"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 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."
~Joshua 24:14-15
What will you choose? Whom will you serve? You cannot serve God and the world. You have to make a whole hearted choice. Have you done that yet? Joshua did. I am saying the same thing as Joshua. We are not perfect. We make mistakes. But overall we will be a household who serves the Lord above all things.
This Sunday is set aside for a special day of prayer for the persecuted church. Would you please remember them? We have it so easy here. I pass by four churches on the way to my own on a Sunday. It is only a ten mile stretch. If I get tired of this one there are plenty to chose from. But the people who God has called to serve in those places where Christian's are persecuted for their beliefs sometimes have to meet secretly. There are many dangers that lie around them. Please do not forget them. God is doing great things through them for a lost world. The least we can do is join together in prayer for them.
When you get a chance go check out the persecution blog. It will move you. So many people are making huge sacrifices for what we have for in the states for free. I admire them greatly. They are the true heroes of the faith. Lord, please never let us forget them. They inspire me to be faithful and keep moving forward. I hope their stories will do the same for you.
6 comments:
A good reminder! I'm checking this site out right now. Thank you for posting this.
love you
steph.
Great post Ang. It's so easy to sit back and do nothing...
I once heard from a friend that the persecuted Christians in other countries say we need just as much prayer or more... it's easy for our faith to grow cold in prosperity.
BTW - My 6-year-old just had to say Joshua 24:14 for his School Bible Memory Verse today.
Blessings dear sister and have a great weekend!
I always have to wonder if it wouldn't help our faith here in North America a little if we were in fear for our lives. I certainly don't wish for that, don't get me wrong, but I have to admit that I long for a faith strong enough to withstand it. I'm thankful our right to worship is still protected, even though that appears to be changing fast.
I'm thankful, too, there are Christians the world over -- regardless of where they live and under what circumstances -- that are standing up for their faith and setting an amazing example for the world to see.
Thank you for bringing this site to my attention. I just heard some facts on the persecuted church last night on the radio. It was staggering!
Angela! What a great reminder. I too drive by several churches on my way to my church. What a privilege that we underutilize in America! It reminds me of another study that I was a part of where the lessons were in English but they are provided across the globe. Some SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY believers will learn ENGLISH so that they can participate in this Bible Study. They have shown us pictures and video of people doing the Bible Study with their English translation dictionary and their Bible. Real Hunger. Awesome. Thank you for bringing this out. Great post. - Love you! Sanya
I love those verses. I just wrote a post yesterday about the choices that we have to make. God will not force our hand. Thank you for this.
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