When You Give A Party

But He (Jesus) said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner and he invited many, and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ … And the slave came back and reported this to the master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame….”

Luke 14:16-21

I think Jesus wants us to not overlook anyone when we go out to preach the Gospel.

A few years ago I finally finished my undergraduate college degree and what surprised me when I was taking classes was the vast spiritual wasteland college campuses have become. The majority of the students and the faculty freely admitted that they did not practice any religion and were unsure that there was a God. Some said they had never been to church.  Many were devoid of any shred of mercy toward others and believed that people got what they deserved. These people thought they would become the leaders in our society and some of them no doubt will be.

Where does this leave the ministry of the Church? It leaves the Church the work of taking the Gospel colleges and at the same time ministering to those in need and perhaps, marrying the two by creating opportunities for students to participate in the ministry by helping provide meals to the poor, tutoring children, and doing other service projects which involve contact with people in need. Yes, it is wonderful to clean up a river or a park or build a bear habitat, but those activities often do not include contact with people who are in need. It is our contact with people which helps us understand mercy and grace.

So, what might we do to reach these students earlier in life?  Perhaps, when we throw a party or plan a special event at Church, we can call it a community event and invite people who do not come to our Church and roll out the welcome wagon and the Good News of the Gospel.

 

Calling Disciples

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 

Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them. 

Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Matthew 4:18-22

When Jesus went looking for disciples, He did not go to the synagogues or the centers of intellectualism; He went looking for regular people who recognized that He was the Messiah and who willingly followed Him.  These ordinary people carried the Gospel to the world.  They were empowered by the Holy Spirit with a message of hope and forgiveness through Jesus.    

The disciples turned the world upside down, and you can too.  Jesus is calling you.  Ask Jesus to be your Lord, Master and Savior, and tell the world about God’s great love.   

Less Noise, More Love

 

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1

Wow.  This undoes some ideas about doing good being enough to be a good Christian.  

We are to act in love toward others.  We can give money or work at a soup kitchen because it makes us look good.  Sometimes we might even brag about what we are doing, but if we do not show love to others in our actions, then we have failed.

Kind words and concern for others show the world God's love.  

 

The Gifts Given

And He (Jesus) sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 

Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44 

The lesson here is that although wealthy people may give a lot of money to the church, the greater gifts come from those who give smaller amounts from their limited resources.  Some people have no money to give, but they give their time to work for the church to make worship and events possible for all to enjoy.   

We can honor and thank all all those who give - and be mindful that the gifts given by those who are not financially well off are valuable to the ministry of the church.  

Speak Up

 

How blessed are those who keep justice,

Who practice righteousness at all times!

Psalm 106:3

It is almost always easier to keep our mouths shut when we see injustice.

Speaking up sometimes involves embarrassment and might cost us some friends. The problem is that if we say nothing then nothing will change. It takes courage to speak up when we see someone mistreating another person.

As terrible as it sounds, sometimes people are so insensitive to that they do not even realize that they are treating people unfairly. When we point out injustice, it gives those people an opportunity to change their behavior.

If we do not speak up, who will?

Not Judging Us, Forgiving Us

 

And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus, he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 

When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.

When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half my possessions I will give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 

And, Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:1-10

When we talk about someone who everyone hated and we are talking about Zaccheus.  He was a tax collector.  It was his job to extract tax payments from people and, because he could, he would take more money than was due and keep it for himself.  So, he was a tax collector and a thief.  

Yet, here comes Jesus not judging Zaccheus for his sins, but forgiving him because he came to Him with a repentant heart.   

Today, it is the same way.  It is never too late. No one is ever too far from God. Jesus seeks us all. We just need to say “Here I am.” And, He will find us.

Trust God

 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God in whom I trust!”

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper

And from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

Psalm 91:1-4

These are some of the most comforting words found in the Bible.  It is God's pledge to us, that no matter what He will care for us.  We are not left adrift with no hope, we always have this hope:  God is on our side.   

And, that is why we can trust God.