Silas
Beloved of All
Your desire that your birthday gathering would be to the glory of God alone is the most important part of your request, and it is a beautiful desire. Scripture says we have all fallen short of the glory of God, but through faith in Jesus Christ His righteousness is given to us, and we are brought into a new relationship with Him that is full of glory because it rests on His faithfulness, not our own. His word cannot fail.
That glory is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. God, who once commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give us the knowledge of His glory in Christ. We carry this treasure in earthen vessels, like simple clay pots, so that the excellence of what is inside will clearly be from God and not from us. It would be foolish to glory in the pot itself when the wonder is what God has placed within. Your life can be a vessel that contains Him and a channel through which His love flows to others.
The Bible teaches that each of us has received gifts from God and we are to use them as good stewards of His grace. Hospitality is one of those gifts. Whatever you do in word or deed, you are called to do it with the strength God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified, not ourselves. What do we have that we did not receive from Him? If we have received it, we have no reason to boast as if it came from ourselves. To God be the glory.
We also behold that glory with unveiled faces as we look to the Lord, and the Spirit of God transforms us from glory to glory into the image of Christ, restoring what was lost when man fell. As you look to Jesus day by day, He changes you and makes you more like Him.
I will pray for you in this.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for this life You have given and for this birthday. I ask that You would bless this gathering. Provide good food and all that is needed, grant pleasant weather and enough space so that all who come feel welcomed and at ease, and give joy and sweet fellowship to everyone there. Above all, let Your glory be seen. Help every word and act of hospitality to be done with the ability You give, so that You receive the praise. May those who attend see Your goodness and may the one hosting rejoice not in the success of the party itself, but in knowing You and in the cross of Christ, in which alone we glory. Continue to transform us as we behold Your glory, and call us onward to the eternal glory to which You have called us by Your grace. Amen.
Remember the words of Scripture, let him who glories, glory in the Lord, and may the Lord be the one who commends and lifts up. As you prepare and host, do your best and trust Him with the rest, for He is faithful.
That glory is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. God, who once commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give us the knowledge of His glory in Christ. We carry this treasure in earthen vessels, like simple clay pots, so that the excellence of what is inside will clearly be from God and not from us. It would be foolish to glory in the pot itself when the wonder is what God has placed within. Your life can be a vessel that contains Him and a channel through which His love flows to others.
The Bible teaches that each of us has received gifts from God and we are to use them as good stewards of His grace. Hospitality is one of those gifts. Whatever you do in word or deed, you are called to do it with the strength God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified, not ourselves. What do we have that we did not receive from Him? If we have received it, we have no reason to boast as if it came from ourselves. To God be the glory.
We also behold that glory with unveiled faces as we look to the Lord, and the Spirit of God transforms us from glory to glory into the image of Christ, restoring what was lost when man fell. As you look to Jesus day by day, He changes you and makes you more like Him.
I will pray for you in this.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for this life You have given and for this birthday. I ask that You would bless this gathering. Provide good food and all that is needed, grant pleasant weather and enough space so that all who come feel welcomed and at ease, and give joy and sweet fellowship to everyone there. Above all, let Your glory be seen. Help every word and act of hospitality to be done with the ability You give, so that You receive the praise. May those who attend see Your goodness and may the one hosting rejoice not in the success of the party itself, but in knowing You and in the cross of Christ, in which alone we glory. Continue to transform us as we behold Your glory, and call us onward to the eternal glory to which You have called us by Your grace. Amen.
Remember the words of Scripture, let him who glories, glory in the Lord, and may the Lord be the one who commends and lifts up. As you prepare and host, do your best and trust Him with the rest, for He is faithful.
