2 Thessalonians 1:11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,

The second excuse on the list we had in our post John Mark was in the feeling that we are not worthy. Perhaps Paul’s prayer here in 2nd Thessalonians will shed some light for us.

It is God that makes us worthy. He is the force behind our resolute mind to fulfill every good work that is performed by His power through obedience of faith.

One of the key elements of stagnant emotions of worth lies in our failure to confess and seek forgiveness. If we cannot forgive ourselves for the things we have done it stains our view of God’s ability to forgive us. That is not scriptural.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We look in the mirror and we do not see we have changed and that is the problem, righteousness is God’s opinion of us, and not our own. That is why we must believe God’s word and trust in Him. Failing to believe God’s forgiveness keeps us from taking the next step of faith towards hearing His commands.

John 14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

If we do not keep His commandments then we feel like we have failed to love Him. Allow me to clarify commandments for a moment.

When I joined the Army the first thing that was drilled into me was the Military Code of Conduct. This code governed the behavioral aspects of life in the Military. Violations of the code could lead to punishment. Then there were command executions which directed operations.

At no time did a command execution give us the right to violate the Military Code of Conduct. Illegal orders were not to be followed.

If we think that we need to study and obey the 613 Jewish Laws just because Jesus was Jewish and obeyed them, then we have failed Him when He said; Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 7:7 tells us that the law was given so that we would recognize sin but the law was powerless to overcome sin, only to point at it. We sin so what is the value in the law of grace? That is identified in 1 John 3:6 as continuing in sin and not availing ourselves of confession and forgiveness.

John 10:2-4 English Standard Version

2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

The first excuse for not serving God yesterday was “I am not called.” There have been so many conversations over the years with fellow Christians about the issues of the calling. That leads me to believe that failure to find a calling leads to doubt and frustration.

The simple answer is found in John chapter ten. Has the good shepherd entered through the door to your heart? If He has, then you have a personal relationship with God in which He Himself talks to you and leads you.

We have been given spiritual ears and eyes which are developed with the aid of the Holy Spirit. The life we now have in Christ is one led by faith and without it, we flounder. Hearing and seeing by faith cannot be accomplished by using the reasoning skills we used when we were students in the world. We are Kingdom dwellers now and the old rules no longer apply.

As children we are taught how to read and what the words mean. Now we are in the Kingdom and the Word is Christ and to read Him is to know Him. Knowledge is no longer about reason, it is about relationship because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. Apart from faith we are making our own choices and have failed to hear Him calling us.

Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Who is teaching you the Word of Christ, a man or the Holy Spirit?