But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 14:10-11
This weekend was filled with such wonderment, amazement, and awe, that it left me with unexpected admiration and respect for how the Lord strategizes; nothing is by chance with Him. How I esteem the Lord and those He chooses to use for His service and I gratefully recognize how mindful He is of me. Just when I think I’ve soared to an obtainable height, He once again takes me to a higher place in Him and in a manner of minutes, with simply, mere conversation. He spoke to me directly and in volumes; He was specific in His wording and I was absolutely powerless in my ability to speak or process the information for a moment; talk about moments that take your breath away. We often think sometimes that it couldn’t possibly get any better than this and He shows you something even greater! I bless the Lord for allowing me to have worship in His presence; better yet, to take the time to come and personally speak to me.
In this passage, Jesus tells the story of the invited guests choosing and presuming places of honor to sit at the table and then possibly being put in the position of being asked to move for someone who is more important or perhaps there were special, unspoken seating arrangements by the host. Whatever the case, can you imagine the embarrassment of being asked to move? Jesus tells them to take a less important seat humbly, so that when your host comes, he’ll say to you, “my friend, move up, come and sit here closer to me.” Imagine being honored in the presence of all the other guests because of your humility. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when the host asks you to move closer to him. What am I saying? Just what Jesus said, “that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." We don’t have to presume a position, or try and gain the advantage by manipulation for our personal benefit. If we remain steadfast and humble, God will exalt us to a higher place in due season.
Jesus is trying to teach kingdom principles to anyone who’ll listen and heed, and not just the pious, religious, and hard-hearted leaders of that time. We have to apply the same Word, that same teaching to our lives today. The Lord is watching what we do, how we do, and certainly the attitude in which we do. Our actions speak long before our words are ever spoken. His Word says that if we exalt ourselves then we would be made us lower, however, if we remain humble, meek, modest, and unassuming in our actions and behavior that He would exalt us, elevate us, and move us to a higher place in Him. Our works of love, kindness, and compassion are better than works that we display only to be seen of men. Let no man know publicly what you have done or you will have your reward here on earth. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward (Matthew 6:1-2). I know that I want the reward that awaits me in Heaven.
I praise God for the Lord of Hosts to see the humility in me, choosing to sit in lowly places and do the work of the Lord. He then chose to come to me and say “friend, come up higher, move to a higher place of honor, to a place of reward in Me.” He has blessed me among men! My desire is to be seen of God, and that the work I do gives glory only to Him. I want to be found in His will always; I'm not bucking for any special seat, just as long as I'm at the table, I'm satisfied! Even in the higher places that the Lord exalts us to, let's be persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, nor positions, not titles, nor location, nor sitting at the head table, shall be able to separate us from the love of God and that we will remain humble even in our elevation!
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
This weekend was filled with such wonderment, amazement, and awe, that it left me with unexpected admiration and respect for how the Lord strategizes; nothing is by chance with Him. How I esteem the Lord and those He chooses to use for His service and I gratefully recognize how mindful He is of me. Just when I think I’ve soared to an obtainable height, He once again takes me to a higher place in Him and in a manner of minutes, with simply, mere conversation. He spoke to me directly and in volumes; He was specific in His wording and I was absolutely powerless in my ability to speak or process the information for a moment; talk about moments that take your breath away. We often think sometimes that it couldn’t possibly get any better than this and He shows you something even greater! I bless the Lord for allowing me to have worship in His presence; better yet, to take the time to come and personally speak to me.
In this passage, Jesus tells the story of the invited guests choosing and presuming places of honor to sit at the table and then possibly being put in the position of being asked to move for someone who is more important or perhaps there were special, unspoken seating arrangements by the host. Whatever the case, can you imagine the embarrassment of being asked to move? Jesus tells them to take a less important seat humbly, so that when your host comes, he’ll say to you, “my friend, move up, come and sit here closer to me.” Imagine being honored in the presence of all the other guests because of your humility. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when the host asks you to move closer to him. What am I saying? Just what Jesus said, “that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." We don’t have to presume a position, or try and gain the advantage by manipulation for our personal benefit. If we remain steadfast and humble, God will exalt us to a higher place in due season.
Jesus is trying to teach kingdom principles to anyone who’ll listen and heed, and not just the pious, religious, and hard-hearted leaders of that time. We have to apply the same Word, that same teaching to our lives today. The Lord is watching what we do, how we do, and certainly the attitude in which we do. Our actions speak long before our words are ever spoken. His Word says that if we exalt ourselves then we would be made us lower, however, if we remain humble, meek, modest, and unassuming in our actions and behavior that He would exalt us, elevate us, and move us to a higher place in Him. Our works of love, kindness, and compassion are better than works that we display only to be seen of men. Let no man know publicly what you have done or you will have your reward here on earth. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward (Matthew 6:1-2). I know that I want the reward that awaits me in Heaven.
I praise God for the Lord of Hosts to see the humility in me, choosing to sit in lowly places and do the work of the Lord. He then chose to come to me and say “friend, come up higher, move to a higher place of honor, to a place of reward in Me.” He has blessed me among men! My desire is to be seen of God, and that the work I do gives glory only to Him. I want to be found in His will always; I'm not bucking for any special seat, just as long as I'm at the table, I'm satisfied! Even in the higher places that the Lord exalts us to, let's be persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, nor positions, not titles, nor location, nor sitting at the head table, shall be able to separate us from the love of God and that we will remain humble even in our elevation!
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
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