Police Devotion 9-30-2016

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

Throughout history people have said bold words to inspire others to action. Before the Revolutionary War, Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Before Nathan Hale was hanged by the British as a spy was reported to say, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Winston Churchill said that if England beat the Germans in World War II and if the British Empire and Commonwealth lasted a thousand years, people would still say of England, “This was their finest hour.” Here may be Joshua’s signature saying: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve;…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua was Israel’s leader after Moses. Joshua was brave—he knew what it meant to risk his life for Israel. After Israel was freed from Egypt, a group of thugs led by Amalek attacked Israel. Joshua led the Israelite soldiers to defeat Amalek and his people. Joshua was also the leader who actually led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Once they arrived, they had to fight one battle after another against heathen people, almost none of whom wanted to make peace with Israel: “There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon:” (Joshua 11:19).

Most importantly, Joshua first cared about pleasing God. During the time in the wilderness, he was one of twelve spies that Moses sent to check out the land of Canaan. When the spies returned, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who wanted to obey God and go into the land. The other ten convinced Israel that it couldn’t be done. Israel wouldn’t go, and as a result, God made them wander in the wilderness forty more years until all the rebels, age twenty and older, died. God even killed the spies who’d provoked Israel to disobey.

Eventually, the battles in Canaan were all won: “And the land rested from war.” (Joshua 11:23). The land was divided between the tribes of Israel, and most—not all—of the heathen had been dealt with. When Joshua warned Israel, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve,” he was old and near death. He had a reason for this warning. Before Moses died, God gave Moses bad news. God said, “Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a-whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land,” (Deuteronomy 31:16). Apparently Joshua heard this and knew what would eventually happen.

Joshua knew that some of the Israelites might give good lip service, but not all of them cared about serving the Lord. Many would decide to turn to idol worship, so Joshua warned them, “choose you this day whom ye will serve;” Then he added, “but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

The longer you’re on the job, the more you realize that not all cops care about good police work. If you strive to hustle, you’ll likely irritate some people. However, do good work, anyway. Also, the longer you’re a Christian, the more you’ll likely see that some Christians aren’t really gung-ho about serving Christ. Strive to serve the Lord anyway. Don’t concern yourself with pleasing people but with pleasing God. Take the attitude Joshua had: “choose you this day whom ye will serve;…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

If you’ve never seen in the Bible how to know for sure that you’ll get to heaven, please click “Helpful Links” on the top menu and then “How Do I Go to Heaven?” on the dropdown menu.

Brian Miller 9/30/2016

Cleveland Baptist Church | 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 | 216.671.2822