Mon.’s Devo - Choose God

Read: Joshua 24:1-33; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:52; Proverbs 13:20-23 Joshua summoned all the tribes: their leaders, elders, judges and officers to come and hear his last speech. He laid out their history from Abraham’s family up till then. *** God had taken Abraham from a family that worshipped other gods and led him to Canaan. He gave him many descendants through his son Isaac. Isaac had two sons: Jacob and Esau. He gave the mountains of Seir to Esau but sent Jacob’s family to Egypt. *** God sent Moses to bring them out of Egypt with terrible plagues on Egypt. When they cried out to the Lord, God put darkness between the Israelites and the Egyptians and brought the waves of the Red Sea down on the Egyptians. Israel lived in the wilderness for years. *** Finally, God brought them to the land he had promised and gave them victory from Barak, the Canaanites, Jebusites, Hittites, Girgashites, and the Hivites. It was not their sword that brought them victory, but the Lord. He gave them towns they did not build and vineyards and olive groves they did not plant. *** God would not tolerate their rebellion so they needed to chose who they were going to serve, the gods of their enemies or their own God who delivered them from their enemies. *** The leaders chose to sere the Lord and get rid of any foreign gods they had. They did serve the Lord till Joshua and all the elders who had personally experienced God’s power. *** They buried Joseph’s bones at Shechem in the land given to Joseph. When Eleazar died, he was buried in the land of Ephraim in the town of Gibeah. *** In Luke, Jesus noted the gifts people were putting in the treasury box at the Temple. The rich showed great pomp giving their gifts but a widow gave two mites and Jesus said that she had put in more than all of the others. She had given out of her poverty but they had given out of their abundance. *** When the disciples commented on the greatness of the stones of the temple, Jesus said that the day would come when not one stone would be left upon another. They would all be torn down. The disciples asked when this would happen and what sign would indicate it was about to happen. Jesus said that many would say they were the Messiah, there would be rumors and wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences and fearful signs from heaven. Before all these things, they would deliver them up to the synagogues to be questioned. This will be their time to give testimony of God. All their family would turn on them and some of them would die. They would be hated for his name’s sake. When they see the temple surrounded by armies they would know that its desolation was near. *** When they see the signs in the sun, moon and stars they will know that the Son of Man was coming in the cloud with great power and glory. Then they were to look up and know that their redemption draws near. *** This all happened in 70 A.D. when the Temple was totally destroyed but it is also talking about the second coming of Christ. *** Lord, may we be patient in waiting for you to bring redemption and salvation. May we endure with faith. We choose to follow you.