Joshua 24:15
‘’If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 

• DAILY READING      – John 18:38-19:16; 2 Chronicles 29; Psalm 85

The Boxer Rebellion was one of the darkest moments in Asian history. The Rebellion began in 1900, when a little group of revolutionaries in China, decided to get rid of western influences in their land. Members of this group were called boxers because they trained themselves in Tai-Chi—a form of boxing that was supposed to give them supernatural powers and make them impervious to bullets. 

This little group, soon grew into an enormous, ruthless army. They looted foreign businesses and murdered the foreigners they found. Christians were at the top of their list; foreign missionaries were murdered, Churches burnt, and Christian schools destroyed. 

However something remarkable happened, when they came to a little missions school in Peking. They broke into the chapel, pulled a large cross off the wall and threw it out into the courtyard where it sank halfway into the mud. Then they gathered the horrified students together and told them that they were ‘free to leave’, only under one condition: on their way out, they would have to step on that cross, trampling it into the mud. If they did, they were free, but anyone refusing to do so would be shot immediately. 

The first eight students, stepped out into the courtyard, trampled upon the cross, and then walked to their freedom, while the Boxer troops laughed and cheered them on. 

But then, came one Chinese Christian girl, about nineteen years old. “Never!” she cried out. “I will never dishonor the cross of my Lord. I will never betray my Savior!” Her declaration spurred the other remaining 92 students. For them trampling upon the cross was a sign of rejection of Christ.  That young girl and 92 of her classmates went to their deaths refusing to dishonor the cross of Jesus Christ. 

We may never be faced with such extreme life threatening choices, but in our everyday lives we are faced with similar pressures. In our daily associations with this world there’s always a subtle invitation to trample on the cross. We must therefore make a definite choice of whom to serve. 

In Joshua 24:15, Joshua addressed all the tribes of Israel saying: “…If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”. 

Indeed the time has come for each of us to ask ourselves the same question that Joshua asked! This choice faces us today. 

Man is basically a creature of choice. In our daily lives what kinds of choices do we make? Are we choosing to honor God or are we trampling upon the cross?  Are we living for Christ or are we seeking things of the flesh?  Are we living holy or are we toying with sin? 

With God, it is always all or nothing. You are either hot or cold. In Revelation 3:14-22 the church in Laodicea, had everything it needed, except for the presence, power and glory of God. And in Revelation 3:16, Jesus says ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”

The Christian life often requires difficult choices, where we must chose the will of God over what is comfortable and easy. When we love God we must be willing to pay the price of following Him at all costs. Christ proved His love for us by giving up His heavenly status and coming to the earth as a man to die on the cross for our sins. And today we must prove our love for Him by choosing Him above all else. 
PRAYER: Lord, please help me to always choose You above all else. No matter the temptation I am faced with, may I never deny You or compromise my faith. Thank You for granting me the grace to live a life that pleases You at all times, in Jesus Name. 
QUOTE 

It is only when you can see God in the light of who He truly is that you can begin to walk in the overflow of His blessings. – WORDBITE 222. 
 [ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK REJOICE]