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Listen to the devotional right here: https://bit.ly/3Dgh6S5
1 God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? 2 "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. 3 "Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbor; 4 despise the despicable. "Keep your word even when it costs you, 5 make an honest living, never take a bribe. "You'll never get blacklisted if you live like this." (Psalm 15 The Message Bible)
A happy and tremendously terrific Thursday be yours, ConCafe Family! May this day provide you, dear Reader, joy and opportunity to witness to your faith in God. Begin by being in prayer for one another. Please continue prayers for Jay and Janie Munoz. Janie received an infusion treatment but her oxygen levels went down and she joins Jay in the ER as no beds are available yet. Jay was supposed to get the infusion later today if all works out. And this is being written on Wednesday. Please pray for all who are fighting Covid; pray harder for those who have not sought help in fighting this virus. Pray for yourselves.
When I was nine years old and gainfully employed at Chapa's grocery store, one of the unexpected treats that I was surprised with was to have lunch with Mrs. Chapa and my co-worker, Charito, who was Mrs. Chapa's nephew. Mr. & Mrs. Chapa never had children of their own, and this was a special treat as much as for her as it was for Charro and me. One of the treats was to sit at a fancy set table with cloth napkins, forks, knives, and spoons. The meal was served on special plates and the meal ended with something I did not know existed, and that was dessert! And her favorite dessert was tapioca. I had no idea what that was, but boy did I love it! I went home that night and talked nonstop about that. I hoped it was enough of a hint that maybe the idea of a dessert cold make its way into the Valverde household. And strange as it may seem, at the same time I had a stronger longing to be in God's house for worship all the time. This modern version brings the conversation to a new level while the ancient one was about being in the temple with fellow believers. As written in this modern version, the emphasis is on dinner and fellowship; while the two are not all that different I would argue. The first verse of this modern paraphrased version of the Psalm speaks of getting invited to have dinner with God. I cannot begin to imagine what that would even be like. I don't even know if I could close my mouth enough to chew, let alone, eat, in the presence of God! Yet, is the idea so bad to think of a properly set table, with cloth napkins, linen tablecloths, finest cutlery, crystal cups and fine china? The psalmist wrote about being allowed into God's tent, but even then the idea of having fellowship with God in God's dwelling, be it a tent or a temple, is an incredibly awesome idea. And the notion that one could actually get on God's guest list is also a sombering thought. So he asks the question and God responds; "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbor; despise the despicable." Let's unpack that right now before heading to the others of this list.
If we are at all familiar with the Ten Commandments, these three items are in there. The commandments serve to help us know how to live before God, live among our fellow humans. THe next are obvious get-along rules of not hurting our friend, lying aginst our neighbor, and despising the despicable; also Ten Commandment content. It's part of the week's theme; live right before God, invite God into your life, and you will be invited into God's home not only for a meal but for all eternity. And we should reflect on Jesus' hope and belief that one day, He will preside at a table where He and we will celebrate the awesomeness of that last supper; but this supper will last forever.
Do you get to thinking about worship on Thursday? Or Friday or even Saturday night? We should actually. Our longing should be like the psalmist whose week was incomplete without having an audience with God in spirit and truth; where we bare our souls and open our hearts to hear from the One who created us and desires a true relationship with us. Have you checked your mail? Your invitation may be there, you know!
PRAYER: Lord of the Banquet, Host of the Feast, speak to our needs in joyful ways, and feed us with bread from heaven, and living water, all so that we might enjoy it so much we want others to join us and rejoice with us all that God has done for us. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be someone who invites someone to feast with the King!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
