WHAT IS A “VALID” EXCUSE? An excuse is just that, an excuse. We all have the same 24 hrs and people will do and make a way for what is important to them. Show me your bank account and your calendar and I will show you what is important to you. For a lot of people, Christians included, their children’s sports and activities come before the house of the Lord.
When I was in the workforce, before I got hired I told the boss, “I don’t work on Wednesday nights or Sundays. It’s my time of worship with the Body” not “I can’t”, but “I don’t”. I still got hired and I worked hard for my boss. At that time I had a pastor who told me that I should be in the house if God every time the doors were open. At first I was angry with him, but came to realize he only cared about my spiritual development. I took it to heart. It’s the same heart that was in our Lord when he was 12 and he left his parents to go be in the house of God and later on in life, He drove out the moneychangers from His house,
“Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.””
John 2:17
The zeal for His house and His things consumes me. I was at the store checking out a few years back and the women in front of me had some hotdogs. The checker was a Muslim woman. She called someone else over to scan the hotdogs because in her religion, she cannot touch pork. Then she came back and finished the order. When my daughter was younger, we took a field trip to a theater house in downtown Seattle and at noon there were some Muslim men who put down their mats to pray right there in the middle of the entryway. I am amazed at how many people in a false religion have more conviction and dedication than a lot of American Christians.
Wisdom speaks to us about excuses,
“The lazy man says, “ There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”” Proverbs 22:13
Now, you may not be physically lazy, but a lot of people are spiritually lazy. “I don’t have time to read my Bible and pray. I can’t get up early enough on Sundays. I can only sleep in one day a week. It’s my ‘me’ time”. We make every excuse in the book for why we cannot do something.
Maybe your excuse is that something else is more important, but God always takes away our excuses. Adam’s excuse was Eve, “she gave me the fruit and I did eat.” We know how that turned out. God took Moses’ excuse of stuttering away by sending Aaron to go with him and speak for him. Jeremiah’s excuse was he was too young, God wasn’t concerned. At least be honest with yourself. You do what’s important to you and you will make a way to do it. This is a fact Jack.
I got asked the other day if I had rain gear for running. I have a rain proof jacket, but other than that I get wet. Rain is not an excuse for running my race. So I get wet. I’m not sugar, I won’t melt. What excuses are you making in your life? Give God your attention when He speaks to your excuses and watch how He takes them away. Then you’re left with the choice to either be obedient or to disobey. What’ll it be?
To Learn More About Pastor Crystal please visit the Leadership Page