Down with excuses

As I started my devotional reading today, I was challenged by the scripture in Exodus 4:1-7.

And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

We can give a great many excuses for neglecting our personal witness of Christ in our life, but right here there are three excuse busters. First, we have the call of God on lives. It doesn't matter what people say. It only matters what God has said. Second, he has put something in our hand, as the rod was in Moses'...a Bible. God has equipped us with all that we need to stand and proclaim Him. And third, just as Moses experienced, we have experienced a change in our life that only God could effect. For Moses, it was the healing of leprosy. For you and I, God has provided for the healing of our spiritual leprosy, sin. What else could we ever need? We have the call of God in our life, the word of God in our hand, and the gift of God upon our soul. We have no excuse.
We can give a great many excuses for neglecting our personal witness of Christ in our life, but right here there are three excuse busters. First, we have the call of God on lives. It doesn't matter what people say. It only matters what God has said. Second, he has put something in our hand, as the rod was in Moses'...a Bible. God has equipped us with all that we need to stand and proclaim Him. And third, just as Moses experienced, we have experienced a change in our life that only God could effect. For Moses, it was the healing of leprosy. For you and I, God has provided for the healing of our spiritual leprosy, sin. What else could we ever need? We have the call of God in our life, the word of God in our hand, and the gift of God upon our soul. We have no excuse.


What is keeping you from sharing your faith in Christ with another? In 2 Peter 1:3 we read, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:" We have been given everything that we need. I have heard several "misquotings" of the what we know as the Great Commission. Some have said it is the Great Omission and others have referenced it as the Great Suggestion. Both of these should be a prick in our soul. Has personal evangelism been omitted from your life. Do you see the command of Christ as just a good idea, but not necessarily for you? Let's stop making excuses and live from the Perspective of this great verse.

Matthew 28:19, 20  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

A New Year's Perspective

Happy New Year! Well, it's really not so new, but considering how long it has been since I have blogged, this is new. This year is our fifth year emphasizing a certain theme or focus for the calendar year at Franklin Baptist Church. With the help of my friend, Josh Berg, it is not just my favorite annual thought, but it is also my favorite annual visual. As I have meditated much upon this theme, I have realized a new perspective at work in my heart. That is, am I considering or acknowledging Christ in every aspect of my life? Does His word trump every notion, tradition, and influence in my life?

Today's chronological Bible reading schedule stop had me reading Genesis 12-15, and in the first couple verses of reading I could not help but stop and address a real issue in my life. We are all very familiar with the man Abraham. Many of us even know that he was called "the friend of God". God had many promises the He desired to fulfill in Abraham's life but it all started in Genesis 12:1, "Now the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee..." and God follows with the first promise of blessing in Abraham's life.

The word for the day is distraction. God knew that for Abraham to be free to obey Him, he needed to be free from distractions. These were God's very first recorded words to Abraham. That is significant. We long for the best God has in store for us. We say that we desire His will for our life. God may not expect you to move away from your home and family but I can assure you that there are some things that He would like to see you distance yourself from. Now, to put that back into context, what am I (or are you) allowing to take the priority in life away from the Lord Jesus Christ? I am painfully easy to distract. A standing "dig" that I hear regularly is "Look, something shiny!" I am finding that I must be intentional about placing Christ upon the throne of my life daily. Without the very distinct realization of distractions in front of me, I would allow tasks, other people, and amusement to usurp the throne of my heart, and anything or anyone other than Christ in that place would surely be a hindrance to God's plan for me. And without starting another whole post, I will say that that is exactly what the enemy wants. I don't have to list the distractions. You know them and more importantly, you know your's. Forsake it today. As you bow before that throne today, make sure it is Christ that wears the crown.