What's Your Excuse?

Today, we're going to take a look at Luke 14:16-24, which is a parable by Jesus about a feast.

Luke 14:16-24 (NLT)

¹⁶ Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. ¹⁷ When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’

²¹ “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ ²³ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. ²⁴ For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

===========================

The subjects of this parable are the Jews, for Jesus was sent to them first. The Jews were invited to receive Jesus as their Messiah, but they wouldn't believe, so after His resurrection, Jesus sent His disciples into the rest of the world to invite them to the feast. It didn't matter about the social status of those invited to the banquet; they were all accepted. Jesus came to call not the righteous, but sinners. Because the first invitees rejected the invitation, they will not join in the feast.

This parable has a parallel for modern times. So many people have excuses not to go to church and accept Jesus as their Savior. Let's compare the excuses in the parable to some modern day excuses.

The first invitee said he had bought some land he needed to inspect. Today, people give the excuse that they have to mow the lawn, tend to the garden, or clean the house instead of going to church. Their home is more important than God.

The second invitee said he had some new oxen he wanted to try out. Today, people give the excuse that they don't have the money to give for an offering because they bought too much stuff they don't need. People put their possessions before God.

The third invitee said he had just married a wife. Today, people use the excuse of family activities to avoid going to church, such as kids' sports, theater, going to the lake, etc. People put their family before God.

Jesus is to be first in our lives, not possessions, homes or family. People today think just going to church on Sunday morning or on Christmas and Easter is good enough to get into heaven. It isn't! We need a close personal relationship with Jesus. He wants to be first in our lives. If we fix our eyes on Jesus and put Him first in our lives, everything else will fall into place.

So what's your excuse? As you have read above, there is no excuse to not put Jesus first in your life. He's calling you to come to Him and repent of your sin of not putting Him first. And if you haven't repented of your sins and received Jesus as your Savior, now is the time. You can pray this prayer: "Lord, I know I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness for my sins. I believe that You died for me on the Cross. Please come into my heart and make me new. I want you to be my Lord and Savior. I give my life totally and completely to You. Thank you for forgiving my sins and making me new."

Did you say the prayer? If so, congratulations! You are now my brother or sister in Christ. Your first step should be to purchase a Bible. Start by reading the first four books of the New Testament, also known as the Gospels. They will tell you about Jesus. The second thing you should do is find a Bible-believing church where you can learn about being a Christian and you can meet other Christians. I would love to know if you prayed to receive Jesus. Please enter a comment to let me know.

Thanks for reading! Have a blessed day!

Diane

Reflections On A Camping Trip

Oh! How I love God’s creation!

It reminds me of who He is.

He made it to represent Himself.

The tall trees remind me of God’s majesty.

Their high, uplifted limbs remind me

To raise my hands to Him in prayer and surrender.

The lower branches that reach down remind me

That God reaches down to us when we are in need.

The trees give us shelter and protection from storms

Like God does.

The birds calling remind me

Of how Jesus calls us to faith and trust in Him.

The birds hunting for food remind me

That God provides for us.

The singing of the birds remind me

To sing sweet songs of praise to Him, my Creator.

The green of the plants remind me

Of the new life God gives to us after we give our hearts to Him.

The sunshine reminds me

Of the warmth of God’s love.

The burning heat of the sun reminds me

Of Hell, the place that I will not go since I believe in Him.

The rain reminds me of how

The blood of Jesus washed away my sins and refreshed my soul.

The cold weather is like the condition of my heart

Before I believed in Him.

And when the snow covers the ground

It reminds me of how Jesus’ death on the Cross covered my sins

And makes me clean and pure.

The flowers reaching towards the sun

Remind me to look to the Father for all my wants and needs.

The reflection of the sun on the lake water

Reminds me to reflect God’s love in all I do and way

And to lead others to Him.

The clouds remind me that

When Jesus returns, He will comes with clouds

And the whole world will see Him and mourn.

The gentle breeze reminds me

Of how deep God’s love is for us.

The fire reminds me of the Holy Spirit,

Burning out the dross in my soul and consuming me.

All of God’s creation works and lives together in harmony.

It reminds us of how we should live with each other

In harmony and care for each other.

Even when my Bible is not at hand,

All I have to do is look at His calling card of Creation

Created for all the world to see.

God created the universe by just the words from His mouth!

He is the only one who is capable

Of creating the universe and everything in it.

How marvelous!

Even though we humans

Are but a tiny part of God’s creation

He cares for us more than any of it.

He loves humans so much that

He came to earth in human form as Jesus

And died on the Cross as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

How can I help but praise Him

For all the wonderful things He has done

And all the wonderful things He has created?

Let all that is within me praise and bless His holy name!

Prayer - Part 8

Hello! Sorry I haven't posted more - I've been busy. Tonight's blog post is on Psalm 102:1-2.

Psalm 102:1-2 (NKJV):
¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And let my cry come to You.
² Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And let my cry come to You.

We ask the Lord to be open to hearing our prayers. We ask that there be nothing to impede our prayers from ascending to Him.

² Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;

Who should we turn to first when there is a crisis in our lives? The Lord, that's who. We implore the Father to be with us and protect us in our time of need.

Incline Your ear to me;

We ask the Lord to listen to what we have to say.

In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

We ask the Lord to respond quickly whenever we pray to Him.

That's all I have for tonight. God bless you! See you soon!

Diane

Prayer - Part 8

Before I start my post, I would like to wave a big Hi! to my first follower on this blog, Angie! Thanks for following me! I hope you are enjoying the posts.

The Scripture for tonight is I John 5:14-15 (NKJV).

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

"According to His will" is the most important phrase here. If what we are asking for is not in God's will for us, He will not grant our requests. If we do ask for anything that is in His will for us, we can be confident that He will grant our request.

¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

When we petition God for anything that is in His will for us (or for whoever or whatever we're praying for), we have complete confidence that He will hear and answer our prayers. Thanks to the Lord for that!

Well, that's all for tonight. Thanks for reading! See you soon!

Father's Day tribute

Every year, we would wonder
What to get hubby's father
He was hard to buy for but
Every year, a variation on a theme
A Cardinals t-shirt, or a Cardinals book
These he received with gratitude.

This year, no need to ponder
What to give
For the only thing we can give this year
Is flowers on a grave
The loss still fresh
Even though he passed in January.

Hubby is stoic - no emotion from him, at least that I can see.
Even though his dad is gone
And on Father's Day
His own son left to go to Boy Scout camp
For a week.
No celebration either way.
How strange he must feel, yet he keeps it inside.

And for me? My own father gone almost 30 years
I put flowers on his grave as well.
He never got to see his grandchildren on earth.
He watches them from Heaven.
And I miss him too, and at the grave today
I said, Perhaps if the Lord comes soon
And calls us all home with trumpet sound,
I will see you soon
And we will never be parted again.

This is the first Father's Day
That both our fathers are gone.
An empty day for both of us.
Hopefully, next year will be better.
We will not sorrow
And we will remember happier times.

Prayer - Part 7

Tonight's post is on James 5:13-14.

James 5:13-14 (NLT)

¹³a Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray.

When we are suffering, the best solution is always to pray to the Lord for comfort and renewal. He will forgive our sins and ease our burdens, if it is within His will.

¹³b Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

Are you having a great day? Is everything going well in your life? Rejoice and thank the Lord for His goodness and mercy. You can sing hymns or praise songs that you know, or if none come to mind, you can always go to the Psalms for praises. Make up your own tune as you sing a Psalm!

¹⁴ Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.

When our physical body is suffering through illness, what a comfort it is to have fellow Christians pray for you. Our spirits will be healed and made whole, and our bodies may be made whole too, if it is God's will.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for reading! See you again too!

Diane

Prayer - Part 6

Here's another post on prayer. Tonight's verse is James 5:16.

16(a) Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

If our sins are not confessed, our souls grow sick, which can lead to physical sickness as well. Those who suffer from depression often have physical aches and pains as well. Hiding our misdoings can also make us anxious as to when we will be found out. When we confess our sins to each other and everything is out in the open, forgiveness can happen. Praying for those who have sinned either against us or against others is very freeing and is what our Savior wants from us. If we pray for others, they will pray for us in return.

16(b) The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

In order for your prayers to be heard by the Father, you must be righteous - that is, free from sin. We must confess our sins and have them forgiven before we pray for others. This concept connects to the first part of this verse. Once our sins have been confessed and forgiven, earnest prayer is very powerful and wonderful things can result.

In the next post, we'll go back a couple of verses and focus on James 5:13-15. Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane