DAILY DEVOTIONAL    WEDNESDAY AUGUST 14, 2002
(Romans 14:12, Matthew 12:36, Luke 12:20, 1 Peter 4:5)

Yes, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

And I tell you this, that you must give account on Judgment Day for every idle word you speak.

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'"

But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

SOURCE #1: (Romans 14:12, Matthew 12:36) The Children's Living Bible, ©1970 Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187
SOURCE #2: (Luke 12:20, 1 Peter 4:5) The New Student Bible, ©1992 Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan 49530

Personal accountability. One of the biggest problems that we have in our society today is a lack of personal accountability. Nobody is ever wrong, and when they do make mistakes, there is ALWAYS an excuse. The danger that I see in this mindset is that if there is one thing the Bible teaches, if there is one thing that God will demand of each one of us, it is PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.

I find it comical that in the current exposure of corporate fraud, men like Ken Lay (former CEO of Enron) and Bernie Ebbers (former CEO of WorldCom) were paid hundreds of millions of dollars to oversee major corporations that they now seem to know little about. What exactly were they paid all of that money for if they had no idea what was going on? In our criminal justice system, those charged hire gifted criminal lawyers to promote every excuse ever known to man in order to "explain away" the criminal behavior of their client. There are "experts" now that can give you an excuse for anything that you do.

Other great examples of people refusing to be personally accountable are the lawsuits in recent years against the tobacco industry, and now the fast food industry. While there is little doubt that the tobacco industry lied and hid the facts of how addictive cigarettes are, the FACT is, smoking is a PERSONAL CHOICE. Science was by far my worst subject in school. But even as ungifted as I am in that area, common sense told me that putting something in my mouth that was on fire, sucking the smoke into my body, could NOT be a good thing. My mom died almost 4 years ago from emphazyma. She smoke since she was 16. She told me that it was HER CHOICE to smoke, and she alone was responsible for the condition that ultimately took her life. As easy as it would have been for her to blame someone lese, she took personal responsibility for her addiction to cigarettes. Now people who are obese are suing the fast food chains for making them fat! I have been to many fast food restaurants in my life, and have yet to see someone strapped in a chair, being forced to eat a double bacon cheeseburger, the greasy fries that have been supersized, and washing it all down with a 4 gallon drum of Coke! IT IS A PERSONAL CHOICE!

My friend, my point today is to drive home the fact that we can't blame anyone but ourselves for our actions. Blaming others is not new to the human experience. In the Garden of Eden after sinning, Adam blamed his sin on "that woman". But the reality is, God is NOT INTERESTED in your excuses. Trying to blame Eve did not get Adam off the hook for HIS ACTIONS, and making excuses won't get you off the hook for YOUR ACTIONS! Men and women in prison can never overcome that experience until they humble themselves before God and accept personal responsibility for what THEY DID! In our life, we can never get beyond our sins until we are ready to admit them to God, who by the way, when you read 1 John 1:9 is ready to not only forgive you but cleanse you from "all unrighteousness". But YOU must take the first step, and take responsibility for your actions.

I love you and care about you so much. It breaks my heart as I go through many of the emails that we receive here at Liveprayer every day. Many who are looking for God in the midst of their challenges, will have a hard time finding Him since they refuse to accept that THEY MADE POOR CHOICES. In most cases, THEY MADE THE DECISIONS, and are now dealing with the consequences. ***HEAR THIS SPECIAL WORD FOR YOU TODAY. HEALING, BLESSINGS, THE FAVOR OF GOD COMES WHEN WE GO TO HIM, ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT WE DID WITHOUT BLAMING ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE, REPENT, AND RECEIVE HIS GRACE AND MERCY!!!!

I will pray for you today. I pray that you will open your heart, be honest with yourself and with God, and quit blaming anyone or anything other than the choices you made. We all make bad choices, bad decision in our life. The key for you today is to not try to find excuses, not try to find someone else to blame, but simply take responsibility for what you have done. It is impossible to move past your problems until you do this. This is so important because to accept Christ by faith, we must take personal responsibility for our sins and ask Him to forgive us. We must be personally accountable to HIM for our sins. When this brief life is over, when we stand before God, He is not going to be interested in any excuses. On that day, God will hold each of us personally responsible for our life. I pray today that you stop looking for ways to excuse your choices, your actions, but accept responsibility for what YOU have done. God will honor you for taking personal responsiblity for your actions.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

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