Joshua 24:15(KJV 1900) — 15And 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.

Certainly this is a message that has transcended the ages.....I personally have heard this passage in several sermons and songs and Sunday School and Bible School lessons and Christians Broadcasts on the radio as well.....and why not?? It has a simple yet profound message within it: "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"......Joshua told the people of God to make up their minds which gods they will serve..... But Joshua says, as for me AND MY HOUSE, we will serve the Lord [Jehovah].....this simple passage teaches us something about order in a family, in a family unit....Joshua implied there is no division in his house....Joshua implied that his household would follow his lead as a position of authority in his home....not a dictatorship, just that God gave the husband this responsibility in spiritual matters.....He also implied there were no divisions in his house...... why do/would we allow divisions??  It would seem to be common sense that we would all want to be on the same page.....I teach our Church family and young couples who are to marry that their number 1 priority as husband and wife is to make their home a sanctuary......the world has enough chaos in it, so please don't allow it in the house!

In my 20 years of pastoring I've heard a lot of reasons why people can no longer attend church....probably my favorite one is that they can't get their kids to want to come.......hmmm.....I wonder if they can get their kids to want to go to school?? I know this is nothing more than an excuse but it's amusing nonetheless.....many times parents raise their children as equals.....Sometimes I'll be at Walmart and be forced to listen to children arguing with their parents and its hard for me to figure out who the child is in that particular parent/child relationship.....why would we want division in our homes?? The family unit is the foundation of society......God wants us to love and nurture and encourage one another and for the home to be a shield against the rest of the ills of society.....

I often think about my Grandma and Grandpa Williams.....they raised 8 children on the sand of Posey county and the watermelons and cantaloupes they grew.....they were pretty poor in the worlds eyes....but they had plenty of food, and, most importantly, all kinds of love.....even though their house wasn't anything to look at, nothing fancy inside of it.....there was Grandma and her love for the Lord and her love for her family......and all of us Grandkids, great Grandkids looked forward to our visits there.....her home was a sanctuary....

Joshua's home was a sanctuary.....it had no division in it....he spoke for his family when he said as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord......I remember Bobby Knights famous quote from years ago, when asked what its like to coach kids in this era since kids have changed so much....he said, "kids haven't changed one bit over the years....its the parents that have changed" .... yep, I'm afraid he's right

​SW  

My daily reading was in the Gospel of John Chapter 17....within that chapter is the very familiar verse 32 "Remember Lots wife"....I say it is familiar only because this is the favorite "memory verse" along with "Jesus wept" [John 11:35] for Church camp kids of all ages haha....but what a profound statement here Jesus makes.....there she was, Lot's wife,  on the threshold of safety, yet her love for her old life was so strong, she couldn't help but look back....we have to assume she looked back longingly, as though she already missed her old life.....the town was up in flames, yet she longed for it, destructive as it may be....If you've ever watched watched a few episodes of the show "Intervention" you'll seen this very situation happen....I can't really explain why I like to watch that show....it's hard to watch at times for sure, I guess the old analogy of the train wreck holds here....you don't want to watch it, but you can't stop watching.....I can't help but think that these people on the show  are so controlled by drugs or alcohol that many of them have a similar testimony to Lot's wife....help can be found, safety from this lifestyle, a path to freedom.....many addicts will take some steps along that path, but alas, the day comes when they look back....and if and when they do, inevitably many of them go right back into the life of utter destruction....very sad and hard to understand, but so strong is the allure of the carnal flesh....many people choose to live lives of destruction....destruction to themselves, their relationships, family, etc....within Chapter 17 Jesus gives a portion of what we call the Olivet discourse, given more in depth in Matthew 24, which gives an account of His return and the destruction of the sinfulness of this world....many people in this world today wouldn't think of using illegal drugs or become addicted to alcohol, yet will find themselves in the same condition as Lots wife one day....the path to eternal life is very narrow...Jesus Christ alone....faith alone-- Christ alone-- grace alone.....Jesus said "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" [John 8:36]-- He says that to the worst of addicts, to the worst of sinners, and to those who are self righteous and think they have no sin [no more miserable people on earth than this last group in my opinion].....freedom....this is a spiritual teaching obviously because there are people in prison who can be free and there are people who are not in prison but yet they are not free......I hope that you are free my friend, if not, search for Jesus...In His Word, in prayer, in your thoughts.....He's not far away at all....in fact, when you meet Him you'll realize He's been there all along....and if you truly meet Him, if you are truly born again, you'll never have reason or desire to look back.....have a blessed day!! 

Pastor Scott 

Psalm 55:22Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
 
We don’t have any problem letting others help us with heavy loads as we go through life…..no matter how strong you are, there is a limit to your strength 

But what does it mean to cast thy burden upon the Lord? And what is the importance of it? I read this story and it fits this situation very well:

In a village, [two monks] come across a young 17-year-old girl with a long kimono, trying to cross a very muddy road. But she’s not daring to step into the mud. So one monk picks her up, carries her across the road through the mud, puts her down.
The monks walk on in silence for another four or five hours, just practicing noble silence. 
Then, after four or five hours, they’re getting close to their destination. One monk says to the monk who had picked up the girl, “You shouldn’t have done that because monks are supposed to not even touch women. So you really shouldn’t have picked up that girl. You’re not supposed to do that.”
The other monk says, “Oh, are you still carrying that girl? I put her down hours ago.”
​
This teaches us the importance of ridding ourselves of those burdens....you can FEEL them! Pressure that can build up and weigh on your mind and conscience....even though there isn't anything really there...I mean, it doesn't actually weigh anything......yet burdens are seriously heavy upon your soul and body and conscience.....God never aimed for us to go this life alone....cast your burdens upon Him....just let Him have them! It really is that simple....and what a peace we forfeit when we carry our burdens around

​SW 

Will be posting some daily readings and thoughts in the very near future....stay tuned! God bless your day!