Working on a Dream


Leadership

Theology

Life


Friday, April 27, 2012

You are fUll of excuses.

-Ant, I really want to go to Bible study, BUT my friend needs to meet with me at the exact same time as your study...
-Anthony, look for me this week, I'll be there at Bible study! ... (3 hours later, after Bible study ends ...) Hey, Anthony, I don't really know anyone so I just stood home...
-Anth, I am so pumped about learning more about the Bible, BUT ...

Excuses.    Excuses.   Excuses.

I don't know much, but here is something that I do know: 
If you really want to do something in life, you find a way to do it, if not, you find an excuse.

Listen, don't get me wrong, I often feel the same way as you do before I go to church or attend Bible study.  The warm cozy sheets over my body just seem to perform magic and continually lure me back inside of them ... or the number of reasons to avoid Bible study during the week always seem to pile up extra high just as I hit the front door.
I'd share with you an illustration that I often tell my friends at church.
I have a membership at my local YMCA and I try to get there 3-4 times a week.  Every night I have my gym bag packed and ready by the door so I can easily grab it on the way out of my house.  On the way to the gym, I am dreading it.  I am tired. Nothing inside of me wants to be at the gym.  Then I park my car, walk inside, look at all the machines, look at all the weights, look at all the posters of people with no body fat ... and I start

As the time passes, something starts to happen inside of me. My mind starts following my body and I begin to sweat, I begin to push around the weights and get stronger.
My friends, I have never regretted leaving the gymEver.
I leave glad that I went and did the right thing. 
I feel good mentally, physically and spiritually afterward.


I submit that the same will happen to you if you stop listening to yourself & start talking to yourself.

Let's take this illustration a step further for a second because there is another parallel here that I do not want you to miss.
Your faith is just like a muscle.  If you do not find a way to exercise it, if you neglect it; your faith ---like your muscle will atrophy.   

-You want your faith to resemble this guy btw-
Everyday, you and I have hundreds of excuses holding us back; keeping us further from the person that God has called us to become.  This means you will have to be intentional about growing in your faith. Think about it this way: If you miss a Sunday morning or a Bible study, where else are you going to receive that unique type of teaching?
Sadly, the answer for the vast majority of us is nowhere.
So stop the excuses. 
Make growing spiritually a priority and start growing in your faith!

Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
Romans 12:2

2 comments:

Kirra said...

Excellent post, thank you.

Unknown said...

Great post. I think that you should talk about how to work up the motivation. I like that we can apply this to anything including exercise, too. Thanks for a great post.