What a God!

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven – and the future starts now! God is keeping a careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all – life healed and whole.

I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”
The Message, I Peter 1:3-9, 13-16

What a God we have! What a gift we’ve received in our salvation.

There is nothing better. There is nothing that can bring us such joy. There is nothing else that can lead to a life (no matter what) of REJOICING.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

We experienced a feast at Easter. It was a table filled with delicious fruits, vegetables, meats, and treats. The table overflowed with lots of food. Could you imagine having such a feast by yourself? Can you imagine coming to this table and seeing that you are the only one there? What a waste? I can’t possibly eat all that is there. There is so much more than I could ever want or need. Others have to come.

Thankfully, there were others at this feast. A huge part of the joy of the meal was not simply good food, but good friends and the opportunity to get to know each other better. There is something very right about SHARING in the feast together. It wouldn’t be the same if I (or you) was alone.

Now imagine what you’d think if the table was filled with a little food and not very good food. You’d be much more hesitant to want anyone else to experience this meager table. For one, there is not enough to go around and two, who would want to eat this simple fare anyway? Based on what you see on the table can determine how much you want others to be there and share in the meal.

The table of God’s salvation is the most amazing feast you can imagine. It’s a table that overflows. There is no way you would ever imagine sitting at this table alone. Others have to come. So bring everyone from your church and every Christian you know and seat them around this table. It is still way too much for even this crowd to enjoy. More have to come. The feast is so splendid and beautiful and there is such quantity, more just have to come.

Too often, I (and maybe you) lack the urgency that we see modeled in the disciples. We fail to see the significance of the table we sit at. We fail to see the overwhelming bounty of God’s grace right before us. And as a result, we too easily forget about the people around us, those who have not responded to God’s invitation to come. We sit there too focused upon the minutia of our lives and fail to see the feast before us. Until we truly see and keep looking at the gift of our salvation, we will be less likely to invite others to come. And isn’t this our calling? We are called to be family members who are invited to bring everyone we can to partake at this table. There is more than enough.

May God help us long for every person we know to come and sit at God’s table of grace. May we not get so caught up in the busyness and distractions of our life that we forget our true calling and we fail to look closely at the feast that lies before us. May you and I commit to praying for our lost friends and family every day, asking God to bring them home and asking God to use us to help them see the Way.