Month: September 2025

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Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.”
Luke 14:12

What Humility Looks Like

“Walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). So wrote God’s Old Testament prophet, Micah. What does humility look like in your life? Walking humbly does not mean letting people walk all over you. But it does mean that the wants and needs of your neighbor are going to come before your own.

When Jesus says, “Do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors,” is he saying we should never have our friends or family over for dinner? Of course not. Jesus is speaking to the attitude behind our service. He is saying that humble service does not expect repayment from those you serve.

We are not to invite others into our company to impress them or win power struggles. We are to serve others in their weaknesses. Followers of Jesus are to view their homes and churches not like they are country clubs. But rather, we are to view them as hospitals where people can receive care for their hurting spirit within them.

We’re not inviting people into our company expecting to get something in return. We’re inviting them in because there’s a spiritual war going on out there, and we’re all getting attacked and injured. We all need to be healed by hearing again the good news that “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

An unselfish attitude will naturally lead to unselfish actions.

Again, what does this look like? Where there is hunger, we bring food. Where there is loneliness, we bring love. Where there is doubt and despair, we bring hope and assurance. Where there is conflict, we bring forgiveness and peace. Where there is sickness, we rush to Jesus in prayer.

When you see the needs of others in plain sight, you can humbly serve them. Helping another human being as Jesus served and helped you is the most rewarding experience life has to offer.

Prayer:

Jesus, empower me to act justly; to love mercy; and to walk humbly with you today. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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When [Jesus] noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor. . . But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests.”
Luke 14:7,8,10

Reserved for the Humble

You made it! You are at a venue to see your favorite performer live in concert! But when you get to your seat, far away from the stage, you discover your view is blocked. You are crushed. But then, before the show starts, personal representatives of the performer approach you and ask you to follow them. They lead you all the way to the front row! The performer ensured that front row seats were reserved for those with a blocked view. You didn’t pay for front row seats, but thanks to the performer’s awareness of your situation and over-the-top kindness in remedying your situation, you enjoy up close the best performance you’ve ever seen!

There is an old song that goes: “It’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.” But if that were true, we would be able to perfectly control the attitudes of our hearts—never having a selfish attitude, never losing our temper, never looking down on others, and always being one hundred percent willing to help others with their problems. Our own hearts have a blocked view of godly attitudes, thoughts, and living.

But Jesus, the Son of God, is fully aware of what’s blocking our hearts. In his over-the-top kindness, he paid the high price to remove us from all the sins that are blocking our hearts from God and ushers us right up to the front row in God’s presence. “Friend, move up to a better place.”

It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? You are not a nobody living up in the nosebleed seats. You are the Son of God’s honored guest, able to see up close God’s out-of-this-world blessings for you. Friend of Jesus, move up to the best place and enjoy Jesus’ blessings of grace, peace, honor, and joy!

Prayer:

Son of God, fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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When [Jesus] noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.”
Luke 14:7-9

Know Your Place at the Table

Imagine that you are at a wedding reception. It’s time for the dinner to be served, and one of the guests sits down at the head table right next to the groom. That would be an embarrassing moment because everybody knows that spot is reserved for the “Best Man.” It would be arrogant of that guest to think he deserves to sit next to the groom more than the other guests.

This is the arrogant attitude Jesus noticed among the people who had been invited to a banquet. And this is the attitude that lurks under the surface of our own hearts, too. We want to be more important and more honored than those around us.

But what an insult to God, the Lord of all, when we act like we’re lords over the people God created. What are we but dust and ashes without God? And yet sinful pride believes that God ought to feel lucky to have us at his banquet.

How can we stamp ugly pride out of our lives? Going along with Jesus’ example of a banquet, the answer could be worded this way: Know your place at the table! You are not the king of the castle. You are the King’s guest.

Humility comes from recognizing that everything we are is a gift from God. If we have a place at God’s table, it’s only ours by grace.

You do have a place at God’s table! Jesus, the Groom, has personally invited you to sit next to him in a seat of honor! The Bible says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of [Christ] the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for raising me up to enjoy a seat at your heavenly table. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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[Jesus said] “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 14:11

Humility Rules

What do you think would happen if a teacher announced to her class of twenty, eight-year-olds, “Line up, class! The first ten in line will get an ice cream cone.” Will those children calmly and politely line up for ice cream? Will they insist that others go in front of them? Hardly! They will start pushing and shoving each other in their race to get to the front of the line.

In this cut-throat world, where everyone seems to be out for themselves, where if you don’t toot your own horn, someone else is going to run over you, Jesus teaches a shocking truth. In his world, humility rules.

This is a lesson that doesn’t come naturally to any of us. We want to think we can run our lives without any help. Sinful pride within us all says, “Me first and everybody else second.” Sinful pride believes: Exalt yourself and you win, humble yourself and you lose.

And what does such an arrogant attitude lead to? Disgrace. Jesus said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.”

When it comes to getting in line for heaven, selfish ambition and self-promotion do not get us to the front of the line. In fact, if we were to rely on ourselves to get into the mansions of heaven, our perfect God would have to say, “I saw how you treated those people around you. I saw how you hurt them with your unkind words, selfish behavior, and belittling attitude. Your sins have disqualified you from heaven.”

How astounded we are, then, to witness how the Son of God gave up his rightfully earned place of honor in heaven and willingly sacrificed his life to exalt us to heaven, even though we haven’t deserved it. And by his resurrection, Jesus proved that he has truly won a place of honor for us at God’s table in heaven.

This is the cause of our humble attitude before God. We are so humbled that our Lord Jesus humbled himself to show us such undeserved kindness. Even as you live in this cut-throat world, find your true value in the place of honor Jesus has won for you.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, accept my gratitude for your humble service and exalting love. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.