"Friend, 'he asked, 'how is it that you are here
without wedding clothes?"
Matthew 22:12
without wedding clothes?"
Matthew 22:12
My Take Aways
Something Old:
The leading priests and religious leaders must not have had much to do because they followed Jesus everywhere.
Something New:
The case of the hypocrites is represented by the quest that had not a wedding garment.
The hypocrites/pretenders are the ones who did not have do not have faith in Christ. The wedding feast is salvation. The wedding garment is righteousness of Christ, sanctification.
Something to Do:
Walk the talk I talk. Wear a cross of faith not fashion. Don't pretend.
11 Comments:
I'm so glad you highlighted that passage Wendy, because I was struggling to understand it's meaning.
Two phrases caught my attention today, and both carry a similar theme.
Matthew 21:32, "For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn't believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins."
Matthew 22: 5, "But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business."
Truth refused and ignored. Going our own way. No repentance.
A very dear friend sent me this quote on Friday, "The truest most acceptable repentance is to reverse the acts and attitudes of which we repent." Tozer
There is an intentional choice that has to be made. I don't know about all of you ladies, but I sometimes know what God wants me to do in a certain area, but my propensity to personal pleasure pulls stronger. I have behaved just like the invited guests who "went their own way".
The example of the man who asked his sons to "go", "work", "today" (Matt.21:28), God is calling me to do the same. I would often much rather stay where I am, relax and put off any change for later. Yes, following Christ is hard. We can't go with Christ and stay where we are, it's impossible.
Lord, give me a want to and a willingness to throw off everything that hinders my walk with You. May I not refuse or ignore the truth You speak to my heart, but truly repent,
Joy
I was confused by this story until I looked it up in my study Bible. I had pictured servants heading out to the streets and pulling in whomever was there, with no time to go home and prepare, and so I was confused as to why the king would then complain about how they arrived. My Bible says, however, that it was customary for the hosts to give each guest special clothing for the wedding, and to refuse it was a horrible insult, was to say that one was too good to wear the chosen clothing. It was also customary for the host to offer those two invitations, but in this story the king went above and beyond and offered three, just as God is constantly calling us. The whole story makes much more sense to me now!
Thanks for sharing about it, Wendy! I voted for your son's school - best of luck with the stadium!
Good morning, GIGs,
Wendy, your message helped me today to better understand today's reading as well as yesterday's preaching at church. When we feel as though we are walking with the Lord, such messages can feel insulting or, at the very least, not inspiring. But, sometimes we are moved by inspiring messages, and sometimes from getting "our toes stepped on". In either case, the key word is MOVE. We (I) should always be moving towards improving our walk, not resting on our laurels. I vow today to improve in some way, be in thought, attitude, actions or words, and hopefully in all four!!
Have a blessed, 4:8 day all.
Go Warriors (down to # 2 today :-(
Peace and Gratitude,
Michelle in New England
Happy Monday All ~ and Bless you sweet sister, Wendy! I for one, could not wait to listen this morning. This just might be the very first day, that I had not one thing hi- lighted or even underlined in my chapters! You brought, “The Story of the Great Feast” alive! Thank you! I can’t wait to go back now and reread it. The narrow and straight path that leads to ‘The Wedding Feast’ is a Godly path - daily, yes, every single day, we need to wake up and choose to be on it. Surefooted. If we don’t,- Satan will be there whispering –go to the right…go to the left….It’s a choice we need to be intentional about. With the world surrounding us – the glitz – we have to remain focused on our goal – our purpose. Seeing to know Him more. Furthering His Kingdom.
*Reading His precious Word, studying it
*Filling ourselves us to the brim with the Holy Spirit
*Asking for a Spirit of wisdom and revelation to be given to us - daily
*Anticipating his voice
*Thanking him for giving us open and willing ears to hear him
*praising Him throughout the day
*thanking Him throughout the day
*conversing (praying) with him throughout the day
*watching with anticipation – when He reveals himself to us
*Sharing the God moments with others
And, how will we know we are not being hypocritical? Words that I read recently from a book that Melanie Chitwood wrote said:
“Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words’ they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”
Are the words we are saying coming out as kind, true and necessary? Or, are we pleasing those around us? Lord, I do want to please you. In my weakness you are my strength. Thank you for everything.
God’s Word is exciting – continually, it comes alive for me. Seeking to live it with today!
Love you girls’!!! Lori
I had to pop back in and give Lysa credit for her words: “kind, true & necessary” –about a month ago she wrote a morning devo that really pierced me! It was about the words we use, and just about a week prior to that - Beth Moore wrote a poem on her blog re: words used. Both of these ladies made such an impression on me. I have challenged myself, - daily to use words that are kind, true, and necessary. God has revealed so much to me through this desire to radically obey him with every single word that comes out of my mouth. Frankly, I can honestly say, my words have been fewer! Smile
Hugs,
lori
Thank you for the great commentary about the wedding feast Wendy. It really enriches the reading. My thoughts:
"For many are called..."
What drowns out that call? --the world, selfishness, pride, power, laziness, despair? What closes my heart to the stirrings of the Spirit who is calling me, inviting me, to get myself dressed and partake of the Kingdom every single day?
And what opens my heart to that call? --study and reading the Word, Mass and the sacraments, prayer and meditation, Godly friends.
"...but few are chosen."
To be chosen I have to make the first move, I must choose to want to be there. I have the choice to enter and partake, or to stay outside, separated. I can participate in His Kingdom, wholeheartedly present, or not at all. There is no in-between, no watching from the sidelines.
What do I choose today?
I am thankful that every day of my life God is renewing that invitation, and every day I have another chance to RSVP!
Monday Blessings,
Jacque
What a blessing you all are this morning. Wendy you look very well rested, I'm so excited that you had that time away with your BFF.
The reading this weekend showed Jesus crying over Jerusalem. It is because the Jews missed the significance of Jesus' riding in the donkey. Here is an excerpt from Chuck Missler explaining it.
The First 69 Weeks (Dan 9:25)
A very specific prediction occurs in verse 25: Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
This includes a mathematical prophecy...the Jewish (and Babylonian) calendars used a 360-day year; 69 weeks of 360-day years totals 173,880 days. In effect, Gabriel told Daniel that the interval between the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until the presentation of the Messiah as King would be 173,880 days.
Bull's-Eye!
The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 B.C. (The emphasis in the verse on "the street" and "the wall" was to avoid confusion with other earlier mandates confined to rebuilding the Temple.)
During the ministry of Jesus Christ there were several occasions in which the people attempted to promote Him as king, but He carefully avoided it: "Mine hour is not yet come".
Then, one day, He meticulously arranges it. On this particular day he rode into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey, deliberately fulfilling a prophecy by Zechariah that the Messiah would present Himself as king in just that way:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zechariah 9:9
Whenever we might easily miss the significance of what was going on, the Pharisees come to our rescue. They felt that the overzealous crowd was blaspheming, proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah the King. However, Jesus endorsed it!
I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Luke 19:40
This is the only occasion that Jesus presented Himself as King. It occurred on April 6, 32 A.D.9
When we examine the period between March 14, 445 B.C. and April 6, 32 A.D., and correct for leap years, we discover that it is 173,880 days exactly, to the very day!
How could Daniel have known this in advance? How could anyone have contrived to have this detailed prediction documented over three centuries in advance? But there's more.
....
As Jesus approached the city on the donkey, He also predicted the destruction of Jerusalem:
For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Luke 19:43-44
The Messiah was, of course, executed at the Crucifixion..."but not for Himself."
The city and the sanctuary were destroyed 38 years later when the Roman legions under Titus Vespasian leveled the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, precisely as Daniel and Jesus had predicted. In fact, as one carefully examines Jesus' specific words, it appears that He held them accountable to know this astonishing prophecy in Daniel 9! "Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."
-----
Today's reading reminded us that when we come to God, we have to be dressed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and Him alone. He is the wedding garment that we need to wear. There is no other way, no other prophet, no other saint, none of our "good" deeds. Just Jesus.
Like you, Jacque, I thank Him for the invitation.
Warriors are #2 right now.
Wendy great lesson today. I have never seen the Wedding Feast described so well. I pray that my words and actions will portray Him and Him alone. He is my All in All and without Him I am nothing. I want people to see that in me. Thanks so much for sharing your heart with us.
Blessings, Darlene.
Hi ladies,
I come asking for your continued prayers. My mom has spoken with her travel agent and if there is not significant improvement in her foot by Wed, she is not planning on going to Jerusalem on Friday like she is supposed to. I am feeling pretty lost in all this - my mom has been my inspiration in my spiritual life and this has been her dream for so long. I don't know why these circumstances are being allowed to continue. I keep praying for some kind of breakthrough. I am heartbroken for her....
Also, my doctor's appointment was once again disappointing. My doctor is stumped. She doesn't know what's wrong. All the x-rays and blood tests keep coming up normal and yet I hurt. She has given me some medications to try and a referral to a sports med doctor. Sigh...my faith is small today.
Finally, one of my close friend's father who has cancer is once again, not doing very well. He has had a long battle - we have been standing in the gap for his miracle, but the wait is so long and his health is very fragile right now.
I would really appreciate your prayers at this time,
Jodie from Ottawa
Posting late today! I started my day off wrong and the whole day kinda slid by....
I finally get the verses about the image of Ceasar on the coin...so give to Ceasar what is his; well, we are made in God's image...so we are His!
It took me reading Courson's commentary to understand these verses.
Good night all; hoping to start tomorrow off correctly.
Morgen
Wendy,
I voted for your school, and in doing so, I saw that our local middle school is also in competition. However, I voted for the Warriors b/c no one had mentioned about Holmes. I looked through several of the schools' pleas for $. Having just retired from being a high school teacher, I was amazed at all the schools in competition. I would love to see you guys win. I'll vote each day.
I can hardly wait until Monday gets here, so I can learn something new from you in God's Word. I, too, struggled with understanding about the wedding garment. I just thank God that He placed you in our lives to help us understand.
I am a graduate of Appalachian State University, and my husband and I love to go up with friends for a week-end before Christmas and shop in Blowing Rock. A group of women from my church USED to go up for a week-end of shopping and fellowship. ;)
Jodie of Ottawa, I have you on my mind with your mom's situation. Maybe God does not want her to leave; He knows what we don't. I pray that you will be able to have relief from your pain so that you can rest. I am reminded of the verse I have memorized since I have been having little sleep---my new grandson, Will, is here; so I go over and stay during the night so that my daughter can sleep. She had a C section. Will was 10 lb.4oz. and now 12 lbs...not a good sleeper, pretty fussy. :(
ANYWAY the scripture is Ps. 62:1-2.
I think of you as my Laura is having a rough time also. I just do a lot of praying in the wee hours of the morning. ;)
Rhonda, you had asked about Laura---yes, Will is here in full force. ;) Thank the Lord!!!!!! Thank you for asking.
Wanting to live to be chosen,
Jeanne, NC
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