Joshua 24:15

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3 September, 2023

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JOSHUA 24:15

“If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. As for me and my family, we’ll worship God.” (MSG)

TO PONDER

Does your morning routine include deciding to worship God or, like 90% of Australians, do you religiously check your phone within 10 minutes of waking up.

Now, I am not judging those of you who are part of that 90%, as I am more often than not, part of that 90%. Obviously, if the study this figure comes from is correct, most of us are in this habit. 

The study went on to find this habit was detrimental to our emotional and physical health as it jolts our brains into a wave of high stress. This abrupt jolt as we wake up causes feelings of worry, paranoia, fear, anger and irritability. 

Today’s verse reminds us that everyday we should wake up and decide who or what we will worship/serve today. Do we choose to worship the need for information or do we decide to worship God. One of the spiritual practices we talk about at LifeWay Westside is starting the day with, what we call, “Headline Prayer”. That’s praying three single sentence prayers; Pray for LifeWay, pray for somebody else, and finally pray that God would use us today. 

It’s as simple as, “God I pray that you would bless everybody who is part of LifeWay, I ask you to move in (inset name here) life today, and Father I ask that you would use me to be your tangible presence in somebodies life today, Amen!”.

As for me, tomorrow I will choose not to check my phone first thing in the morning but to pray instead.


PRAYER:  Almighty Father, I repent for the times I have chosen other things before you, for the routines and habits I allow to crowd you out of my life. Today, I choose to serve you.  Amen.


Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside