Studying about Hospitality...

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Hello All,

I started a new bible study today.  It seems like I am constantly finishing up one study and then going onto the next one.  I find it is one of the ways to stay in God's word with this busy season of life.  This particular study is entitled Hospitality from She Reads Truth

I love the idea of Hospitality and in my head I picture every person I know coming for dinner or brunch or just tea on a regular basis!!

These were the verses to read today: Romans 12:9-13, Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 19:13-14

So as I read the scriptures I wrote down in my journal what is and what does Hospitality look like.

--Showing love--affectionate--preferring one another--not lazy--giving our best effort--serving the Lord

--patient in getting things ready and prepared--praying throughout--beforehand, during, end--given to hospitality--second nature, not arduous/not grudgingly

--Invited all walks of life to join for supper--chose to eat with all types--serve the lost--do not hesitate to show hospitality to our children--show hospitality to those newly come to the Lord....

I always find it amazing how the Lord directs issues in my life....I am currently reading The Rewards of Fasting by Mike Bickle and Dana Candler...one of the areas of a fasted lifestyle is serving....and this from what I read just today..."Serving others is the second of the charitable deeds Jesus spoke about.  In spending our time and energy on others we are fasting what we could have used to further our own interests.  .....We are spending that time for the benefit of others.  This is at the heart of what it means to have a servant spirit....we trust the Lord to work for our increase in a way that surpasses what we could have accomplished by spending that very same amount of time on our comfort...we get more done by investing time in serving and allowing God to reward our labors."

You just can't put this stuff together on your own, God orchestrates all of this for His glory.  That last paragraph goes hand in hand with hospitality.  To get in the mindset to serve and to do so willingly, readily, to not belabor the preparations, but to go in with an open heart, one of weakness, that I cannot accomplish it on my own but only through the Lord.....  That I cannot do anything to make the event/meal worthy, it is only through letting the Lord have control and a desire to glorify Him that I can serve and offer hospitality to others...

Looking back at my notes I am seeing key words that stand out at me....love, and that starts in the heart, not a just love to do it to show off, but a love of those coming to visit and a love for the Savior. A strong desire to serve.  I see what I wrote down as not being lazy, not the exact word in the bible, I think the word was slothful....but if we are going to invite people over even if the house is a mess, give our best effort.  We may not have the best stocked pantry, but give what we can at all times.

I see the word P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E.....oh my that one speaks volumes to me...I get so wrapped up at times being the "Martha" of hospitality...the stress involved because I want it just perfect....because in my head that is what it would like if I did not have 6 children going from room to room throughout the day.....instead I do have the 6 children in this season of life, and I need to embrace this when it comes to hospitality and not let the little messes overwhelm me so that I don't enjoy the upcoming event.  I need to rest in the Lord that if he allowed the hospitality to take place He would allow the grace to overflow me so that others would not be sitting there looking at my little messes but enjoying the time. 

 I think I am not the only one in this position...I don't know if it comes from the fact that we have seen to many Martha Stewart shows and the glossy magazine photo's of perfect tables and family rooms or what, but when you have six children there is bound to be a dirty sock someplace out of order or at least 20 random Lego's about the house..... I just need to stop stressing about all of those, and celebrate that the Lord has blessed me with company....

Praying....anyone else ever thought about praying for an upcoming meal with friends....FAIL over here....it just did not dawn on me...the one person who can make it all so much easier for me if I would just ask HIM....praying!!!

The verses also spoke to me about serving my own family....How many times a week or a month do we look at serving the next meal as something to cross off the list, or something we are forced to do, or grudgingly, or as an afterthought.....SERVE, serve our family, put our love into our efforts, give our family the best we can....not saying it has to be served like at a 5 star restaurant, but just thought out, not thrown together...prioritize, plan, prepare....

So this is the first day of the study, if you care to join in and comment as we go along for the next three weeks it would be great to hear your input.

Have a blessed evening,

Melissa

Thoughts on Chapter one Fasting

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Well this was supposed to be Chapters one and two combined, however, so far, I only have Chapter one completed.

I will be posting snippets/text from the book that spoke to my heart and post thoughts as they apply…some may not have explanations the text may just speak for itself…

“It is part of God’s commitment to prepare the Church for the soon coming time of glory and crisis in the End Times.” 

This is the second time I have heard recently about being prepared for when we are in Heaven. I understand that we are always to be following God’s word, should be following his commandments, not caught sleeping when the time comes….Most of what I just said though is from the perspective of what I need to do…I have never heard this perspective that God would be doing something to prepare us and our hearts….maybe that was always implied through following his word…he would be preparing us that way….

I have heard about fasting before, the concept, I have seen a word or two in the bible that mention fasting….but I think my mind chose to not grasp ahold of that concept because it would force me to get out of my flesh, force me to surrender more of my will, out of my comfort zone if you will. To say you are going to fast…wow, I would just think people would think I am off the deep end so to speak if you would pardon the slang…just way to extreme, too conservative….and why is that??? Because there are not enough bible believing, walking, talking Christians that truly follow His word!!!  There are not enough examples “out there” modeling how we are to put into practice God’s instructions.  It is no wonder that the Muslim religion is growing faster than that of Christianity….we have more Christians right now but they are only Christians in name only, the practices God set forth in his word are being ignored, passed over and treated as non-important…..sigh….

The Lord is doing a wonderful magnificent work in my life these last weeks..building up a fervor for Him that is unexplainable, unquenchable…drawing me closer to Him.

“With boldness Jesus emphasized that the Father rewards fasting (Matthew 6:17,18)…It is not secondary”

It seems to me that this statement, “It is not secondary”, is right up there next to Matthew 23:38-39 This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  It is not an option to choose to do it, it is required.

“the rewards He gives are not earned or deserved by us because of our fasting.”  It is only by his grace that we are saved in the first place.  We can never do anything to seek his rewards if we do receive them it is just additional grace on His part.

Our Dilemma: We Need To Experience God’s Love

“fasting is one of the most practical ways to posture our hearts to experience more of God’s affection and love.”

I can see this is an area I have been sadly missing out…to thirst after God so much and to realize I have missed so many golden opportunities through this practice to have that closer more intimate relationship with Him….

“rooted in living from a false identity based on the way people receive us, rather than on how God receives us…..” 

Oh my, hand held up in the air over here..I think I touched on this up above but even more significant….just missing entirely that concept most times that God is my Father in Heaven, my dad, the one who cares about me the most only first to my earthly father, that seeks to have those close personal relationships, those intimate times, to have that feeling like you are so excited for your dad to get home from work so you can jump in his lap to tell him all about your day…that kind of relationship…. I mean yes, we know we are to go to God with all our petitions but something about that special confidant, that he would be pleased with us to partake in fasting…..

“Our Creator is the only One who fully knows who we were deigned to be.”

“Our belief in His affection for us determines how we feel about ourselves, how we approach life, how we interact with others, and how we deal with setbacks and difficulties.”

Now see, that there above….I can completely relate to I am very upbeat, like “I have it together”…I think privately there are some issues I am working on and that is kind of what I touched on earlier with the Lord working in my life….I think at times when it comes to my relationship with my husband, I have a very low self-body-image….and that part about dealing with difficulties…there have been in my marital life that I think subconsciously I am still dealing with…that is probably for another post as I work through those issues… 

The one thing that I see though, is my thoughts grasping hold of this concept and seeing it as the key that unlocks the door to this self-imposed bondage that the  Lord never desired for me to have.  That is what is exciting, gets the blood stirred up, the adrenaline rushing, stoking the flames of this desire for this completeness with the Lord.

“It is the revelation of Jesus as our Bridegroom God and of us as His cherished Bride.” “Therefore, we must encounter Jesus as our Bridegroom God by positioning our hearts and lives in such a way that this revelation really takes root in us.”

As in a marriage with our earthly spouse, we share everything with our spouses…or we should, our desires, our needs, our frustrations our joys…so, I am thinking, this is the way it should be with Christ…that time of day when we have our prayers, let it be about having a normal conversation with God and letting him know all our heart is pondering….not just the requests that have burdened us down…the daily stuff as well….Just because He knows our thoughts doesn’t mean He doesn’t want to hear them out loud!

The Bridal Paradigm of the Kingdom of God

“..believers being given a position of indescribable privilege far beyond even what angels enjoy.”  “…an invitation to experience God’s affection and desire for us.”

This is the aspect of God that I have never had expressed to me before, this is what I find fascinating that God has affection for me and a desire to know me as intimately as I want to know him.

“As His Bride, we are in a position to experience God’s heart—His emotions, affections, and desire—for us.”

Are you sold out for Jesus, are you just so crazy and excited for him?  This just gives me goose bumps to think that he would be that excited about me!! “We begin to see ourselves as ones who have immense value to him.”

Ok, I have to stop for this evening, I have laundry to fold before tomorrow so my hubby has clean clothes for a business trip.  I still have another four pages left of Chapter one notes to go over and type out…they are going to have to be put on hold.  I am not sure when I will get back to posting since I will be on my own for the next few days.

I hope this has given you some things to think about that might spark your desire to learn more about fasting.

If you would be interested in joining in on the study or reading the comments of others, stop by Michelle’s blog at She Looketh Well and you will see the posts on fasting.

The book is: The Rewards of Fasting Experiencing the Power and Affections of God by Mike Bickle and Dana Candler

Have you ever considered Fasting…..

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Perhaps you have considered it but never knew much about fasting….well over the next several weeks there is a book study going on over at She Looketh Well. 

We will be studying the Rewards of Fasting Experiencing the Power and Affections of God by Mike Bickle and Dana Candler.

If you are not familiar with what it means to Fast according to the bible, perhaps you will join in the reading and discussion.

Fasting is a way to have that truly deep and meaningful relationship with God.  Come and join us and see how God works in your life!!