February 8

Joshua 24:15
 
“And 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”— Josh. 24:1515And 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. (Joshua 24:15)
“ME and my house.” These words bring before us a principle that runs all through Scripture. God delights to bless the households of His people and He looks for household piety. This comes out in many definite instances, as in the case of Noah (Gen. 7:11And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (Genesis 7:1)), Abraham (Gen. 18:1919For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Genesis 18:19)), Lydia, and the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:15, 31-3415And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. (Acts 16:15)
31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (Acts 16:31‑34)). We see the sad effects of failure on this line in the instances of Eli (1 Sam. 3:1313For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. (1 Samuel 3:13)) and of David himself (2 Sam. 23:55Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. (2 Samuel 23:5)), who failed grievously in not bringing his sons into subjection, although God overruled in wondrous grace.
“Thou gracious God, whose mercy lends
The light of home, the smile of friends,
Our gathered flock Thine arms enfold,
As in the peaceful days of old,
Wilt Thou not hear us while we raise,
In sweet accord of solemn praise,
The voices that have mingled long
In joyous flow of mirth and song?
For all the blessings life has brought,
For all its sorrowing hours have taught.
For all we mourn, for all we keep,
The hands we clasp, the loved that sleep.
The noontide sunshine of the past.
These brief, bright moments fading fast,
The stars that gild our darkening years,
The twilight ray from holier spheres.
We thank Thee, Father; let Thy grace
Our loving circle still embrace.
Thy mercy shed its heavenly store,
Thy peace be with us evermore.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes.