Saturday Easter Week Three -- May 3
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Meditation
Saturday of Easter Week Three covers a favorite topic: food. Ever since I met and married a chef of amazing delicious delicacies, I have discovered a pleasure in eating and serving food. So when both the Old Testament lesson in Isaiah talked about God preparing a feast of the highest gourmet pleasure for believers (followers/servants) and the New Testament lesson in the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus took it one step further.
“When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite only your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. …
13 “Instead, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, and the blind.”
I know a true story about a couple who moved to a remote mountain community with a depressed economy. They attended an aging struggling church with less than 30 in attendance on Sunday mornings. In discussions of the ways for the church to grow, one young man suggested a soup and sandwich supper for the community. Outreach without asking for money or requiring attendance of a Christian service.
The husband volunteered to help and he became part of a committee of three, which was more delegated to the two guys, the guy (a reformed drug addict and ex-con) and a fifty something man —the best bargain shopper for food—who used his experience as a head cook for Jeremiah’s Steak House and Marie Calendars (both jobs held while a fireman for Palm Springs) to bring a fabulous meal—two entrees, four vegetables, a salad bar, and a dessert bar to the table. Church members added to the spread with delicious home cooked dishes. The couple didn’t have a kitchen with a stove, so they used the church kitchen to cook. They procured the food from discounts and donations and kept the cost between $20-60 a dinner.
The word of the community supper spread. The numbers grew from 25 the first weekend to 40 plus within a few months. The young man in charge of the committee disappeared without explanation, so the wife started helping as sous chef. The third member, as chief of deacons, complained there was too much work to be done. She considered it was her job to protect her deacons from overwork. The couple committed to setting up, cooking the meals and washing the dishes. They handled 40 mouths—since the two had served 200 in many former catering opportunities. It amounted to 4 hours of work on a Friday night.
Soon a snow storm obstructed roads, but they offered to serve anyway. They were told to cancel the dinner (although they didn’t think to put the word out). An attendee the next week relayed he’d walked 2 miles in the storm to get there; as he hadn’t eaten for several days. The couple ‘cheated’ the next time they canceled (due to rain), and got in to cook and serve the meal. Twenty five showed up in the storm.
The community loved the feasts. People commented how expansive the options were. The cost hovered between $40-60 to feed 40+ people. The elder told the couple they were doing too much. Another person stepped up to provide a meal—ordered $100 worth of croissant sandwiches. With only twenty-five servings available, they ran out without other possibilities. The couple chose not to eat, so others could have a meal.
The pastor called a meeting to discuss the future of the dinner. Several said it should be sandwiches and soup only to keep costs down and clean up to a minimum. The couple submitted they were willing to do all the work without anyone having to ‘clean up’ or do anything that they didn’t feel they were able to provide. They pointed out that the sandwich without soup had cost twice what the full smorgasbord had been. One elder said why should the poor receive pork chops and/or BBQ ribs? They didn’t need all that fancy stuff.
The couple submitted that all are equal according to the Scriptures and that no one who didn’t feel called to contribute didn’t have to do a thing, since the Lord only asks people to give what they have to give. If someone were disabled and unable to give, there should be no pressure to give. Service was to the Lord. Period.
The pastor told the couple not to offer Scriptures to show a reason to do or not to do something and if they didn’t stop using Scriptures that way, they were not welcome at the church.
They left the church on principle because the Scriptures should never be squelched. The dinners stopped soon after.
Today’s lessons contradicted the rules of struggling church.
All work for the Lord is service to God—not the doers. God uses all kinds of people to reach out to the needy. If we cannot serve without complaining or thinking the poor are getting more than they deserve, we have missed what God commands here.
In Gordon MacDonald’s book, Ordering Your Private World, the question arises whether we are called or driven. When we are called, God supplies the energy to accomplish anything and everything, so it doesn’t drag one down, but energizes us. When we are driven, the focus shifts to us: WE believe we must do it and we struggle to complete it. The activity enervates and sucks the joy out of living. That is doing it wrong.
As the humorous quote by Konstantin Josef Jireček said:
“We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.” (Goodreads)
Churches often function like that. However, the Creator of the Universe offers unlimited resources for doing the work of Christ. Whatever we do in the Name of Jesus—instead of ourselves—will flourish and be blessed. When we fixate on ourselves, the resources diminish, we struggle with funding and time and supporters.
The feast is God’s feast and we must open it up to everyone—especially the poor, the crippled and the blind. When we allow God to flow through us (we’re the vessel that overflows) the blessings cannot be contained.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Season of Easter Bible Readings
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19;Isaiah 25:6-9;Luke 14:12-14&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Saturday of Easter Week Three
Psalm 116:1-4 :12-19
Isaiah 25:6-9
Luke 14:12-14
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Jonah 2:2
“In my distress, O Lord, I called to you, and you answered me. From deep in the world of the dead I cried for help, and you heard me.”
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Luke 14:12-14
King James Version (KJV)
12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.
13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God. Forgive us for being selfish and not willing to open our hearts to let your Spirit pour through us. Empower us to hear you calling, so that we are not driven but responding to the call to service, that your name will be praised and we will have boundless energy. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Saturday of Easter Week Three celebrates feasting. We’re not talking peanut butter and jelly, but delicious filet mignon, seared with a pink center, vegetables with sauces that water the mouth, and wine that would receive a 100 points (even though Wine Spectator only rates the top wines this year as 95 or lower) because Cana taught us God serves the best. The feast of God is for followers and servants of God, according to Isaiah, but Jesus recommends going a step further—invite the poor, the crippled and the blind. Invite the ex-cons, the homeless, those suffering AIDs, the people that society too often rejects—the gays, the transgender, the people of color different from whatever we are, the unwed mothers, welfare abusers, wife beaters, slum landlords, atheists, people of different faiths, the next door neighbor you don’t want to socialize with, and any others we might ‘cringe’ at serving.
The point is for us not to ‘assess’ and ‘judge’ worthiness. We are to serve all. I have had to pray for help in not judging people. It is a natural inclination to see people we are unfamiliar with as ‘others’ and not ‘us.’ But God asks us to do service for the Lord—not for our comfort. In fact, service may make one very uncomfortable. Some people smell. We must work at not showing our revulsion in our faces. That twitching of the nose. The superiority of self. Not Christ-like behavior.
Part of the obedience we have been talking about is practicing welcoming all. Not judging. Showing God’s love—unconditionally. Churches should be hospitals for sinners and not country clubs for self-proclaimed saints. (Gordon MacDonald)
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Saturday of Easter Week Three covers a favorite topic: food. Ever since I met and married a chef of amazing delicious delicacies, I have discovered a pleasure in eating and serving food. So when both the Old Testament lesson in Isaiah talked about God preparing a feast of the highest gourmet pleasure for believers (followers/servants) and the New Testament lesson in the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus took it one step further.
“When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite only your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. …
13 “Instead, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, and the blind.”
I know a true story about a couple who moved to a remote mountain community with a depressed economy. They attended an aging struggling church with less than 30 in attendance on Sunday mornings. In discussions of the ways for the church to grow, one young man suggested a soup and sandwich supper for the community. Outreach without asking for money or requiring attendance of a Christian service.
The husband volunteered to help and he became part of a committee of three, which was more delegated to the two guys, the guy (a reformed drug addict and ex-con) and a fifty something man —the best bargain shopper for food—who used his experience as a head cook for Jeremiah’s Steak House and Marie Calendars (both jobs held while a fireman for Palm Springs) to bring a fabulous meal—two entrees, four vegetables, a salad bar, and a dessert bar to the table. Church members added to the spread with delicious home cooked dishes. The couple didn’t have a kitchen with a stove, so they used the church kitchen to cook. They procured the food from discounts and donations and kept the cost between $20-60 a dinner.
The word of the community supper spread. The numbers grew from 25 the first weekend to 40 plus within a few months. The young man in charge of the committee disappeared without explanation, so the wife started helping as sous chef. The third member, as chief of deacons, complained there was too much work to be done. She considered it was her job to protect her deacons from overwork. The couple committed to setting up, cooking the meals and washing the dishes. They handled 40 mouths—since the two had served 200 in many former catering opportunities. It amounted to 4 hours of work on a Friday night.
Soon a snow storm obstructed roads, but they offered to serve anyway. They were told to cancel the dinner (although they didn’t think to put the word out). An attendee the next week relayed he’d walked 2 miles in the storm to get there; as he hadn’t eaten for several days. The couple ‘cheated’ the next time they canceled (due to rain), and got in to cook and serve the meal. Twenty five showed up in the storm.
The community loved the feasts. People commented how expansive the options were. The cost hovered between $40-60 to feed 40+ people. The elder told the couple they were doing too much. Another person stepped up to provide a meal—ordered $100 worth of croissant sandwiches. With only twenty-five servings available, they ran out without other possibilities. The couple chose not to eat, so others could have a meal.
The pastor called a meeting to discuss the future of the dinner. Several said it should be sandwiches and soup only to keep costs down and clean up to a minimum. The couple submitted they were willing to do all the work without anyone having to ‘clean up’ or do anything that they didn’t feel they were able to provide. They pointed out that the sandwich without soup had cost twice what the full smorgasbord had been. One elder said why should the poor receive pork chops and/or BBQ ribs? They didn’t need all that fancy stuff.
The couple submitted that all are equal according to the Scriptures and that no one who didn’t feel called to contribute didn’t have to do a thing, since the Lord only asks people to give what they have to give. If someone were disabled and unable to give, there should be no pressure to give. Service was to the Lord. Period.
The pastor told the couple not to offer Scriptures to show a reason to do or not to do something and if they didn’t stop using Scriptures that way, they were not welcome at the church.
They left the church on principle because the Scriptures should never be squelched. The dinners stopped soon after.
Today’s lessons contradicted the rules of struggling church.
All work for the Lord is service to God—not the doers. God uses all kinds of people to reach out to the needy. If we cannot serve without complaining or thinking the poor are getting more than they deserve, we have missed what God commands here.
In Gordon MacDonald’s book, Ordering Your Private World, the question arises whether we are called or driven. When we are called, God supplies the energy to accomplish anything and everything, so it doesn’t drag one down, but energizes us. When we are driven, the focus shifts to us: WE believe we must do it and we struggle to complete it. The activity enervates and sucks the joy out of living. That is doing it wrong.
As the humorous quote by Konstantin Josef Jireček said:
“We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.” (Goodreads)
Churches often function like that. However, the Creator of the Universe offers unlimited resources for doing the work of Christ. Whatever we do in the Name of Jesus—instead of ourselves—will flourish and be blessed. When we fixate on ourselves, the resources diminish, we struggle with funding and time and supporters.
The feast is God’s feast and we must open it up to everyone—especially the poor, the crippled and the blind. When we allow God to flow through us (we’re the vessel that overflows) the blessings cannot be contained.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Season of Easter Bible Readings
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19;Isaiah 25:6-9;Luke 14:12-14&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Saturday of Easter Week Three
Psalm 116:1-4 :12-19
Isaiah 25:6-9
Luke 14:12-14
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Jonah 2:2
“In my distress, O Lord, I called to you, and you answered me. From deep in the world of the dead I cried for help, and you heard me.”
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Luke 14:12-14
King James Version (KJV)
12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.
13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God. Forgive us for being selfish and not willing to open our hearts to let your Spirit pour through us. Empower us to hear you calling, so that we are not driven but responding to the call to service, that your name will be praised and we will have boundless energy. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Saturday of Easter Week Three celebrates feasting. We’re not talking peanut butter and jelly, but delicious filet mignon, seared with a pink center, vegetables with sauces that water the mouth, and wine that would receive a 100 points (even though Wine Spectator only rates the top wines this year as 95 or lower) because Cana taught us God serves the best. The feast of God is for followers and servants of God, according to Isaiah, but Jesus recommends going a step further—invite the poor, the crippled and the blind. Invite the ex-cons, the homeless, those suffering AIDs, the people that society too often rejects—the gays, the transgender, the people of color different from whatever we are, the unwed mothers, welfare abusers, wife beaters, slum landlords, atheists, people of different faiths, the next door neighbor you don’t want to socialize with, and any others we might ‘cringe’ at serving.
The point is for us not to ‘assess’ and ‘judge’ worthiness. We are to serve all. I have had to pray for help in not judging people. It is a natural inclination to see people we are unfamiliar with as ‘others’ and not ‘us.’ But God asks us to do service for the Lord—not for our comfort. In fact, service may make one very uncomfortable. Some people smell. We must work at not showing our revulsion in our faces. That twitching of the nose. The superiority of self. Not Christ-like behavior.
Part of the obedience we have been talking about is practicing welcoming all. Not judging. Showing God’s love—unconditionally. Churches should be hospitals for sinners and not country clubs for self-proclaimed saints. (Gordon MacDonald)
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
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