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Quiet Time
by Kasia Kedzia
Josh24: 14-24(The Message) So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped on the far side of The River (the Euphrates) and in Egypt. You, worship God. If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then chose a god you’d rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. As for me and my family, we’ll worship God.
The people answered, “We’d never forsake God! Never! We’d never leave God to worship other gods. God is our God! He brought up our ancestors from Egypt and from slave conditions. He did all those great signs while we watched. He has kept his eye on us all along the roads we’ve traveled and among the nations we’ve passed through. Just for us he drove out the nations, Amorites and all who lived in the land. “Count us in: We too are going to worship God. He’s our God.”
If anyone told a Christian straight out to reconsider their decision of becoming a Christian and see if they wanted to worship other gods I would think most would react the same way the people here did. But then Joshua goes on to highlight a very important point that stuck with me for a long time; in fact I had to pause on this passage of scripture for a while.
Then Joshua told the people: “You can’t do it; you’re not able to worship God. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t put up with your fooling around and sinning. When you leave God and take up the worship of foreign gods, he’ll turn right around and come down on your hard. He’ll put an end to you—and after all the good he has done for you!
As Christians we leave God all the time in our hearts, in little ways. I know I do, and it has become clearer to me lately. But the great thing is that once I see it I can change it and actively seek to worship Him. One way I have chosen to do this is by seeking accountability more actively in my life. Now don’t get me wrong I have been blessed with many spiritual mentors and peers who hold me accountable on a regular basis, but around the holidays or when I travel it can be easy to not be as active in seeking God.
Around the holidays it’s easy for me to get nostalgic. I can ‘feel’ inspired by all the music and the story of Nativity, I can also get distracted by shopping for my family, traveling, spending time with friends I have not seen for a while, eating, sleeping, and all the ‘great’ things that the holidays are about. What’s wrong with that? Well, I can easily get caught up in these things and all of a sudden God is not in first place. The more I spoke with my friends about this the more we agreed that the holidays can be either a really great or really lousy spiritual experience. For me I know when I don’t actively seek accountability and check my heart on a regular basis I can easily tip the balance scale.
But the people told Joshua: “No! No! We worship God!”
And so Joshua addressed the people: “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen God for yourselves—to worship him.
And they said, “We are witnesses.”
Joshua said, “Now get rid of all the foreign gods you have with you. Say an unqualified Yes to God, the God of Israel.”
Wow! For people so adamant about worshiping God- how interesting that Joshua points out to them here that indeed they were worshiping foreign gods among them all along, just like I can.
The people answered Joshua “We will worship God. What he says, we’ll do.”
I recently got together with some of the women in my life, so we could help one another be prepared for this ‘joyous’ season, to ensure that it is in fact filled with victories and joy. We decided to seek accountability among one another by praying together and sharing our Bible studies with one another. I feel like sometimes during the holidays it can be more excusable for us to fall off the face of the earth. Therefore it’s all the more important for my friends and I to continue what we do on a regular basis (reading, praying, hold each other accountable) during the holidays so that we can worship God and be witnesses instead of fools.
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Since those first days, I have made it out of the Projects, finished my Masters degree in International Development, and moved to DC to work in my field. As a young single Christian woman my struggles today are a little different than they were when I first came to know God, but who am I kidding, not much. It's the every day battle for my heart to be pure before God, to strive to please him, and help others to seek and know Him.
Over my years of a faithful walk with God I have received much grace and compassion and have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams. Through out it all one thing has stayed consistent: God's word. Through His word I have been inspired and it has kept me faithful even when faith seemed like a foreign concept and God seemed deaf to my prayers. I started emailing my Quiet Times which helped me stay accountable as I shared my struggles and fought for understanding. Some wrote back and said they too were inspired and could relate. I hope some of my times can help inspire others who are seeking and fighting just like I am, to get to heaven and take as many as possible with me along the way.
Like what your read? Check out my blog: http://stronggirlforlife.wordpress.com/
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