August 20, 2024 What Will True Christian Hospitality Cost You?ALEX EARLY Lee en español "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 (NIV)  Have you ever heard someone defend the Truth of the gospel through eloquent, clever words and sound, reasonable arguments? Maybe in that moment, you thought, Oh, if only I were like them! If only I were gifted in apologetics or trained in theology - then I could better represent Christ. But another powerful defense of the trustworthiness of the gospel is our willingness to practice hospitality as Christ did - our commitment to hear others fully. We are often quick to speak and slow to listen. Yet to practice hospitality in the way that Jesus and the early Church did, we must resolve to truly hear others. When people are heard, people are healed. Yes, there's a time and a place for sermons in churches and lectures in classrooms, for books to be read and information to be discussed. Yet the deep things of God and humanity require that we come to the table seeking both to know and to be known. Jesus' way of hospitality has far more to do with the heart of the host than the presentation of a charcuterie board or proper plating and table settings. Christian hospitality means caring not only about the gospel Truth but also the tone with which it is shared. This can be traced back to what Jesus said at the Last Supper in our key verse: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). The love of God, expressed through the hospitable hearts and homes of Christians, has always been the strength of the Church. We live out what it means to be wholly human by practicing faithful presence with others through Christian hospitality. Ultimately, we will feel an emotional and relational cost of loving others. Practicing the way of Jesus and extending true hospitality to a weary world means that we're willing to roll up our sleeves and become present to the people, stories and needs around us. Love is costly - as costly as it gets. It takes time to really get to know someone. More than that, the emotional cost of presence is high because when someone knows they truly belong, they can open up and share their real stories, pains, griefs and losses. Yes, this hospitality will cost us more than groceries; it will cost some tears as well. Such is the nature of the healing Kingdom of God. Is it worth the cost? Always - it's the gospel lived out. May we be reminded of 1 John 4:19, letting it drive us to godly hospitality: "We love because he first loved us" (NIV). Lord, help me to have a heart of hospitality for those You have placed in my path and to embrace the high cost of loving others as You love me. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS Pastor and cooking enthusiast Alex Early invites you to experience God anew as you cook memorable meals for friends, family and fellow seekers. The unique cookbook Among the Pots and Pans contains over 50 recipes from Alex along with rich spiritual insights on how food can help you extend Christ's love to others and live in greater gratitude and wholeness. Part cookbook, part theology, Among the Pots and Pans celebrates the connection between food and faith in the Bible and explores how cooking can be used not only to nourish our bodies but also to feed our souls and build community. ENGAGE To learn more, connect with Alex on Instagram or through his website. Enter to WIN your very own copy of Among the Pots and Pans by Alex Early. To celebrate this book, Alex's publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We'll randomly select 5 winners and then notify each one in the comments section by Monday, August 26, 2024.} FOR DEEPER STUDY Isaiah 58:7, "Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" (NIV). Titus 1:8, "Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined" (NIV). What would it look like to budget for the practice of hospitality - not only practically but also relationally? What can you do to prepare yourself to love someone in a costly way? © 2024 by Alex Early. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post What Will True Christian Hospitality Cost You? –  Encouragement for Today – August 20, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

A Prayer to Take Back Joy When You Can’t Feel ItBy Amanda Idleman "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." – Psalm 30:5 Do you feel stuck in a ‘night season'? There are many hard things that are thrown at us in this life that can bury us under a feeling of hopelessness. These are the moments when our faith matters most. When we truly need Him to pull us out of the shadow of death and show us his joy even while we still lament. We don’t have to deny our real feelings of sadness, grief, and fear in order to also know God's joy. There is space for more than one feeling in every season. Joy that denies real lived experiences is a fraud. God has space in his protective hands for our pain and still graciously points us to his beauty through it all. True joy surprises us, and it's often hidden in the details of our circumstances.  Joy may be a well-timed joke while stuck in a hospital bed.  The flowers a friend delivers while you walk through a miscarriage.  The grace to be heard when battling anxiety and depression.  An unexpected hug from a kiddo when the job of being a parent feels like it's sucking the life out of you.  It's the chance to see family from far away while grieving together at a funeral.  It's the right song or message at church when you are feeling utterly hopeless in your marriage.  A friend that shows up with lunch after your dog passes away.  Piles of baby supplies that show up overnight when you say yes to that foster placement, completely unprepared for what is to come.  Joy sneaks into those hard, stretching, and the wish-they-weren't-so moments of life. Joy is a reprieve from the heaviness that loss, sickness, stress, and brokenness bring into our lives. Joy offers us a bit of fresh air that you desperately need. Most times joy doesn't make sense and is not dependent on any certain set of circumstances. Joy is a "God-sighting" in our everyday chaos. Without joy, even the best circumstances can feel empty, and with joy, we know that even in the worst cases, God is with us.  If you need joy, God promises that it is available to you. Find hope in the truth that nights don't last forever. One day, the night will be no more, but for now, the sunrise will come. The light and fresh air offer hope and beauty that our souls need. Take heart; the morning is coming soon, my friend.  Let's pray: God, we thank you for your promise to bring us through our night season and offer us joy on the other side! We need your joy to infuse purpose in the struggles we face. We need joy to invigorate our souls and bring light into the lives you have given us. Open our eyes to the ways you are showing up to meet us in the midst of all the chaos. Open up the chance for us to be joy bringers to others in our lives, showing them grace in their night season, too. If you are willing, God lift from us the darkness we are facing. Bring healing to our minds, bodies, and souls. Provide the faith we need to know that you are good and with us even when we don't feel you near. Bring back our joy with a double portion! Let us give you all the glory for everything you have done for us in each and every season of our lives. Amen.  Photo credit: ©GettyImages/torwai Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for My Daily Bible Verse Devotional and Podcast, Crosswalk Couples Devotional, the Daily Devotional App, she has work published with Her View from Home, on the MOPS Blog, and is a regular contributor for Crosswalk.com. She has most recently published a devotional, Comfort: A 30 Day Devotional Exploring God’s Heart of Love for Mommas. You can find out more about Amanda on her Facebook Page or follow her on Instagram. Related Resource: Remember God’s Enduring Love for You in this Guided Meditation on Psalm 100! This guided Christian meditation from Psalm 100 will help you experience and praise God for his unending love for you. Become aware of God's presence with you, and praise God for his loyal and enduring love from the beginning of time and into the future. Listen to every episode of the So Much More Podcast on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode! Now that you’ve prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below! Visit iBelieve.com for more inspiring prayer content. The post A Prayer to Take Back Joy When You Can’t Feel It – Your Daily Prayer – August 20 appeared first on GodUpdates.

A Prayer to Take Back Joy When You Can’t Feel ItBy Amanda Idleman "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." – Psalm 30:5 Do you feel stuck in a ‘night season'? There are many hard things that are thrown at us in this life that can bury us under a feeling of hopelessness. These are the moments when our faith matters most. When we truly need Him to pull us out of the shadow of death and show us his joy even while we still lament. We don’t have to deny our real feelings of sadness, grief, and fear in order to also know God's joy. There is space for more than one feeling in every season. Joy that denies real lived experiences is a fraud. God has space in his protective hands for our pain and still graciously points us to his beauty through it all. True joy surprises us, and it's often hidden in the details of our circumstances.  Joy may be a well-timed joke while stuck in a hospital bed.  The flowers a friend delivers while you walk through a miscarriage.  The grace to be heard when battling anxiety and depression.  An unexpected hug from a kiddo when the job of being a parent feels like it's sucking the life out of you.  It's the chance to see family from far away while grieving together at a funeral.  It's the right song or message at church when you are feeling utterly hopeless in your marriage.  A friend that shows up with lunch after your dog passes away.  Piles of baby supplies that show up overnight when you say yes to that foster placement, completely unprepared for what is to come.  Joy sneaks into those hard, stretching, and the wish-they-weren't-so moments of life. Joy is a reprieve from the heaviness that loss, sickness, stress, and brokenness bring into our lives. Joy offers us a bit of fresh air that you desperately need. Most times joy doesn't make sense and is not dependent on any certain set of circumstances. Joy is a "God-sighting" in our everyday chaos. Without joy, even the best circumstances can feel empty, and with joy, we know that even in the worst cases, God is with us.  If you need joy, God promises that it is available to you. Find hope in the truth that nights don't last forever. One day, the night will be no more, but for now, the sunrise will come. The light and fresh air offer hope and beauty that our souls need. Take heart; the morning is coming soon, my friend.  Let's pray: God, we thank you for your promise to bring us through our night season and offer us joy on the other side! We need your joy to infuse purpose in the struggles we face. We need joy to invigorate our souls and bring light into the lives you have given us. Open our eyes to the ways you are showing up to meet us in the midst of all the chaos. Open up the chance for us to be joy bringers to others in our lives, showing them grace in their night season, too. If you are willing, God lift from us the darkness we are facing. Bring healing to our minds, bodies, and souls. Provide the faith we need to know that you are good and with us even when we don't feel you near. Bring back our joy with a double portion! Let us give you all the glory for everything you have done for us in each and every season of our lives. Amen.  Photo credit: ©GettyImages/torwai Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for My Daily Bible Verse Devotional and Podcast, Crosswalk Couples Devotional, the Daily Devotional App, she has work published with Her View from Home, on the MOPS Blog, and is a regular contributor for Crosswalk.com. She has most recently published a devotional, Comfort: A 30 Day Devotional Exploring God’s Heart of Love for Mommas. You can find out more about Amanda on her Facebook Page or follow her on Instagram. Related Resource: Remember God’s Enduring Love for You in this Guided Meditation on Psalm 100! This guided Christian meditation from Psalm 100 will help you experience and praise God for his unending love for you. Become aware of God's presence with you, and praise God for his loyal and enduring love from the beginning of time and into the future. Listen to every episode of the So Much More Podcast on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode! Now that you’ve prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below! Visit iBelieve.com for more inspiring prayer content. The post A Prayer to Take Back Joy When You Can’t Feel It – Your Daily Prayer – August 20 appeared first on GodUpdates.

August 20, 2024 What Will True Christian Hospitality Cost You?ALEX EARLY Lee en español "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 (NIV)  Have you ever heard someone defend the Truth of the gospel through eloquent, clever words and sound, reasonable arguments? Maybe in that moment, you thought, Oh, if only I were like them! If only I were gifted in apologetics or trained in theology - then I could better represent Christ. But another powerful defense of the trustworthiness of the gospel is our willingness to practice hospitality as Christ did - our commitment to hear others fully. We are often quick to speak and slow to listen. Yet to practice hospitality in the way that Jesus and the early Church did, we must resolve to truly hear others. When people are heard, people are healed. Yes, there's a time and a place for sermons in churches and lectures in classrooms, for books to be read and information to be discussed. Yet the deep things of God and humanity require that we come to the table seeking both to know and to be known. Jesus' way of hospitality has far more to do with the heart of the host than the presentation of a charcuterie board or proper plating and table settings. Christian hospitality means caring not only about the gospel Truth but also the tone with which it is shared. This can be traced back to what Jesus said at the Last Supper in our key verse: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). The love of God, expressed through the hospitable hearts and homes of Christians, has always been the strength of the Church. We live out what it means to be wholly human by practicing faithful presence with others through Christian hospitality. Ultimately, we will feel an emotional and relational cost of loving others. Practicing the way of Jesus and extending true hospitality to a weary world means that we're willing to roll up our sleeves and become present to the people, stories and needs around us. Love is costly - as costly as it gets. It takes time to really get to know someone. More than that, the emotional cost of presence is high because when someone knows they truly belong, they can open up and share their real stories, pains, griefs and losses. Yes, this hospitality will cost us more than groceries; it will cost some tears as well. Such is the nature of the healing Kingdom of God. Is it worth the cost? Always - it's the gospel lived out. May we be reminded of 1 John 4:19, letting it drive us to godly hospitality: "We love because he first loved us" (NIV). Lord, help me to have a heart of hospitality for those You have placed in my path and to embrace the high cost of loving others as You love me. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS Pastor and cooking enthusiast Alex Early invites you to experience God anew as you cook memorable meals for friends, family and fellow seekers. The unique cookbook Among the Pots and Pans contains over 50 recipes from Alex along with rich spiritual insights on how food can help you extend Christ's love to others and live in greater gratitude and wholeness. Part cookbook, part theology, Among the Pots and Pans celebrates the connection between food and faith in the Bible and explores how cooking can be used not only to nourish our bodies but also to feed our souls and build community. ENGAGE To learn more, connect with Alex on Instagram or through his website. Enter to WIN your very own copy of Among the Pots and Pans by Alex Early. To celebrate this book, Alex's publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We'll randomly select 5 winners and then notify each one in the comments section by Monday, August 26, 2024.} FOR DEEPER STUDY Isaiah 58:7, "Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" (NIV). Titus 1:8, "Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined" (NIV). What would it look like to budget for the practice of hospitality - not only practically but also relationally? What can you do to prepare yourself to love someone in a costly way? © 2024 by Alex Early. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post What Will True Christian Hospitality Cost You? –  Encouragement for Today – August 20, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

1534 - Turkish admiral Chaireddin "Barbarossa" occupies Tunis 1619 - Slavery begins in America: 1st known African Americans (approx. 20) land at Point Comfort (Fort Monroe), Virginia before being sold or traded into servitude 1648 - Battle of Lens: French Duc d'Enghien defeats Spaniards 1795 - Joseph Haydn returns to Vienna from England 1913 - 1st pilot to parachute from an aircraft (Adolphe Pégoud, France) 1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR 1974 - Nelson Rockefeller is selected as US Vice President by President Gerald Ford 1980 - UN Security Council condemns (14-0, US abstains) Israeli declaration that all of Jerusalem is its capital 1998 - The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval. 2018 - Polish immigrant and former volunteer Nazi guard Jakiw Palij (95) is deported from the US in New York to Germany More Historical Events »