Field Trip - Encouragement Café - August 16, 2017

Field Trip
By Paris Renae
Wednesday, August 16, 2017

“Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.”  Matthew 22:9 NIV

Let’s say you were given a few thousand dollars and the only condition was you had to use it to throw a celebration dinner. Who would you invite? Friends, family?

If you’re a Jesus child, then someday you will attend a dinner with a great crowd of friends and family. Think about who invited you so that you could attend. For me, it was a little girlfriend when I was eight that took me to VBS with her, door opened.

Then it was my son’s preschool teacher who showed me a Focus On the Family film, heart stirred. Then it was the man I would someday marry, his words about who Jesus is gave me an invitation.

Finally, it was the Holy Spirit who spoke to my heart and put my name on the guest list.

Ever think you might be your neighbor’s first glimpse, your difficult family member’s message giver, the stranger’s only light?

We don’t have to travel across oceans to reach the lost. All we have to do is go out our front door. And yet – we don’t. We go to the grocery store, on vacation, for a walk around the block and we will discuss the weather or politics, but we won’t tell about the banquet.

I am no exception. As a friend and I discussed this, she said “It must be a spiritual battle.” One I guess we don’t care to enter or we’re fearful of. But who is behind us, before us, in us?

Jesus promised never to leave us or forsake us, God has our eternity secure, and the Holy Spirit indwells us now and forever. So why our hesitation?

I think we forget our purpose – to make disciples. We think our purpose is to live godly lives – and we should. We think our purpose is to work in such a way that God is pleased – and we should. We think we should read our Bibles, pray and fellowship with other Christians – and we should.

But our purpose: to tell about the banquet. 

I was recently challenged to go through a five week course of repentance over many areas that we tend to forget about and think we’re all good. Things like pride, ingratitude, and lack of concern for the souls of others.

Maybe we need to come before the Father and ask Him to do some housecleaning - and to urge us on to our purpose. Maybe we need to go on a field trip looking for who to invite.

O Father, we go about our days desiring to please You. But we also go about them neglecting the purpose You have for us. We need You to overflow us with Your love for the souls of others. Stir us, Holy Spirit, to be bold and to speak the Name of Jesus in love to all. Someday may we learn that a great crowd of friends and family are celebrating with us because we cared enough to invite them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

For more encouragement, visit Paris at http://parisrenae.com

© 2017 by Paris Renae. All rights reserved.

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