CHOOSE YE THIS DAY WHOM YE WILL SERVE
CHOOSE YE THIS DAY WHOM YE WILL SERVE
By Evangeline Unity Esaaba folson
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your father’s send that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose lad ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
The Israelites were so stubborn difficult to rule. In spite of all the miracles God did in the desert through Moses and Joshua they still doubted God. It was important for them to declare their loyalty will they serve Joshua God Almighty or their fathers’ idols or gods.
Daniel 3:16-18
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the King, O Nebuchadnezzar we are not careful to answer thee this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand….
These are very daring and disrespectful statements to make to a king. But these three Hebrews were able to speak these words because they knew their God.
They had been brought up with stories of their forefathers crossing the sea on dry land, bringing down the walls of Jericho with no weapons but songs and shouts of praise to their God.
Sometimes it is difficult to declare your stand especially when you seem to be a “lone ranger” or as same will say I walk alone!
In 2 Kings 6:16 Elisha told his servant
Fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
Indeed when you have God behind you it means
You have the captain of the Heavenly hosts and His uncountable army behind you.
In the verses before 2 king 6:16 we are told (verse 15) a great army had surrounded Elisha and his servant it says
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master how shall we do?
In other words, “my master we are doomed”
The three verses / passage quoted above bring out a few important lessons in Christianity.
- For Christianity to be of any benefit to anyone you must clearly declare your stand.
Revelations 3:1-15th say
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot I want thou wert cold or hot so then because thou art lukewarm neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Meaning, God requires that we are loyal and committed to Him only (not) He detests or hates those who serve two gods at the same time (lukewarm)
In fact, He even prefers those who clearly declare opposition to God or atheists (cold) to the lukewarm.
I spue thee out of my mouth! Is a very strong and offensive way of expressing your displeasure or disapproval.
The first thing to do to declare your stand with God is to accept the gift of salvation
The first thing to do to declare your stand with God is to accept the gift of salvation. Then you obey the Lord’s commandments and live to please Him as the bible directs.
- The second most important thing to do is to remain faithful to God to the end. Do not be intimidated by crowds, Like Elisha told his servant, they were 2 as against a whole army (There be more with us than with them)
- You are human, and you may sometimes bow to pressure but trust God to see you through
Revelations 2:10 say
…. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Death in this context does not necessarily mean clinical death or absence of spirit from body but it means remain faithful no matter the cost.
This can be explained by using the story on talents in the new testament Matthew 25:14-30 it tells the story of a master who leaving his house to travel entrusted his property to his servants. According to the abilities of each man, one servant received 5 talents, the second had received 2, and the third received only.
The first 2 worked with their talents and received gains. But the best one who received the least did nothing with his talent because he feared the master’s reaction or punishment if he lost the money.
The first two also knew how wicked the master could be but they decided to increase what they had no matter the cost.
Lesson from story
- God has given each of us talents to use to promote the gospel
- Some have more, other have less
- But, no matter what you have strive to use it to the glory of God in spite of the challenges you may face Because God, like the master in the story on talents will reward us according to what we do with the talents.
Revelations 22:12
And, behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
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