Quotes about Invitation

And then, most of all, I hope you see Jesus's invitation to be a force for good in the world, to wake up to our calling, to be saved in all of the ways that matter most. —Rob Bell     November 2011

THE PASTURE I'm going out to clean the pasture spring; I'll only stop to rake the leaves away (And wait to watch the water clear, I may): I sha'n't be gone long. — You come too. I'm going out to fetch the little calf That's standing by the mother. It's so young, It totters when she licks it with her tongue. I sha'n't be gone long. — You come too.

What, then, does Christ's invitation mean? It doesn't mean He'll make life as easy as a cruise; instead, He promises to equip us for the long hike. How? By giving us the knowledge and wisdom we need to take the next step at each point on the journey.

We can't change—or better said, invite God to change us—when we are unaware and do not see the truth.

The rule of God comes to us as individuals, one by one. We invite his reign; we obey his voice.

Whatever condition you may find yourself in today or any other day of your life, God's invitation is "Come!" His invitation does not require us to be in any particular condition to meet with Him. If we have been good or bad, happy or sad, glad or mad, the invitation is still simply "come.

We have free access to God. We can go before Him anytime we want to. We don't need a special invitation. The throne room is always open, God is always home, He is never napping or on the phone. We can go boldly, expecting Him to meet our need and do it willingly and joyfully.

Sabbath is not simply the pause that refreshes. It is the pause that transforms. Whereas Israelites are always tempted to acquisitiveness, Sabbath is an invitation to receptivity, an acknowledgment that what is needed is given and need not be seized.

There's one thing that 82 percent of all unchurched people can't seem to resist. It cuts through their defenses and penetrates their barriers. According to surveys at LifeWay Research, 82 percent of them seem to have a single weakness: if a friend, or someone they know, invites them to church. Reread that: 82 percent of all unchurched people would come to church this weekend if they were invited by a friend.

Preachers who pride themselves on never giving a public invitation to be saved, never calling for a response of any kind, reveal not greater fidelity to the gospel but a lack of faith in its power.

God is always seeking you. Every sunset. Every clear blue sky. Each ocean wave. The starry hosts of night. He blankets each new day with the invitation, 'I am here.'

Problems are invitations. They allow us to have encounters and experiences that enable us to discover who God is for us.