The King's Table.

Read Luke 14: 15-24

Those of us who have said "yes" to the invitation, must continue to say that "yes" with the quality of our lives.

It's not always the believers who say yes to Jesus' invitation to the banquet. But those who do accept, must ready themselves (as one would if one was invited to the King's table). One would pick the best clothes we have, make sure they were clean, learn table manners fit for the kings table and practice good behavior.

How do we ready ourselves for Jesus' banquet? By the quality of our lives that we lead. And that quality is mentioned again and again in the Bible. Here is a quick recap:

First off is the Fear of the Lord. Possibly the most difficult as well. It's not about being afraid but embracing and respecting His authority by putting Him first. What comes in the way of this is our own pride, selfishness, materialism and love of the world. These are our idols, and when added together, you have the perfect formula for non-fear of God as He becomes a distant dream.

Karina Zolotarev in Just Disciple says this: "God is all-powerful and has authority overall. If one is a child of God, one can rest in the knowledge that He is in control. When we realize and see God as the highest in command over this entire universe, one can know there is no need to fear anything else. But to do this we need to be humble enough to not let pride come in the way, but let God take over".

Next take the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities should be a daily practice, because it is so easy to fall out. WE SHOULD MAKE IT A PRACTISE TO PRACTISE THESE IN OUR DAY TO DAY AND MINUTE TO MINUTE, LIFE.

Sadly we slip on this up day to day and minute to minute and second to second, The trick is to remember these as a guideline and be conscious of them as a practice. Not easy at all. During a difficult time, how does one stay joyous? How do we practice love for another when that person has hurt us? 

It's because we let that difficulty or that hurt become an idol in our life, dictating our actions. We need to remove those idols and replace them with God. God is bigger than any difficulty. God is bigger than any enmity and hurt. Not easy to do because we need to first kill our inherent pride and let God take control of that difficulty before us or that hurtful situation and patiently let go.

In management, one reads about something called a force field. In anything we do, there are forces pulling and pushing us in different directions. This is as true in our day-to-day life. Self-control, when combined with fear of God and the other fruits of the spirit, help us choose the right path and direction.

Today let us be thankful for being invited to the banquet and pray that we may become worthy to sit at the king's table.

Thus says the Lord

“Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.” (Esther 8:3)

Shock. Horrified. Anger. Weeping. 

These words are not light nor meant lightly. We are reeling at the sights and stories flooding our screens and phones from Israel.

The attacks on Israel over the weekend by Hamas is the most serious threat to the security of that nation in 50 years. It is no coincidence that the attacks were orchestrated while Israelis enjoyed a public day to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. As families gathered and IDF members relaxed at home, thousands of rockets were fired into Israel and 100s of armed militants crashed through border fences and began killing and kidnapping.

Sneaky, treacherous, intent on cruelty and slaughter - as terrorists are want to do. Their cruelty and horrid torture does not spare man women or child. Even foreigners who have nothing to do with the enmity (Shani Louk from Germany) and many more.  

More than 1000 people are known to be dead and 1000s injured, and the situation is far from over.

What is our response? 

6 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, 
because they carried into exile a whole people
to deliver them up to Edom.

7 So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, 
and it shall devour her strongholds.

Amos 1 verse 6-7

There is something every Christian can do today. We can pray. We should pray. There is, after all, Biblical warrant for praying.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May those who love you be secure.

May there be peace within your walls

and security within your citadels.”

For the sake of my family and friends,

I will say, “Peace be within you.”

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek your prosperity. (Psalm 122:7-9)

We pray for peace. We pray for justice. And we pray for mercy.

Murray Campbell. 

A Hotline Serving 8 Billion!

                                    

Read 1 Kings 19:11-13

Suppose you had a problem which was so, so, huge only the President or Prime Minster or king or the head of your country could resolve it. So, you approach his office and send a mail and weeks later you get a reply that you have been granted an audience and he will meet you for 15 mins six months later. 

Now you wait eagerly for that date, preparing your application, file, arguments and case details. You hope you will get a favorable decision. This is a real-world scenario!

Now think about the heavenly world. We face a problem today, and right now we get to escalate it to the Heavenly king through a personal hotline and even if His answer may take time, He provides interim relief. How great is that!

And He does it day by day, minute by minute, looking after the lives of 8 billion people! 24X7!

We may not meet God in wind, earthquake or fire, but for sure He is with us today and every day in the simple ordinary events of life. And when we call on Him, I know He will always be there to pick up the hotline or open the door, because we need not wait for an appointment to speak to Him; we simply start talking and communicating. 

Remember Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Like Paul our belief stands firm in this verse from 2 Thessalonians 3:3 -

But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.