As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend, we can learn from one father in the Bible: Joshua. Joshua in the Old Testament understood something that we often forget. He knew that God’s people were always going to be the minority in the world. He knew that there would always be tremendous pressure to cave in to the society around them and join in with whatever their neighbors were doing. He knew that believing in the one true God wouldn’t be popular or easy. So as the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, Joshua gave them this challenge: “If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, 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 24:15). Joshua had seen God’s power. Joshua had seen God’s grace. Joshua had heard God’s Word, over and over again. Joshua trusted in God’s promise of a Savior. So Joshua was convinced that no matter what anybody else did, no matter what anybody else said, no matter what was popular or unpopular, he and his family were going to serve the LORD. What a powerful confession! What about you? Do your family and friends know whom you serve? I bet they know your favorite football team. I bet they know your favorite TV show and your favorite restaurants. But those aren’t whom you really serve, are they? The further our society drifts away from God, the more opportunities we will have to take a stand for our faith. Remember this: No one could ever love you more than Jesus does. This Father’s Day weekend, please pray with me that God would raise up more and more Christian fathers with the courage and faith to say, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD!”
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