Wedding Feast Invitation

Today’s Reading: Joshua 16–17; Psalm 148; Jeremiah 8; Matthew 22

 

This past weekend I attended a wedding that made me reflect on the Parable of the Wedding Feast in today’s reading of Matthew 22:1-14. There is so much JOY at weddings. Love, laughter, dancing, singing, prayer, food, music and beautiful wardrobes being worn for the party. What a wonderful reminder of the invitation Our Father has given us to attend the wedding banquet of eternity. Have you accepted the invitation?
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,…everything is ready,… come.” I personally haven’t attended any royal weddings but can recall the most recent royal wedding that attracted much media and a desire by many to attend this event. The pictures shared all over the media portrayed and amazing event. Yet, behind all the glamour the most meaningful part is marriage itself.  This is the time when two hearts are joined together. God desires our heart. The invitation by God to an eternal wedding feast is way more important than a royal wedding and yet the invite is rejected multiple times.

What are our reasons for not paying attention and rejecting the invitation? I know at times this lack of importance to RSVP can be because of our own selfish desires, work, play, schedules, convenience. This could also include who we are putting first in our lives? It should always be God but as humans we can insert ourselves, spouses, children. God doesn’t give up on us. He desires for us to be at the wedding with Him.

The Parable Jesus tells about the Wedding Feast in Matthew eventually has a room filled with guests and many people are here physically together.  But will we be called out for our attire?  Are we dressed for the occasion of this event God has invited us to? Similar to our “Sunday’s best” do we wear the fine linen desires in Revelation 19:6-8.
Christ has provided a garment for everyone. The garment of righteousness has a perfect fit when you have accepted God as believers. But, we must choose to put it on in order to enter the King’s banquet (eternal life). What support do you need? Are you dressed and ready? Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

 

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10
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If you are reading today and want to be part the Wedding Feast that will have an eternal impact. Take a couple minutes to read the invite and pray to our Lord.

Invitation to the Feast

Who: Insert Your Name Here

When: Today

RSVP: Now

Reception to Follow (eternal kingdom)

How: Praying this prayer. ..Lord Jesus, I ask You to forgive my sins and save me from eternal separation from God. By faith, I accept Your work and death on the cross as sufficient payment for my sins. Thank You for providing the way for me to know You and to have a relationship with my heavenly Father. Through faith in You, I have eternal life. Thank You also for hearing my prayers and loving me unconditionally. Please give me the strength, wisdom, and determination to walk in the center of Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have just prayed this prayer, congratulations! You have received Christ as your Savior and have made the best decision you will ever make—one that will change your life forever! Please let us know by contacting us at biblejournal.net so we can rejoice with you.

The Road Less Traveled

“……I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

By Robert Frost from “The Road Not Taken.”

Today’s reading: Deuteronomy 9; Psalms 92–93; Isaiah 37; Revelation 7

Driving through the familiar Appalachian Mountains last week gave me a chance to reflect. Returning from a short trip to visit my two oldest boys, I took a new route that not only saved me an hour, but surrounded me with great scenery and wilderness that reminded me of the struggles most of us face; sometimes raising children. The road that led through the years, to the joy of family in the restoration of relationships, through the power of love and perseverance.

Yes, there were still those moments I longed for the time when my children were younger; the sweet, innocent years, moving away fast in the rearview mirror. As I thought about the challenges we had all faced, how we had survived, tears of gratitude filled my eyes. My children were healthy, happy and productive, but it hadn’t always been this way. As much as I wanted to protect them and love them, it wasn’t always possible. Things often got in the way. Sometimes it was the things I couldn’t control; and sometimes it was me!

My trip to North Carolina began with nearly twelve hours of driving, arriving in Raleigh just in time for dinner. I had picked up Brendan, my twenty six year old, in Hendersonville, continuing on to Raleigh meeting up with Travor (my twenty eight year old), and his awesome wife Samantha. I can’t begin to describe the joy of celebrating life, breaking bread with these three extraordinary people who have found productive paths by overcoming personal challenges.image

After our feast at the legendary Angus Barn, and a good night’s sleep in Chapel Hill, Brendan and I drove back up the mountain, another four and a half hours to Hendersonville. There I was privileged to enter Brendan’s world, which included a short trip to the home of Carl Sandburg; the hobo poet who won the heart of the country in the early 1900’s. I had visited this special place with my two sons in 1995; now it was one of Brendan’s sanctuaries. A place he went to find God who had revealed love for His children and for the human race through nature; and by kindness expressed in the lives of others. I believed God’s love was also revealed in the Bible, the story of His disappointment at our reluctance to receive His blessing and keep his commandments; and the story of redemption.
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Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ” -Revelation 7:15-17

Yes, it was true that God loved us enough to reconcile us back to Himself, whether we thought we deserved it or not. This was the amazing love that I wanted to emulate and yet fell short of every day.

How much can a parent love a child? You can answer this for yourself, but I think most of us would say “a lot.” How much would we sacrifice for them? Would we die for them? Many parents defer their dreams and pleasures (and more) for their children. Carl Sandburg had written that “A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.” Truly our children are miracles to whom we pass the eternal torch. My hope was to pass the story of the Messiah on to mine by demonstrating love and leading a life that pointed to the truth.

As I drove through Pikeville, KY, the ghosts of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s roamed the hills, shooting memories of how fast relationships can go bad from harboring resentments, and from acts of vengeance. People who were once close, even family, can become hostile to the point of no return; or so “the enemy” would have us believe. The truth, was that by God’s power and love, restoration was always possible in the grace of forgiveness. image

Now I drove a new route from Asheville to Ashland, one that I hadn’t considered before. It made me think that the restoration of our relationships was similar. Sometimes we needed to try a different way. Sandburg said, “Anger is the most impotent of passions. It effects nothing it goes about, and hurts the one who is possessed by it more than the one against whom it is directed.” The power of love over anger and indifference is a gift from God. One so powerful it is able to restore goodwill between parents; between parents and children; between people; and between people and God.

We are all God’s children and to reconcile us back to Him, and in a sense to each other, he demonstrated amazing love by becoming human and dying for the sins of all humanity. By becoming the sacrifice of atonement, he redeemed each and every person. So by accepting this propitiation, by faith, we can receive God’s grace along with His Holy Spirit, which gives us the supernatural power of sacrificial love and restoration. Loving our children in the difficult things, and one another when it makes no sense, demonstrates God’s love; this is how we help inspire loving children, and so on. It is for me, my road less traveled, “and that has made all the difference.”