“’I Gave You A Land On

Which You Will Not Toil’”

Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.

Joshua 24:2

‘So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”

Joshua 24:13-18

This is the day marked by the World War II day known as D-Day. It has come to mean a moment of decision or commitment in our personal lives.

At one point in ancient Israel, their leader Joshua, now an old man, challenged the people to another kind of D-Day. After years of struggling to possess their inheritance in the land God had promised them, Joshua urged them to faithfully serve the One who had been so faithful to them. The Bible says, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” The Bible also says Joshua then said, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

The day we decide to follow the Savior is the greatest turning point in our life. And each day after that, we can joyfully renew our commitment to serve Him.

Life’s biggest decision is what you do with Jesus.

Our Daily Bread – June 6, 2014