Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt
When I was a child growing up, there was a television show that everyone I knew watched. It was hosted by Art Linkletter. Art would interview children asking them all sorts of questions. The answers from the children were consistently humorous! I remember Art asking a young boy, Do you get your homework done on time at school? No, not very often. Doesn’t your teacher get upset with you when you don’t have it done? Well one time I didn’t have it so I told her the dog ate it. Another time I told her the dog peed on it. Excuses may be cute and humorous from a child but they are not from adults. I am absolutely convinced that most people are blind to the number of excuses they make on a regular basis.
Proverbs 22:13 says, “The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, “If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!” The excuse in this proverb is meant to sound ridiculous! Excuses hinder spiritual growth and natural success. They hinder the blessing that would come from diligence and faithfulness.
Have you ever been to a web site where they have a counter for the number of people visiting that site? Wouldn’t it be interesting if there was a counter that clicked for every excuse we heard or gave in a day? I’m sure that the number would surprise us! People make excuses daily for a myriad of things they didn’t do or get done or don’t want to do. Many of them are not valid or truthful!
I’m sorry I’m late. Traffic was horrible today. Was that the truth or was it that you simply didn’t leave on time because you busied yourself with something else or slept in too late? Might the truth be that you aren’t respectful of other people’s time and you have the bad habit (and reputation unknown to you) for showing up late? Excuses may fly but they seldom sit well with the people that hear them. You don’t want it to be a part of your behavioral pattern unaware of how often you make them.
Christians that make excuses to others, also make them to God. God, I’m sorry I didn’t get to pray today and spend time with you. People make and create all sorts of excuses why they can’t put God and the priorities that would help them, first place in their life. God loves us wholeheartedly. He wants to help us in every situation but excuses hinder Him. They’re a sign of our personal allowance for behaviors that undermine our character development and the blessing God would like to bring to our life.
Adam gave God the first excuse blaming Eve for his failure to obey Him. In the same way God visited Adam in the garden, so He visits us and talks with us if we don’t ignore Him. Jesus invites us to a bottomless well of supernatural grace and help if we will quit making excuses and take responsibility. He desires to teach us faithfulness and diligence, the atmosphere where His grace flows. When we believe that there is something called God’s grace that is available to help us, and we will seek Him for it, we will experience His love and power manifest in our lives—the power that will help us follow through and stop procrastinating. But first we must ask Him to help us catch in our excuses, then ask for the grace to turn from making them. If we lean on Him to make these changes, eliminating those cursed excuses, we’ll grow as a person. You will know that your character has developed to a greater place before God as you watch yourself change and eliminate excuses from your life. Then this promise will become a greater reality in your life. Proverbs 13:4 “…the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NKJV) “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
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Published by Pastor Tim Burt
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