January 22nd

CHOOSE YOUR GOD

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). This quote always seems so positive in nature and even has a motivating tone. In those times the head of household determined the spiritual following of everyone in his household. Not necessarily true today. It's not automatic as back then. This beckons the question, what about my house? I want to serve the Lord but what about "my house"? We are held accountable for the spiritual leadership of our house. What does this look like today? Hmm...

I wonder how many homes have then end of that verse cross stitched or art deco'd on a wall somewhere.

We live in a culture of "personal rights" and "independence" that doesn't recognize the concept of "my house." Maybe we should start cross stitching the first part of that verse as a daily morning reminder that might be more recognized by our culture: "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve." It's a daily choice. My most common mistake is not that I choose myself (although I often do), but that I make no choice at all. I think you have to actively choose to serve God, otherwise our sin nature takes over and probably defaults to self.

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve."

I'm reading a day late here but I loved the 2 postings.

The concept of all different types of God's and religions has always amazed me. I've always thought it would be an interesting study to see what % of people are the same basic religion they were brought up in, and what % of people choose a different one. It's quite a controversial topic, but I'm willing to be that over 80% of the people in this world are the same religion that they were brought up in, be it by their parents or sorrounding society.

That has always led me to the question of wether it's truly belief, or is our belief structure a product of our environment? AKA, had we been born in India (as an example), would we have the same beliefs we do today? Had Carlos (who I realize grew up Catholic) not married Sheri, had Sheri been born to Mormon parents, had Tricia and Keith been born to Muslims, had I not married Tricia, etc...

Not always a comfortable conversation. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about!

Anthony's posting is an interesting one. Obviously where we are born influences the decision and beliefs we have. I was raised what I call semi-catholic. I was the only one, in all of my family, that actually followed the churches teachings. No family members are now Catholic. Most family members, are atheists. What becomes more controversial is the issue of predestination. God predetermined that we would be called to him. That concept still causes great debate within the church.