Have the Courage to Serve God

by Timothy Howe

Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

from Joshua 24:14-15

Have the courage to serve God sincerely.

In this world, it is easy to get by doing the bare minimum...for a while. Eventually, your dedication to something will be recognized. Our Father doesn't just want us to serve him half-heartedly. He desires genuine, sincere service for Him. Earlier in Deut., Moses had already told Israel how to serve the Lord sincerely. 

With your whole being.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deut. 6:4-5

Jesus added to this…

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

                                                          Mark 12:30-31

         

Have the courage to serve God faithfully.

Many people have the right attitude in serving God, but permit it to only surface occasionally. Joshua understood this and so he told the people that in addition to sincere and genuine service, they needed to demonstration faithful service. 

Put away your idols.

Part of the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel was their worship of false gods. They carried around these little metal figurines and worshiped them. They were called idols. Now this certainly is no problem for us, or is it? I wonder what idols we carry around today. Our might not be live human-like carved figurines. It may look more like a new car, a status symbol, a retirement account, etc. An idol is anything that we put before God. 

        

Let us ask ourselves:

How sincerely am I serving God? 

How consistently am I serving God? 

What “idols” am I serving instead of God?