Friday December 22nd, 2023
« You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money »
15 If you think it’s the wrong thing for you to serve the Lord, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—the gods whom your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose territories you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
16 In response, the people said, “Far be it from us that we should abandon the Lord to serve other gods,
17 since the Lord our God is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from a life of slavery. He did those great things right in front of us, preserving us along the way that we traveled and among all the peoples through whose territory we passed.
18 The Lord expelled all the people before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore, we also will serve the Lord, since he is our God.”
19 So Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, because he is a God of Holiness. He is a jealous God, and he will forgive neither your transgressions nor your sins.
20 If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign deities, then he will turn and do you harm, consuming you after all the good he has done for you.”
21 “No,” the people replied to Joshua. “We will serve the Lord.”
22 Joshua responded, “You are giving testimony against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” They replied, “We are witnesses!”
23 Joshua said, “Therefore abandon the foreign gods that are among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people replied, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey his voice.”
It is impossible to offer the same service to two human masters at the same time, let alone God and mammon.
Whoever tries to do so will lose ultimately.
This is because God will see you as unserious and you will get nothing from Him.
Mammon (money), on the other hand is not reliable. Psalm 49:6-7 CEV says
« They trust in their riches and brag about all of their wealth. You cannot buy back your life or pay off God! »
Why is mammon compared with God and not the devil?
It is because mammon represents the material things of this world and that is what the devil has been using to compete against God.
The devil won against Adam and Eve but thankfully, he failed against Jesus when he tried to lure Him with earthly treasures.
So, who is your master, God or mammon?
Once you have chosen to serve God: You should no longer steal to make money because it is the blessing of God that makes one rich without sorrow (Proverbs 10:22 ).
You will not rob to become rich.
« “Stolen water is sweet. Stolen bread tastes good.” Those simple people don’t realize that her house is full of ghosts and that her guests have entered the world of the dead »
Proverbs 9:17-18ERV.
You must not lie or falsify records to become wealthy.
Proverbs 11:4 CEV says
« When God is angry, money won’t help you. Obeying God is the only way to be saved from death »
In today’s Bible reading, some people decided to stay on the side of God and Joshua warned them that they would be consumed if they served other gods.
Dear reader, you must make up your mind today to serve God and not mammon.
He will surely take care of you.
Riches won’t help on the Day of Judgment, but right living can save you from death.
You must learn to give generously to Kingdom projects.
You must always put Him first.
Prayer focus – Father, please help me to always stand for You.
Author – Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it .
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