Hospitality or Entertainment?
A full day is coming to a close, and with all the directions my brain has gone, I would ask, Father, that You would reel it in close to You. May I clearly hear Your word. Amen.
Romans 12:13 (<<click here to read the passage)
Reading through the note on this particular verse…I had to pause. It spoke of a pretty clear black-and-white division between hospitality and entertainment, and I beg to differ!
The note states, “Entertaining focuses on the host. The home must be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured. Hospitality, by contrast, of people focuses on the guests’ needs, such as a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or just acceptance.”
I’ve spoken of the years that Karen and I were able to host an open house for our churches prior to Christmas. They were absolutely wonderful events! One year, in particular, it was standing-room only! The rooms where our guests ate and socialized were spotless. Karen put out a wonderful spread with plenty for all – it wasn’t fancy, but it was very tasty, festive, and filling. Karen was focused on everyone enjoying themselves and her love for people clearly showed.
The setting and the pieces and parts don’t necessarily determine whether it is entertainment or hospitality – I’d say it was a combination of both! Those events were looked forward to and well-spoken of by all. There was great interaction on every front that I was a part of, and I would wander from cluster to cluster, room to room, interacting with all in attendance.
Karen was exceptional at organizing a time together that, as my Life Application Study Bible defines hospitality, we were able to focus on our guests’ needs, such as a comfortable place to interact, nourishing (and yummy!) food, a listening ear, and…acceptance of one and all.
Yes, it can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup, but it can happen at a well-organized gathering, as well, when love is at the heart – and in the heart of those opening their home to loved ones. The thing is, as the Apostle Paul said,
Always be eager to practice hospitality. NLT
Or as The Message puts it,
…be inventive in hospitality.
And what started this whole train of thought?
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. v9 NLT
Aug 7th, 2023, Mon, 7:28 pm
The REAL Real Thing
Father, I would ask that You enable me to focus on You and not on myself. More of You, and less of me. Amen.
Romans 12:9-13 (<<click here to read the passage)
Back when I was a wee lad, in the early 1970s, one of Coca-Cola’s biggest ad campaigns, ever, hit the airwaves. Their all-encompassing slogan was ‘It’s the Real Thing’. The initial catchy song, I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke, was eventually reworked as I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing and became over-the-top popular. The commercial involved young people from all over the world gathered on a hilltop in Italy singing the song ending with, “It’s the real thing…”
Coke’s then brand manager, Ira C Herbert, heralded it as a new direction that “responds to research which shows that young people seek the real, the original and the natural as an escape from phoniness.”
It boded well for Coca-Cola, but I don’t think they cornered the market on understanding that young people – for that matter all people – seek those things. Honestly, I believe those desires are stronger than ever in the world in which we live!
The first part of verse 9 in the Amplified Bible reads,
Love is to be sincere and active [the real thing—without guile and hypocrisy].
The pointed notes in my Life Application Study Bible states,
Most of us have learned how to be courteous to others – how to speak kindly, avoid hurting their feelings, and appear to take an interest in them. We may even be skilled in pretending to show compassion when we hear of others’ needs, or to become indignant when we learn of injustice. But God calls us to real and genuine love that goes far beyond being hypocritical and polite. (emphasis mine.)
Real love isn’t some haphazard response to others. It’s a concentrated effort on our part. If done for maximum impact, it requires a great investment of resources on our part – it demands our time, money, and personal involvement.
It is our responsibility to work to these ends which Christ has set before us. But, as we spoke of last time, the Body of which we are a part can accomplish much more than we can all by ourselves. People are searching for love – the real thing, and we know just the place where it can be found.
Lord Jesus, may we be diligent in spreading – sharing – Your abundant love. Amen!
Aug 6th, 2023, Sun, 7:02 pm
We All Belong To Each Other
As I come to sit before You this evening, Father, open my heart and mind to Your Word. Enable me to see the treasures before me, maybe even some I’ve never seen before. Amen.
Romans 12:4-8 (<<click here to read the passage)
One thing that I’ve taken the initiative to start doing in latter years is speaking to those whom most people don’t even see. Many of them have important yet thankless jobs. We would be up a creek if they didn’t do what they did.
I’ve started thanking the important, behind-the-scenes people. On one of my last field trips, we went to the Ohio History Museum down in Columbus, I happened to notice a gentleman collecting trash from the bins in the eating area. I didn’t make a big deal about it, but I thanked him. The bus mechanics where I work do a great job. If my bus’s maintenance was in my hands, I would be in a whole heap of trouble! I try to regularly express my appreciation – they deserve it!
I share this because all parts of our society are important and we must not neglect the more menial contributors.
In these verses, the Apostle Paul speaks of the many parts of the body – referring to the body of the believers in Christ – encouraging each part to do their part to the fullest. We – every single one of us – have been given gifts – abilities, talents by God’s grace. They are not all upfront and bombastically “important” gifts as far as the world is concerned but they most definitely are in God’s eyes.
…we all belong to each other.
…if…prophesy, speak out…
If…serving others, serve them well.
If you are a teacher, teach well.
If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.
If it is giving, give generously.
If…leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.
…if a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
That’s a pretty good cross-section and that is by no means all the gifts God gives us, but we must do our part because the Body needs us…God needs us.
In this Sunday’s sermon, I’m sharing the following illustration.
On October 26, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking to students at Barratt Jr. High School in Philadelphia had this to say about street sweepers, “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”
Do your part. Do it well. All the hosts of heaven and earth are watching…and cheering us on!
Aug 3rd, 2023, Thurs, 7:39 pm
An Accurate Self-evaluation
Father, thank You for the mindset for a very productive day. I am grateful for the ability to work through the pieces and parts for our services and for the opportunity to speak with wonderful people!
Romans 12:3 (<<click here to read the passage)
I recently referred to Eugene Peterson as the one that came up with the paraphrase of the Bible that we know as The Message. I can’t even begin to comprehend the huge undertaking it was for him to accomplish that feat.
According to the NavPress website (its publisher), the Message is a reading Bible translated from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures by scholar, pastor, author, and poet Eugene Peterson. Thoroughly reviewed and approved by twenty biblical scholars, The Message combines the authority of God’s Word with the cadence and energy of conversational English.
I don’t use it a whole lot but after reading through the three translations I normally use in my writing (the New Living Translation – NLT, the Amplified Bible – AMP, and the New International Version – NIV), I felt the need to read another, and it just so happened that the last one I had referenced on the Bible Gateway website was The Message – MSG. And I found the last portion of Peterson’s paraphrase really spoke to me. It reads,
Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. (emphasis mine)
Everything, absolutely everything, begins and ends with God. He said Himself in Revelation 22:13,
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. NIV
(For those of you who aren’t aware, Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last.)
The notes of my Life Application Study Bible, referring to Romans 12:3, state,
Evaluating yourself by the worldly standards of success and achievement can cause you to think too much about your worth in the eyes of others and thus miss your true value in God’s eyes.
God is the beginning and the end and everything in between and the only reason we have any value whatsoever, is because He places that value on us. The world’s evaluation is worthless. It is finite. The moment we take our final breath is the end of this earthly life. But with God, we are infinite.
Our identity is not found in what we own, what we do, or who we know… Our identity is found in Christ alone. That’s all that matters. That is the key to an honest and accurate self-evaluation of who we are. That is the basis of our self-worth.
Lord Jesus, help us understand. Amen.
Aug 2nd, 2023, Wed, 8:29 pm
Too Close To the Edge
Well, Father, there were a lot of unexpected things today. We would pray for Your watchcare over us and lay claim to Your generous provision. We are blessed!
Romans 12:2 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the biggest hurdles in the world – and it’s not a new thing by any means – is the drive to get what everyone else seems to have. It starts with toys in children and in actuality progresses to bigger and more expensive toys in adulthood. Also, we have a very bad habit of falling right in line with the world, as well. For whatever reason, we have this overwhelming urge to be like the world, dress like the world, think like the world, and act like the world.
Right out of the gate, as the Apostle Paul tries to guide and direct us in the ways of Christ, he proclaims,
And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs]…
Now by no means can we say that all the things of the world are in and of themselves evil. But where the problem tends to lie, as my Life Application Study Bible points out, is that the ways of the world are usually selfish and often corrupting.
For sure, certain activities should be avoided. Often a little goes a long way, and we often have a problem putting the brakes on when enough is enough. We easily yield to more than is good for us.
Wise Christians decide that much worldly behavior is off-limits for them – there’s just too much potential for problems that are not easily undone. Our refusal to conform to this world’s values, however, must go even deeper than just behavior and customs: it must be firmly planted in our mind: be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes]… AMP
The New Living Translation puts it this way,
“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”
We might be able to say no to most worldly customs, and this is what burns us, we can avoid a lot of that stuff, but we can still be proud, covetous, selfish, stubborn, and arrogant.
If I’ve learned anything in the last 60 years, it is that I am totally inept at handling those kinds of things by myself. It’s too easy to get too close to the edge. I think I’ve got it all under control, and once I start slipping…it’s all downhill.
Only when the Holy Spirit renews, reeducates, and redirects our mind are we truly transformed.
For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose]. Romans 8:5 AMP
Lord Jesus, enable us to keep our eyes and hearts fixed on You. In and of ourselves we are weak. But in You we are strong! Amen!
Aug 1st, 2023, Tues, 11:04 pm