God’s Truth
The Bible is full of severe and hard realities. Its propositions aren’t fuzzy or soft; they’re strong, stern and unambiguous. Its heroes aren’t hailed for being sensitive and emotional; they’re lauded for being principled…
Excuses
Excuse Making
We live in a culture of excuses. Our generation is skilled at making them because excuses have become increasingly accepted as a means to evade blame and avoid responsibility. Excuse-making is nothing new. Adam and Eve are described as making…
Who’s Responsible?
Ask any police officer (or watch any reality Cops show) and you’ll see just how creatively we humans can string together a list of excuses for any and every deviant behavior. From the inner-city streets to the therapist’s couch we have become experts in rationalizing why we do what we do, and why what…
Responsive to Conviction
It is our natural, fallen tendency to make excuses. Our human propensity is to try to squirm out from under the weight of all those unpleasant feelings, concerning what we are doing or saying and when we are pondering something unrighteous or unholy. Because sanctification is a process, and because perfect personal holiness will not be achieved until…
Cornelius: Reluctant Evangelists
As with those God used to bring us to repentance and faith in Christ, we cannot let any barriers – theological or practical – get in the way of us sharing the gospel.
Submitting to His Sovereign Authority
We must be very careful that we do not evade our responsibility to submit to Christ’s lordship by seeking excessive information or unneeded confirmation when the application of God’s word is sufficiently clear.
I Can't Lord, It Will Damage my Relationships
Following Christ requires clarity regarding who Jesus is and how his Lordship must not be supplanted by any earthly love or loyalty.
I Can't Lord, I Have to Put Family First
While our biological families can be a great blessing to our Christian life, we must be prepared because they can easily pose a challenge to us keeping Christ as the unrivaled Lord of our lives.
I Can’t Lord, It Would be Too Painful
It is easy to fool ourselves (and others) with the words we use to express our loyalty to Christ, what matters is possessing a faith that expresses itself by a willingness to follow him despite the costs.
Excuses that Interfere with Our Preparation
We often make excuses attempting to rebuff the conviction that comes with God’s truth, but we must learn to concede his good purpose for us and respond with humble obedience.
Connecting With the Heart of a Holy God
We must stay intimately in sync with a holy God so that we never become comfortable with sin.