THE GREAT SUPPER
Greetings in the name of Jesus our Lord:
Jesus used a great number of parables during His ministry among us. In this parable, Jesus told of a great man who had sent out invitations for a great feast, and of the responses that he received in response to it. Luke 14:16-24 gives us a great view into many of the kinds of things that have been used as excuses by the world around us for not accepting God's invitation to partake of the love and forgiveness that He has been willing to share with us. Many of the excuses sound very reasonable to us from work duties to family responsibilities or things from financial needs. We come up with a never-ending list of things that we allow to get between us and God.
If we will take the time to stop and think about this invitation given to us we will soon realize that it is probably the single most important event of our lives. The bottom line is that no matter how inconvenient the timing may be there is no excuse that can be used for ignoring God's call to us. I think it is interesting that Jesus put this invitation in the form of a banquet. In Jesus day it was custom to send several invitations out to the people invited; first to let them know there was a party and the time and place to attend, and a second invitation to let everyone know that everything was prepared for them to come. The guests in Jesus story insulted the host by making excuses on the second invitation when all things had been prepared for them to come. With the Jewish nation, the people had accepted the first invitation from the prophets that God would be sending a Messiah, but they rejected the second invitation when God had sent His very Son to deliver the word that all things are ready. In the same way that the host sent out his servants to the highways and bi-ways to bring people in to fill his feast so did God open up the doors to all of this world to accept His feast.
There are many today who have been suffering for the cause of Christ for a long time now in this world, but who are not Jewish, and yet they are still sons and daughters of God. They should all know that the feast that is prepared is for them, and for all of us who have been grafted into the vine which is Christ Jesus. Jesus never calls us to work toward something that continues to be laborious, but He intends for us to join Him in the feast and the celebration of the Father.
My dear ones we have received the invitation, not only through the Prophets of old but from Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God Himself to come and sit at the table with Him.
It is time for you to respond; not with a mortal excuse or a lack of interest, but with a true desire to be a part of an eternity of love, peace, and joy and in the presence of God forevermore! I can feel God's presence around you right now...the time is growing short. Let us share that invitation from our Father right now with this world no matter if it is rejected or not; at least we will have tried to share our joy with a world that is in the deepest need it has ever been in. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Jesus used a great number of parables during His ministry among us. In this parable, Jesus told of a great man who had sent out invitations for a great feast, and of the responses that he received in response to it. Luke 14:16-24 gives us a great view into many of the kinds of things that have been used as excuses by the world around us for not accepting God's invitation to partake of the love and forgiveness that He has been willing to share with us. Many of the excuses sound very reasonable to us from work duties to family responsibilities or things from financial needs. We come up with a never-ending list of things that we allow to get between us and God.
If we will take the time to stop and think about this invitation given to us we will soon realize that it is probably the single most important event of our lives. The bottom line is that no matter how inconvenient the timing may be there is no excuse that can be used for ignoring God's call to us. I think it is interesting that Jesus put this invitation in the form of a banquet. In Jesus day it was custom to send several invitations out to the people invited; first to let them know there was a party and the time and place to attend, and a second invitation to let everyone know that everything was prepared for them to come. The guests in Jesus story insulted the host by making excuses on the second invitation when all things had been prepared for them to come. With the Jewish nation, the people had accepted the first invitation from the prophets that God would be sending a Messiah, but they rejected the second invitation when God had sent His very Son to deliver the word that all things are ready. In the same way that the host sent out his servants to the highways and bi-ways to bring people in to fill his feast so did God open up the doors to all of this world to accept His feast.
There are many today who have been suffering for the cause of Christ for a long time now in this world, but who are not Jewish, and yet they are still sons and daughters of God. They should all know that the feast that is prepared is for them, and for all of us who have been grafted into the vine which is Christ Jesus. Jesus never calls us to work toward something that continues to be laborious, but He intends for us to join Him in the feast and the celebration of the Father.
My dear ones we have received the invitation, not only through the Prophets of old but from Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God Himself to come and sit at the table with Him.It is time for you to respond; not with a mortal excuse or a lack of interest, but with a true desire to be a part of an eternity of love, peace, and joy and in the presence of God forevermore! I can feel God's presence around you right now...the time is growing short. Let us share that invitation from our Father right now with this world no matter if it is rejected or not; at least we will have tried to share our joy with a world that is in the deepest need it has ever been in. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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