Day 5:: Excuses, Excuses

I'm gonna start this one off a little differently. I make excuses for everything. Even when it comes to doing devotion or reading the bible or cleaning my room. Its what I do. And its absolutely ridiculous. So needless to say, this one was a hard truth. What if Jesus made up some excuse when He was on His way to calvary? Wow.

The Great Banquet Luke 14:15-24
These guys made excuses not to come to this fantastic feast the king was having for them and them alone. When they said they had other things (which were very reasonable), the king said that they weren't invited any longer and sent his servants out to find people who wanted to be a part of this awesome blessing. If I make excuses, I won't get the awesome blessing God has for me.

• I don't have time. I would rather be doing anything else. I'm too sleepy. I'm just human; God understands. He'll forgive me. I might lose all my friends. That stuff is just so confusing. I just want to be happy.
• The ones I use? I don't make time to read my bible. I don't make time to do my devotion. I have full intention of waking up early to do it, or setting time before bed to do it....but we all know that it doesn't always happen that way.
• For a little while a couple of years ago, I became so wrapped up in wanting attention from guys. I chose the most horrible way to do that. My excuse? I wanted to feel like I was likable. I wanted that closeness. Did I ever get that? Of course not. All I got was wasted space in my heart that no guy was able to fill. I also had just a couple of pretty bad friendships. Nothing I ever did was good enough. My excuse for not making a change?? They always seemed to have fun. So I wanted to have fun. I wanted to be a part of that. I also liked to drink. I was nothing close to an alcoholic, but I did enjoy it. I knew that its a sin to not have control over your body (which doesn't really belong to me...it's Christ's). My excuse?? I felt like I had to do it to fit in. Wrong crowd. Wrong choices. God will forgive me. 
• The right and wrong things have almost always been clear for me, so I've never used 'confusion' as an excuse. I did, however, use convenience as one. Its easier to conform your self, your ways, your actions to fit to what your 'friends' are. The hardest part of living a Christian life is conforming your ways, your actions to what Christ is.
• When I choose to disobey, I break God's heart. He made me for a reason. He made me with purpose. I know that He sees everything. He's always here. And when I do things that I KNOW He would never approve of, it hurts Him.
• Obedience is loyalty, not just following a rule. Absolutely. Its not about breaking rules. Its about not wanting to. That's loyalty. Loyalty is faithfulness. 

Matt 8:19-22