Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of song and lyrics from the group Sidewalk Prophets singing … Come To The Table … poignantly singing how God invites any and all to His table of love and grace … no matter who we are!!
Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 14:13-14 [NKJV] … 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
… Jesus’s parable of how His table of grace is open to any/all who would come at His invitation.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 14:7-14 [NKJV]… USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus, at the table of the Pharisees on the Sabbath, tells of how we must be willing to invite any/all to His table of love/grace.
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Reference Passage : …Matthew 6:2-4 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaching others of His way of serving others with His love and grace.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 3:14-21 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… That we Christians would appreciate the wondrous love, offered to any/all who would come to His table and be served by His amazing grace.
Reference Passage : … Philippians 2:3-7 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s Spirit, thru Paul, teaches that we are to serve others, as He would, in the form extending grace as His has to any/all who would come to receive His grace.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Jennifer Benson Schuldt, tells a true story of how we are blessed when we’re willing to reach out and serve others. The ODB author wrote: Just one week before her scheduled wedding date, Sarah’s engagement ended. Despite her sadness and disappointment, she decided not to waste the food she had purchased for her wedding reception. She did, however, decide to change the celebration plans. She took down the gift table and revamped the guest list, inviting the residents of local homeless shelters to the feast [see photo].
Jesus upheld this sort of no-strings-attached kindness when speaking to the Pharisees, saying, “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed” (Luke 14:13–14).
I confess here that one of my personal selfish weaknesses is striving to be seen by other as “worthy” or “special.” Hence, I have a history of trying to show off my “goodness” so that others can see me and give me kudos of affirmation. And that is exactly contrary to what Jesus was teaching about service to God’s kingdom in His “Sermon on the Mount” (see Matt. 6:2-4 or when He related the parable of the banquet of grace to the Pharisees in Luke 14.
And the Apostle Paul also taught, in more than one of his letters (see reference passages above), how we only reflect God’s love/grace when we’re willing to humbly set a table of grace and serve others.
So … how about joining me and looking for ways to do that today!!
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for the open invitation to come to Your table and partake of Your grace.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to see the opportunities where I can serve others the way You do for me. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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