God's Gracious Invitation

Sit and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31



                                                God's  Gracious  Invitation

                            "Come; for all things are now ready."   Luke  14;17

     The Bible is a book of invitations; in it the word "come" is used over thirty-five hundred times!  One such passage is found in Luke 14 where Jesus tells of a great feast prepared by a generous host.  It was free, and more than ample to feed the many who had been invited.  The excuses that were made for not partaking were poor and insufficient.  Especially is this true when one understands the oriental customs of that day.  In the East, when a man planned to have a banquet, he first sent out invitations and when everyone had agreed to come, he prepared the feast accordingly.  Then at the proper hour he would send forth a servant to say,  "All things are now ready; come to the supper!"  To refuse to attend at the last moment, therefore, was a real insult to the host, and worthy of the highest condemnation.  Jesus was pointing out that Israel was guilty of this terrible sin.

     There was once a man who was under deep conviction but who could not grasp the truth that the Gospel invitation was meant for him.  His employer, an earnest Christian man, wrote him a note asking him to come to his office.  He obeyed the summons but was met with the question,  "Do you wish to see me, James?"  The man held up the note saying,  "But sir, you sent for me!"  "Oh," said the other,  "you believed that I wanted to see you just because I told you to come?"  "Yes!"  "You thought I expected you to accept my invitation promptly?"  "Certainly, sir,"  answered the man.  "Well,"  said the Christian,  "God has bidden you to come and He too means for you to do it at once!  Why then do you hesitate?"  The man's lips quivered and the tears ran down his cheeks. He said brokenly,  "Am I just to believe God's Word in the same way that I believed your note?"  "Just in the same way,"  replied the employer.  "For 'if you receive the witness of me, the witness of God is greater.'"

     Today the Gospel feast is still spread, and the gracious invitation is directed to you - "Come; for all things are now ready."

"Bread For Each Day"

Stick Out Your Tongue

Sit and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31


                                      Stick  Our  Your  Tongue

           "...thy speech bewrayeth (betrayeth) thee."   Matthew  26:73

   It makes little difference how dumb you are, if you only keep your mouth shut, no one will find it out.  Nothing reveals the character of a man like his tongue.  The tongue reveals what is going on inside.  One of the first things your doctor says when you go to him, is, "Let me see your tongue."  It is often possible to make a diagnosis just on the condition of the tongue.  A clean tongue means a good digestion and health.  A coated tongue indicates some disturbance of health.  Different diseases can be detected by the peculiar condition of the tongue.  Measles, scarlet fever, diabetes, and many infections are characterized by changes in the tongue.  A fuzzy coated tongue, a bright red inflamed tongue, a dry tongue, a cracked tongue, or a spotted tongue - these will often reveal some particular disease.  Yes, the doctor can learn a great deal just by looking at your tongue.

     This is even more true as a test of spiritual health.  Let me see your tongue, for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh"  (Matthew  12:34).  Peter in the judgment hall made the mistake of opening his mouth.  He talked too much, and some of the folks recognized his dialect and said,  "Thou also art one of them for thy speech be bewrayeth thee."  This is true in at least four ways of our speech.

     1.  It tells the country from which we came.

     2.  It reveals education and refinement, or the lack of it.

     3.  It betrays our chief interest in life.  We talk about the things we love the most.

     4.  Our speech also reveals to which country we are going, for travelers to Glory will speak "the language of Heaven," while                 travelers to Hell will speak  "the language of the pit."

     A filthy tongue reveals a filthy heart.  "If a man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body"  (James  3:2).  Let me see your tongue!

From the book,  "Bread For Each Day"

Leave Outcomes Up To Me

Sit and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31



LEAVE OUTCOMES UP TO ME. Follow Me wherever I lead, without worrying about how it will all turn out. Think of your life as an adventure, with Me as your Guide and Companion. Live in the now, concentrating on staying in step with Me. When our path leads to a cliff, be willing to climb it with My help. When we come to a resting place, take time to be refreshed in My Presence. Enjoy the rhythm of life lived close to Me.
You already know the ultimate destination of your journey your entrance into heaven. So keep your focus on the path just before you, leaving outcomes up to Me.
"Jesus Calling - Enjoying Peace In His Presence"

Rest in My Peace

Sit and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the the comfort of the Lord:    "Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."   Ephesians  4:31

COME TO ME, and rest in My Peace.  My Face is shining upon you, in rays of Peace transcending understanding.  Instead of trying to figure things out yourself, you can relax in the Presence of the One who knows everything.  As you lean on Me in trusting dependence, you feel peaceful and complete.  This is how I designed you to live:  in close communion with Me.

When you are around other people, you tend to cater to their expectations - real or imagined.  You feel enslaved to pleasing them, and your awareness of My Presence grows dim.  Your efforts to win their approval eventually exhaust you.  You offer these people dry crumbs rather than the living water of My Spirit flowing through you.  This is not My way for you!  Stay in touch with Me, even during your busiest moments.  Let My Spirit give you words of grace as you live in the Light of My Peace.

From the book, "Jesus Calling - Enjoying Peace In His Presence"

My Small Potatoes

Sit and enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee) in the comfort of the Lord...   "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice."   Ephesians  4:31

                                       My  Small  Potatoes
   "....reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin".....  Romans  6:11
  ".... Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone...."                                                                                             John  12:24

     I've just come into the house after digging a mess of potatoes in my garden.  I dug up something besides potatoes - I dug up a sermon as well!  The first hill of potatoes was a pleasant surprise for there were seven, beautiful, large potatoes, representing a real increase.  With enthusiasm I plunged the fork under the next plant and - what a disappointment, for all I found was three little scrawny ones as big (pardon me - as small) as marbles.  I soon saw the reason.  From some cause or another the original seed potatoes had failed to die.  There it was almost the way it had been planted four months before.  It didn't die and there was no fruit.  There can be no life without death - no fruit without sacrifice.

     Yes, I dug up a sermon in the potato patch.  In fact there were at least three sermons, one for each small potato. First, it speaks of the Lord Jesus who said,  "Except a corn of wheat die....it abideth alone."  Jesus was the grain of wheat which died, only to be resurrected in a host of believers as His fruit.

     There is a lesson for the sinner too.  Until the sinner dies to his own works and to his own efforts, merit, and righteousness, he cannot know life and be saved.  And finally, what a lesson for believers.  We too have been "planted in the likeness of His death"  (Romans  6:5).  This establishes our position and salvation.  But to become fruitful we must die to self.  We must put to death the works of the flesh (the flesh of our old nature), and if we "through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body we shall live"  (Romans  8:13).

     Have a good crop of potatoes!

From the book, "Bread For Each Day"