JESUS, the Storyteller (26)

In Section Four,

JESUS

the Storyteller

continues this week with

"A Hospitable Host"

19. The Seed Sower 5/7 20. The Best Boss    5/14 21. The Eye Opener 5/21 22. The Divine Auditor 5/28 23. A Better Financial Planner 6/4 24. The God of Tomorrow        6/11 25. The Life of the Party          6/18 26. A Hospitable Host              6/25 27. The Object of Our Worship7/2 28. The Grace Giver                7/9 29. Discerner of the Heart       7/16 30. A Divine Divider                 7/23

this is a good title to follow last week's
"... Life of the Party" 
because what's a party without a great host that is "hospitable"
I'll bet you can already figure which Parable Jesus is telling
in week 24 "A Hospitable Host"
If not, looking at the Scripture readings (the 1st) will help you

Luke 14:12-24; John 6:35-40; Matthew 11:25-30; Isaiah 55:1-5; Revelation 19: 6-9

and these are the subtitles for this week

"An Offer not to be Refused" "An Offer Refused" "Have I Heard God's Invitation to Me?" "Have I Honored God's Invitation to Me?" "Have I Heeded God's Invitation to Me?"

From the above subtitles in this chapter, it looks like the Host is God,
at least He's the One sending the invitations/offers

"Thank You Lord, that You've invited me to feast in Your Presence at Your table. Quicken my heart that I might always be ready to say yes when You call."

I did a 'google search' for Hospitable Host but the results can't compare to JESUS as the Host
1 Peter 4:9
however this article was interesting & well done
"How Did People Practice Hospitality in the Bible..." 
as well as this one which answers:
"What is the biblical importance of Hospitality?"
"... to display the Gospel..."
I like this:
"Hospitality gives us opportunities to serve others."
"... by providing time and space to display & preach the Gospel..."

In my humble opinion, my mother was a wonderful, hospitable host to our house guests
especially around the holidays. So I recall her traits as a host, or hostess of the mostest!
She excelled in this hospitality all her years even when sick, she continued. 
She enjoyed
 being a Hospitable Host(ess)
much like 
JESUS
<>

JESUS, the Storyteller (25)

In Section Four with

JESUS

the Storyteller

19. The Seed Sower 5/7 20. The Best Boss    5/14 21. The Eye Opener 5/21 22. The Divine Auditor 5/28 23. A Better Financial Planner 6/4 24. The God of Tomorrow        6/11 25. The Life of the Party        6/18 26. A Hospitable Host              6/25 27. The Object of Our Worship7/2 28. The Grace Giver                7/9 29. Discerner of the Heart       7/16 30. A Divine Divider                 7/23

we look into 
"The Life of the Party"
- the lively, amusing person, who is the center of attention at a social gathering -
- someone who brings a lot of energy & enthusiasm!
Perhaps you can recall someone like this or you were; or
perhaps you would never want to be the life of a party 
and are annoyed or prefer not to be around "social animals" like that,
but surely we know that type or someone who fits this role.
{No offense intended to those of you who are so social or like them.}
<>
Since I am no longer continuing with the Parable Challenge, I still wonder which parable this one would be connected to ... whether the Parable of Jesus for "The Life of the Party" might be one in the book of Matthew or in the book of Luke? (both of these are linked to the blog posts where I listed the Parables back in May 2023). Oh, and regarding the other two Gospel accounts by Mark and John; there are only a few Parables (8-9; 7 repeated from the others) shared by Mark & none in the book of John (some say there are 2). 

The Scripture readings for this week include:

Luke 15:1-10; Luke 5:27-32; 2 Peter 3:8-10; Ezekiel 34:11-16; 2 Timothy 2:22-26

and the chapter segments are:

"Unlikely Companions" (Luke 15) "A Lost Sheep"  "Family and Not-Yet-Family" "A Helpless Wanderer Found" "Cause for Great Rejoicing"

This Week's Prayer:(and it's not "make me the life of the party" for any still aspiring to this)

"Lord, kindle in my heart Your passion for the lost. Give me eyes to see as You see and the will to pursue and invite them into the celebration that awaits them."

and Father, please help the 'life of the party' people to channel their aspiration to being included in Your BIGGEST Party that gives the true & eternal LIFE we all need! And that they accept Your invitation.
Then we can really celebrate with You!
C'mon Let's Celebrate
There's gonna be a Party!
JESUS
    IS & brings
      the LIFE to this
Party
and it truly will be a "cause for great rejoicing"!
<>
🎶Celebrate good times, c'mon
Let's Celebrate!
There's a party going on right here;A Celebration to last throughout the years...🎶
Kool & the Gang, "Celebration" (1980)
<>
I cannot think of any party lasting throughout the years other than the one that God invites us!
Hope that you and your loved ones will be there!
<><><>
To ALL the Fathers - Celebrate & enjoy your Father's Day!
After all, our Heavenly Father
wants all of you to emulate
His Love
&
receive His love
Happy Father's Day!

JESUS, the Storyteller (24)

In Section Four with

JESUS

the Storyteller

today

we open to the story on

"The God of Tomorrow"

19. The Seed Sower 5/7 20. The Best Boss    5/14 21. The Eye Opener 5/21 22. The Divine Auditor 5/28 23. A Better Financial Planner 6/4 24. The God of Tomorrow        6/11 25. The Life of the Party          6/18 26. A Hospitable Host              6/25 27. The Object of Our Worship7/2 28. The Grace Giver                7/9 29. Discerner of the Heart       7/16 30. A Divine Divider                 7/23

but first you need to make your guess about which Parable you think this is about
If you need help, remember that I have two previous blog posts that list the
Parables found in Matthew (#22)
and the
Parables found in Luke (#21)
so
decide which Parable you think
James Merritt is sharing this week that he entitles:
"The God of Tomorrow"
The challenge is to choose a Parable, go to the comments & share your guess

after you share your guess 
you can return here & read the rest
to find out if you are right
<><><>

Many of us have concerns about the future
the future of our lives on planet earth
the future of this planet
our future in our nation
and those of us who know 
JESUS
hopefully are more optimistic in our future after life here
because we know who holds our future
we probably don't know what our future holds however
but thankfully 

"The God of Tomorrow'
does
"JESUS Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"
AND
that is enough
The God of Tomorrow is here with us today!
No matter what we may read in the headlines, we need to stand firm on the truths
that God is still in control
God has a plan
and God is working out His plan 
in the midst of what's happening today & what's coming tomorrow.
God has tomorrow under control!
<>
Here are the Scripture readings for this week:

Luke 16:1-13; Romans 14:10-12; Psalm 39:4-7; Luke 12:35-40; 1 Timothy 6:6-11

with these subtitles

"Preparing for Tomorrow" "Money Lovers" "Accountable for the Management of What We Have" "A Shrewd Dude" "Investments that Last"

James Merritt's final statement:
"Take everything you have, everything you are, and give it to Christ todayso you will be ready for tomorrow."
Excellent advice!

"Lord, All that I have is Yours. Teach me to be a wise steward with what belongs to You and invest in Your eternal kingdom."

AMEN!
Let it be so
today, tomorrow & forever
for Your Glory
King JESUS
my God of Tomorrow
today & every day
🙏
<><><>

Note: I guess that not too many of you find this Challenge deal interesting or want to make a choice & share in the comments; so I will not be continuing the Parable Challenge for the remaining chapters #25-30. I thought that this might involve you a little more in participation with JESUS, the Storyteller. If you still want to guess today's or any of the future ones, just put the # and your Parable guess. Thank you to those of you who are still reading my blog posts because the stats show some are being read. I hope this means that perhaps some of you went to the link I shared so you can receive 52 Weeks with Jesus in your own email & that's why you're no longer with me here.😏💖😉

JESUS, the Storyteller (23)

In Section Four, we read about

JESUS

the Storyteller

with

A Better Financial Planner

19. The Seed Sower 5/7 20. The Best Boss    5/14 21. The Eye Opener 5/21 22. The Divine Auditor 5/28 23. A Better Financial Planner 6/4 24. The God of Tomorrow        6/11 25. The Life of the Party          6/18 26. A Hospitable Host              6/25 27. The Object of Our Worship7/2 28. The Grace Giver                7/9 29. Discerner of the Heart       7/16 30. A Divine Divider                 7/23

Before you read onthink about whichParablemight James Merrittbe writing about with this title of
A Better Financial Planner
Clearly it's a Parable about our finances 
You can look at the Parables from Matthew (in #22) or those from Luke (in #21)in my last two blog posts where I listed them to help you choose
then the Challenge is to go to the Comments & share your guessbefore reading more of today's postso

make your choice of which Parable you think it might be

GO

to the comments & share your guess

then come back and continue

<><><>
I look forward to gaining wisdom from Jesus & this Parable.
Although I am sure I have read this Parable many times,
I rarely made mental note of these points as
planning better financial matters. 
I just so happened to 'google' this title 
which gave me "5 Traits of Successful Financial Advisors"
among other financial points yet I think JESUS probably is the BEST
FINANCIAL PLANNER

Just in case you may need to know  these traits; they are: 1) Passion for financial planning & wealth management; 2) deep Analytical ability; 3) Professional salesmanship;4) putting a Client's interest first; 5) Curiosity Thank you Investopedia!
Truthfully, I don't have enough finances to warrant this kind of managementyet no matter how much or what we have - Kingdom building calls for usto be financially responsible, plan and manage according to the principles that JESUS teaches usthroughout His Word butespecially in the Parables

However, let me clue you in on the first point James Merritt tells us that the

reflections from this Parable & readings are not just for the RICH

then he lets us know

"we are richer than we think"

Let me give you the Scripture readings for this week:

Luke 12:13-21; Romans 12:9-13; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; 1 Timothy 6:6-10; James 2:1-7

and these are the subtitles/segments:

"How Do You See Your Wealth?" "Secret Wanting" "Be Content with What You Have" "Foolish Thinking" "Be Conscious of Where You are Going"

"Lord, thank You for meeting my needs. I agree that what is mine is Yours - guide me as I give to those who need  what I have."

I'm sure that you have heard or learned as I have how much better it is
TO GIVE
than
TO RECEIVE
Giving is an act of worship!
What a great reminder this is for every day
"20 Reasons Why It's More Blessed to Give than to Receive"