I later came to understand that this young man, a carpenter from Ireland, was operating in a gift of the Holy Spirit that the Scripture calls the “word of wisdom” Corinthians 12:8 The end result of the Samaritan woman’s story was also mine, in that my dramatic transformation, and to the Glory to God!

The Lord’s table is both a place to which He invites us to sup with Him and receive an ongoing revelation of His deep love for us, and also an expression of our own tables — tables of hospitality, where we, as personal expressions of His heart and grace, welcome the lost.

I had heard that song often in those years, and I was unable to fully enter into its message. In sheer desperation, I cried out to God: “Please help me to connect to You now and to worship You in Spirit and in truth! I can’t get there on my own.”

The chair was beautifully carved with my name on it and covered in subtle but intricate decoration — all of these being expressions dear to my heart. I was so undone that my Savior was pulling out a chair for me, that I cried out in the vision: “Oh no, Jesus, it is I who should be serving You!” But He responded: “This is My table. And at My table, you are My guest.”🥲

I was so engrossed in the table and décor that I did not immediately lift my gaze, but when I did, I gasped; on the other side of the table, barely yards from where I stood, there was a battlefield. And on that battlefield, the enemy was arrayed, although I could not make him out clearly. There was also the detritus of battle. Although it seems a little bit foolish now, I cried out: “Why does the enemy not rush at us and knock over the table?” I then heard a crisp snapping sound above my head.

Here the vision ended. I’m sure you can see the parallels to both Psalm 23:5 and Song of Solomon 2:4. ❤️Our God sets a table for us in the very presence of our enemies.

Over the years, I have been reminded of this table, and the memory has ministered to me in different ways.

❤️Second, as I respond and sit with the Lord in this place at the table, He also speaks to me about the fact that His table is open to all.

With whom are we willing to fellowship? Are there some who are already welcome at our table, while others would first have to change in order to be accepted by us, Jesus’ representatives on earth, before they can sit with us?

I heard the testimony of a woman named Joy Clarke. She and her husband, Ace, had been in a biker gang. She described her defiling initiation at the hands of the gang leaders, their perverse and drug-hazed existence, and the sovereign way that God brought her out of all that through the kindness of a radically loving group of Baptist women in a small town. These women reached out to her with the love of God, without requiring that she change her dress or her speech, or even that she leave her immoral and broken lifestyle. They gently discipled her into the kingdom, allowing the Holy Spirit to sanctify her in His way, and in His time. God moved powerfully through Joy, a gifted singer and speaker, as she then described the supernatural salvation of her boyfriend, Ace. At the time of that conference, they were in full-time ministry together: Joy as a singer-songwriter and speaker, and Ace as a fiery evangelist taking the gospel back into the biker community.

Are we ready for the Joys and the Aces and the Rosarias to come hungering for hope and thirsting for living water as God continues to draw broken people to Himself in this outpouring? Are we ready for the transgendered ones to arrive looking for acceptance and mercy and healing? Are we ready to minister His love to cross-dressers, the radical LGBTQ community, the addicted, all who are hungry for a Father’s love? Can we put aside preconceived notions, fears, prejudices, and sheer discomfort, to receive for the Lamb the reward of His suffering? Are we willing to make a place for them at our tables so that they can join the Lord at His table?

His exhortation for us to continually be filled Ephesians 5:18 this can happen at His table, even in the face and in the midst of our enemies, and amid our trials and the distractions of daily life. He pours oil on our heads — a scriptural picture of the Holy Spirit — and He fills our cups with Himself, the Living Water that then flows out of our inmost being to a lost, broken, and dying world Psalm 23:5; and for a fresh take on this verse, see also The Passion Translation