| God taking people off the streets |
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Devotional Text: Luke 14:18-23 (AMP) But they all alike began to make excuses and to beg off. The first said to him, I have bought a piece of land and I have to go out and see it; I beg you, have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine and out my approval on them; I beg you, have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and because of this I am unable to come (Deut. 24:5). So the servant came and reported these (answers) to his master. Then the master of the house said in wrath to his servant, Go quickly into the great streets and the small streets of the city and bring in here the poor and the disabled and the blind and the lame. And the servant (returning) said, Sir, I what you have commanded me to do has been done, and yet there is room. Then the master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges and urge and constrain (them) to yield and come in, so that my house may be filled. Dear FriendsIn volunteering at a hospital, one see injured and sick people coming in from all walks of life. Ordinary people like you and me suffering due to the environment, in which they live. Seeing this happening, one starts to realize how vulnerable we really are, and how much people need one another for comfort and health. It is in our vulnerability where belongings doesn’t take first place anymore and using our possessions for not entering in God’s feast becomes a mere unfounded excuse. Knowing how people make excuses and how meaningless these excuses are since they are irrelevant to the Kingdom of God, the Groom tells his servants to go into the streets and inviting all those people who are outcasts to the society, a menace everyone can do without. Those people are even in our society today, they are the homeless, the sick, lame and people who lost hope in general. These people responded, because being from the streets they learned how to accept something with thankfulness and gratitude, but most importantly they sensed that at lease someone saw and acknowledged them, treated them as dignified human beings irrespective of their life circumstances. These people value the magnitude of this invitation and accept it even though they also have their own reason for attending and despite this all they enter into God’s joy and celebrations. God creates opportunities to enter into His joy; he invites us to his feast even though the conditions do not seem favorable. He invites us to a life changing experience of caring for those seeing them getting healthier and stronger as time progresses. God is still inviting u to His Son’s Jesus Christ wedding feast on a daily basis so that we could enter into his joy and there will always be room for one more person to join no matter at what time. People coming to the feast even though they still have their daily lives and struggles to cope with and by doing that renewed strength is gained daily. The co-volunteers each shared how amazing God is, because they found the strength to go strong and that is simply because they join Christ feats every single day. Christ’s feast is a feast for us. A feast where we can get to know Him intimately, while knowing that we were known intimately by him first. At this wedding feast he pledges his loyalty to His bride and that he will remain with her (the church) through better and worst times, no matter what her circumstances may be. Come to the feast and don’t let your troubles and fears withhold you from an eternity changing experience. Everything has been prepared, taste and see how friendly the Lord is. Make the effort abide to Christ invitation and enjoy his celebration of life for this is what only matters. Christ wants your life to be a feast in itself so happy Feasting!!!! Amen |