Dressed for the Wedding

"When the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes." Matthew 22:11
Weddings are a great event in any culture. There are expected norms of food, form, and fashion worldwide. This rite of passage may be the most prominent between birth and death.
Spiritually, Jesus gives us the same picture. One day there is going to be a wedding feast (Revelation 19:6-9) for Jesus the Lamb to His bride, the church. It is to be a great event, there is expected form and fashion, and it is a mandatory spiritual rite of passage. Jesus told stories about this upcoming wedding so that people would be prepared. Like any wedding, it isn't something that is just wandered in to.
The story Jesus tells in Matthew 22 is about a wedding feast that a king put on for his son. It is much like the wedding feast that the King of the Universe will throw for His Son, Jesus the Lamb at the end of time. He talks about the people invited and how they came to the wedding. What happened at this earthly wedding is a good picture of what that heavenly wedding is going to look like when the day comes.
Everything was made ready for the wedding and the king sent out his servants to invite the guests, those who deserved to come. That was probably the people who came across as loyal subjects to the king. The "good" people of the land. Much to the king’s surprise, no one accepted his invitation. Every person either just outright refused, paid no attention because they were too busy and preoccupied with personal things or actually attacked the servants sent with the invitation. This was unheard of. In the same sort of way, Jesus often talked about “religious” people and the Jews who had been chosen in early history to be His people as rejecting, ignoring and even killing those that God had sent to tell them how to be ready for that heavenly wedding feast at the end of time. Woe to those of us who think we don't need to respond to the King of the Universe's invitation because we don't need or want it, we're just too busy or we have no tolerance for the King.
So, the king sent out his servants again. This time he sent them to anyone they could find anywhere. It didn’t matter their station in life, their reputation, or even where they were from. The response was just what was hoped for. The wedding hall was filled with guests. In the same way, Jesus gave the opportunity for everyone everywhere to become one of His chosen ones which he now calls His Church to participate in that heavenly feast at the end of time.
Now remember, all weddings have expected form and fashion and all the guests came to the wedding feast in Jesus’ story appropriately attired, except one. This one thought he could just show up however he happened to look at the time. Just him as he was. After all, he was doing the king a favor by just coming, wasn't he? We find otherwise. Jesus tells us that when the king arrived at the wedding feast to greet the guests, he noticed the one man who was not wearing wedding clothes. The king addressed him directly, "Friend, (this was a personal king!) how did you get in here without wedding clothes?" It was unthinkable to come to a royal wedding inappropriately dressed. What was he thinking? Jesus tells us that the man was speechless. He apparently thought he was OK just like he was. He was confident in himself. Well that didn’t fly. The king had no tolerance for the man who came with his own fashion. He ordered that the man be bound hand and foot and thrown outside, into the darkness, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth because of the separation from the king himself, his feast, his kingdom and his graces.
The Bible tells us that on that day of the wedding feast of Jesus the Lamb, the King's Son, in the kingdom of heaven there will be those who will come in their own clothes. They will be the ones that say "but Lord, didn't I speak for you and didn’t I work for you?" They will be dressed in their own righteousness/goodness which is inappropriate for the royal wedding of the King’s Son. The King will have no tolerance for those who come dressed in their own righteousness or goodness. As in Jesus’ story, they will be thrown out where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth because of separation from the King Himself, His feast, His kingdom, and His graces. So what is considered appropriate dress for the coming royal wedding of the King’s Son in the kingdom of heaven? The Bible tells us that we must be dressed in garments that are bright, clean and white (Revelation 19:8). They have been "washed in the blood of the Lamb, the King’s Son, Jesus." (Revelation 7:14). They are not "clean" by anything we have done or said. It’s Jesus righteousness/goodness that clothes us before the King. Anything else, attempting to come dressed in our own righteousness, will only result in that same question: "How did you get in here without wedding clothes?"
The difference between those who remain at the wedding feast and those who are thrown outside is how they are dressed: in garments of their own righteousness (they are good enough in themselves) or garments of the King's righteousness and salvation (Jesus goodness/righteousness in place of themselves). The garments of the Kings can only be gotten from the King himself. We can't pay the price for them. Jesus paid it with his death on the cross. "Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us, so that we might become or be clothed in the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) That's a guaranteed place at the wedding feast of Jesus the King's Son.
How are we dressed?

For His Name's Sake

"When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. Yet He saved them for His name's sake, to make His mighty power known." (Psalm 106:7,8)
These people did nothing to encourage God's salvation. It wasn't even in their thought processes. They were totally self absorbed, even to the point of rebelling against what they knew of God. You can't get much more distant or put up a much higher wall.
God's actions are completely independent. He doesn't look for interest, for some softness of heart, or even some fleeting thought or remembrance of who He is. He acts solely because of who He is and who He is does not depend one bit on who we are and how we act. That is why He saves these people for His name's sake. That is: in order to uphold the character that His name represents. Then He also does it simply to make His power known. The whole Exodus is a tremendous display of God's power.
Praise God that His actions toward us are not dependent on us. He will call and draw us for His own name's sake. That He might be known to the world around us.
Oh God, make yourself known through me.

God's Faults?

"This is what the LORD says: 'What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? The followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.'" (Jeremiah 2:5) If you were to ask me if I find fault with God, I would definitely say no. "As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless." (2 Sam. 22:31)
Yet when you look at my daily walk, there is some discrepancy in that answer. This manifests itself in the worry that my mind meddles in, the discouragement that I wallow in, the discontentment that I feed, and the frustration that influences my actions and responses.
I must find fault in God's trustworthiness (worry), that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (discouragement), His care and supply (discontentment), and His sovereignty (frustration).
Oh God, these manifestations are worthless and they make me worthless myself. Forgive my faultfinding. I want to live in light of who you are.

God's Faults?

"This is what the Lord says, 'What fault did your father's find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.'" Jeremiah 2:5

If you were to ask me if God has any faults, I would most definitely say no. David proclaims. "As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless." (2 Sam. 22:31)

Yet when I think about my daily walk, I obviously find fault in God. This manifests itself in the worry that my mind meddles in, the discouragement that I wallow in, the discontentment I feed, and the frustration that controls my feelings and responses.

I must find fault in God's trustworthiness if I worry, that His is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine when I'm discouraged, His goodness, care and supply when I am discontent, and His sovereignty when I'm frustrated.

Oh God, these manifestations are worthless and I become worthless myself. Forgive my faultfinding. Restore to me the joy of my salvation; the child like faith.

You Have Never Been This Way Before

Follow. As Joshua is getting the Israelites ready to cross the Jordon River for the first time there is excitement and anxiety in the camp. After all, they had never been that way before. They were on the brink, as a nation, of changing from wanderers to conquerors. When the officers went through the camp to give the orders to the people, they told them that, "When you see the ark of the covenent of the Lord your God and the priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before."
He didn't ask them to perform any certain tasks in preparation, create any special tactics, drum up determination, talk about all the possibilities that could bring success or make a plan of action. There was nothing put on the people to do but to follow. As Keith Green says in the lyrics of one of his songs, "He'll take care of the rest, He'll take care of the rest."
I often feel that way as I walk this road with God. Help, I have never been this way before. He simply says, "Move out of your position and follow me! Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before."

Ask for eyes...

...eyes that see. Before going into the promised land, Moses had a talk with the people. He says some startling things about our eyes. 4The people, God's chosen people had seen all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. 4With their eyes they saw the great trials, miraculous sign and great wonders.
The next phrase is startling..."But to this day, the Lord has not given you a mind that understands, or eyes that see or ears that hear." (Deuteronomy 29:4)
A mind that understands, eyes that see and ears that hear are not something that happens because we've experienced something amazing, they do not happen because we work hard at developing them and they do not happen just because we think it the right time.
The source for understanding minds, seeing eyes and hearing ears is God alone. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind had concieved what God has prepared for those who love him- but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:9,10)
"Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you... (Matthew 7:7)
God desires that we understand, see and hear Him. The paragraph in Deuteronomy goes on to tell what He did to bring this about.
He led His people through the desert. The desert put them in a place for sole dependence upon God alone. Their clothes, food and water. Deserts in my life are very hard places. I don't particularly like them. But they do bring me to a place where my sole dependence in on God alone.
The outcome..."I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God." (29:6) Oh, I do want to be in that place...always. An understanding mind, eyes to see and ears to hear that He is the Lord my God.

A matter of persepective

Perspective. The twelve spies from Israel and just come back from scouting out the land. (Numbers 13) God had brought them out of slavery, across a dry path through the Red Sea, fed them with manna and birds, and was leading them daily with a cloud of His Presence and nightly with a pillar of fire. He had established these people as His own. They were now on the borders of the land He was bringing them to. Ten viewed the land as inpenetrable. "We can't...they are stronger than we are." Two knew who God was and were ready to move. "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." All twelve men had been to the same land. All twelve had experienced the same miraculous events that had brought them to this point in their journey. Not all twelve men viewed God in the same way. They way they looked at the land was a direct reflection of how they veiwed God. Either He was the Almighty or He was just Almighty sometimes and this time was just more than He could probably handle. The ten were looking at this from that second perspective.
What's my persepective on the challanges in front of me? Is God Almighty? Or is just Almighty sometimes? Either God is who He is or He isn't. There is no sometimes with God. He states of Himself, "I am God Almighty." (Genesis 17:1) One of Job's friends rightly states, "Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens - what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave - what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." (Job 11:7-9) The seraphs in Isaiah 6:3 call out to one another, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty..." What is our view of God? That is the key to how we view the land before us.

Wait until I find out

Wait until I find out. The Israelites are getting ready to celebrate their second Passover. It has been a roller coaster year for them beginning to learn that they are to be holy because God is holy. The celebration takes place on the fourteenth day for the first month. Prior to this, much time has been spent learning about who and what is clean and unclean. What the causes are, what makes one clean again, and how to be restored to fellowship once one is clean again. A great deal of instruction is also given regarding the restrictions that apply to those who are unclean. One being that they can not participate in celebrations before the Lord.
There was a group of Israelites who were ceremonially unclean (because of exposure to a dead body, you can't really help that one!) at the time this celebration was to take place. They still wanted to present an offering to the Lord so they came to Moses to find out what could be done.
Moses has close with God. He was God's mouthpiece to the children of Israel. He was physically is God's presence, speaking face to face with God's presence more than anyone else I can think of. If anyone knew what God expected or could assume what God would say...it would be Moses. Yet, Moses made no assumptions. Numbers 9:8 says that Moses answered them, "Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you." Powerful! Moses was not going to step out on his own, thinking that he was pretty sure what God would say. After all, he had talked with God more than anyone. All the rules and regulation had come to the people through him. Yet, Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3) Moses knew that God was the one leading, not him, Moses. It is that recognition that causes Moses to respond like he did.
Sometimes we feel like we ought to have the answer. After all, we're pretty grounded in the Word. There's something that should apply. I don't want to keep them waiting.
Moses wasn't even starting to think like he might know the answer. "Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you." Oh Lord, let me be "slow to speak, quick to listen"...to You.

Holy

Be holy. That is the simple requirement. There is only one reason given. "Because I am holy!"
God is straight forward with this one. His standards for His people are high. There is now reason in all the universe that His requirement should be any less. Why? Because our ability to be holy, as He requires, rests solely in Him. In and of ourselves, we can not be holy in any way, shape, or form. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23. God, in His holiness has made the way for us to be holy. He, as He alone is holy, is the only one who could make that provision. And there could be only one provision. Himself alone. For the provision must be holy if it is to provide holiness. And He alone is holy. "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21. He is the requirement. He made the requirement. He provided for the requirement. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

I have sinned, but!

I have sinned, but! Pharoh came to the point in his battle with God of admitting that he was in the wrong. (Exodus 9:27) It was after the plague of hail. He even went so far as to say that God was right! That all seems good, but it didn't really mean a heart change in Pharoh. Pharoh still saw himself as the one in charge, still unwilling to submit. Moses knew it and declared to Pharoh, "I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God." (9:30) How often do we find ourselves in that same place. We recognize that we have erred, we may even verbalize it to others. It may have come to that point because of uncomfortable consequences that we are experiencing or maybe just because there is some conviction taking place in our hearts. Whichever, we are willing to admit that we are in the wrong. Is that enough? Not according to this story. We can actually recognize that we are sinning and still have a hard heart. According to Moses, it's because we aren't grasping who God is...we aren't fearing God. We can admit wrong, simply out of morality, and still hold on to the controls. We may be using that as a means of manipulation. Heart change is what brings submission, or a willingness to let God be God. As we are struck by who He is, in all His Godness, only then will we "fear Him." This is what brings about true change in character and and behavior. O Lord, don't let me fall short. Don't let me merely recognize wrong behavior. Let me heart be slain by who You are and how detestable and contrary to You my heart has become. Lord, let any change in my behavior happen at the roots, not simply on the foliage.

Pondering

Pondering. After Joseph had shared his dreams with his family about them bowing to them he didn't receive a very good reaction. That's to be expected. But Genesis 37:11 lets us know that Jacob(Israel) knew that there was more to this than just a dream. The verse says that his father kept the matter in mind. Mary had given birth to Jesus and the shepherds had visited. The shepherds in turn spread the word concerning what they had been told about this child, Jesus, and everyone who heard it was amazed. Luke 2:19 tells us that Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Later, Mary, Joseph and Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover when Jesus was 12 years old. Jesus stayed behind and when they return to look him they found him in the temple teaching. They were astonished and questioned him about what was happening. They didn't understand what he said about being in "his Father's house," but Jesus returned home with them and was obedient. Mary knew that these things were important and that there was more to it all. Luke 2:51 says that she treasured all these things in her heart.
Sometimes we sense that there is more to something than meets the eye. That is the time to keep the matter in mind, treasure and ponder things in our hearts. Bring it before the Lord. Ask for His wisdom regarding the matter. It may be a while before we know the rest of the picture. Psalms encourages us to "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" (27:14) and "I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope." (130:5). Oh Lord, keep my pondering heart waiting on You.

Self-sufficiency

Self-sufficiency. We all strive for it. Starting with our drive to more and more independence: to feed ourselves, to cross the street by ourselves, to walk to the store by ourselves, to start the campfire all by our self. We want to show that we can do things without the help of others. For some that pioneering spirit leads us to grow our own food, preserve our own food, teach our own kids, ride a bike or walk so we aren't so dependent on that foreign oil, or try to figure out what's wrong with this or that so we don't have to pay someone else to. As much as we might like to think that we could make it on our own if we had to...the truth is we can't. We were created to need each other. The New Testament talks about us like a body. Each has it's part. It graphically says, "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you!'" (1 Cor. 12:21) Unfortunately, our striving for self-sufficiency often effects our spiritual lives. We want to do it on our own, our way. Sometimes it seems a little to risky to trust in a particular situation. What if God isn't quite in tune with what is going on this time? The Bible tells that He knows our thoughts(Ps. 94:11) and He knows our needs even before we ask Him (Mt. 6:8). We are so short sighted to think that we can navigate this life without Him. All that we have, are and will be comes from Him.(2 Peter 1:3)
There is only One who is self-sufficient and that is the source of our sufficiency. God, alone! The Father has life in Himself. (John 5:26) His existence is not dependent upon us. Neither is His Godness, His love, His kindness, His power, His mercy, His justice, His wisdom, His holiness. He is all these things independent of us. He has been these from eternity past ("In the beginning God..." Gen 1:1) and continues to be these irregardless of our relationship to Him. We experience who He is because that is who He is, not because of what we have or haven't done. As A.W. Tozer states, "He has no necessary relation to anything outside of Himself." (p.39, The Knowlege of the Holy) How thankful I am that He chose to have a relationship with me. (Eph. 1:4) Oh that I would see all of my sufficiency rooted in the one and only self-sufficient.

Parenting

Parenting! I believe it is the ultimate challenge in life. I find that we have been "successful" three times and wonder how in the world we will make it through this fourth time. Frankly, I am a little scared of failure sometimes. I guess the key is right there, two sentences back...we will not be successful. It is only by God's grace that any heart submits to Him and then to the authority that He has seen fit to place over us. For our fourth, that is her parents at this point in her life. Ultimately, she must choose to submit to Him as her Lord and then He will do the molding of her heart. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I wil put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws...you will be my people and I will be your God." Ezekiel 36:26-28 Oh Lord, mold my heart.