Daily Devotionals

Ghost: Week 5 - Thursday

When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 

Romans 12:13

Have you ever gone over to another person's house and they weren't ready for company? You were excited about hanging out, but when you got to their house, they were still cleaning, debating what to cook, or they might have forgotten you were coming altogether. These types of people tend to get busy and miss the importance of hospitality.

The Holy Spirit gives a supernatural gift of hospitality. People who have this supernatural gift are easy to spot because they are always making people feel welcomed. When they walk into a space, they can light up a room because they naturally draw other people out into conversation. You might be thinking that the gift of hospitality was limited to extroverts, but it is not. There have been many introverted people that God gives the ability to think through details on how to make people feel welcome. They set the table, prepare a space, and pray that God will use their home, the church, or the event they are hosting to make Christ known. When a person puts the gift of hospitality into practice, they take up the towel and serve others just as Jesus did. The night before Jesus died on the cross, He washed the feet of the disciples to prepare for the meal. He took on the role of a servant and set an example for each one of us.

Every weekend at Sagebrush, we have people on our Guest Services team that live out this gift. At every location, we have committed volunteers who make people feel welcomed and cared for. They embody that heart of service that we see in Jesus when He took up the towel. We have Small Group leaders who open up their homes and invite people in to study the Bible. We have people who serve setting up, cleaning, and preparing all of our locations to welcome our guests each weekend. Without this level of hospitality, we could never reach as many people as we do. If you have a spirit that sees a need and is ready to help, it’s time to use your gift of hospitality to make a difference. Find your sweet spot at Sagebrush and change the world with us!

Moving Toward Action

If you know you have the gift of hospitality and are currently not plugged in, we want to encourage you to serve on our Guest Services Team. New people decide within the first seven minutes of coming to a church whether or not they will return next week. In the first seven minutes, they haven't heard our worship, the preaching, or picked up their kids from Kids Planet. They make this decision based on how clean, organized, and friendly our church is. This is why our Guest Services Team is so important. If you are interested in serving, you can go to the Decisions Tab of our app or get signed up at one of our weekend services. Take some time to think about how you can practice hospitality this week.

Going Deeper

Read Romans 12:1-13 (NLT)

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.