{"id":9908,"date":"2022-02-25T02:57:19","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T02:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/?p=9908"},"modified":"2022-02-25T02:57:20","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T02:57:20","slug":"the-chief-guest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/?p=9908","title":{"rendered":"The Chief Guest"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Read and meditate on Revelation 3:14-22<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat\u00a0<\/span><\/i>with them, and them with me.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0<\/span> (Revelation 3:20<\/a>)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We are seeing that we are inescapably social beings. Whenever we try to live on a \u2018they-I\u2019 basis we live outside the basic laws of our being. We are made to relate not only to God but also to others. \u2018It is not good for man to be alone\u2019, said God in Genesis 2:18<\/a>. Genesis 1:27<\/a> tells us, \u2018So God created man in his image \u2026 male and female he created them\u2019. Created in God\u2019s image humanity is called to reflect that image through \u2018male and female\u2019. Some believe this refers to the institution of marriage, but it refers also to the larger issue that within the God-given joy of being unique individuals we can know what it is to be a true human only in relation to others. Our relationship with our fellow human beings as well as with God have helped to make us who we are. Those who do not feel they belong have no clear sense of identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

David F. Ford, in The Shape of Living<\/i>, speaks of the \u2018community of the heart\u2019 made up of all the voices and faces we have given a home to. Many of these are permanent and welcome residents, giving warmth and nourishment when we think of them. Other voices and faces make us feel less comfortable, bringing a challenge to our conscience or a sting to our memory. Inside us live the faces and voices of those who built us up, energised us, believed in us. But alongside them also are the faces and voices of those who put us down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet no matter how many negative faces and voices we have seen and heard, when Christ lives in our hearts as the Chief Guest, he enlarges our capacity for heart-hospitality. Through His love working in us, we can extend our boundaries to give a touch and taste of Jesus to all we meet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus Christ, fill and expand my heart. Let Your face, Your voice make me into Your own image.
\nFor Your own dear name\u2019s sake.
\nAmen<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

a devotion by Selwyn Hughes – supplied by Jan Ingram<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Read and meditate on Revelation 3:14-22] \u201cIf anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat\u00a0with them, and them with me.\u201d\u00a0 (Revelation 3:20) We are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,3,27,71,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-faith","category-good-news","category-kingdom","category-relationships"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9909,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9908\/revisions\/9909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}