Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire
We can all come up with excuses as to why we did or did not do something. When it comes to honoring and glorifying God in our everyday lives do we do the same thing. Do I look to His word daily to find strength? Do I search scripture to know more how to live as a humble servant doing what honors Him? Do I desire to be used by Him however He wants to use me? Am I able to keep the culture around me from diluting my relationship with God? Do I make time for Him in my life? I can find myself coming up with excuses everyday for each of these questions. I’m to busy, I’m tired, to much work to do, school actives, shopping, to cold, to hot, to…….. It is so easy to come up with excuses. Desire to change and choose to live with purpose to honor and glorify God.
Matthew 21:42
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
Luke 14:16
“A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready. ’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. ’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. ’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. ’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. ’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. ’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.
Isaiah 5:3
What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes
I received these comments back and thought them worthy of sharing.There seems to be an infinite number of excuses we come up with in denying his existence and invitation. Some examples of my excuses I have used in my lifetime:
High paced lifestyle, Becoming complacent with scriptures , allowing God to enter ones life when it’s convenient, have doubts about God, feeling that God had let me down and ignore my pain and requests. I view his invitation to us is this manner:
-forgiveness in which we have a moral and ethical obligation to him
-live by his example , which is accomplished by building a relationship with God, changing for the better and reflecting his greatness