Gems of Knowledge

Today’s One Year Bible Verses: Isaiah 6:1–7:25 | 2 Corinthians 11:16–33 | Psalm 54:1–7 | Proverbs 23:1–3

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Whom Will You Serve?

Every day is full of choices.

We choose what we will wear, what we will eat, what we will say. But we also choose what gets our time and attention, what we pursue, obey, and believe. And sometimes we can go through an entire day without intentionally choosing any of it. In our rushing through life we simply follow whatever is demanding our attention at the moment.

As I took the time to be with the Lord this morning He whispered this Gem of Knowledge to me:

“‘Choose you this day whom you will serve.’ It’s a choice everyone must make every day or they will walk aimlessly into the bondage of another. Amen.”

 “Choose today whom you will serve” Those are the famous words of Joshua 24:15.

I’ve always thought of that verse as a big, defining decision: Will I serve God or not?

And it certainly is. There comes a point when each of us must decide whether we will belong to Jesus.

But I think there is another part of that choice that happens in the ordinary moments of every day.

I can belong to Jesus and still wake up tomorrow morning and have to choose whether I will follow Him that day. Will I give Him my time? Will I listen when He speaks? Will I obey when its hard? Will I allow His Word to shape me, or will I simply follow whatever the world around me is telling me?

If we don’t intentionally choose who will lead us, something else eventually will.

That is what stood out to me in the Gem: “or they will walk aimlessly into the bondage of another.”

The enemy is very cunning. Bondage rarely introduces itself as bondage.

It may begin as something we want. Something appealing or comfortable. It may be something everyone else is doing or something we believe we really need. It might begin as something harmless that slowly begins to consume us, and eventually, without realizing it, we can find ourselves serving it instead of God.

We can easily allow the things of this world to take over our time, thoughts, and desires. We seek out other people’s approval instead of God’s. We seek out our own success and comfort instead of God’s. We entertain fear, addictions, habits, or “fun” and forget all about God.

In today’s One Year Bible reading from Isaiah, he sees the Lord “sitting on a lofty throne” while the angels declare, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies!” (Isaiah 6:1, 3 NLT).

When Isaiah truly sees who God is, everything changes. He recognizes his own condition and how wretched we are compared to God. But here is the amazing part to me—God, in His abundant love, grace, and mercy, cleanses him with a single touch of coal to his lips, then asks, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

God called out to Isaiah, giving him an opportunity to choose God and serve Him, to which he responds, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8 NLT).

Isaiah had a choice.

Isaiah could have seen God, experienced His presence, and then continued living for himself. Instead, he chose God.

Here I am. I will serve You.

And maybe that’s a choice we need to make again every morning.

Not because our salvation disappears overnight or because God requires us to earn our place with Him each day. But because following Jesus is an active relationship. There will always be other voices asking for our allegiance, attention, time, and obedience.

Even Paul describes in today’s reading the tremendous cost of choosing to continue serving Christ. He endured hardship, danger, exhaustion, hunger, and opposition (2 Corinthians 11:23–28). Yet he continued.

Would we??

His life had direction because he knew whom he served.

And that may be the real warning in today’s Gem. If we don’t choose our direction and know who we serve, we can easily drift away.

We don’t have to wake up and intentionally choose bondage to end up in bondage. We only have to stop intentionally choosing God.

So before the demands of today begin pulling you in a hundred different directions, make your choice.

Jesus, I choose You.

And tomorrow?

Choose Him again. 💎

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Action (5 Minutes with God)

Choose God today. Choose to give Him your time, even if it’s only 5 minutes. Then choose His counsel by asking Him:

• “Lord, what do You want me to know about this personally?”
  • Journal what He gives you through His Holy Spirit.
• Then ask, “What do You want me to do?”
  • Journal what He reveals – then do it!

Let Joshua’s famous question continue to fill your heart and mind today: Whom will you serve this day?

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Prayer

Dear Father God, today I choose You. I choose Your Son. I choose Your Holy Spirit. I choose Your will and Your ways. I don’t want to wander through my days allowing whatever is most demanding to determine my direction. You are my God, and I want You to lead me every step of the way. Show me anything I have unknowingly allowed to have authority over my life and revoke it so I can surrender it only to You. Help me recognize Your voice, obey Your direction, and willingly say, “Here I am. Send me.” Today and every day, I choose to serve You, God. This I pray in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

To read more 5 Minutes with God devotionals click here.