In Joshua 24, as Joshua lay on his death bed, he charged the next generation of Israelites to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the Lord: "Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt – and serve the Lord," he said.
Recently on American Family Radio, Dr. Ray Pritchard of Keep Believing Ministries shared that the Lord impressed on his heart that that is the message God wanted him to bring to the evangelical church in 2025.
"Then Joshua says, 'Look, choose you this day whom you will serve. Your God has brought you this far. Now decide if He is going to be your God going forward. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.'"
Pritchard says even after seeing miracles like the parting of the Jordan River, and military victories like the walls of Jericho coming down, some Israelites still served the gods of Egypt from their days in captivity. He says 2025 is the year for Christians to rid themselves of worldly gods and serve the Lord.
"I think we've had too many Christians, too many evangelicals, sitting on the fence – a foot in the world, a foot in the church; a foot with the pagans, a foot with the Christian people," said Pritchard.
"They're playing footsie with both sides. You can't do that anymore, friends. Get off that fence, because the devil owns the fence."
And that, he says, is his message to the Church this coming year. "Somewhere deep in my heart, God is saying 2025 is a year of decision. It's a year when God's people are going to have to make up their minds."
Pritchard, author of more than 30 books, has pastored churches Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago, and is a frequent conference speaker and guest on Christian radio and television talk shows.
