Loving Hospitality

A very good morning to you. I greet you in Jesus' precious name. It is Saturday morning, the 23rd of July 2022 and this is your friend Angus Buchan with a thought for today.

"And a voice spoke to him again. The second time, what God has cleansed, you must not call common or unclean."

Acts 10:15

Then we can go to Matthew 15:11, where Jesus says:

"Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man".

When we are about to eat a meal, we pray something like this, "Father, thank you for this meal that we are about to eat. Bless it to our bodies and the precious hands that have prepared it in Jesus name." Then we eat the meal heartily.

Peter had been called to an unbeliever's house and Jews never went to a Gentile's house, but the Lord said what he has made clean, no man call it unclean. The people that travel with me, when I go overseas preaching in different countries, different cultures, with different ways of eating food, have been told very categorically by me, that they will eat everything that is put in front of them because it has been cooked lovingly and prepared for us. It can be so very hurtful and, in fact, insulting to pick at your food when you are at somebody's home. If you are more concerned about your waistline, then don't go out to do the work of winning souls for Jesus.

Peter, the Apostle, broke all the rules. He went into that Gentile's home as a Jew, which was totally unacceptable in those days. Cornelius was an Italian, not a Jew and an officer in Rome's army, but because of that impartial act of love, the whole household became followers of Jesus.

My youngest daughter's husband is a very big, strong and powerfully built man. He has a huge, healthy appetite and I love taking him with me when I go overseas to people's homes. He gets stuck into his food, eats it all and many a time, he helps me eat my meal as well. But at the end of that meal, the host and the cook gravitate towards my son. I want to say to you today, don't worry about what you look like, think of the other person... I tell you what, you'll win him to Christ quicker than any words.

Have a wonderful day.
Jesus bless you and goodbye.