Matthew 22:8
   Be very careful not to miss what is being said here. The wedding is ready. It is not dependent upon the invited parties. But, he king still wants someone in attendance for the sake of his son, and his own reputation. But notice exactly what he says about those who refused to attend. He does not say that they were unwilling, uncooperative, unsympathetic, too busy, distracted, etc. He flatly states that they were unworthy. In other words, there is absolutely no excuse for their actions. They failed to come because they were not worthy to come. They could not have invited themselves to the wedding, but by refusing to attend, they judged themselves unworthy of the honor. As has been stated, it was quite the insult to think that anyone would refuse the king’s gracious invitation.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 26:1-27:34

Scripture Memory: James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your amazing love to us. You have done so much for us, I keep coming back to that. But, we will serve You. You deserve our all. Thank You for Your blessings upon us. May we never take them fro granted. May we thank You for every little thing that You do for us. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for missionaries all over the world. Pray for the lost.

Journal Entry #14140

Matthew 22:7
   This verse is one of those that smacks soundly against our modern sentiments. We think that God is so merciful that he could never destroy evildoers. We pretend that, being a God of love, he will never take vengeance upon anyone. We think somehow that punishment is only an illusion that will soon pass.
   However, none of this is a reality. God can, and indeed does, punish the guilty. He is not mocked, what we sow we shall reap. It is not somehow wrong for him to destroy sin wherever it may be found, and those who perpetrate it along with it. We must remember that, were it not for his grace and mercy, we are all likewise doomed to the same fate. So, it is not correct to say that, because God is vengeful, he destroys some, but instead to say that, because he is merciful, he spares those who wish to be spared. We are all born enemies of God, but we may, by his grace, choose to be his friends.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 24:1-25:55

Scripture Memory: James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this wonderful Sunday. You know how to give us the best things in life. And yet, we so often forget that and try to get things for ourselves, missing the simple pleasures You give us to enjoy. We cannot ever thank You enough for all that You have done. But we can praise You and thank You nonetheless. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman in a life-care facility. Pray for a young woman who just started a new job. Pray for a man recovering from serious injuries.

Journal Entry #14139

Matthew 22:6
   There will always be those who, taking their rejection a step further, will react violently to the truth. This is that very dark part of human nature. Thinking they have some justification for violence, they relish the committing of it. For some of these, physical violence was not their pleasure, instead they attacked with their words. There are many today who claim to be peace-loving persons, and yet the harshness of their words reveals that they have a bottomless pit of hate and loathing in their hearts. The eternal punishment of hell will be full of such persons.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 22:1-23:44

Scripture Memory: James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your eternal love. You are not offering to us a temporary love that is good for only this life. You go beyond time and space. Your promises reach past all that we call reality. You inhabit eternity. You have generated this whole wonderful world. And, in spite of our horrible rebellion against You, You offer a way of peace, a life of hope. How can we ever thank You enough? You are not only great, but wise and good. How wonderful it is to be able to know You! To have a link with the Creator of the cosmos, what a thought! We can do nothing but praise You and love You, and live for You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a family that just suffered a tragedy. Pray for a man having trouble with diabetes. Pray for a family wrestling with sickness. Pray for a pregnant woman.

Journal Entry #14138

Matthew 22:5
   The ‘made light’ of it. Isn’t that just the very essence of what unbelief is? The truth is heard and known, and yet many ‘make light’ of it. It seems a light, unimportant, thing to them that God has sent his Son to be the savior of the world. This is the condemnation, that light came to the world, and men loved darkness.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 19:1-21:24

Scripture Memory: James 1:21 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You. Every time I use that word ‘thanks’ I can think of You. Every good gift comes from You ultimately. If I have any good thing in my life, You have brought it about. Family is a blessing form You. Health is a blessing from You. My job is a blessing from You. Church is a blessing from You. It is all You! You are the source for all that is good in my life! Thank You most of all for Jesus! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a family that just lost a loved one. Pray for an elderly woman who is unable to leave the house.

Journal Entry #14137

Matthew 22:4
   Perhaps they just did not understand the first time. The king sends his servants back, detailing the entertainments of the feast. Surely this would draw those who were bidden to realize their need to attend. The idea of this second invitation is to highlight the benefits, while still implying the duty of the invited persons to attend. This would show the patience of the king after the insult of the first rejection.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 16:1-18:30

Scripture Memory: James 1:21 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are always there for us whenever we need You.  Your faithfulness and steadfast love are amazing. It would not be possible to overstate Your goodness. How can we ever praise You enough for how You are. You are wonderful to us. Thank You for Your Son. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who was shot. Pray for a young man who is sick.

Journal Entry #14136

Matthew 22:3
   Here we have all of these servants going out. Time, money, and manpower is going into this event. Certain persons were invited. Now, likely as not, the original plan would have been to invite the general public for some portion of the activities. This verse is referring to groups of persons who would have been specifically invited due to some criterion. And yet we see, they refuse to come. What an insult! What an outrage! Not attending the royal nuptials. That’s reprehensible! That’s unbelievable! But, that is exactly what has happened.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 14:1-15:33

Scripture Memory: James 1:21 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your invitation to salvation. You have given us so much in Your Word. It is complete. We don’t need more, we just need to heed it. Thank You for Your mercy in giving us the truth. You are worthy of all praise for Your truth. Father, You are the Almighty One, all honor be to You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for the family of a young man who was in a motorcycle accident. Pray for an elderly couple with health issues.

Journal Entry #14135

Matthew 22:2
   It is important to put this illustration into perspective. Picture not a king of a vast domain, but of a smaller dominion. This is not to minimize the extent of God’s kingdom in any way, but will help us to better understand the implications of not attending the wedding. For a mid-eastern king of a relatively smaller domain to make a marriage for his son implies that a great number of guests were invited. In other words, what I am getting at is that this was a social affair. It was incumbent upon those of any position in the community of that realm to make it a point to participate in the activities.
   Perhaps a modern example would help. Imagine a county fair or festival of some kind with a parade of dignitaries, businesses, social clubs, etc. If certain local officials were to fail to participate in this type of activity, it would not be good in the eyes of the community. This is the same kind of thing as what is being put forth here. The king is creating an event for the social agenda. Another modern example would be a company-wide meeting at a smaller corporation, and the stigma attached to those who choose to be absent.
   Thinking of the parable in this way will greatly aid in an understanding of what Christ is communicating to his listeners about those who failed to attend the wedding.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 13:1-59

Scripture Memory: James 1:20 “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are so gracious and patient with us. Though You teach us righteousness, You are mindful of our frailty. You understand and are sensitive to our limitations. Though You are a Huge and Powerful Caretaker, You are Gentle and Kind as well. Your Justice and Holiness cause You to be very Good for us, because You do not fail to correct our faults. But, Your Grace and Mercy, and Love cause You to be the Best Corrector we could possibly ask for. You care for us more that we care for ourselves, and that is truly amazing! Thank You for being so Great! All we can do is be thankful and praise You, and depend upon You as we serve You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who has several medical problems and needs salvation. Pray for a woman who threw her back out. Pray for a man who just had a major surgery yesterday.

Journal Entry #14134

Matthew 22:1
   In this chapter, Jesus’ ongoing discussion with the Jewish leaders continues. We might well wonder why he spent this much time relating parables to those who were so dull of hearing. Yet we must remember that the multitude of the people that stood by needed to understand his doctrine and his position in relation to the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. It was important for his hearers to understand that he was not attacking these men so much as he was instructing them. He was calling for reform among his servants, for that is what they should be. He was condemning them for their lack of understanding the fact that he is indeed their Master.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 11:1-12:8

Scripture Memory: James 1:20 “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we never forget Your greatness. Your will is the way in which we must go. May Your path be our love. May Your way and will be our delight. You are magnificent, amazing, and awesome. May we never stop praising You, for You are worthy. Thank You for Your forgiveness, which You have given to us by Your dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is so good to have His righteousness in our lives. May we live by Your guidance in the power of Your Spirit. I love You, Father! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who had part of a barn fall on him. Pray for a woman’s unspoken request. Pray for a couple traveling.

Journal Entry #14133

Matthew 21:46
   There may be those who would not agree, but the simple fact is that the Lord was not betrayed to be crucified until it was the appointed time according to God’s timetable. Nothing in the life of Christ happened unexpectedly. He did everything just as he had planned. The actions of the Jews and their rulers never surprised him. And, despite what the Pharisees thought, he went to Golgotha just exactly when he wanted to go.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 8:1-10:20

Scripture Memory: James 1:20 “For the wrath of man worketh not the the righteousness of God.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this day to serve You. We know that we should serve You and love You and praise You every day. But, in Your infinite wisdom, You have given us this one day of the week to especially spend time worshiping You and spending time with Your people. May we never forget Your glory. And, today, we will especially ascribe to You all that You deserve. You have all glory and honor and blessing and power in heaven and in earth. You are the only true and living God. You are the Almighty, the King of Creation. I love You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman who has lupus. Pray for several with cancer. Pray for a man with bad back pain.

Journal Entry #14132

Matthew 21:45
   Notice that no tinge of repentance is intimated here. They finally figured out what he was saying about them, but it meant nothing to their hard, calloused hearts. What a sad commentary on how strongly people may fortify themselves against the truth. They spent much of their time pretending to understand the very Word of God that would condemn them.

Bible Reading: Leviticus 5:1-7:38

Scripture Memory: James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You have all of the wisdom that I need. I cannot get around You. You stay ever before me, around me, above me. It is not possible to think beyond You, you always know the answer that I need. You are amazing like that. You know the need that I have better than I do. You know how to meet those needs better. So, You call me to something beyond my needs and wants. You stretch me out. You push me to be more. You help me to grow beyond my selfishness. Oh Father, what could we be without You? There is so much we would miss without the power of Christ and Your Holy Spirit in our lives. Your grace is still making me into something good, something better than I could ever be on my own. You are calling me to recognize Your greatness, Your glory. I will ascribe all glory, honor, blessing, power, and majesty unto You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for four men who need salvation. Pray for a man in a coma. Pray for a woman with cancer.

Journal Entry #14131