Luke 14 (December 1st)

First day of December! YAYYYY CHRISTMAS!
haha im so miserable today. Every single one of my classes was a waste (except for history, which was hardcore)
But ohh boy. once i get home. I'm gonna curl up like a little puppy-baby-something else really cute. and NAPPP the afternoon away in my cozy blankets.
hahahah i really should get a job for the time that i nap. that would be more productive.

Anyways so im doing my devos.
"13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous"
This verse teaches us to reach out to those that can't give back. Great message at Christmas time
Anyone can give to someone that they think will give something back. And, well, when that happens, can you really call it giving if you're expecting something in return? No, right? So then we should start practicing the word 'giving' for what it really is - giving from the true goodness of our hearts - and giving to those that can't give back. It's like how Jesus tells us to love our enemies, because even a sinner can love someone that will love us back. But we should be focusing on working towards the humility and sacrifice that it takes to truly give. We should do street missions, but wait till after Christmas! Cause thats when food donations SPIKE DOWN.

december 1st!!! new month, 2 more months of semester one... winter break coming soon......... chirstmas! im excited hehehe
so today we did some crazy running program... SO SOAR .. then i pigged out and ate.... everything... HAHAHAHHAA oops ....
there was like a little bit of snow on the ground this morning, enough so that it looks white..... it was hard getting out of my warm bed.... crap it was cold. LOL so you guys got the jist of my day

8"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
i really liked these verses. , i agree with what cathy said , we shouldnt expect anything in return ! Like if we're doing it... expecting to get something out of it... are we really doing it from the heart? NO!!! Like we need to be doing this out of love, because we GET to, because God wants us to... like us asking for something in return isnt the right attitude.
also, Jesus talks about how the host steps down and lifts the guest up. Like im sure that when we have guests over, we give them the best. When a friend sleeps over, i get the floor, they get the bed... haha see how it works? Jesus came down to earth and did that exact thing. Jesus didnt expect anything back from us. He washed peoples feet, healed their diseases, raised the dead and all this stuff! Only a few did something in return. But did He ever EXPECT and said "why arent you doing something for me?" When we serve.. when we do something in Jesus' name. It needs to be from the heart. We need to help others and really lift them up because we're doing it out of love. We show God's character through our every word and action.

hope you all had a great tuesdayyy !

pshh youre all excited for the december... you know what that means for me? BUYING A METRO PASS

SO HUNGERY...FEED ME!

The act of giving. Is there such thing as a selfless good deed? LOL

The act of giving, requires you to give without expecting anything back, becasue everything else is just a trade. I've learned that throught christ the act of giving comes naturally slowly. If you have so much, help those who don't. Don't do it trumpeting your horns, do it without announcing yourself, becasue if you are doing it for acknowledgement, again that is just a trade. Do not make the act of giving a business.

Host/Hostess

Give the best, provide the best. Don't make the event about you. Step down, and lift your guests!

Jesus did everything from the heart. We should learn to give from the heart!

that is all! c ya

13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you."

God will bless us for the selfless acts we commit. When we do things, it's not to receive any special attention, but for all the right reasons. And got really notices these things and he knows why we do the things we do, and if he sees that what we do is good, he'll bless us with things better than anything in our world. The part where it talks about instead invite the poor and the needy seems to show how God works. God doesn't need Arnold Shwarzenwaggner or Hulk to do his work for him. He can use the weak to lead the strong. Jesus' disciples weren't the best of men, and God wants to show that the weak can lead and should be helped if needed.

Ye sorry for not posting my devo yesterday, internet went out!
I had to wake up at 3 to check it internet was working to finish my essay. FAIL

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

IT's so true isn't? God works in mysterious ways and there have been times where God has humbled me good. Just like these couple of weeks for praise, i thought of the image of praise and not worship itself. God humbled us pretty good didn't he with the outcome of our praise sometimes.
But Learn!

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple
i don' tget this one... why does he say if you DON'T Hate?

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
I rememebr Sam talking about this verse all the time, but i forget what the message was behind it.
anyone care to remind me?

hahaha

i like how in this verse, it doesnt say "dont take praise from others". I think a lot of the time we consider even taking some praise from others is "sinful". Its not... Going out of your way to get people to say good things about you is bad. However, it is good to stay mostly out of the spot light because it inevitably boosts ego.

The "cost of following Jesus" part made me think a lot.

I have a meeting with Sam tomorrow on some matters, however the topic of praise team will of course be there! Ill tell you guys if Sam learned anything about worship or praise!
-Isaac