Going to the Chapel

I believe it is the Tuesday before Jesus’ death. The chief priests and elders have challenged Jesus’ authority after He flipped the money changers’ tables (Matthew 21:23). In response, Jesus tells the parable of the two sons and the parable of the landowner (Matthew 21:28-41). The chapter closes out with Jesus speaking about the rejected stone. The next chapter begins with the parable of the marriage feast. I believe it is a continuation of the thought process from the last chapter which is the authority of Jesus and the rejection of it. Our parable is found in Matthew 22:1-14.

What are some lessons we can learn from this parable? Just like the wedding feast where everything was prepared, God has prepared everything for our salvation. We cannot fix our sin problem, but God has made a way for our sin problem to be fixed. That way is in Jesus. He has sent messengers out to tell people the good news, but not everyone will take advantage of the good news. A lesson for us is that we need to be out telling folks about the good news of Jesus. We see in the parable that there are plenty of things keeping the guests from the wedding feast. Another lesson for us is that there are plenty of other things in this world to keep us distracted from the most important thing. Again, we see in the parable that the guests should have rejoiced at the invitation but instead mistreated the messengers. Sadly, we might be mistreated when we carry the gospel. The hard truth is that must not stop us. Next, we see the king punishing those who did not accept His invitation. Again, sadly those who reject Jesus will suffer eternal torment. Finally, we see one at the wedding feast unclothed and thrown out. We must put Christ on to be right with God. Just hanging around Christians does not make us a Christian. The question to you is: will you accept God’s invitation to His wedding feast and clothe yourself properly or face the punishment of God?

A Bird Ate My Chips

After Bible class and worship, we got some Subway and took it to the park for a picnic. There are a lot of places to picnic at Yellowstone. After our picnic we walked a short distance to a river to see God’s beauty. After a little time at the river, my kids looked back to see a large bird (maybe a raven) eating something. After more careful inspection, it was determined the bird was eating my Popcorners (a type of chip). Someone from another picnic grabbed the bag and threw it away. I was kind of aggravated. I remember not finishing those chips with the thought of eating them later. Not anymore, thanks to that bird. I did not get my chips back, so what could I get out of that experience? How about a bulletin article.

My thoughts about this incident after thinking about it days later turned me to the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. It has to do with the first kind of soil where the birds came and ate up the seed of the word of God. I found those chips to be of value and was looking forward to eating the rest of them later, but my carelessness gave a bird an opportunity. The gospel is the most valuable thing we could ever have, and yet how many people are careless with it? They do not have time to study, learn, or apply. They are too busy with this or that. That seems to be all the devil needs. Through our own neglect, the seed (the most valuable thing in this world) of God’s word is gone. I had good intentions to eat the rest of those chips later. Maybe people have good intentions of listening or obeying the gospel later, but it is gone. I did not even know the chips were gone until the kids told me. Maybe some do not even realize the seed is gone. Let us be careful to pay close attention to and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ before it is too late.

The Extraordinary Becomes Ordinary

When we went to Yellowstone, one of the things we were excited about was seeing some of the animals. They have bison, elk, moose, bears, and wolves. On your first day there, if you see one way over in a field, you slam on your brakes and pull over. After your first day of seeing a lot of elk and bison, you might stop if they are close to the road, or you stop if they are in the road, but that is about it. If you are driving along and tons of cars are stopped, you know it is a bear. One of the first ones we saw was maybe a football field away, and there were people everywhere trying to see it. I noticed, however, by the time we were blessed to see quite a few and fairly close, that we were just driving by slowly when we saw one. How did we go from slamming breaks and taking tons of pictures of a bear a football field away to just trying to get through the traffic with a bear on the side of the road? The extraordinary becomes ordinary. Funny enough, after talking to some locals at worship services Sunday morning, we found out the animals were more of a nuisance than anything.

Why am I writing about animals at Yellowstone? I think there is a spiritual parallel we can learn from. How excited were you when you first heard the gospel or any of the Bible, and how excited are you now? That might sting a little. Has the extraordinary become ordinary? I have heard that book taught before. I have heard a sermon like that before. How many times are we going to study that parable? Maybe when some of these things are said, the mouth speaks out of a heart where the extraordinary has become ordinary. Has the gospel become boring to me? Have I feasted on the junk food of the world for so long that I have lost my appetite for soul food? Let us rekindle our fire for the Lord!