No More Excuses

"No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62

Several men approached Jesus and said, "I will follow you, but first I must..." The excuses seemed legitimate and the needs they invoked were serious. In each case Jesus called them out because He knew that this was an issue of the heart.

These "followers" of Jesus expressed a desire to verbally come alongside Him. In reality, it was a thought or emotion, upon seeing Jesus, because they had no intention of following up on their claims of loyalty. We also often offer up excuses whether we are young or old.

The sad thing is that most Christians don't realize that God knows our hearts. We often express our desire to move forward and follow the calling on our lives, be it great or small. Yet when it comes down to actually following through we offer excuses which seem rational and legitimate to us.

As believers we often say things like "I can't do that until this gets done," "What about my family or what about my responsibilities?" In a sense it's we often comply or lie. If we really don't have any intention to go through with our claims of following God's Will, then we really shouldn't make the claim of loyalty at any cost.

"What would the world look like if every Christian put aside excuses and followed the Will of God?" 

Once we step into God's will for our lives we should never look back at the things that might distract us, slow us down or cause doubt. We keep our eyes on Jesus the "author and perfecter" of our faith and we move forward striving towards the prize for which He has called us. A true follower does this with a RESOLUTE heart.

If a farmer plowed the fields and looked back everything would be crooked and unpredictable, as far as the outcome. For those who mow their lawns the outcome would seem like the following two pictures. Clearly one is precise while the other is all over the place. One is without purpose the other is very intentional.

Let us follow God's will by stepping into the situations that God has put right in front of us. With each step of obedience God will grant us favor and strength to tackle even larger things.

How to obey:
- Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your conversations and interactions throughout the day.
- Be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He will guide you and give you everything you need to carry out God's will for your life.
- Ask God for His favor and an anointing to carry out each thing He asks you to do.

1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

For the Lamb,
Pastor Derek