God is looking for people who will not only listen to His leadings, but who will also obey what He tells them to do.  To each one of us God has given a calling.  The Bible specifically says that we have been called out of the kingdom of darkness.

13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Colossians 1:13-14 KJV

We are not to live as the world lives, but we are to live as Christ did on this earth.  Today we are peeling away some of the excuses that people make as to why they aren’t following God.  

We are shining a light on the situations in our lives with the Bible in hand.  

Our Call

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:19 KJV

If Jesus is the Lord of your life, then you have a calling from above to preach the gospel.  I know for myself personally that I always wanted to use the excuse that if I just lived right then my actions would speak louder than my word.  

In other words, I didn’t ever want to put myself in uncomfortable situations and start witnessing to people because after all what would that make ME look like?

Now before you judge me too harshly think of your own heart.  Sadly in today’s Chrsitian world we have allowed ourselves to believe that if we just act right that people will change the way they think. 

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Romans 10:14 KJV

Faith comes by hearing.  At some point we as Christians have to open our mouth and speak God’s Word to those we come in contact with every day. 

The Excuses

Ok so I said we would talk about some excuses.  I think nearly everyone – including myself – at some point in our lives have used these excuses to justify what we are doing (or not doing).  

This post isn’t intended to make anyone feel guilty, but sometimes we just have to hit an excuse right between the eyes before we can really see it for ourselves. 

Excuse #1: Not Enough Faith

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Romans 12:3 KJV

Every Christian when they are born again become part of the family of God.  With that position comes faith.  You receive Jesus into your heart and are given “the measure of faith”.  

Everyone is always so preoccupied with gaining more faith.  Now don’t get me wrong faith is important.  In fact in Hebrews 11:6 it says that without faith it is impossible to please God, but faith is not everything.  

Just from 1 Corinthians 13:13 we see…

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 

1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV

So you see that faith is important because without it you can’t please God, but we often put too much importance on faith.  

See our excuse is that if we just had more faith then we would be able to do what God has called us to do. 

Jesus Said…

The problem is that Jesus already handled this excuse.  In Matthew chapter 17 verse 20, it says.

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 17:20 KJV

So Jesus is saying here that even a small amount of faith is enough to move the mountain in your life.  It isn’t more faith that will take you to the next level with God.  

Excuse #2: Not Enough Knowledge

In this age of constant, immediate knowledge, we sometimes believe that getting more knowledge about a situation is the answer to doing what God wants.  If I just knew a few more scriptures, THEN I could REALLY be used by God….

Ever thought that before? I have. 

48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Luke 12:48 KJV

God is a just God.  He won’t hold you accountable for things that you have no knowledge of.  What does that mean?  

It means that at any time in your life you have the exact right amount of knowledge to take the next correct step in your life. 

God isn’t up there hiding His will from you.  But it says that you have to diligently seek Him.

The Truth

The truth is that each and every one of us knows what to do.  It is just about doing what we know is right.  No matter where you are in your spiritual walk with the Lord, God will meet you (and me) where we are at, but it takes doing our part.  

We sometimes forget all that God has really done for us already, and yet still we want Him to put in all the work. 

We don’t see Jesus like you or I and yet He is all man and all God at the same time.  How would we feel if we went through all of that effort to have a relationship with someone and still they only wanted to interact with us on THEIR terms?

That is exactly what we do to Jesus when we make an excuse for not doing something we know we are supposed to do.  

Listen and Obey

Now no one – least of all me – is perfect at this, but it’s the truth.  When we put what Jesus wants before what we want, we will always be blessed.  Our life will be worth living.  There is no other way.  We simply have to listen and obey. 

If you haven’t already, check out our previous post here.