THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Character building 101
“3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”
Proverbs 24:3-4 (KJV)
Matthew 22
Not everyone called to salvation will receive it
Titus 1:1 (KJV), “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.”
Ephesians 1:11 (KJV), “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”
John 6:44 (KJV), “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
2 Timothy 2:10 (KJV), “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
And in today’s devotion – The Parable of the Wedding Feast
The 1838 Webster’s Dictionary
Bidden (bidding) – noun Invitation; command; order; a proclamation or notifying.
Matthew 22:1-3 (KJV), “And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.”
Jesus then gave them another opportunity and they (the Jews) still rejected the invitation
Matthew 22:4-6 (KJV), “4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.”
Judgement falls particularly hard upon those who are specifically chosen and still refuse (God’s chosen people). If you have been following my devotionals, you have seen, both in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, where God poured His judgement on Israel and Judah for not obeying
Matthew 22:7-8 (KJV), “7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.”
Jesus comes now to invite the gentile nations to the kingdom of heaven (kingdom of God)
Matthew 22:9-10 (KJV), “9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”
If you are chosen by God to inherit His kingdom, be prepared to submit your whole self to Him
Matthew 22:11-13 (KJV), “11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Finally…
Matthew 22:14 (KJV), “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?
Everything in the heavens above and on the earth below were created by God and belong to God
Matthew 22:21 (KJV), “They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”
Why is there no marriage in heaven?
Matthew 22:30 (KJV), “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”
When God established marriage, He did so to fill certain needs. First, He saw that Adam needed a companion. God also created marriage as a means of procreation and the filling of the earth with human beings.
Genesis 2:18 (KJV), “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”
In heaven there will be no loneliness, nor will there be any need for helpers
Revelation 7:9 (KJV), “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.”
Hosea 3
God likened the captivity of Israel in Babylon to Hosea taking on a harlot (Israel) and cleaning up her ways
Hosea 3:3-5 (KJV), “3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.”
Jeremiah 37
Your faith and love for God needs to remain strong even when things are not going your way
Jeremiah 37:8-10 (KJV), “8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. 9 Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. 10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you [for when God had removed a burden from you], and there remained but wounded men among them [do not let your guard down and believe everything is going well and put God aside], yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.”
Proverbs 24
A wise and righteous person will continue to grow in faith and wisdom
Proverbs 24:5-6 (KJV), “5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. 6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
God will constantly test your faith
Proverbs 24:10 (KJV), “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”
Ignorance is not an excuse for missing out on the kingdom of God
Proverbs 24:12 (KJV), “If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”
Avoid laziness
Proverbs 24:33-34 (KJV), “33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.”
Ezekiel 35
Judgment on Mount Seir (today is in Jordon)
The primary significance of Mount Seir is that this mountainous region was the territory that God gave to Esau
Deuteronomy 2:22 (KJV), “As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day.”
Grow in the Word of the Lord 