5 Areas of Hospitality

Before reading this post be sure to read “Hospitality” for more in depth background on this subject matter.

Christ  came as the ultimate example of hospitality. He came in the form of a servant. Scripture tells us to imitate this spirit of servanthood, and to walk in love. So, the example of hospitality that Christ has set is the one we are to follow. But what exactly did Christ do to be a hospitable servant?

Foot washer - In John 13:1-17 Christ washes His disciple’s feet. In Biblical times the lowest of jobs in the house was to wash the feet of those who entered the house. By Jesus taking on the responsibility of washing the disciple’s feet, His hospitality was telling His disciples I love you so much I am willing to serve you in the most intimate of ways. Now I realize that this is not a practice that we do culturally anymore, but there are other ways that we can be a servant to those around us. Maybe it’s mowing your neighbor’s grass, raking their leaves, cooking them a meal, or cleaning their house. There are so many ways we can be a servant. What creative ways can you come up with to serve others?

Breaking Bread - How often do we see in scripture where Jesus was found breaking bread and sharing a meal with others. Whether it was the feeding of the 5.000, visiting with the tax collector, Zacchaeus, or having the last supper with His 12 disciples, food seemed to be a big part of hospitality. I’m not saying that it always has to be involved, but food does seem to bring about  a common denominator for all people across the boards. Every person has a need to eat and when we involve food in our act of hospitality it not only meets a physical need, but it brings a commonality to people who could be complete strangers. Sharing a meal with someone is culturally very relevant in our society today. This part of culture has not changed. Who can you break bread with in the coming weeks?

Miracle Worker - Jesus performed tremendous miracles in the hearts and lives of so many people.This was a way Christ was showing God’s love to others around Him. Now, I realize we do not have the capability of performing miracles, but Christ is not dead. He is just as capable of performing the supernatural today as He was when He was walking on earth. However, we must be willing to pray for those who are in need, lay them at His feet and have the faith to believe that He is capable of performing a miracle in their lives.   

So what does hospitality look like for us in today’s culture and in a practical sense?

5 Areas of Hospitality

1. Our doors must be open.

As Christians the doors to our homes, our churches, our Bible studies, and any other event we hold should wide open! I’m not talking about cracked opened, here I’m talking about blow the doors off the hinges open. We must be welcoming to those around us, to approach them with open arms. They should not feel like they are an obligation, chore or an inconvenience. They should feel genuinely and completely welcomed in whatever event they are taking part.

2. LOVE, LOVE, and more LOVE.

The best gift we can give in our moments of hospitality is to be an overflow of the love of Christ. When we show others what Christ’s love looks like in a practical sense we are ultimately pointing them to the highest expression of love, Christ’s death on the cross. Our hospitality should be Christ’s love put into tangible form for others to see. When hey look at us, they should see Christ.

I heard a testimony one time of a man to walked into a church for the first time in his life and sat down. This man was covered from head to toe in tattoos, his hair was in dreadlocks, he was wearing black eye makeup, and he smelled like he had just been kicked out of the local bar. Now, some of us would have gotten up and moved to the other side of the sanctuary, but the people in this congregation welcomed him in, and literally ushered him into the kingdom with the love of Christ! This man is serving the Lord with all his being today. Part of his coming to the Lord could be credited to that congregation who showered him with the love of Christ. He saw was Christ in a real and tangible way.

3. Connect with people.

Make a conscience effort to have heart to heart connections with those around you. As Romans 15:12 tells us, don’t be afraid to...“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”  Our hearts should connect with others on a spiritual level this will not only help those around us to grow spiritually, but God will also use those opportunities for our own hearts to grow spiritually as well.

4. Be patient with people.

Not everyone is going to recognize the love of Christ that we are showing them right off the bat. For some people, it will take time before their hearts begin to question what makes us different. For others, it will happen within the first five minutes of welcoming them in the front door. We all recognize the love of Christ in our own time and in our own way, so be patient with those who are taking a bit longer to understand that unconditional love.

5. Actively look for ways to be a help and support.

Romans 12:13 tells us to... “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” We can not expect to know the needs of others if we are not first actively looking for those needs. Once we have discovered the need it is then our responsibility to share with them so that need can be met. I realize we are not God and can not meet every need that a person can have. For example, when we discover that someone feels neglected and lonely. We can be there to comfort, but we must also remember to always point them to the ultimate source of comfort, their Heavenly Father! We can not possibly fill that void. That is a void only God Himself can fill.

Call to action

My challenge to you is to open your doors, show love, connect with people, be patient, and actively look for ways to help and support others. If this list feels a bit overwhelming, work on one or two of them at a time. Hospitality is a lifelong venture that we can all refine our skills in.

Lord, help us to work on each of these five areas of hospitality. Help us to truly put others ahead of ourselves and to become the servant that you have called us to be. Give us the courage to open our doors wide open to those who need you most, not to shrink back from those who walk through them. Fill us full and overflowing with your love so that we have nothing but your unadulterated love flowing out of us for others to see. Give us a supernatural dose of your patience Lord for those who are having a hard time trying to wrap their minds around this unconditional love that you so freely give. Open our eyes to see the needs of those around us. When you allow us to see the needs of others use us as your instruments to meet those needs, and the ones we can’t, come in and take over so they will know you beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Thank you Lord for showing us what hospitality looks like. We pray that we can be used by you to show others your love.

Hospitality

The original Greek word for hospitality is the word “philoxenia” which translates “love of strangers.” The prefix philos translates “beloved, dear, friendly” So, I think it’s safe to say that we should be willing to treat strangers as if they were our beloved friends, to welcome them with arms wide open. Now, I’m not just saying to go out into the street and bring people into your home (although if the Lord has directed you to do this, then that is an entirely different matter altogether), but bear with me in my explanation to get a clear understanding of what hospitality should look like. In New Testament times, Christians had no formal church buildings like we do today. They were subject to gather in one another’s homes and for many of them this meant meeting in the homes of complete strangers and possibly traveling quite a distance to accomplish this. So, hospitality at it’s core is welcoming the weary traveler in with arms opened in love. Hebrews tells us one reason why we should be hospitable.

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2

I want us to think about times that we host. Are we pointing our guests towards the character of Christ? As our guests look around in those moments that they are spending time with us, are they seeing our earthly possessions and talents on display, or are they seeing and feeling the love of Jesus Christ in a very real and tangible way? Our moments of hospitality should never be used to showcase what we have acquired on this earth in terms of possessions or our talents in the kitchen or the art of homemaking. Hospitality was never meant to be about us. The practice of hospitality is more about being a servant then it is about being a host. Hospitality is nothing more than our hearts focused on the Lord, sharing His love with others around us. Hospitality is servanthood at it’s finest, pulling out all the stops in order to make someone know that they are love not just by us, but more importantly by their heavenly Father! Hospitality is ALWAYS about bringing glory to our Heavenly Father.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3 - 4

Value Others
How many of us really value others better than ourselves, I mean truly believe that others should be placed in a greater position of honor then we should? What about a complete stranger? Would we still feel that they should be given the seat of honor? I don’t know about you, but I know that I still have quite a ways to go before I will master the art of putting others in a place of honor, especially when my flesh is secretly wishing someone would do that for me. Yes, I did just admit that my old nature wishes that someone would come along and make me feel special. Here is the kicker, Christ wants us to set aside the desires of our flesh and make others feel loved and special in the eyes of Christ. He wants us to showcase the immense love that He has for them, not our selfish ambitions and vain conceits. There is no room for our flesh in this area of hospitality. The goal of Christ was and still is to serve others and this should be our goal in hospitality.

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV)

Call to action

Has today’s post challenged your thoughts on hospitality? This area of hospitality has been truly eye opening, especially when it is put in the context of this “love of strangers” that we are to have. Let’s work hard at making our next times of hosting flow from a place of wanting to showcase the tangible love of Christ to others. Let’s allow the love of Christ to flow out of us so that others will see Christ and not us.  

Lord, thank you for this lesson on hospitality. Help us to remember that when we are practicing hospitality that it’s not about us and our talents. Help us to remember it’s not about our material possessions, but that it is about you. Help us to bring glory to your name in the times when we are practicing hospitality. Help us to be the tangible evidence to others of what your love looks like, feels like, sounds like and acts like. Work in our hearts and lives in such a way that when others look at us, all they see is you. We ask all this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.


Do you have an encouraging story to share? We would love to hear about it. You may share your stories in the comments section below or on the learningirl4life Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you!

Be Still

“Be Still and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10

When all the chaos of this life seems to pile up on us, God asks us to simply be still. He doesn't require one more thing to be put on our plates or for us to be stretched any more thin than we already are. His only request is that we be still and in our moment of stillness, that we know that He is God.

What does being still look like?

1. Stop all that we are doing and focus on the Lord. Know that He IS God.
2. Remember that the wind and the waves are subject to His voice. They have no choice but to obey Him when He speaks.
3. Quiet our mind. Do not let that inner voice run away with those 5 little words that hijack our faith.
4. Wait on the Lord to speak.

It takes work to be still. This is not something that comes automatically. We must be willing to discipline ourselves to stop, remember, quiet our mind and then wait. Unfortunately, getting one out of the four isn’t going to cut it. If we are willing to stop, but we are not willing to quiet our minds, than those 5 little hijacking words will surely work their way into our time of stopping and sabotage any efforts that we may have put into the process of being still before the Lord. It truly believe it takes all four components in order to accomplish the art of being still.

Stop

There are times when we physically need to stop whatever we are doing just so we can focus our hearts and minds on the Lord. There will be other times when the stopping is not so literal in nature, but I think the majority of the time God desires for us to put away the distractions that have overtaken our lives and concentrate on Him. We can even go to the extreme of excusing ourselves from these distractions and finding a place of solitude. In scripture, there are many times where we see Jesus stop, withdraw from the activities He was doing, and get Himself to a place of solitude all so He could focus His attentions towards His Heavenly Father. Jesus has set such a beautiful example of what it should look like to simply stop.

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
Luke 6:12

“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,”Matthew 14:23

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16

Remember

We must never forget that the storms of this life are subject to the name of Jesus Christ. Our winds and waves know the voice of Christ, they have no other choice, they must submit to His authority. When Christ speaks, they WILL obey. Are we allowing the Lord to speak to our wind and our waves, or are we too busy focusing on the storm that God’s voice is being drowned out? Are we focusing on the Lord, or on those 90 mile an hour winds that are pounding against us? Are we looking to the Lord for our peace that passes all understand that will guard our heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7), or are we looking at the trials and tribulations at our doorstep? As long as our attentions are on the storm we can not possibly expect God to speak to the wind and the waves. God can not calm the storms of life without our eyes being steadfast upon His face. God desires our attentions and our hearts. If our hearts are focusing on everything except Him, then all we have done was to tie His hands behind His back and we have kept Him from moving on our behalf.

How many times did the Israelite children forget what God had done for them when He delivered them from the bondages of slavery. How quickly did they forget the miracles that He performed and the supernatural ways God had provided for them? This forgetfulness is not just contained to the Hebrew children wandering around in the desert for 40 years. We as human beings can be such a forgetful lot. How many times has God done the impossible in our lives only for us to turn around in the face of the next major trial and forget how He delivered us from our last valley? This small feat of remembering can sometimes prove itself to be quite the challenge. Remember, God is the God of the wind and the waves in your life. The storms of this life fall under His authority and when He speaks they obey!

Quiet the mind

Honestly, I find this to be the hardest part of being still. My mind has a tendency to race a million miles an hour with every degree of worry known to mankind. Quieting my mind is about impossible to do on my own. This is when I go to the Lord and cast my cares upon Him.This is when I try with all I have to lay down my mind at the feet of Christ, and oh man, does this take work! This is no simple task. My mind likes to wage war on me like nothing else does. How about you? Do you struggle with this area of a racing mind? Why would this quieting of the mind be such an important part of being still? It simply gets our eyes and ears off ourselves and our circumstances and on to the one who is in control of it all. That is the key reason behind quieting the mind.

Wait

The Lord longs to speak to His children, the only problem is this, how often do we truly quiet ourselves before the Lord to listen? If it’s not our racing minds, then perhaps it is our endless chatter that drowns out the voice of the Lord. If we are the ones doing all of the speaking can we really expect God to interrupt us so he can have His say? We serve a gentle God. More often than not He will wait until we are finished speaking before He takes His turn. How often do we really give Him a chance to speak? And furthermore, how long are we willing to wait? Do we sit for two minutes, and expect that God will work on microwave time or are we willing to be patient and wait as long as it takes for God to speak? We do not serve a God who functions like a microwave. He is not a fast food kind of God. We can not give Him our order and expect that in five minutes we are going to have the answer that we want. As I have said before, God holds time in His hands. He is not bound by our time limits and our impatience. He will speak when our hearts are ready to receive what He has for us. That often times does not line up with when we think we are ready. The Lord is never late. He is always on time.

Call to Action

Being still can seem so challenging at times, but it is concept that once learned can save us from so many unnecessary bumps and bruises along this kingdom journey. I want to encourage you this week to make an conscious effort to be still before the Lord. See what happens when you stop, remember, quiet your mind and wait upon Him. The Lord just might bring your heart unspeakable encouragement, peace and joy.

Lord, thank you that when we find ourselves in the midst of life’s storms that you have given us this very simple instruction to be still and know that you are God. Thank you that you are the God of the wind and the waves. All you have to do is speak and they must obey you. Help us to learn the art of quieting our minds when they are racing faster than we can keep up. Give us the tools we need to silence the voices that seem to be doing everything but helping us to focus our hearts upon you. Give us a supernatural dose of steadfastness in the department of waiting upon your voice. Sometimes it can be so hard to wait, but we know that hearing your voice is always worth any amount of time that it takes. Please help us to be still. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

5 Words That Hijack Our Faith

Have you ever had a conversation with the Lord that included words like….

Why?

When?

Who?

But….

If…

I think we have all used these words with the Lord from time to time. I know that I for one am guilty of it! What we really are doing by using these words is hijacking our own faith. When we use these words, we are doing nothing more then implanting seeds of doubt, confusion, frustration and building on our own insecurities. These words do not build us up in our faith. These word rob us from the peace that our Lord desires us to live in each and every day. These are the very words that satan will try to get us to rehearse in our times of struggle in order to win over the battle of our minds. As we all know, these are words that can so easily slip off our tongues, into our minds, and even into our prayers.

God patiently reminds us

God has such an immeasurable amount of patience when it comes to these words. It seems like every time I use them He reminds me oh so lovingly, of the other side of the story that I am not seeing. Let me give you some examples of how this might play out...

When I ask “why?” God says, “because my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways.” Isaiah 55:8

I am left remembering that God is God, and I AM NOT! He obviously knows what He is doing. He has been at this a whole lot longer then I have.

When I ask “when?” God says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

In other words, “Be patient my child! I am in no hurry, in fact I hold time in my hand. I am not limited by time. So, patience, my child, patience.”

When I ask “who?” God says, “I AM That I AM.” Exodus 3:14

Yes, there have been times when I have asked God, “who in the world?”, and He so gently reminds me “It’s me. It’s always been me, and it always will be me. There is no one else who can meet your every need, so please trust me my child.”

When I say “but…” God says, “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27

Oh yeah, how is it that I can continually forget that I serve a God who made me, and not to mention that He also made the whole universe. So yes, He has got this. I absolutely can just take that “but” and throw it away.

When I say “if…” God says, “be still and know that I am God.” Psalms 46:10

By the time I start inserting the word “if” into my talks with God I have noticed one very scary thing. I have gone over  the cliff and into the deep disillusioning world of doubt. By this point I figure God probably is about fed up with my questions, insecurities, fears and doubts because He basically asks me to simply stop talking.

These words are nothing more than a mere distraction, a ploy used by satan to pull us away from our firm foundation of faith. If we are being honest here, it is a daily battle sometimes to make sure that these words keep from injecting their loud opinions into our faith. In fact, sometimes it can seem downright impossible. Thankfully we serve a God who knows our very weakness. He knows when these hijacking words are coming yet again to try to throw us off kilter. He also knows that though our weakness He can be glorified if we are willing to surrender to His will for our lives.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness...” 2 Corinthians 12:9

“...For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10

In those moments of “why, when, who, but, and if,” we can go to the Lord in our weakness, lay it all down at His feet and that is when His strength can truly be seen. It is in these moments of surrender that the Lord can truly begin to do a work in our hearts and minds and to bring us back to a place of faith once again. The Lord does not want to see our faith hijacked by a few seemingly insignificant words. He desires for us to walk in complete confidence that He is God and He knows what He is doing!   

Call to action

I want to challenge you to pay close attention your thoughts and prayers. Are any of these five little words leaching in? Are any of them lurking in the background somewhere? If so, take captive those words and make them obedient to the words of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27) into your faith. Work hard at surrendering these words to the feet of Jesus.

Lord, I pray that you help us to take these five little words and surrender them to you. Help our thoughts to line up with your thoughts. Give us the ability to recognize when these words are lurking in the recesses of our spirit and the strength to take them captive as they rear their ugly heads. We want to have a faith that is free from any chances of a hijacking.

Do you have an encouraging story to share? We would love to hear about it. You may share your stories in the comments section below or on the learningirl4life Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you!