MSI Press Blog

  HOSPITALITY “ I mean to stay at your house today.” --Luke 19: 5   How would you react if you received a personal call from some celebrity, such as the Pope or the President, asking you to have a private dinner with him at your home. Your initial reaction would likely be shock. “ Why me?” you would ask, thinking you are not worthy of such an honored guest. Then, panic, “ How can I prepare for such a guest?” As reality sets in, you begin scrambling to put your house in perfect order. All the clutter would be thrown out. You would clean until the place was spotless. You would likely obsess about what to serve for dinner, trying to guess what your guest would like most. You would set the table with your finest linen, plates, and silverware. And you would cook up a storm. How privileged you would feel to entertain such an important person. DIVINE HOST When people ask me what happens after we die, I answer, “ We return to where we were before we were born.” Ultimately, we do no

                                                   MAKING CHRISTMAS PERSONAL   A teenager in our little country church many years ago had a self-image problem. So convinced was he of his “unworthiness” he refused to take Holy Communion. Nothing we or the minister said could convince him otherwise. I shall never forget the sadness of seeing him sitting alone and forlorn in one of the rear pews as the rest of us joined together in joyful Christmas communion. Sadly, many still struggle with the idea that we are not “good enough” to please God. Maybe that’s why the Holy Spirit gave the prophet Isaiah this all-inclusive vision some 700 years before the birth of Jesus:                “Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders.                And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. “