BE VERY CAREFUL
Today's reading: Joshua 21-24

"For the Lord has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you. Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God." Joshua 23:9-11 NLT

Let's put ourselves in the shoes of the Israelites.

They've just finished a forty mile trek.

They've seen miracles on a daily basis, from the dried up Red Sea, to the fiery wall, to daily carry-out of bread and fowl.

They've defeated enemies twice, three-times, ten-times their size.

They've finally stepped foot onto land promised to them, land flowing with milk and honey.

And now they're standing distracted as Joshua speaks...

They've heard all these things before.

They know the spiel.

They believe there is no way in the world that they will ever turn their backs on God.

Sound familiar?

We think we won't, after all He has done for us, and we do.

We promise we're His, after all He has paid for our souls, and we wander.

We make vows to Him, and He comes through on His end, and we fail to follow up on our end.

We stand with the congregation making statements of faith and trust in the Lord, then our idols lead us to spiritual adultery.

We need a daily, if not hourly, reminder that we must be very careful to love the Lord our God.

Our lives depend upon it.