"...Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve...but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord...Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel."   Joshua 24:15, 23 NASB

     I have been asked, on several occasions, "why should I serve the Lord?" What a great question!

Jesus Christ says, "You are My friends if you keep My words and do the Will of God" (John 8:51; 12:47-48; 1 John 2:17; Matt. 7:21). So one of the greatest benefits is to have a true friendship with the creator of all things. What an awesome concept. The maker of all things thinks so much of us, His creation, that He reaches out to establish a deep meaningful friendship with us. This means love, honesty and intimacy.

When we serve God doing things that please Him, nothing is impossible for us, including healing sicknesses (John 9:31; 1 John 3:22; 5:14-15; Matt. 21:22; 17:20; Luke 1:37; James 5:15-17, 20). We will have an abundant life, filled with joy and every good thing (John 10:10; 17:13). When we serve faithfully we open up the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The closer we follow Him, the more time we spend in His presence and listen to His voice, the more we move out in the flow of the Holy Spirit.

God does notice us, and notices when we serve Him with love and sincerity and He watches over us. But many times God will work through another person to meets our needs. So by serving our Lord we become a living example of God's love and a breathing representation of God's Holy Word. It has been said that we should be careful how we behave because we may be the only Bible that someone reads. How true this really is.

One final thought.....One that to me is probably the most important. The single most important reason to serve our Lord is because He first loved us. Before we were born He hung on a cross and died for us. It was our sins that He bore and our salvation He paid. We serve Him because He loves us and that loves compells us to return that love in kind.

God bless and keep you all as we enter into the summer months.

IHS

Chaplain Robin