By: Undre Griggs, Jr. One of the more shameful traits of humans that we underestimate is making excuses. There are numerous reasons why we may make excuses, but none of them are reasons we should have a part in. We find excuses come from fear and a lack of trust, Exodus 4:10-12 (NKJV): Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” We find excuses come from selfishness and laziness, Luke 14:18-20 (NIV): “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ We also see excuses form when we do something we know we should not be doing, Genesis 3:12-13 (ESV): The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Avoiding excuses may be challenging because we may not recognize when we are making them. Often times, we truly believe the explanation we provided for our shortcoming. We really were tired when we decided not to attend worship service; and we definitely were busy when we did not follow through on a commitment or meet a deadline. To recognize an excuse is to understand we had an opportunity to do right, yet chose to ignore it and/or do wrong. We chose to do whatever we did the night before that contributed to us being tired the next morning. The same explanation is applicable when we say we are “too busy” to complete a task. We frequently find ourselves able to make time for the things that matter to us, so we should be able to make time for things that matter to others. While a life without excuses may not be easy, there is no doubt it will be rewarding to those who can achieve it. Galatians 6:9 (ESV): And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. If you grind to better yourself, you understand failure is a part of life. We have to look no further than our lives as children. There was a point in time we did not know how to ride a bicycle. While learning, we fell many times and even contemplated giving up, but we didn’t. With guidance, we were able to learn from our failures and we ultimately achieved our goal. Proverbs 24:16 (NKJV): For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. Consider some of the classes we took while we were growing up. We may have learned addition in the first grade, subtraction in the second grade, multiplication in the third grade, and fractions in the fourth. Each year there was an initial struggle and when we finally understand the process, the school wanted to teach us different mathematics. It is likely we contemplated whether we knew enough arithmetic to forego learning anything else. The sting of struggle and failure can be a deterrent of growth, but God wants us to understand our shortcoming is where His strength prospers. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV): But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. In many instances, unlike children, adults have the ability to choose whether they will endure failure and suffering. Since we have the option to continue, our mind may be focusing on the pain in an effort to determine whether the pain is worth pressing through. Children, understanding the requirement to continue are more likely to accept and learn from the experience. Like our younger selves, we have to disregard the pain and focus on what we can learn from the experience. Romans 5:3-5 (ESV): More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. In life we need to remain as humble as little children, understanding our wisdom is not greater than our Father’s. In a world full of sin, failure and suffering are guaranteed and should be anticipated. We need to set our minds on the fact it produces character and hope within us. We should find peace in the love that God has poured in our heart; remembering that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. When dealing with the unknown, we have the natural tendency to first search for answers from our friends and family. It is almost an innate reaction for us to seek what we know when dealing with what we do not know. King Nebuchadnezzar was no different; he was terrified because he had a dream that he could not understand (Daniel 4:4-5). Nebuchadnezzar first pursued advice from those he knew best; his friends and trusted council. Daniel 4:6-7 (NKJV): So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. There is nothing wrong with seeking what we recognize when confronted with something unfamiliar; but God should be the familiar refuge we seek first. God is more consistent than any person we have met, more knowledgeable than the wisest among us, and more concerned about our wellbeing than our closest family member. Remarkably, Nebuchadnezzar knew he should have looked to God for answers; because Daniel already interpreted a dream that Nebuchadnezzar’s wisest men could not decipher (Daniel 2:1-11). The ability of the king’s wisest men fell short again and Nebuchadnezzar eventually requested for God’s servant Daniel to interpret this dream too. Daniel 4:8-9 (NIV): Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. When we are confronted with fear of the unknown, we must seek answers from the correct place. Sometimes the answers do not come as quickly we would like, but that is no reason to lose faith in God. Stay strong through the unknown, understanding that God is wise and omniscient; loving and enduring for His people. Romans 11:33 (NIV): Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. Patience is a sign of faith and faith is a sign of hope; hope in something greater than what we see in front of us. Romans 8:25 (ESV): But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV): And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. There are so many situations in life where we have little to no control over the results. That is why it is essential we lean on God and his understanding when coping with the difficulties of life. Whether we find ourselves with financial issues, relationship/family issues, or health issues; we must patiently trust that God’s will is in our best interest. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV): Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV): For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Patience produces faith, which creates trust, which leads to obedience in God. When we lack patience, we are more likely to pursue goals on our own timetable instead of God’s timetable. We are going to seek our wisdom before we seek God’s wisdom, and we are likely to forget to include God in our plans. James 4:13-15 (ESV): Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” When we show patience in the will of God, we will be strong enough to handle anything. We will look past the here and now and put our hope in our future with Christ. Our life on earth is but for a moment; our pain is temporary and one day all of our suffering will cease. We should focus on the things that will never cease, because there we will find a peace that lasts a lifetime. 1 John 5:11-13 (NIV): And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. Shame and guilt are the feeling we get when we know we have sinned. Our morality comes from our creator; so whether we want to admit it or not, we do not enjoy sin. Jeremiah 3:25 (NIV): Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors; from our youth till this day we have not obeyed the Lord our God.” Understanding sin separates us from God helps us to understand why we would feel sorrow or shame when we sin. To remove shame we must reunite with God under the salvation found in His son Jesus Christ. Romans 1:16 (NKJV): For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 10:11 (ESV): For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” Once we have placed our trust in Jesus, we must forgive ourselves of the sins we have committed. We should not demean ourselves by continually playing our worst decisions in a loop. Our last mistake is not going to be our last mistake; so we need to learn to let go and let God handle the issues of our life. We cannot be fearful or ashamed of our human weaknesses; we must be confident in the person we can become by abiding in Christ. Isaiah 54:4 (ESV): Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. When we put our trust in God, we will be able to endure all types of persecution and hardships. No matter the ridicule, no matter the embarrassment; if we are working for the furthering of God’s kingdom, no shame will be in our game. 2 Timothy 1:11-12 (NKJV): For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. Psalm 31:1-2 (NIV): In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.
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Dean Road
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