“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:14-15

This morning I want to touch, briefly, on the men’s Bible study I am privileged to be involved with at Howard Memorial. It’s a long-standing ministry that has been a strong presence for many years and I cannot stress enough how important it is.

No matter the size or the denomination the simple fact of men meeting together for prayer and Bible study and mutual encouragement, every week, is in my estimation a key metric in assessing the health of any church.

If there is a strong men’s group – even two or three who are committed to following Jesus and encouraging one another along the way – then there is going to be a church with both a heart and a future.

Today we looked at Joshua and his amazing statement of faith. “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua reminded the Hebrews they are “a Covenant People,” in an ongoing relationship with God, but it was up to them where they cast their allegiance and where they would anchor their families – “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…”

Even today – maybe especially today – it is important that we understand where our covenant relationship with God fits in with everything else that is pressing in on us. The guys pointed out any number of commitments we tend to place ahead of God in day-to-day living.

This is one of the reasons I hauled my guitar over to the church and shared my simple interpretation of “Give me Jesus” as our opening devotion. I am not a strong singer or a master at guitar, but I am learning how to proclaim my faith in as clear a voice as possible.

Here it is. My prayer is that this song touches your heart in the right ways.

And, as a takeaway from today’s post, think about the following:

it is important that we understand where our covenant relationship with God fits in with everything else that is pressing in on us

“You can have all this world – but give me Jesus…” – DEREK