- One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. Luke 14:1 – Reading though any of the Gospels it doesn’t take long to see how the Pharisees and other religious leaders in Jesus’ day felt about Jesus. Many couldn’t stand Him. Many wanted only to find Jesus trapped in His words somehow so they could point out some sort of fault. Many wanted only to end Jesus’ life, and they were the ones that fueled the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. Clearly not people that had Jesus’ best in mind, yet see where Jesus chose to have dinner. At their house. A ruler of the Pharisees invited Jesus over for dinner and Jesus went. It’s not that Jesus had forgotten the ways the Pharisees had already came against Him or that Jesus was unaware they were watching Him closely. It’s that Jesus knew they too needed His gospel message and He was willing to still sit with them and demonstrate His love to them. What a powerful example for the church today! Who then is your “ruler of the Pharisees?” Who is the person/people that you know don’t have your best in mind? If they invited you over for dinner, would you come? Now of course, I’m not telling you to be unwise and go into an unnecessarily dangerous situation, but what I believe the example of Jesus is telling us is to not let the ways people have treated us in the past dictate if we’ll take the time to show them Jesus’ love or not. Remember, Jesus knew what would take place in the future, likely this ruler of the Pharisees was one of the future voices that called for Jesus’ execution, but Jesus still went and Jesus still showed love and taught truth. Let’s be willing to do the same. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3543
- He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:12-14 – What if this was how we invited people to church. Where we didn’t just ask our friends and family, but we asked those very different than us to come. You know the people at school and work that we try to avoid any conversations with. What if we actually invited them into the church family we are apart of. Sure if they came things would be different, but maybe church would begin looking more like a place for the broken to find healing than a country club for “good” people. Let that message sink in and do with it however God leads you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 619
- And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. Luke 14:23 – A humbling thought for me today is that this final group is the one I would have found myself in. I wouldn’t have been a part of the Jewish community, meaning I would have been one of those far away on the highways and hedges. Yet, despite everything that should have keep me from the Master’s table, I was not only invited but compelled to come and eat. I was welcomed in, sat down at the Master’s table, and was able to enjoy blessings I had no hand in preparing. As we move throughout our Sunday, let’s keep this in our minds today. We should have been out on the highway. We were away from the Lord, turning to the paths of our sin. We had no right to come onto the Lord’s property, let alone sit at His table and eat His food. Our story though is that we have been invited to His table and any who choose to follow Him aren’t just eating there as guests in His home, they are adopted into His family as children. We truly are blessed today. We can sit at the Lord’s table as His children and can enjoy His blessings freely. Knowing this, let’s enjoy this meal. Let’s live without fear of going without because we have the Lord’s abundance in front of us and we have His ear listening to our voice. Let’s share freely what we are given to others who haven’t yet tasted the blessing of the Lord. We have been brought into the Father’s house, seated at His table, and welcomed into His arms. We are truly blessed. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2331
