The Missed Invitation – Please RSVP

by Susan Mead, in category #DanceWithJesus Linkup, Faith

The invitation begins – Come, please join us for…

In this day of hurry up and I’m late, do we take time to open the invitation, much less respond to it? I confess – I’m guilty. I don’t have time, I’m in a hurry, I’ll get to it shortly are the words that tumble through my mind as the invitation gets tossed aside.

I overlook the invitation, misplace it or even lose it. Rest assured, many times, the event does not make it onto my calendar! And the event passes without me being present.

I recently missed my son’s fiancé’s sister’s (you followed that, right?!) wedding shower. My intentions to attend were good, yet, my actions spoke otherwise. And she is soon to be part of my family! Oh, my. Family.

What about the invitation our Father God extends to His sons and daughters? Have I misplaced it, disrespected it or totally ignored it? Or have I honorably RSVP’d with the date simply noted TBD? I pray I have responded – humbly and with a hunger to attend the Feast when His Son, Jesus, The Bridegroom, returns.

Your RSVP to God's invitation has eternal consequences, for we will meet God when we die – whether we know Him or not. I invite you to accept His invitation.

You may want to read His invitation for yourself. Come, all you who are thirsty, it begins…

Invitation to the Thirsty
55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”
Isaiah 55:1-5 (NIV)

Endowed you with splendor. Can you even imagine? Now here’s the best question – Do you want to attend THAT event? I do. I certainly do…

Yet am I making time to prepare for the coming of the Lord? Am I prioritizing my need to read God’s word each day to get to know Him better? If I have only a moment, am I feeding myself at least one verse each morning, so I can meditate on it all day long?

What if I meditate on one verse all week long with that ONE verse posted in prominent places? Doing just one verse each week has this outcome – 52 weeks later, I have 52 verses inscribed on my heart. Heartfelt words. Heartwarming sentiment. Heart = Love. God is Love personified.

[Tweet “Face God first before facing the world.”]

I recently read that somewhere. That sentence ended with even before you face your spouse and family!

Let God’s Word be the content for your conversations and the holder of your heart before words fall from your lips – and trip you up.

Let God’s Word be the content of your conversations and the holder of your heart before words fall from your lips – and trip you up.

Epilogue: Invitation and Warning
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.
Revelation 22:12-21(NIV)

The right to the tree of life.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

What a magnificent invitation! Accept His free gift.

Your RSVP to God’s invitation has eternal consequences, for we will meet God when we die – whether we know Him or not. I invite you to accept His invitation. I pray you know His Son, Jesus, as your Lord and Savior, for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

My reward is with Me. Amen, Come, Lord Jesus.

[Tweet “The Invitation. DanceWithJesus today”] [inlinkz_linkup id=710730 mode=1]

52 thoughts on “The Missed Invitation – Please RSVP”

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  2. I don’t ever want to misplace that invitation Susan. Oh what a day that will be, to live with my Savior and serve Him. May we always be ready when He comes to take us home. Thank you for this beautiful reminder. Have a wonderful weekend and God bless you and yours.

  4. I like that, “Face God before facing the world!” Great statement to live by. And we all know it’s true, but it’s so easy to miss a day, and then 2, and then … Thanks for reminding us all of the importance of not ignoring or misplacing His invitation (even though I have to admit I’ve missed a few of those day to day invitations, as well.

    1. Donna, yes it is so easy to miss – and misplace – our best intentions to God’s invitation. I admit I’ve missed more than I want to say, too. Hugs, Susan

  6. I love the idea of displaying one verse prominently each week, Susan. That doesn’t sound like much, but when you think of it as 52 verses in one year, it’s actually a lot! Beautiful thoughts about our need to respond to God’s invitation(s). Glad to be your neighbor this week at Purposeful Faith. 🙂

  7. It is good to be deliberate in what we do with our time… so often, it is easy to be controlled by all of the things that come up and “need” to be done, sometimes right away…. not bad things, but things that crowd out better things.

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  10. Susan, Oh that last verse in the passage from Isaiah! Just think of that! These were sweet words to hear today. Thank you for the reminder to pay attention to the invitation.

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  14. Oh Susan – I am so guilty of having good intention and RSVP-ing and often misplace the invite :/ yikes… even did that for a wedding I was performing – uh oh – but at least they knew I would be there. lol thanks for this reminder and thanks for hosting

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  17. Jesus is all about the invitation. That’s why I talk/write/muse on hospitality so much. Someone may only meet Him at our table, so invite invite invite. Great post, Susan!

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  19. This can hit home with all of us. I have invitations right now in my mail cubbie that I need to respond to and put on the calendar. It’s easy to let things slip. Thankfully God keeps inviting us if we don’t respond the first time!

    1. Lisa, I hear you and understand, as you can tell from my words. Oh, how the enemy slips in and distracts us…but God…Hugs, Susan

    1. Oh Sherry, I love the beautiful prayers you pray over me. Thank you. Freshed and refreshed and increased reach. Amen and ditto for you. Hugs, Susan

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    1. Rosanna, thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. May I invite you to join us each week? The DanceWithJesus linkup starts each Friday at SusanBMead.com/blog. It would be an honor for others to see your words, too. Hugs, Susan

  28. How lovely reading this here , Susan. I wrote a whole Bible Study on this last month! It’s wonderful how many Invitations​ Jesus offers us.
    How have you been?
    Have a great weekend.
    God bless

    1. Hello Ifeoma! It’s so lovely seeing you here today and what confirmation that you also wrote about the invitation Jesus offers us. Hugs, Susan

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