Wednesday's thoughts

"The Only Vote That Counts"

In the 24th Chapter of Joshua we find the "Covenant at Shechem". In that section of Old Testament we find Joshua confronting his people with the need for understand it was time for them to decide to worship God. He told them they were not to worship the God of their fathers and mothers. He told them it was time for them to decide and Joshua told them, "as for me and my family, we have decided to follow God."

I thought it was interesting how Joshua told his people not to worship the God of their parents. That is strange but true advice. We each must come to a time in our lives when we have to make a decision. The God we worship must not be one we inherited from our folks. Clearly, their influence is important to us as we struggle to come to terms with what and who God is to us. Certainly, there will be vast similarities between the God we worship and the God they worship, but we have to spend time with ourselves and have to come to understand what it means to believe in God for ourselves.

Theology is important and personal. When we talk about belief in a personal God what we are truly addressing is the importance of coming to terms with God ourselves. Our God is not something of our own construct. The God we worship does not specifically address to us in the manner of a servant. The God we worship is not our slave, but we have to come to terms with God in a profoundly personal way.

There are no ancestors when it comes to faith. There are not multiple generations of the faithful; it is all first generation and first person.

What is it about God that is personal to you? How do you relate to a personal God and how do you relate to God personally?

If you have thoughts on this email me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net.

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I look forward to hearing from you.


Charles Schuster