Matthew 22:18
   Jesus knew what they were trying to do. Being omniscient, he would know their motives. However, given his experience with them, he surely did not have to rely on his omniscience much to see through this plot. He rebuked their attempt to tempt him to hear flattery.

Bible Reading: Numbers 22:1-24:25

Scripture Memory: James 1:26 “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your knowledge. You have worked so much in our lives. How can we ever thank You enough? It is enough for us just to know You. To be able to depend upon you for life and strength. You are my hope and peace. You bring joy to my heart. All of the good that I have comes from You. May Your name be praised! May adoration for You continually be my theme! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a couple that needs to be in church. Pray for those involved in a near-fatal stabbing indecent. Pray for the lost.

Journal Entry #14150

Matthew 22:17
   They ask what he thinks.Why? What is the purpose of that little question before their main question? Why is it missing from their other ‘trick questions’? The answer is, quite simply, that they were trying to set up the answer. They wanted his answer to be, very clearly, his own opinion on the subject. They did not just want a commentary on Mosaic law. They wanted to hear what he thought personally about this issue. They wanted him to say that he did not think it was appropriate to pay the tribute. They wanted him to be tripped up, incriminated by his own words.

Bible Reading: Numbers 19:1-21:35

Scripture Memory: James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for another day to serve You in Your wonderful world. Though seriously damaged by sin, this world is an amazing place. You have made it all by Your power and for Your glory. May I live to be a glory to You in Your earth, and in Your heaven. I want to be a good citizen of eternity. I want to begin even now training for the future of my life hundreds of thousands of years from now, by which time time itself will have been nothing to me for a very long time. Oh that will be glory! To live for all of it working for You in your great new world, what a thought that is! May I live down here as I will live in that day. All through Jesus is possible. My Jesus I love You, and I know you are mine. May I always serve You as You have served me. You deserve my whole life on the altar of service to You. In that service I am full of joy and peace because I know that I am serving the Righteous Humble Suffering Servant of Almighty God. May He be praised forever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a young woman with Lyme disease. Pray for a man having medical tests run. Pray for an elderly man with several health issues.

Journal Entry #14149

Matthew 22:16
   It is not completely clear who the Herodians were exactly. However, it is safe to say that the Jewish leaders were ‘stacking the deck’ by selecting them. Whatever else they may have been, they were most assuredly a politically influential group. Thus, mixed with the disciples of the Pharisees, this a volatile crowd for the question which they were to put to him.
   The flattery that they begin with was a very empty attempt to butter him up. The Jewish leaders should have known that such tricks would not work with Christ.

Bible Reading: Numbers 16:1-18:32

Scripture Memory: James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are at the apex of existence! to understand You is to understand the cosmos. To be one with You is to be in perfect harmony with our grandest theme. You give us something to live for, for You are why we live to begin with. Thank You for making Your plan plain to us. Thank You for having a program for our lives. You are so gracious, kind, and good! May I praise You forever! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for several people looking for a church to attend. Pray for a man’s wife who may have cancer. Pray for a pastor in Kenya who is not feeling well.

Journal Entry #14148

Matthew 22:15
   The Pharisees fancied that they themselves were the best of all religiously. Being more righteous, then, they thought that surely they could find a weakness in the teachings of Christ. If nothing else, they though that they could trip him up if they planned it skillfully ahead of time. This is likely how they had dealt with many a problem before, entrapping those they wished to influence in some kind of mind game. But, this was doomed to fail with Christ. His doctrine is altogether true. His words are sure and steadfast. His logic is impeccable. They stood not a chance.

Bible Reading: Numbers 14:1-15:41

Scripture Memory: James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are so very wonderful! May we never try out-think You. You have all the wisdom of the ages and more. We can learn so much from Your gentle care. We can glean all we need for life from Your Word through the guiding of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for the truth! Truth is so much easier to understand, defend, and embrace than lies. Lies seem good at first, but they stab a person in the back. Thank You for being honest with us. Thank You for You Son Jesus that You sent here to die for us. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who just had a heart attack and has had kidney trouble. Pray for a woman who does not feel well. Pray for a family that is traveling.

Journal Entry #14147

Matthew 22:14
   To many has the gospel come. Great multitudes of the tribes and families and peoples and nations have heard. The sound of the gospel has gone out into the farthest reaches of the globe. And yet, there are many who have not believed. Many have heard the call to Christ and failed to respond in faith. Some have feigned faith, but are not genuine. Some have deceived themselves, thinking that they have faith, but have accepted man’s doctrines instead of the Bible as it is. So, many have been called, but few shall be chosen.

Bible Reading: Numbers 11:1-13:33

Scripture Memory: James 1:24 “For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Your strength is our stay. We must have You, and more of You each day. Knowing You, having a relationship with You, is the key to really living life. Without that vital connection, our life is dried up. You are the Eternal One, and You connect us to eternity. You bring us out of our pettiness, and into something far more vital and fresh. Thank You for Christ in our lives. He is the fountain of all blessings. May we serve You, Lord, all day. May we never stop thanking You, and praising You, for Who You are and what You have done. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for two families who just lost loved ones. Pray for a man who had a stroke. Pray for a family that is traveling.

Journal Entry #14146

Matthew 22:13
   Some may take offense at this verse. Jesus here seems to break away from his illustration and interject a divine punishment that no earthly king would have at his disposal. But, one must remember, the kings of the earth would not fail to use this punishment if it was available. The capital punishments that we find in history, whether in the Bible or outside of it, were of a very horrible nature. Crucifixion, sawing asunder, hanging, being drawn and quartered, flaying alive, etc. These are horrific forms of torture and execution, and all have been carried out in the name of justice.
   Indeed, compared to human judgments, the throwing of a person into ‘outer darkness’ might be considered merciful. Why? Because an all-powerful God could do more. He could annihilate people. He could doom them to any number of things. It seems, however, that the worst part of this condemnation will be the remorse and guilt associated with the finality of the person’s state. Weeping and gnashing of teeth refer to the person’s reaction to being in ‘outer darkness’ which tells us that they will be conscious of their existence in a hopeless state of being. I am not trying to minimize the fires of hell, but the worst of it will be the realization that Almighty God is the Source of all Good, and those who have chosen against him are doomed to be goodless (I know that is not a word, but it gets the gist of it) for all of eternity.

Bible Reading: Numbers 8:1-10:36

Scripture Memory: James 1:24 “For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for You! When will we realize that You are the only Source of Goodness? You alone may do for us what needs to be done. You are not a divine pacifier. You cannot be treated as an all-powerful pleasure maker. You are a person. You will decide what to give us, and when. But You are a good person, the Best Person. You will always do the best for us. We can rely upon You, we can surrender ourselves to You. You are worthy of our every breath! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman with lupus. Pray for an older couple with health issues. Pray for a woman with a sleep disorder.

Journal Entry #14145

Matthew 22:12
   It is implied that there were others like this one, since the bad and the good had been invited. And so, this could be expected to happen multiple times. Notice then, the question and its answer. The question is asked in a friendly way. And yet, it seems that the answer was obvious. This will be the case for many in that day when judgment comes. The innocence of the judge, and his graciousness, will be quite apparent. And, the enemies will have nothing to say. They will be speechless, or else, all that they might say will amount to nothing.

Bible Reading: Numbers 7:1-89

Scripture Memory: James 1:24 “For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this day to serve You. Never could we say that You are not righteous. you are always right, and Your will and ways are perfect. You have given us the clear truth to respond to. And You love us! Wow! That is the amazing part. Thank You for Your love for us in sending Your Son to this earth. Thank You for the chance to respond in faith to the gospel. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who needs to get back in church. Pray for an elderly woman in the nursing home. Pray for a man with cancer.

Journal Entry #14144

Matthew 22:11
   The king comes to ‘see’ the guests. Do not miss what is happening here. There is a certain amount of expectation attached to this. The king has specific ideas concerning the type of persons that should be in attendance. This does not mean he will accept only the high born or privileged. But, he expects those who are at least noble of heart. Joseph prepared himself to see the king of Egypt by bathing and shaving. He knew it would be an offense to the whole nation if he came straight out of the prison house to the royal dais.
   It is, then, expected that we will take advantage of the benefits made available to us by the Lord. He enables us, by the sacrifice of his precious Son, to clean ourselves up before making our way into the banquet hall. All must do just that to be ready to stand before the Holy God.

Bible Reading: Numbers 5:1-6:27

Scripture Memory: James 1:23 “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You know what is right. You know what we were, and what You can make us to be. Thank You for Your kindness and love. You love each of us so much. You are glorious, lovely, and pure. May we spend our lives learning about You. May we take advantage of what You have made available to us. Thank You for this day to serve You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man with bad back pain. Pray for a woman going for testing. Pray for a man who had a four-wheeler accident.

Journal Entry #14143

Matthew 22:10
   The key to notice here is the phrase ‘both bad and good’ in connection with those who are found. In the church today there are those ministers who would be called bad or good. Though all are bad, sinners without Christ, some have truly been transformed by the gospel. Jesus has truly changed their life, they are children of Almighty God. Others are just pretenders. They act right and talk right, but they are wrong inside.

Bible Reading: Numbers 3:1-4:49

Scripture Memory: James 1:23 “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your Bible. It is so good to know that, though we are so bad, You have sent Your Son to make us good. Without salvation in Christ, we would have nothing. Would would be lost and without hope in this dark world. May we never fail to recognize Your glory in the world around us, and in Your Word. You are so wonderful, and You are worthy of all the praise! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man with cancer. Pray for a couple traveling. Pray for an older couple who had a car accident.

Journal Entry #14142

Matthew 22:9
   It is very important at this juncture to remember what this parable is about. It shows the failure of the Jewish leadership to recognize the Messiah. So, now we see the solution to this problem. The servants of the king, those among them that were faithful to him and remained, were told to go about into the general population to find replacements for the crowd that had been unworthy. This is the assembling of the church of our Lord Jesus.

Bible Reading: Numbers 1:1-2:34

Scripture Memory: James 1:23 “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are the most wonderful person that we can think about. May our minds be always filled with truth from You. It is the best use of our energies to learn more about You through Your word. Jesus is the reason for living. Through Christ we may have access to You. Oh Father, to be able to come before You in prayer is such a  mercy! The grace that You have bestowed upon us through Christ is so important to us. May we never fail to be reminded of Your great love in saving our souls by the death and resurrection of Your Son. Thank You Father! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who is in a position of leadership in an international Christian ministry. Pray for a pregnant woman. Pray for a woman with Alzheimer’s.

Journal Entry #14141