Now Fear the Lord and Serve Him

Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land after Moses took them through the desert over those 40 long years. The Lord fought for Israel and drove out the powerful nations so Israel could possess a land He had promised for them, which they did not toil and cities that they did not build. Near the end of Joshua's life, he recounted the Lord's faithfulness to them and warned them to be strong and careful to obey God's law. He told them that if violate the covenant, they would quickly perish from the land He had given them. He concluded by saying,

"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.” (Joshua 24:14-15)

Now is the hour of decision. Today is the day of your salvation. If you do not choose to follow Christ, you have in effect chosen to reject Christ.

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." (John 3:18)

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them." (John 3:36)

The great and glorious hope of the Christian is when the Lord returns to first resurrect the dead in Christ and then gather them who are still alive in Christ. This will be the time when we are "glorified" and receive our immortal bodies.

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-16)

If you have not committed your life to Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you will be left behind when the Lord returns. Jesus warned the people of our time,

"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)

God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, gave the ultimate sign of His approval of Jesus and His redemptive work on the cross by raising Him from the dead on the third day in accordance with Scripture. (See 1 Corinthians 15). God also delayed the ascension of Christ into Heaven for a little while so there would be plenty of eye-witness testimonies of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

The writer of Hebrews, asked a rhetorical question that should be asked now. "how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? ..." (Hebrews 2:3)

There are five days left to Rosh Hashanah. Be ready, alert, and prepared!