He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language are to worship Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 7:14 NIV).
To run a smooth-sailing ship, the crewmen must do what they were trained to do. What if the captain decided to shirk his duties and goof off all day? Who would give the orders? How would anything get done? Maybe the crew would take his lead and not do their duties either. Then what? The ship would drift aimlessly across the sea, going nowhere, and possibly heading into trouble!
Excuses, excuses. How many times have you put off doing something for God because you had something “more important” to do?
I came across Matthew 8:18–22 in my daily Scripture reading today. A teacher of the law told Jesus that he would follow Him wherever He went. Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Basically, Jesus was telling him that to follow Him means you can never rest in bringing others to Him. Nothing should come between you and your mission.
Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:18–22 NIV).
Many “things” of this world will tempt us to put off what we know we should be doing. We need to stop making excuses and start focusing on what we are here to do. We were all created by God, and none of us deserves His forgiveness. Yet if we truly repent, He will forgive us. So, we must stay in the Word and keep praying for the lost souls in this world.
God is the Captain of our ship, and we can count on Him to never shirk His duties. We need to be a productive crew and constantly try to recruit new members. No excuses, no complaints. Look to God for your orders and make sure you follow what He says without fail. A productive ship is a ship that will stay afloat. As long as we keep to our duties faithfully, there is no fear of a shipwreck.
Debbie Mitchell