Quote from Forum Archives on May 14, 2012, 3:07 am

Posted by: edwrather <edwrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional
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05.14.12

Excuses

Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,
"and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited,
'Come, for all things are now ready.' "But they all with one accord began to
make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I
must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' "And another said, 'I
have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to
have me excused.' "Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore
I cannot come.' "So that servant came and reported these things to his
master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go
out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the
poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' "And the servant said,
'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' - Luke
14:16-22.

Have you ever "accidentally" robbed a bank? I haven't either. But that is
what Navey Skinner claims that she did back in January. She "accidentally"
wrote a note that said, "Put the money in the bag now or die." She then
"accidentally" went to a bank where she "accidentally" handed the note to a
bank teller. It may not have been the best excuse for robbing a bank, but it
has to be an original excuse! Navey says she spent part of the money from
the robbery to buy meth. Police were able to identify the woman, which led
them to contacting Navey's mother. Navey's mother is now raising Navey's
12-year-old daughter and told police that the last time she had seen Navey
was on Christmas day. While visiting her mother and daughter, Navey stole
her own daughter's Christmas presents. I wonder if that was an accident too?
(The Herald, Everett, Washington - January 30, 2012)

Have you noticed how for some people, they are never at fault? It must be
great to never make any mistakes! And if they do "accidentally" make a
mistake they always have an excuse for doing what they did. Personally, I
gave up on being perfect a long time ago. The fact is that I do make
mistakes. Looking back over what I have just written I have already noticed
several errors. Hopefully, I have corrected all of them.

In case you did not know, God is aware of our human tendency to give excuses
for our failures. In Luke 14, Jesus talks about several excuses that God
knows about. Actually, when we are communicating with God it is useless to
try to make an excuse. Why? Because God can see very clearly what is in our
heart, regardless of what our lips may be saying.

Over the centuries, there have been some whoppers of excuses told to God.
Moses comes to mind. Moses who was educated as a prince to become pharaoh of
Egypt claimed that he could not speak well. Jonah had a pretty good excuse
he just did not like those Ninevites. Of course, that did not keep Jonah out
of the belly of the great fish! Then there was Gideon who claimed that his
tribe was the smallest tribe, and his family was the smallest family in the
tribe, and that he was the smallest, weakest, most unlikely person in his
family to be chosen by God. Ha! In spite of that excuse, God chose Gideon
and he became a great leader.

If you are fearful about being obedient to God's will for your life, then
share your fears with God. Making excuses for why you do not want to do what
God wants you to do is an insult. God knows exactly what is in your heart
and what is coming out of your mouth before you speak it. Allow God to speak
to your heart, and take away your fears about following Him. Because God's
plan is always the best plan for your life, even if you do not fully
understand it at the time.

Copyright © 2012. Ed Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since
January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush
Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early
1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was primarily through the
Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United
States and Canada.

Please continue to pray for my wife, Jeanie, as she recovers from surgery
and ovarian cancer, and is now going through chemo. Please pray for Missy
Dyess who is recovering from a horrendous head on vehicle accident. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request
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forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need
of prayer - please pray for me.).

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