Matthew 22:1-22 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Bold Prayers - September 6, 2021
How bold are your prayers?

As John Wesley crossed the Atlantic, he was reading in his cabin and became aware of heavy winds knocking the ship off course. He responded in prayer. A colleague wrote it down: “Almighty and everlasting God…Thou holdest the winds in thy fists and sittest upon the water floods…command those winds and these waves that they obey Thee. Take us speedily and safely to the haven whither we would go.”

Having offered the prayer, Wesley took up his book and continued reading. On deck his colleague found calm winds and the ship on course. Wesley made no mention of the answered prayer. His friend wrote, “So fully did he expect to be heard that he took it for granted he was heard.”

How bold are your prayers?

Matthew 22:1-22

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

The Story of the Wedding Banquet

 Jesus responded by telling still more stories. “God’s kingdom,” he said, “is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn’t come!

4 “He sent out another round of servants, instructing them to tell the guests, ‘Look, everything is on the table, the prime rib is ready for carving. Come to the feast!’

5-7 “They only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop. The rest, with nothing better to do, beat up on the messengers and then killed them. The king was outraged and sent his soldiers to destroy those thugs and level their city.

8-10 “Then he told his servants, ‘We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren’t up to it. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.’ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on—every place filled.

11-13 “When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn’t properly dressed. He said to him, ‘Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!’ The man was speechless. Then the king told his servants, ‘Get him out of here—fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn’t get back in.’

14 “That’s what I mean when I say, ‘Many get invited; only a few make it.’”
Paying Taxes

15-17 That’s when the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod’s followers mixed in, to ask, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

18-19 Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece.

20 “This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?”

21 They said, “Caesar.”

“Then give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.”

22 The Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, September 06, 2021

Today's Scripture
Deuteronomy 33:1–5
,
12
(NIV)

Moses Blesses the Tribes

This is the blessingd that Moses the man of Gode pronounced on the Israelites before his death. 2 He said:

“The Lord came from Sinaif

and dawned over them from Seir;g

he shone forthh from Mount Paran.i

He came witha myriads of holy onesj

from the south, from his mountain slopes.b

3 Surely it is you who lovek the people;

all the holy ones are in your hand.l

At your feet they all bow down,m

and from you receive instruction,

4 the law that Moses gave us,n

the possession of the assembly of Jacob.o

5 He was kingp over Jeshurunc q

when the leaders of the people assembled,

along with the tribes of Israel.

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him,g

for he shields him all day long,h

and the one the Lord lovesi rests between his shoulders.j”

Insight

Moses’ blessing to the Israelites before his death follows the tradition of a father blessing his children before death (Genesis 49). He addresses each of the tribes as if they were individual sons. These individual blessings (Deuteronomy 33:6–25) are framed before and after with a poem of blessing addressed to all of Israel (vv. 1–5, 26–29). (Jeshurun, vv. 5, 26, means “the upright one” and refers to all of Israel.) Because Yahweh was their God, they were blessed—saved, secure, and strong. God was their warrior and king who defeats all foes (vv. 26–29) and rules His people through the law given to Moses (v. 4). By: Monica La Rose

Resting Secure in God
Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long.
Deuteronomy 33:12

I wrote a letter to our children as each became a teenager. In one I talked about our identity in Christ, remembering that when I was a teenager, I felt unsure of myself, lacking confidence. I had to learn that I was God’s beloved—His child. I said in the letter, “Knowing who you are comes down to knowing Whose you are.” For when we understand that God has created us and we commit to following Him, we can be at peace with who He’s made us to be. And we also know that He changes us to be more like Him each day.

A foundational passage from Scripture about our identity as God’s children is Deuteronomy 33:12: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” Just before Moses died, he proclaimed this blessing over the tribe of Benjamin as God’s people prepared to enter the land He’d promised them. God wanted them to always remember that they were His beloved and to rest secure in their identity as His children.

Knowing our identity as God’s children is equally important for everyone—teenagers, those in the middle of life, and those who have lived a long time. When we understand that God created us and watches over us, we can find security, hope, and love.   By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

How does knowing that you can “rest between his shoulders” increase your love for God? How does this deepen your understanding of who you are?

Loving Father, You created me and You hold me close. Let my identity as Your child permeate my thoughts and actions.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, September 06, 2021
The Far-Reaching Rivers of Life

He who believes in Me…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. —John 7:38

A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe…” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.

A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ— not emotion nor experience— nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

We never enter into the Kingdom of God by having our head questions answered, but only by commitment. The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 565 R

Bible in a Year: Psalms 148-150; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, September 06, 2021
No Amount of Watering - #9041

Okay I'm pretty much a dummy when it comes to taking care of growing things, I admit that. I have to be careful laughing at what a cousin of ours did therefore. Oh, it was a nice thing. His wife was gone for a couple of weeks; he volunteered to take care of some of the household jobs she was leaving behind. Including watering her plants. Yeah, he did. Including this good-sized ficus plant. Now, I don't know what that is, but I can still tell the story. Right? He watered it faithfully every day. He proudly reported that to his wife when she got home. That's when he learned a revealing fact about that ficus plant - it wasn't real. He had been faithfully watering a lifeless plant.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Amount of Watering."

You know, no amount of watering is going to make something lifeless real. No matter how sincere the efforts. One of the disturbing revelations in the Bible is the fact that many people are sincerely nurturing something that has no life, in hopes that it will win them points with God and help them go to heaven some day.

In Proverbs 14:12, it's our word for today from the Word of God, it says: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Wow! If you ask most folks if they're going to heaven, they'll say "yeah," or "I hope so." And those hopes, in most cases, are based on the good things I do, the nice person I'm trying to be, the religion I'm faithfully following.

Unfortunately, God explicitly tells us that is not how to get to heaven. Listen to God's own words, "He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy" (Titus 3:5). In another place, God says, "No one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law" (Romans 3:20). And it couldn't be much clearer than this statement: "It is by grace," that's God's undeserved favor, "It is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works..." (Ephesians 2:8-9). Well, that couldn't be any plainer. Not by works - no amount of religion, no amount of human goodness.

So a person may be faithfully pursuing some spiritual system or lifestyle and still miss heaven. They're watering something that can't produce life. It may be beautiful...it may look like something that has life. They may really be sincere, but the Bible says human goodness can't produce eternal life.

Because our sin carries an eternal death penalty that the Bible describes as the "wages of sin" (Romans 6:23). And doing good can't pay a death penalty - someone has to die to pay a death penalty. I deserve that penalty for hijacking my life from the God who gave it to me. But Someone who loved me - and you - so much that He said, "I will die in your place." That was God's only Son, Jesus. And He is our only hope of heaven.

We're drowning. We can't save ourselves. Our only hope is grabbing the Rescuer, Jesus, holding onto Him like He's our only hope. Grabbing Him. That's the difference between eternal life and eternal death. Now, if you're not sure there's ever been a time when you've put all your trust in Jesus, I urge you; make this day your Jesus-day. Just tell Him, "Jesus, I believe that some of those sins You died for on that cross were mine. I'm turning over the wheel of my life to you. I'm not driving anymore, I've done that enough. And because you walked out of your grave under your own power, I know you are alive. I'm putting all my trust in you to take me to heaven someday and to forgive every sin. Today, I'm yours."

Listen, if you prayed that prayer, or if you'd really like to check out a simple explanation of how to be sure you belong to Jesus, go to our website, would you? It's ANewStory.com.

Look, you've known about Jesus. You've tried to do things that please Jesus. But maybe you've never really given yourself to Jesus. You are so close. Don't miss Him.