“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve. Whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
– Joshua 24:14–15
Maybe the most well-known verse in all of Joshua is Joshua chapter 24, verse 15. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” It’s interesting when you think about how Deuteronomy ended and then now how Joshua ends. It ends with a choice. Life and death, blessing and curse in Deuteronomy. Here, serve all these false, foreign gods that do not satisfy or serve the Lord God who alone can satisfy.
Our lives should be marked by devotion to God. May God use our lives today as His servants for His purposes.
Joshua 24:14–15 Presents Us With a Choice
And the reality is, you and I have that choice, in a sense, on a daily basis. So, just to back up. There comes a point where we all must decide if we are going to serve God, if we’re going to put our faith in Jesus to save us from our sins and submit to his lordship in our lives. That’s the beginning of the Christian life. But that beginning triggers a daily denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Jesus. That’s what Jesus says in Luke 9, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself daily, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Every day, when we wake up in the morning, it’s a picture of us saying … This is why I encourage time with the Lord, some kind of time with the Lord in the morning, where you just go before him and say, “Here I am, a servant reporting for duty. I am here to serve you. I live today to serve you. And, I want to exalt you, I want to glorify you, I want to follow you. You are my Lord. You’re the Lord, I’m the servant. Lead me, guide me, direct me however you will.”
Joshua 24:14–15 is an Invitation to Serve the Lord
As for me and my house, today we will serve the Lord. God, we pray this. We pray this today. You are our Lord. We bow before you, and we are so thankful you are our Lord. You are a good Lord. The only good, wise Lord of all. The great, sovereign king over all. We are glad to be your servants. So glad, because you are so good. You lead us in that which is good. Your word is good. Your worship leads to our joy, our satisfaction, so we gladly say yes.
We choose to serve you. Help us, help us, then. Help us to live this out. And, help us to serve you all day long today. Help us to serve you when we are alone and when we are with others. Help us to serve you in our family, friends, work, and neighborhood. God, help us to serve you in every sphere we find ourselves in. God, we pray that you would help us to serve you in every way. With our thoughts, with our desires, with our words, with our actions. Help us to serve you as we proclaim you today to people around us who don’t know you.
Let’s Pray…
God, please use us as your servants to proclaim your lordship, your good and loving lordship, to others. God, use our lives today as your servants for your purposes. We pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
