“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.

“And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him” (Matthew 21:39).

Jesus, the One through whom all things have their being, was taken out and killed.  The wicked ones want what they can never have.  For the time they have on this earth, they pretend it is theirs.  Jesus went to the cross willingly, knowing that He was doing what needed to be done.  The wicked plot and scheme, but their schemes come to nothing.  Do not be led by the wickedness of this age, but by the Creator of all ages.

Lord, You were killed.  My sin killed You.  But sin has lost its sting, and You have won the victory.  We all need Your help to move beyond the way of death to learn how to live life.  We do not need to strive to find our way, for You have already given everything needed.  We do not need to follow the world, for this world is headed for destruction.  Transform our hearts to look to You alone as the Creator of all things.

Lord God Almighty, You knew all of this would happen and You went ahead with Your creation.  I do not fully understand, but I am thankful for the salvation You have given me through the crucifixion of my Savior.  Help me not to sin.  Although He died once for all, I do not want to live by forgiveness alone.  Help me to seek Your righteousness all the days You give me.  Lead me in the way of everlasting life, dear Lord.  Amen.

“Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they did the same things to them.  But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’  But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him and take possession of his inheritance!’” (Matthew 21:36-38)

Why does the thief think they can get away with it?  Ultimately, no one does, but each generation has thieves that steal and murderers that murder.  I want it, so I’ll find a way to take it.  Sinful humanity wants what belongs to God.  Everything belongs to the Lord, for He created it.  He has shared the portion He’s entrusted to you.  But we know Jesus was talking about His death on the cross when He spoke these words.

The world wanted to be rid of Jesus because He was disturbing the balance.  He wasn’t.  He was just telling the truth and bringing the world back into balance.  The Lord is truth.  Everything runs according to the rules He has set in place.  We need help to live the way life is meant to be lived.  We need to be guided in His goodness and mercy to humbly walk the way He would have us to proceed.

Lord Jesus, by Your shed blood You have redeemed me.  You have paid a debt I could never pay.  It is all Yours, Lord, yet You have walked among us as if we were peers.  Teach me how to do these things that You teach.  Teach my heart to long for Your return.  Guide me to be a worker in Your vineyard and not to plot for how to own it.  Lead me in the way You know I need to go.  Amen.

“And when the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit.  And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another” (Matthew 21:34-35).

Does God have expectations of us?  We certainly have expectations of one another.  Are we not created in God’s image?  The world will seek to kill your faith.  It is not enough to just go to church regularly and remain indifferent.  What kind of life will you live?  Will you live in the hope Jesus gives, or will you mix in some other hopes promoted by this sinful world?

Lord, You know how befuddled I get with all the voices that speak in this age.  Lift me up and out so that I hear clearly Your voice of truth speaking to me.  Heal my deafness so that I hear Your call.  Those in this world would kill me when I speak truth, just as they killed You.  Help me, Lord, so that I hold fast to the truth as You send me into the pit of vipers that are in this world.  Help me to fear not and remain true to Your word.

Lord Jesus, You know all things.  You have experienced the wickedness of this world first-hand.  You knew that then, and You know that now.  Help me to live beyond what this world says and follow Your word of truth.  You know what I need.  No matter where I am or what I am doing, lead me to be faithful to all that You have called me to do.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to hold fast to the word You have given me.  Amen.

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and he leased it to vine-growers and went on a journey” (Matthew 21:33).

The Lord has created all that you see.  He entrusted this world to humanity.  What has happened?  Humanity is greedy and selfish.  Some take and others are taken from.  We have beauty all around us, but there is much that has been despoiled.  We seek progress but we are still where we began.  Progress is not conquering the world, for it has already been conquered by sin.  We are called to follow a different path.

Lord, I am caught up in the trap of sin in this world.  I am in this vineyard You have made, and I have heard Your message of truth, but I often fall back into the ways of this world.  Free me from the snares of sin.  Teach me the freedom You grant by grace.  Show me how to live life as it is meant to be lived.  Help me learn what it means to walk by faith.  Shut my ears to the discord of this world to receive Your pure word of truth.

Lord Jesus, the disease is in me.  You have died for me that by grace I would be freed, but I still live as one trapped.  Help me to see with clarity the truth of what You have revealed.  Guide me to live into the life to which You have called me.  Let me not be hindered by sin but live freely in the faith You have given me.  Keep me in Your word, Lord, so that I may humbly go wherever You lead me.  Amen.