No More Lame Excuses

Wednesday, July 06, 2011 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

Acts 14:19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city.

Without a doubt, one of God's most persistent and tough servants was the Apostle Paul. The text says that a crowd "stoned" him (i.e. They hit him with rocks, bricks and stuff!), and dragged him out of the city because they thought he was dead (i.e. He was bloodied, severely wounded and battered).

What happened next? Believers gathered around him and obviously prayer for him. The power of God ministered to him in some way, though the text does not indicate exactly what happened.

But here's the amazing part: Paul "got up and went back into the city!" 

I'm thinking of the some of the lame excuses people give for not serving God, for missing church meetings, for not supporting the work of God, and more. I'm also thinking about my own struggle at times to continue doing something God wants me to do, because of challenges that arise, or the lack of support of others, or the apparent "smallness" of my impact.

In light of Paul's commitment to the work of Christ, ALL of your excuses and my excuses become simply irrelevant. Serving God is a transcendent motivation. There is nothing greater than serving God from a pure heart.

Can you imagine someone coming in late to Paul's meeting that day and trying to offer an excuse? Paul might say, "I was stoned and left for dead yesterday…so you say what?"

Selah!