“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” —Matthew 10:40
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Another word for “receives” is “welcomes”—so, reading this scripture passage in a different way: whoever welcomes me as a follower of Jesus, also welcomes Jesus, as well as God, who sent Jesus to us all. I like this passage, because it establishes a bond between believers like you and me, Jesus and God. God initiated the bond by sending Jesus to us, and we make a decision to welcome Him and be a follower of Jesus. Then, anytime we take the step of going out—and we are welcomed by others—we are expanding that bond by giving others the opportunity to welcome Jesus and the one who sent Him, God. The circle is complete, yet goes on and on as long as we continue to step out in faith and offer the love of Jesus to others.
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Christmas time is the perfect time to show others that we are excited about welcoming Jesus into our lives. Anytime we are invited to a party and are welcomed into someone else’s home during this Christmas season, we should remember that whoever so kindly welcomed us also welcomed Jesus and the one who sent Him, God. This gives me a new purpose with each and every Christmas party I attend this season. I have a mission—to be God’s messenger and show my love for Jesus so that those who so kindly welcomed me will also be welcoming Jesus and God into their homes. In that way, others will have the opportunity to receive the blessing of participating in God’s Kingdom here on earth. What an awesome and profound responsibility we have as we “party” our way through this Christmas season.
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Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us know that each of us believers have such a valuable part to play in your kingdom work. Even when all we are doing is attending a Christmas party, help us remember we are always there as your messenger. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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Theresa Sandifer