Worship for Today: "You are not able to serve the Lord."

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Joshua 24:19,

 

"Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins."

 

Here is an interesting statement Joshua declared to the Israelites. In the middle of extracting a commitment from the Israelites to not forsake the Lord for other so-called gods, Joshua points out that the Lord is a holy and jealous God - they would be unable to serve him.

 

Joshua lays it before the people, "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 24:15.

 

Serving the Lord is something not to be taken lightly. As Joshua says, "He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you." Verses 19-20.

 

This is where the need for salvation comes in. We have all sinned, we are all subject to the wrath of God for our sins. It is from the Lord's own justice we need to be saved. How I thank the Lord for his kindness and mercy to me that he has provided a way for me, through his Son, Jesus Christ! It is in him he asks I place my faith and trust. As Paul wrote Titus, "When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com