✝ Daily Encouragement (8/8/23) "God's Open House"

Published: Tue, 08/08/23

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber.

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Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Directly across from our house is an old township road that forms a good walking and biking path. Brooksyne frequently walks our dogs on this trail which is especially appealing when it becomes a corn canyon.
(Click on photo to enlarge.)

"God's Open House"

Message summary: Today let us consider "God's open house", God's call to the fallen human race to come into His house of faith and forgiveness. As we often hear, "Whosoever will may come" . Puritan writer Thomas Watson wrote, "God keeps open house for hungry sinners".

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"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28). "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?" (John 14:2).

Yesterday we went to an "Open House" at Audrey's, a wholesale distributor of gift and home decor items, where we serve as chaplains. Their distribution center is located out in the Lebanon County countryside in a very bucolic setting.

Many customers converged on what is undoubtedly the busiest usage that remote country road gets annually! This year is their 43rd anniversary.

Some arrive very early before the doors open and sit in lawn chairs at the front of the line while others form a long line snaking around the building. It has an atmosphere similar to Christian Book Distributors warehouse near Boston when they had their warehouse sales we went to in the 90's.

An open house is a day when members of the public are invited to visit a place or institution, especially one to which they do not normally have access. Open House is most frequently associated with real estate but during our nearly 30 years of pastoring during the Christmas season we hosted an annual "Open House" in our home, inviting our congregation, neighbors and friends to stop in and enjoy goodies Brooksyne had prepared for the holidays.

Today let us consider "God's open house", His call to the fallen human race to come into His house of faith and forgiveness. As we often hear, "Whosoever will may come". Puritan writer Thomas Watson wrote, "God keeps open house for hungry sinners."

God's ongoing cry to the unbelieving world is "Come to Jesus!" This is our plea for family, friends, neighbors, fellow workers and it's the missions call to the entire human race. Jesus assured His disciples and through the Scriptures all of us, " My Father’s house has many rooms".

He continues to work through His church as He invites the world to come to His open house. His compassionate call is extended to everyone, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest". Elsewhere the call is expressed, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37). Consider the word "whosoever" as used in the Bible. Yet it is obvious that many, as He somberly acknowledged, "refuse to come to Me to have life".

As a minister of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ I extend the call to you, "Come to Jesus, come to God's open house". I know most readers have accepted Christ's invitation, but still we encourage you to examine your own heart in this matter.

For anyone reading this message who has never come to Jesus, He is speaking to your heart even now. Do not resist the Holy Spirit, rather accept God's saving grace for your own life. Start believing and living for Jesus. You are welcome to His open house.

Be encouraged today, ( Hebrews 3:13)

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Jesus, even as You breathed physical life into me at the moment of my conception, You breathed spiritual life into me at the moment of my second birth. You replaced the darkness I walked in as You awakened my soul to spiritual light. As I accepted Your invitation to come, You took my sins that were red like crimson and made them white as snow. May my life no longer be self-centered but Christ-centered as I now have the mind of Christ and view life from the eternal perspective. Keep me faithful and growing in Your wisdom, grace and compassion. Amen.

Here's a prayer of commitment to Jesus: Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and have not lived my life for You. I am among those who have refused to accept Your invitation to have new life. I now want to turn away from darkness as I desire Your forgiveness so I come to You who gives life everlasting. I accept You as my personal Savior who died on the cross for me. Please forgive all my sins, especially for rejecting You time after time when Your Spirit was drawing me to Yourself. I do believe You are the Son of God and that You love me so much You are not willing that I should perish but You want me to inherit eternal life. I want to live for You and grow in my new spiritual life. Help me to know the purpose and meaning for my life as laid out in Scripture. Give me understanding and growth as I devote myself to reading the Bible, daily prayer, and fellowship with other Christian believers.

Additional musing: Today let us imagine two different kinds of "open houses".

What if there was an open house in heaven? You could visit for an hour or so to see if this is the kind of place you would like to spend eternity. Let's imagine an angelic realtor walking you through and showing you the benefits of living for God and having this place as your eternal residence. The biggest challenge being that the guests just wanted to abandon their current living quarters and move in immediately!

Or, what if there was an open house in hell? A minion of Satan would serve as realtor and... well I really don't even want to imagine how his pitch would go! The guests complain about the heat and the burning sulfur smell and want to get out as soon as possible and never return.

Furthermore imagine if guests had the opportunity to go to both open houses and then make the choice?

Well, of course I am just imagining. That's not the way God has worked it out. From the beginning His plan for our eternal destination is in direct correlation to our faith in Christ. Will we believe what God and His Word says?

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"The Father's House" Click to watch on YouTube Click to watch on YouTube Cory Asbury

Lay your burdens down
Here in the Father's house
Check your shame at the door
'Cause it ain't welcome anymore
You're in the Father's house

"There's Joy In The House Of The Lord" Click to watch on YouTube Phil Wickham

This is one of our favorite songs to begin a church service!

We worship the God who was
We worship the God who is
We worship the God who evermore will be
He opened the prison doors
He parted the raging sea
My God, He holds the victory

There's joy in the house of the Lord
There's joy in the house of the Lord today
And we won't be quiet
We shout out Your praise

Audrey's Open House Monday, August 7, 2023 video

(see here on Google map for rural location where Audreys is located)

Here's another view of the corn canyon after getting to the end of our lead photo and turning. We have lots of great bike riding opportunities both rail trails and country roads but there's nothing quite like a ride through a corn canyon!
(Click on photo to enlarge.)

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