Excuses, Excuses

 

Dear friends

October has arrived, and the thought of winter coming sends a chill through these old bones. We will certainly enjoy whatever warm days remain before then. What follows is from a devotional by Pastor Greg Laurie titled “A Plethora of Excuses.”

When it comes to sharing our faith and reaching out to others with the gospel, we tend to offer a plethora of excuses as to why we cannot do it. Maybe the reason we don’t try to win people to Christ is because we really couldn’t care less.

Now, that isn’t true of every Christian. But it is true of a lot of Christians.

“It’s not our problem. We are set. We’re happy. Go work out your own problems.”

That is the way many people in the church feel. We don’t want to be bothered with it. We just don’t care. We hear so much about the need for evangelism. We hear sermons on how to do it. And we engage in programs designed to mobilize the church to do it. But all this is of no consequence if we lack one simple essential: a burden and a concern for unbelievers.

One of the most important things of all is motivation. We must have the motivation to share our faith. And if we don’t have the motivation, we are not going to do anything.

So, do we really care? Do we really care about people who don’t know Christ? Do we really care if they go to Hell? Does it really matter to us?

Everywhere Jesus went during His earthly ministry, He was mobbed by people who were pushing and pulling and always wanting something from Him. They wanted healings, like the woman who had spent all her money on doctors and still was sick. So many wanted a touch from the Savior.

But Jesus saw their deepest need. He saw where they were hurting the most. He saw behind the facades, behind the defense mechanisms people put up. Jesus heard the real cry of their hearts. And He had compassion on them.

Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (NLT).

If we are going to be used by God in any capacity, we have to develop something called compassion. We have to care.

In Truth,

Pastor Jerry