Devotional: We Can Say "No" To the World by Earl Parsons

It seems as if there are at least ten excuses for every sin we commit. Something that really bothers me about these excuses is that many of them come from the mouths of self-proclaimed Christians. These excuses are meant to justify our inability to tell the world that we don’t need what it has to offer.

When our excuses get to God, they fall on deaf ears.

Because, you see, God knows better. He knew that once He sent His Son to walk among us, that we would know it was possible to resist all worldly pleasures. In other words, God, through the grace of Jesus Christ, gave all Christians the ability to say “No”.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Titus 2:11-12

You see, God wouldn’t throw us to the worldly wolves without the ability to resist. He gave us a way out of all ungodliness and worldly passions. He gave us the ability to say “No”. All we have to do is say it.

One other thing that God did for us in this passage; He removed the word excuse from our vocabulary.

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for giving us the ability to say “No” to the world and all it has to offer. Help us, Lord, to recognize everything that we are to resist, and give us the strength to do so. Thank You, God, for the perfect example You gave us in Jesus.