Monday, August 13, 2012

A rocky yield sign

When Joshua is about to die, he makes the famous statement, "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." This is recorded in Joshua 24, and he's actually chastising the Israelites for clinging to gods from Egypt and even Ur, and warning them that they will begin to worship the gods around them in Canaan. (Ur--your history. Egypt--your own solution. Canaan--what everyone else is doing.) The Israelites protest, of course, and Joshua sets up a stone as a witness against them. I love that verse: "This stone has heard all the words the Lord has said to us" v.27. Faithful are the rocks.

Joshua tells the people that they must follow all of the Law given to Moses, but he adds, "Yield your hearts to the Lord." There are some good prescriptions here: don't follow other gods, obey what you know is right. Good advice. But over and over again in Scripture, the Lord was pleased with those who yielded their heart. The other commands are signposts to this one; it is our hearts that the Lord wants.

When you decide to follow Jesus, you lay down all of your mistakes and futile efforts to be good. His grace covers you. When you ask Him to be Savior, you also make Him Lord. Here is a clue to growing in the Christian faith: yield your heart. It's not up to you anymore what you believe, what you think is right. You belong to Him, and His word trumps your own thoughts. Read your Bible to figure out how God sees things, and get in line with Him. It is not possible to grow as a Christian if you do not yield to Him. If you are stubborn, chances are some rock out there is slowly shaking its head at you.

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