Lord in my life in so many ways!  My prayer today was filled with gratitude for the blessings I am recognizing and for the learning experience to find them.  My request was that I will have the Spirit with me today so that I might continue to see these blessings.

Joshua 23:9 - 24:24

Joshua's Challenge
In these verses, Joshua challenges the elders and the people to observe certain truths concerning God. His challenge is for them to look at what the Lord has done and is doing in their lives. If they will just remember Lord, they are more likely to live the right kind of lives!

The Challenge to:

Consider the Consequences (23:9-16)
While there are many challenges given here, the primary idea that Joshua is trying to convey is this: If you will serve the Lord, He will bless you. If you disobey Him, He will chastise you! Pay special attention to the challenge in verse 11, how Israel responded to the Lord was a perfect indicator of her love for Him.

This challenge still applies to the people of God today. That admonition is very simple: You play; you pay! As children of God, we have two possible ways of living our lives:  We can either live it within the confines of God's will and be blessed, or we can live it outside the will of God and be chastised (Heb. 12:5-11). The choice is entirely ours to make! And, the choice we make will be determined by our love for Jesus Christ and for our Heavenly Father (John 14:15).

Remember God's Works (24:1-13)
In these verses, Jesus bears His testimony to the people, using Joshua as HIs voice (vv 2-13).  He reminds the nation of all the many great things He has done for them. His challenge is for them to remember all these great works on their behalf. If they will remember His goodness, they will be more likely to serve Him faithfully.

The works of the Lord on our behalf are a great motivator for service. When we stop to think of all He has done, it should challenge us to go deeper in our relationship with Him. Think of: how He died; how He loves us when we are lost; how He atoned for our sins; how He calls us unto Him; how He forgives us all our sins and failures; how He has adopted us into His family; how He has promised us a home in Heaven; how He has met our needs; how He has blessed our lives; how He has never left us nor forsaken us, even though, at times, we have forsaken Him. Think of His greatness and goodness and let those things be your motivator!

Do God's Will (24:14-18) 
Joshua tells the people that it is the Lord's will for them to clean up their lives and to serve Him faithfully. He makes the statement that he and his family will do just that regardless of what the people do, now that is a great example of commitment (v 15)! The people respond by expressing their desire to serve God because of His greatness and His blessings!

What a great challenge for each of us, to seek God's will and understand that when we serve the Lord, it is the will of God for our life! He wants us to search our life and destroy anything in it that hinders our relationship with Him. He wants us to be clean and to make that commitment to serve Him!

Strengthen Our Commitment (24:19-24) 
This is one of the most interesting teaching moments in the scriptures.  Joshua makes a strange statement to the people. He tells them that they cannot serve the Lord! His meaning is clear. He is reminding them that the Lord is holy and desires our exclusive devotion.  The Israelites are on a path that will lead them away from God and Joshua is reminding them  that they can't have things both ways. That is, they cannot serve the Lord on the one hand, and serve false God's on the other! His reminder is that judgment will accompany such an action. Again, the people proclaim their desire to follow the Lord.

We cannot have things both ways! Either we are serving the Lord with absolute commitment, or we are living a life of hypocrisy! That is a hard statement, but true and necessary for us to remember.  There is no walking the fence when it comes to our devotion to God!

Often we feel like there are too many challenges in our lives, but as we look at the challenges that Joshua presented to the Israelites, we realize that these are the really important challenges.  These are the challenges that our efforts should focus on.  These are the challenges that matter the most!  If we accept these challenges and continue to work on them, then we know that we are living the right kind of life.  A life worthy of the Lord's blessings and we can always use more blessings!