“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless” (Matthew 22:11-12).

One cannot be with the Lord who is not covered by the blood of Jesus.  Many are the ways that lead to destruction.  There are those who will say, “Lord, lord,” but do not know Him.  We are invited into a living relationship with the Lord.  There is no faking it.  Either you will come by the Lord’s grace, or else you will reject His grace and remain outside.  None are left out, but there are those who refuse the invitation to come in.

Lord, You have offered me salvation by grace through faith.  It is You giving Your life so that I can live.  I do not understand fully, but I am puzzled by those who are always taking and, if possible, would take salvation as if it were theirs.  Lead me away from such foolishness so that I see the gift You have given me on Your terms.  Lead me to be clear of mind, thought, and speech.

Lord Jesus, You know the state of my heart.  The wickedness of this world presses in and yells at me because I am preparing to be with You.  I am often confused by the ever-changing, yet never-changing, winds of this age.  Help me I pray, to look through the fog of this age to clearly see how to be in Your presence forever.  Guide me in the upward call You have given me so that I may humbly walk in Your presence.  Amen.

“So go to the main roads, and invite whomever you find there to the wedding feast.’  Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests” (Matthew 22:9-10).

The Great Commission tells us to go out into all the world, baptizing in the name of Holy Trinity.  We are invited to be immersed in the love of God.  Who is to be invited?  All whom we meet.  All are invited, but we are also called to get ready.  Some will dress appropriately, and others will not.  That is the business of the Lord.  Our part is to go into the world and share the love of Jesus.

Almighty God, You have made clear in Your word that You have invited all to come into the relationship You offer by grace through faith.  Some will hear the invitation and some will not.  Some will hear now and others later.  Help Your people to understand that whether one accepts the invitation or not, all are invited.  Our part is to go into the world sharing the Good News of great joy.

Lord Jesus, through parables and teaching, You have told us how to go about the business of living this life of faith.  It is not just for us, but also for those around us.  Help me to be willing whenever the occasion arises to share the hope You have given me.  Guide me to be willing to use those opportunities You give me that I may share with others what You have shared with me.  Amen.

“Now the king was angry, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.  Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy” (Matthew 22:7-8).

There will be a new heaven and a new earth.  For those who have claimed the earth as theirs, who have stolen and manipulated for gain, it will all be taken away.  What good is it to gain the world and lose your soul?  Jesus has gone to prepare a place for all who believe.  If it were not so, He would have told us.  Through parables and straight-forward teaching, we have been told what Jesus is doing.

Thank You, Lord, that I have heard Your word.  Thank You for preparing the way.  I still struggle with the desires of this age.  I want, I accumulate, I seek what can never be mine.  Free me from the anxieties of this world in order that I may live the life You give me.  Prepare me so that I may attend to all that You are preparing for the faithful.  Guide me out of this world and into eternity.

Lord Jesus, You died for all of those things kept deep in my heart where I harbor the sin which has eaten up the souls of so many.  Take away the sin that is within me.  Help me to live into the life You are giving me.  Guide me to learn how to willingly be conformed in preparation for what lies ahead.  Lead me, Lord Jesus, in the way of everlasting life and help me to rejoice and be thankful that You are preparing me as if I were worthy of Your invitation.  Amen.  

“But they paid no attention and went their separate ways, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and treated them abusively, and then killed them” (Matthew 22:5-9).

Lord, I have been a worker in Your vineyard, and You have seen how the faithful are treated by those in this world.  This world hates You and because they hate You, they hate any who do Your bidding.  We need to see this reality.  We need to understand that we live in a world of rebellion and any who join the side of the Lord are instantly put in enmity with the world.  It is the way of this age.

Lord, let me not be stopped by adversity.  I am in need, and You have provided for that need.  Guide me out of the way of this world’s thinking in order that I may realize the battle that goes on in my own mind.  Help me to live into the life to which You have called me.  Guide me to understand things through Your words.  Let me not be one who abuses, even though I have been abused.  Lead me in the upward call of salvation.

Lord Jesus, You know things as they were, as they are, and as they shall be.  Lead me in the way of a true life of salvation.  Lead me out of my rebellion to begin again as a slave to Your word.  Do with me what You will so that I become like You.  Through all these things, take away my reaction to anything other than Your call to follow You alone through all of these things.  Amen.

“And he sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.  Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!”’ (Matthew 22:3-4)

Our Lord has been inviting people throughout this age to come and be with Him.  People have their excuses.  Each does what is right in their own minds.  We are all busy with temporary things.  This is the state of the rebellion.  We do not want to have a relationship with the One who made us.  We do not want what we need.  Why do you make excuses?  You will be at the door one day.  Will you come?

Lord, I do not understand why I spend so much of my time on things that do not matter while spending little time on things that do.  Guide me so that I humbly walk in the way You have established.  Lead me so that I may learn how to prepare for the wedding feast to which I have been invited.  Show me the way You know I need to go and help me to be prepared.

Lord Jesus, You know the attitude of my heart.  You know those places where I do not spend the time I ought and where I waste my time on things that do not matter.  Lead me ever deeply into You so that I humbly and willingly come into the life to which I have been invited.  Remove the hindrances so that I come and willingly have You prepare me for what needs will happen.  Be the author and finisher of my faith, Lord.  Amen

“Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a wedding feast for his son” (Matthew 22:1-2).

Many of Jesus parables were about father and son, for in telling of the Kingdom, God the Father wants us to know God the Son.  The groom is Christ, and the church is His bride.  It helps us understand what our Lord is preparing for all who believe.  We are being brought into an eternal relationship with the Creator of all things.  We are invited to the wedding feast.  We are invited to be the bride.

Lord, I am sometimes puzzled, for I cannot fully understand.  Help me so that I do not go to the place where I make things up when I do not understand.  Help me so that I come to believe and   trust You above all things.  Lord, You say these things so that I may trust in You.  There are great mysteries, so help me to live in the mystery which is reality, but trust in the revelation You have given, which I do understand.

Lord Jesus, You are telling me that I am not yet where I shall be.  You have offered a great gift in the salvation You have purchased that I might be redeemed and join in the wedding feast.  Lead me all the days of my life to which You have called me.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy.  Lord Jesus, I need Your teaching to guide me through this age which I do not understand.  Help me now and always.  Amen.

“When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.  And although they sought to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, since they considered Him to be a prophet” (Matthew 21:45-46).

Those in this world and who live in the way of this world are often torn between fear of the crowds and the goals they have in their minds.  They are driven by what they believe to be right, but  they have no power, only the illusion which comes through influencing others to go along with their schemes.  The rock of our faith is the One through whom all things exist.  Build your life upon the truth, which is Christ our Savior.

Lord, You know that I have schemed like others in this world.  I feel I am right about things, and I want them to go the way I want them to go.  Help me, Lord, not to live this way.  Guide me to live the way You know I need to live and be guided by You, who gives all life.  Let me not scheme, as those in the world do, but live by Your goodness and grace into the life You are giving me through faith.

Lord Jesus, You are all the hope anyone needs.  Help me to live into the hope You give me.  Let me not be pulled aside by the things of this world but live according to Your goodness and mercy.  Guide me, Lord, so that I trust in You above all things.  Help me to learn how to be faithful to the call You have given me so that I live the life You give and obey all that You command.  Amen.

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.  And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him” (Matthew 21:43-44).

What we have been offered through faith is the opportunity to live in the relationship Christ has established by grace.  You are not born in this relationship, but it is freely offered to all.  If you are living in this relationship, it will grow.  If not, you will do what you do on your own.  The fruit of the kingdom comes to those who are living in the faithful relationship our Lord gives us.

Lord, You have told me that it is not about the words I speak, or even what I think, but about truly living in a relationship with You.  Guide me in the way You know I need to go.  Help me to live from the inside out based upon the life You give me by grace.  Each day I will face challenges.  Help me to not face these challenges alone but know that You are with me.

Lord Jesus You are the way of everlasting life.  Help me not seek to bear fruit on my own, for I cannot, but humbly do what You require, knowing that You will bear fruit through me.  Help me to be broken where I need to be broken so that You may resurrect in me the kind of life which You are preparing for me to live.  Be my foundation on this journey where You are making me what I shall be. Amen.

“Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘A stone which the builders rejected, This has become the chief cornerstone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Matthew 21:42)

Upon what is your life built?  This world promotes building our lives upon just about everything other than upon a life of faith in the Lord.  We strive, and in the end, we all leave behind everything except our character.  The Lord is the foundation of life.  Build your life upon the foundation which is eternal.  Build your life upon, around, and in Christ, for He will give you a new and eternal life.

Help me to see and understand that all things have come into being through You.  Apart from You, there is nothing.  Help me not listen to the constant noise of this world.  Guide me to live according to Your goodness and mercy so that I live life as You have created it to be lived.  Lead me, Lord, in the way You know I need to go.  You are the cornerstone.  Be the foundation of my life.

Lord Jesus, You know where I am affected up by the shifting sands of this age.  You know where I have been led astray by the false things which are spoken all around me.  Guide me to see, as I am able, all things as they are.  Be the foundation of my life and help me to live life with You as the rock of what You are building in me.  Be my savior, dear Lord.  Amen.

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”  They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the fruit in the proper seasons” (Matthew 21:39-41).

Those of this world who take from the Lord and do not ever seek to do what is pleasing to Him will give an account.  We all will.  Will you live your life for yourself, or will you live according to the goodness and mercy of the Lord?  What shall we do with the fruit of our labors?  Will we labor for ourselves or for the kingdom of God?  Bear fruit befitting the kingdom.

Lord, I hear these things, and You know the state of my heart.  I do struggle between serving myself and serving others.  I do not do what I ought, and I do the very thing I hate.  Lead me out of this mess by Your grace and help me to learn how to bear increasing fruit for You.  You have created me for a purpose.  Help me to live into the purpose for which You have created me.

Lord Jesus, You redeemed me so that I could be freed from the trap of sin.  You know how I can think like the sinful vineyard workers who thought of everything as their own.  Take me out of this pit and teach me to live the way You know I need to live.  Guide me in Your goodness to bear fruit that is eternal.  Help me to put on Your mind and see things the way You see them.  Lead me always, Lord Jesus.  Amen.