Tag Archives: Banquet

From Heaven’s Banks

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What is a desert,

But a place unlivable.

A place where even water

Is forbidden to thrive.

A place where food is:

Quicker than man’s hands,

And acid to the stomach.

A place where a man is:

Destined to die,

And in horrible disarray.

No man passes through

Such a place,

Without desiring the things

Of life.

All this,

Yet God sustains.

The son of unrighteousness beats heavily

Upon the desert of men.

He mocks them

In their plight;

Offering useless promises,

Reminding of delights.

How they make his day pleasant,

To remember roasted pheasant.

While they chew away on cactus,

Malnutrition is their way!

All this,

Yet Christ sustains.

Forced to die and suffer loss;

Of the way of man this is the cost.

Yet there are those who make their way

Fed well by Christ,

And everyday!

You know what I am speaking of,

That healthy banquet from above,

A table in the wilderness

Covered with delicacies of love.

What right-minded man would pass it by?

The jars of water.

The meat is fried.

The succulent fruit from lands afar.

And Holy welcome

From servants of Fire!

But a great traipsing mass

Walks by everyday,

Spurning the offering

Of “The Way“!

Yet of those who sit

And gorge themselves,

How many give him rightful thanks?

By convincing others to come and eat

Of the fruit from Heaven’s banks.

By His Grace

You are Invited!

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It is possible (Very possible) that someone might think to themselves, “I will wait until I am able to consider myself holy before I testify about God’s things”.  When will that be?  What sign, within yourself, are you expecting to find?

Isn’t the Lord of Life worthy of proclamation?  Isn’t the consistent nature of creation testifying about God’s Holy Son, regardless how men use it?  Dirt is still dirt, whether it covers a corpse or builds a brothel.  The stars remain in their place, though no one has embraced one with a massive hug.  Sinful men testify about what is godly every moment of their pathetic life.  Yes, the Gospel is that replete among men.  What right, then, do Christians have to hide the holy word within themselves until they receive a “certain” sign from heaven?

The testimony goes out regardless how His people keep their mouths shut.  And didn’t He testify to this when it was written, “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Why would you let the Glory of God emanate from what is ungodly?  Have you no respect for the One who bought your worthless soul?  Why would you relinquish your place to proclaim, knowing that the proclamation will come from those who display no godly attributes?  Have you forgotten the phrase: “I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”

Grip your fear and unwillingness by the adams apple.  Choke it till it gasps to proclaim.  If fear has you, then go in fear.  If you are unwilling, then drag your worthless butt there.  Proclaim or lose the honor of it.

Listen, my brothers and sisters, we dance before the King of kings.  We live before the Living God.  So what if we’re not worthy to carry holy words!  Neither are they who would so accuse us if we spoke them!

The Gospel is an offence against the pride of man.  How humble would a man be who can’t obey the will of God, yet proclaims His Honor anyway?  Wait for that “something more”, and you will be waiting far past the closing of the banquet door.

WOW!

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The Banquet Table

The Banquet Table (Photo credit: Michael Hollander)

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
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24. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Has it ever occurred to you how blessed we are who will attend His banquet because of His mercy alone?

24. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

What Then?

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A banquet setup.

Image via Wikipedia

They eat from a rotten table, covered with fine gold.  The plates are made of pressed garbage, yet covered with shining porcelain.  Every meal is fit for a king.  And with great joy they eat their fill with laughter and love for each one at the table.  They invite others to join them.  And each one is praised for the work they have done during the day.  “We are wonderful!”  This is the constant melody spoken, whispered, sung, and written.  “Great are the people of the world!  For we have set ourselves to do what is good.  We are to receive praise, for we do not allow intolerance, hatred, or bigotry.  We recognize that each one of us dabbles in pleasures of differing kind.  And we support this within our brothers and sisters.  We will teach the children that freedom to do as you please is above every law.  All we ask of each other is that we tolerate the others around us with a great and praise worthy patience.”

Eat, celebrate, find every pleasure pleasurable to your heart.  Your day of pride will not last much longer.  Then you will find the One who made you greeting you face to face.  Then you will find out that He has set a day to judge your indulgent nature.  You did not think it right to seek out His ways.  And you considered the life in this body to be the end of all things.  You will be surprised to note that you were expected to seek His ways.  You will realize that this place was prepared for Jesus.  And you will come to understand that this was a place where men’s hearts were to be tested.  Failing the test, you will cry great tears.  Some of you will be horribly angry, yet unable to vent your wrath.

Awake!  Consider what is written here.  This is just one man of God speaking what is true.  Perhaps you hate my words.  What will you think when they come from the lips of the Most High God, and are spoken directly to YOU.  What then, my fellow men?  What then?

got love?

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As I sought to worship with the Lord one morning, I had a most wonderful experience.  A feeling of acceptance began to roll over me.  It started as a peace and ended up in great tears.  Beautiful, wonderful, peaceful, pure, and full, are words which begin to describe the experience.  The Lord had come near. 

Still marveling at the experience, I hooked my trailer and began to drive my route.  As I drove through town I noticed people walking.  And for the first time in my life I saw them as the Lord sees them.  There are a number of radical differences between how we see people and how He sees them.  There was no judgment against them.  He considers no fault at their door.  He knows their plight and desires to relieve them from their burdens.  He doesn’t notice their appearance.  Yet He knows the very grains of dirt their feet crush as they walk.  He knows where we are at all times.  He would help them do what they are doing (if, indeed, what they are doing is struggling to do what is good).  Forgiveness and an embrace of love is waiting right at the end of their nose, if they would just reach out and take it.  In short, He desires to Love all of us. 

Many see the Lord through the eyes of do and don’t.  In this perspective Love cannot flurish.  But a few, who have been touched by this Great Love come to understand Him from an entirely different perspective.  All of a sudden, nothing I encounter matters.  This is how those who Love Him can endure such horrible beatings.  His love swamps them with marvel as their captors engage them with impliments of torture.  This is how His children can endure the loss of anything and still echo back to God’s Holy Throne, “Thank you Lord, for all Your Holy Love”.

There is a horrible story in the book of Matthew.  I’d never seen the impact of this story like I do today.  You’ll find it in Matthew 22: 1 – 14.

 1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

   4“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

   5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

   8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

   11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

   13“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

   14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Take note of verse 11 and 12.  Who is this man?  He is one who understands the Lord is love and that the invitation is open to attend.  But he does not love the Lord.  His purpose in attending is to escape the estrangement from the Lord of Life and Love.  He’s there because he is cheating.  Though he understands the nature of God, he did not dress himself in this Love which he knows God offers and demands from His people here on earth.  Where are his clothes?  And how did he think he would go unnoticed among all those others who shine so brightly?

I testify that the Lord is Love.  But He reserves the right to limit enterence into Heaven according to His wisdom.  No wickedness will enter eternity.  On the other hand, He is offering you that beautiful gift right now.  Are you ready to work with Him to transform your heart and mind?  Are you willing or even able to put down your tools of sin and war?  If you take an inventory of your willingness and realize you’re not able to join Him in this Holy war of transformation, reach your heart toward Him and beg for His gorgeous wisdom and mercy.  Now is the day of transformation.  If you wait for heaven to do the will of God, you will become like that one who was not dressed for the wedding.

By His Grace.