Happy almost April sweet friends!
The plan this month is over something I LOVE- Hospitality!
Hospitality is often thought of as inviting people over to your house for dinner but honestly hospitality is not about a perfectly cleaned and decorated house and fancy platters of food. To me Biblical hospitality is about serving and loving others through Christ and making them feel loved and valued and cherished, anywhere. And I think it's super important to remember that hospitality is not something optional for us to do, it's actually something that God calls us to do!
1 Peter 4:8-10 says: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
God calls us to first love Him and second to love others. When we love and serve those God places before us, we are honoring and serving Him. When we love others, we are showing our love for God. He loves us wholly and completely and unconditionally so when we love and serve others through hospitality, we are also serving God. When we open our hearts as well as our homes, we're practicing Christian hospitality.
The good news is that Christian hospitality doesn't have to be perfect or expensive or elaborate or Instagram worthy. So often people focus on what they don't have instead of focusing on sharing the blessings of God that they do have. They often think that when they are older or have more money or a larger house or more time they will be more hospitable. But friends, that's not what God's word says!
And here's some good news: God CAN use people like you and me to touch lives- right now!
It doesn't matter if we rent or own a house or lease a tiny apartment or live in a trailer. It doesn't matter if we have fine china and crystal or paper plates and Solo cups. It doesn't matter if our house is spotlessly clean or a huge chaotic mess. When it comes to hospitality here's what we have to remember: People gather with us and come to our homes to see us and spend time and fellowship with us- not to inspect and evaluate our homes.
Hospitality is all about relationships and making people feel loved and valued. Hospitality puts people first—their comfort, their enjoyment, their needs—and invites them into our lives. Hospitality is not worrying about the clutter on the dining room table as we order pizza to be delivered. Hospitality is not about spending hundreds of dollars purchasing food for a gourmet, 9 course meal but instead it's about intentionally creating a place where people feel welcome and experience love, acceptance, and the presence of the Lord- even if it's just sharing a big pot of leftover vegetable soup along with some crackers.
When we practice hospitality, we have the opportunity to touch lives in a personal way. We just have to be bold and willing to share what we have with those God places in our path- even if what we have is not a lot. God has not only given us the roof over our heads, He has also given us the love and wisdom needed to open our homes and hearts to others. My prayer that this month as we read what God has to say about Biblical hospitality and serving others, that we think of ways to invite others to join and fellowship with us. That we truly see who God places in front of us and figure out ways to have them join us so we can share God's love with them.
(Note: You'll notice that six of the days have only the verse that the piece of armor is mentioned in as the verse for that day. My hope is that you will write that verse several times and then spend time trying to memorize it!)
FYI: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be
done any month-not just the month I write them for.
TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.
