Skip to main content

Bring the Party to Your House

“Levi made him a great feast, and there was a large number of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with him.” Luke 5:29

Trips can be long, especially the long ones!! You know those kind, right? The trip to Florida, the beach, to grandma’s house where any delay or traffic jam can take you over the edge. It’s during these trips that the monotony and duration can lead to fights and aggravation, random arguments that start over the simplest of things. One way to stop these petty disagreements is to celebrate mile markers. Look for places on the map that break the trip up and throw parties when you get there. Celebrate mile markers!!

This is a practice that we can apply more in all areas of our lives. Put more parties on our schedule, unplanned, planned, spontaneous, and everything in between. When Jesus invited Matthew to come and follow Him, Matthew’s response was to throw a party and invite all his friends. Sometimes the best way for people to see Jesus is through a party, a celebration where they can relax, let their guard down, enjoy themselves, and get to know the God of JOY. So, a good challenge for us as followers of Christ is to creatively come up with things to party over, mile markers to celebrate, and random events that help you and your family and friends to have fun together. Plus, when families and people are partying together they are less likely to be fighting.

Prayer Focus: Lord, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthy help us to think of such things. Help us to party more often with our family and friends and let the Joy of the Lord be our strength.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Answers

“An angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out...” Acts 8:26 Philip is an example of how God calls us to step out in obedience even if it doesn’t make sense at the time. The angel of the Lord gave clear directions for Philip to go from Jerusalem to Gaza. He was asked to travel in the heat of the day through the desert, not the normal paved route to Gaza. Philip did not question God or try to figure out why God was asking him to go. He didn’t pause to wonder how he was going to deal with the physically draining aspects of the journey or who was going to fund his trip. He simply started on his way. As he went along, the Holy Spirit directed him to an Ethiopian eunuch. Philip struck up casual conversations which led to sharing the good news about Jesus. Many people have told me they desire to go on a mission trip but are not sure if they should go. They want to have all the answers ahead of time....
Post a Comment
Read more

Not Every Prayer

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.’” Luke 18:9-10 Prayers are not the same. Some are humble cries to the Lord; but some are self-righteous rants before God. The first declares our unworthiness in the presence of our King. The second tells God how good we are compared to those around us, as if God is blessed to have us on His side. When I used to provide coaching for churches, I would be in meetings that included prayer. Some of those times were corporate praying that was open to all. I can still remember one in which a person very awkwardly poured their heart out to the Lord while the next waxed eloquent with fine-sounding words. As I listened to the second person, I was not sure that God knew anything, especially how special the pray-er was. As in our passage today, I believe the first person went home justified by Go...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finding God in Adversity

“After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” Acts 27:21-26 Our journey of faith does not happen without challenges. In fact, our greatest growth and greatest opportunities of giving a witness to the power of the Lord happen in the face of adversity. Paul had warned them not to sail, but the owners and captain of the ship craved their profits. And they w...
Post a Comment
Read more