Mon.’s Devo - A New Beginning

Read: Joshua 24:11-22; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:38-52; Proverbs 13:20-23
Joshua reminded the Israelites that Abraham was chosen from a family that served other gods. God chose him to begin a new family that would be God’s chosen people to demonstrate his love and laws to the rest of the world. I see this a lot working with the youth in my church. Teens come to church who have never been taken to church as a child and have no godly heritage but God saves them and redeems their family line.
Joshua went back over their history as a nation so they wouldn’t forget their inheritance and their heritage in the Lord. He had the people choose again which God they were going to serve. The people chose the Lord so Joshua recorded their oath in a book and took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree near the holy place of God. Joshua died at the age of 110, just ten years younger than Moses when he died.
In Luke, Jesus and his disciples were at the temple as people were bringing their offerings to the Lord. A poor widow gave everything she had to the temple while the wealthy were making a spectacle of their gifts. Jesus pointed out the gift of the widow as being worth more to God than all the coins the wealthy gave. She gave everything she had because of her love for God. They gave their wealth to be seen among men while they had much more at home. It is not the size of our gifts but the size of our hearts that honors God.
Jesus mentions many times that the stones of their great temple would one day be destroyed. This happened in 70 A.D. but is also a picture of the end of the ages. The temple would not be rebuilt till the time of the Gentiles is over. We are living in the time of the Gentiles, but when we are gone, the temple will be rebuilt and sacrifices will be done again. He even tells them of his second coming in the clouds. Jesus was always telling them of the future so they wouldn’t be so bound to the present. We are to live for the future, the bigger picture. Our assignment is to live our lives to leave a path for others to walk on that will lead to God.
Lord, may we honor you and get your perspective about our lives and what we should do today. May our lives inspire others to walk closer to you.