HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 119
page A117
• J U DG E S 6 :1 5 -1 6 | “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the
weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” The Lord
said to him, “I will be with you.”
Both Moses and Gideon thought they had good excuses to get out of serving God. But the
qualifications God looks for are different from what we might expect. He often chooses the
least likely people to do his work in order to more effectively demonstrate his power. If you
know God has called you to do something, stop trying to excuse yourself. He will give you
the help and strength you need to get the job done.
What kinds of excuses are particularly annoying to God?
• G E NE SI S 4 :1 0 -1 1 | The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood
cries out to me from the ground! Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which
has swallowed your brother’s blood.”
Excusing sin will not be overlooked by God. You can’t hide from him, so don’t bother trying.
You are only setting yourself up for future judgment.
• 1 SA MU E L 1 5 :1 5 | “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,”
Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have
destroyed everything else.” (See note on page 258.)
• 1 PE T E R 1 :1 7 | He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in
reverent fear of him.
Trying to make yourself look good when you don’t deserve it. Taking responsibility for our
actions is the only way to stop the excuses.
• H A G G A I 1 :2 -4 | “The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of
the Lord.’ ” (See note on page 841.)
Neglecting your spiritual priorities by using the excuse that “the timing isn’t right.”
Can anyone be excused for not accepting the Lord?
• PH I L I PP I A NS 2 :9 -1 1 | God . . . gave him the name above all other names, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ
is Lord.
We all have excuses for not putting God first—we’re too busy, we’re not sure how to witness, we’ll do it later, we don’t know where to start. Do you think those excuses will hold
up when we see God face-to-face?
• R O MA NS 1 :2 0 | Ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.
Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal
power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
“I had a terrible father, and he turned me against God.” Another excuse that sounds
good—at first. “I never heard.” “The Bible is too hard to understand.” “My parents never
took me to church.” All sound like good excuses. But on Judgment Day, the Lord will not
accept them. Everyone has at least had the testimony of nature, God’s work. That alone
gives witness to his presence and power.
PROMISES FROM GOD
• 1 PE T E R 1 :1 7 | And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent
fear of him during your time here.
• 1 J O H N 1 :8 -9 | If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in
the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all wickedness.
HelpFinder
• E Z E K I E L 3 3 :2 0 | “But I judge each of you according to your deeds.”
E
Trying to justify sinful actions with spiritual motives. God is never pleased with sin, even if
you think the end justifies the means.