Summer of Depth Devotional Day 11
Welcome to Day 11 of our Summer of Depth Devotional and Reading Plan. As you begin today, take a moment to slow down and become aware of God’s presence. Before the conversations, responsibilities, and distractions of the day take over, ask the Holy Spirit to quiet your heart. Invite Him to speak through His Word and to help you see people the way Jesus sees them. Sometimes the deepest work God wants to do in us begins around an ordinary conversation.
Now, let’s dive deep into His Word.
Before anything else, slow down and read: Mark 2:13–22.
One of the first things Levi does after Jesus calls him is throw a dinner party. It’s an interesting response. He doesn’t organize a Bible study and He doesn’t have all the answers yet. He simply opens his home and invites the people he knows to come meet Jesus.
The guest list makes the religious leaders uncomfortable. Tax collectors. Sinners. People they had already decided weren’t worth sitting beside. But Jesus doesn’t seem uncomfortable at all. In fact, He looks completely at home around the table.
It’s hard to ignore how often Jesus shares meals with people throughout the Gospels. Around tables, conversations slow down. Questions get asked. Stories get told. Walls begin to come down. Long before someone understands everything about Jesus…they experience what it’s like to simply be with Him.
That makes this passage worth considering in our own lives. Who would be on the other side of your table? Is there someone you’ve been meaning to spend time with but life just keeps getting in the way? Maybe hospitality doesn’t have to be complicated. Maybe it simply begins by making enough room in our schedules to be fully present with someone else.
Prayer
Jesus, thank You for welcoming people who were often overlooked or pushed aside. Grow that same heart in us. Slow us down enough to notice the people You’ve placed around us, and help us create space for conversations where Your love can be seen and experienced. Teach us to be present the way You were present. Amen.
