Josua 24, 14-21 "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." So the people answered and said: "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; "for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. "And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God." But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good." And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD!"

Before his death, Joshua warned the people again and again not to serve strange gods and worship them. It seems crazy to us that the Israelites worshipped other gods, even though God had done so much for them. However, when we look today at some Christians, then we see the very same thing. Jesus had done so much for us, he even died for each one of us. And nevertheless, some are unfaithful! What more does he have to do? They have other gods in their life to whom they give more priority. Although the way the Israelites acted still seems to be so crazy to us, some have to admit that the Israelites could say that, some Christians today are exactly the same as they were.

Therefore, take a close look every day at your level of devotion towards God; and make sure that you can always claim: I choose the Lord and want him to be number one in my life and I want to serve him.

Additional verses to study: Exodus 24:3-8; Leviticus 26; Romans 6; Hebrews 3-4