{Joshua 24:15} If it seems evil to you to serve Jehovah, choose this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah. -- RLIV.
LET others reverence whom and what they will; we, who have tasted that Jehovah is gracious, we, who have come to know Him through the power of the spirit by which we are begotten again to newness of life--we can do naught else than reverence our God; and reverencing Him we must trust Him implicitly; and trusting Him implicitly we will gladly walk in whatever way He may mark out for us; and thus trusting and thus walking we are content, whatever lot we see, since 'tis His hand that leads us. And let us be assured that, following the true Shepherd after this manner, we shall ultimately reach the heavenly fold. In these assurances we have joy and peace and blessing of heart, even in the house of our pilgrimage, before we reach the heavenly city. -- Based on excerpt from "Quarterly Review", ZWT, 09/01/1901.
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Today, the idol gods of ancient Egypt may not have much appeal, but there are figurative idols that the world esteems very highly, which many place above God in their lives. Strictly, idolatry refers to the worship of images made by the hands of man. In the broader sense, idolatry can include anything that takes precedence over our lives that is placed above the worship of Jehovah, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. In other words, it is the worship of the creation rather than the Creator. Sadly, many claim to worship God, but have others things in their heart that they love more than God. The heart is easily deceived along this line, and each should do a self-examination of all motives, desires, etc., closely to either avoid an form of idolatry. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.
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Having knowledge of God and Jesus presents a choice; we can either worship the God of Jesus, or we can continue in the pursuits of the idols that prevail in the world. Those who consecrate their lives make a choice as did Joshua to serve Jehovah, and all the things of the world are brought into subjection to that service. Satan will, however, always be looking for some way to tempt our desires away from that service, and thus, through faith, we need to always be on guard. We are promised that if we resist Satan, he will flee from us. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.
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Jesus is the only way that we have access to our Heavenly Father, Jehovah. Thus, we should certainly love the one whom Jehovah sent, but even here our love for Jesus should not be greater than our love for Jesus' God, Jehovah. Nevertheless, we should love Jesus more than anything that exists in the world that is corrupted due to Adam's sin. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.================
Related Scriptures: Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 6:5; 11:13,22; 13:3; 19:9; Joshua 24:16-18; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Kings 18:21; Ezekiel 20:39; Matthew 19:16-22; 22:27; 26:33,35; Mark 12:30,33; Luke 16:13; 20:27; John 6:67-69; 21:15; Romans 1:25; 6:16; James 1:27; 4:7; 1 John 5:3. .
