As For Me And My House

“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!  And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of 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 (NKJV)

LORD God Almighty,

In every moment of this day, help me choose to fear only You, LORD, and to serve You in sincerity and in truth—having put no other gods before You.

Every day—and multiple times within each day—I am faced with the same decision that Joshua told the children of Israel they must make.  Because I have free-will, I get to choose, but I still must choose.  Help me to choose well.

Help me to see and remember that I will always worship something or someone—that it is not possible for me not to worship—and that whatever I give my time, talents, and money to, has the potential to be my god.

So help me to reject any false gods that my predecessors may have served—and not serve a false god, simply because that is what I saw others doing when they made gods of success, money, power, or possessions.

Help me also reject the false gods of this present world in which I must dwell—paying close attention not to allow any of the good things of life in this present day, to become gods that I place before You.

Help me to repeatedly make the right choice for me and my house, as to whom we will serve.  Help us always to choose You, LORD.

In every moment of this day, help me choose to fear only You, LORD, and to serve You in sincerity and in truth—having put no other gods before You.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

To Serve His Purposes

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

—Luke 9:23 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

Give me the strength and resolve to turn away from my selfish ways and embrace with courage and patient endurance whatever challenges You place before me—as I purpose to follow wherever You lead.

Help me always to remember that my life is in You—that I belong to You and that the life I live must be lived to serve Your purposes and not my own.

Give me a heart that is willing to deny myself in order to accomplish that which You have put before me—and hands and feet that move quickly toward the work at hand.

Help me not to just serve You from my mouth, but demonstrate my love and gratitude for what You have done for me, by truly living out that which I say I believe.

Give me the strength and resolve to turn away from my selfish ways and embrace with courage and patient endurance whatever challenges You place before me—as I purpose to follow wherever You lead.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

No Escaping Your Presence

I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.

—Psalm 139:7-10 (NLT)

Omnipresent LORD,

Thank You that no matter where I wander, You are already there waiting for me—just as You have always been—holding within Yourself everything that I will ever need and making it freely available to me, if I will only turn and seek You with my whole heart.

Never let me forget that though I cannot see You—and though I may not always sense Your Spirit with me—You never leave me, but rather are constantly and compassionately watching over me according to Your unfailing love for me.

When, in my foolishness, I have gone my own way and feel like I am far from where You are, help me to remember that I only need to look for You and that, in calling out for You, I will find that You are right there with me—having never left my side, having never let go of my hand—ready to forgive me and restore me to fellowship with You once again.

May the knowledge of Your constant presence with me create within me the courage to faithfully follow wherever Your Spirit might take me—trusting that Your hand will guide me and Your strength will support me, no matter where Your perfect path for me may lead.

Thank You that no matter where I wander, You are already there waiting for me—just as You have always been—holding within Yourself everything that I will ever need and making it freely available to me, if I will only turn and seek You with my whole heart.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.