Setting the Table
I love this time of year when we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas as it usually allows me to be creative with hospitality, which I thoroughly enjoy. Holiday hospitality is very different than how I grew up. While growing up, holiday dinners were not that special. While the food was always good, the presentation and atmosphere were minimal. There were no special plates, no decorations, and everyone just "dug in" once the food was on the table. Maybe your holiday dinners are like that also.
Once married, holiday dinners became my favorite meals to prepare, and am NOT referring to the food, though that is a part of the planning. What I am talking about is "setting the atmosphere" for the experience. I love thinking about what the table will look like, what decorations I will use, and how my guests will "feel" in my home. I envision music playing, the table decorated beautifully, and everyone enjoying each other's company. I prepare lists for needed purchases, and on most holidays, you will find me setting the table the day before while I pray over the place settings. Nothing is left to happenstance because I want my guests and family to know they are unique and essential in my life. Today, with Pinterest, the creative possibilities are endless, right?
Similarly, as we prepare for RECLAIM LIVE 2020, we are "setting the table" and anticipating our guest's arrival, including the GUEST OF HONOR, Jesus Christ. Everything our team has prepared with this in mind. Our preparations are not a burden but a blessing!
I believe preparation leads to expectations! We expect God to help us RECLAIM 2020 and your life to be impacted by Jesus Christ. He is the HOPE OF THE WORLD in 2020!
In our personal lives, this principle is just as relevant. We need to "set the table" for the Holy Spirit to feel welcome in our lives. Let's talk about a few ways to prepare our lives for a supernatural move of God!
First, get rid of the clutter! Have you ever been in a home where the dining room table has turned into a storage area? Mail, paper, and books fill the area, leaving no space to sit down and eat. Similarly, our hearts and minds can be filled with "clutter" so that there is no space for God. Our thoughts can be rampant, and if we are not careful, we permit the clutter to take over. We are responsible for our thoughts! Your thought life determines your future in many ways.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 (NTL)
Second, allow God to partner with you in cleaning. Sometimes we need to clean out our minds so God has a space to inhabit. Allow the partnership of the Holy Spirit to help you!
In the natural, when I am preparing for guests, Steve helps. It's a win because we are in a partnership, and he knows me and knows what I need. Spiritually, I am in a partnership with the Holy Spirit, and He knows me BEST and wants to help when it comes to cleaning up my mind; we just need to ask. Listen to what David said in Psalm 51 in The Message Bible.
“Soak me in your laundry, and I'll come out clean, scrub me, and I'll have a snow-white life. Tune me into foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don't look too close for blemishes; give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.”
Third, set your heart in a way that you are ready to receive.
“So, if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.” Colossians 3:2 AMP
Fourth, expect a beautiful experience! After you have cleared the clutter and permitted God to wash your heart, then set your heart and mind and expect God will do what He says. RELAX and RECEIVE!
“Then, the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.” Exodus 40: 34 NLT
This portion of scripture in the Old Testament refers to God's glory filling the Tabernacle, right after all preparations had been completed. Today, WE are the Tabernacle. God desires to dwell, have dominion, in our hearts. What a promise!
Are you prepared to receive it? Ask God to help you eliminate the clutter in your heart, and then set your heart to receive! Let's do what we can do to "set the table" for God's best in our lives!
Setting the table with joy!
Liz
