Few Chosen?

What does this passage in Matthew mean to you?

Matthew 22:10-14New American Standard Bible (NASB)

10 Those slaves(the King's slaves) went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Broken?

Once upon a time there was a little community of caterpillars...the caterpillars lived happily crawling around on the ground and plants, eating leaves together until one day...they watched as one by one of their family and friends crawled away and became encapsulated in some kind of weird blanketing system that they didn't understand... Their friends stayed in that weird blanket device for a very long time! and then...something even more bizarre happened! Some of the blankets started to tremble and shake and break open! And the caterpillars wondered, was their friend being released? Was their friend breaking out of that thing!? But no...it wasn't their friend or was it? It was something they had never seen before...it was their friend and their friend was broken! and would never be the same, never be able to crawl along with them on the ground and eat leaves with them again! Now their friend was deformed with things growing out of it's back! The things flopped around as their old friend tried to gain control of this new growth that had broken them! The poor little caterpillars watched in horror! As their friend gained control of the deformity growing out of their backs, the evidence of the brokenness, their friend began to smile! How could their friend smile in it's brokenness!? but wait...their friend was walking to the edge of a leaf...it wasn't crawling anymore and wait, no wait...don't jump! But their friend flapped it's new deformity and floated away ~ the little caterpillar watched in awe as it's broken friend flew to new heights~ 

Holy Spirit, My Prodder

     This morning I went for a walk for exercise...did I want to...No, but then again Yes! ....so, why No and Yes? It's because the Holy Spirit wanted me to. I understand that sounds pretty crazy to people that don't receive the Holy Spirit's input into their personal lives.

     Let me explain, for some time now the Holy Spirit has had a presence in my daily life. I know that He came into my life when I became a Christian, but to have His presence in your personal life is more! Yes, the Holy Spirit is my Teacher, Comforter, Instructor, but He is also my Companion and my Prodder(you know, someone that prods you to go walking in the morning!?) and many more things. When we ask, He will come and reside with us more than only in the salvation process. He will come in to reshape who we are, He reveals things about ourselves that we wouldn't see on our own. He also brings the deeper reality of our Heavenly Father to our understanding. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13) He helps us to know who we are in God! 

     I have heard teaching that there are 3 instances of the Holy Spirit in our lives the first is when the Holy Spirit is with us, then the in-living of the Holy Spirit and finally when the Holy Spirit overshadows us. I want all 3, I am no longer satisfied with the first two!  

     In my personal walk I have asked Him to come and rest on me, and I've told Him that if there are things that I do that offend Him or make it unpleasant for Him to walk with me constantly to please show me and I'll get rid of them or change or whatever I need to do! As a result, He has shown me and I have changed a lot of things because they are offensive to Him. My television watching has dropped to almost zero, there is not much on TV that the Holy Spirit wants me to see or to have on, my clothing have changed because He doesn't like sloppiness or immodesty on me (I can't speak for what He would have you wear, but I know what He wants me to wear). He has changed my routines, He doesn't like idleness, He has changed my words, because He doesn't like critical or negative words, He has changed my appearance, entertainment and many things! As a result I am becoming the new creature that it is said I am to be!(2 Corinthians 5:17) 

     So now you know why I said "No" and then "Yes" to walking this morning! I want the Holy Spirit with me always, to always hear His "proddings", so when He prompts me to do something I do it. If we ignore Him one time it's easier the next time and pretty soon we don't even hear Him. That's not the relationship with the Holy Spirit that I want, I want to be finely tuned to hear His voice and promptings, even if it's something I don't want to do!  =)  I challenge you to try it, life walking with the Holy Spirit is so much better than trying to do it in on your own. 

     

"For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words." 1 Corinthians 2:10-13

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Jesus' Covering

     Yesterday I had a very stressful lesson that brought me face to face with some of my shortcomings. I was trying to complete a test for an online course that Lane and I are taking. I had previously taken the test and submitted it, but then received an email that I needed to resubmit an essay answer because they didn't feel I had answered it correctly. I was thankful for the opportunity to look at the question again and have a better understanding of the subject....
     Probably not surprisingly, the test was about "humility", facing our shortcomings and admitting them quickly, from Matthew 5:25 "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison". There was a deadline to get this test completed and careful instructions! 
     While I was trying to get the answer written in "at least 10 sentences and not more than 20", as carefully instructed, and finished by 2 PM, as carefully instructed also, either my computer decided to eat up all of my work, or I was being given extra opportunity to really think about the lesson and let it soak in. I wrote what I thought was a really good answer to the essay question and then with a click of the mouse the whole answer was wiped out! I tried to find the undo or the saved draft...or anything! but it was all gone! With time running out on the deadline given to get the answer submitted I was running out of options, I wrote another answer! I don't believe it was as good as the first, but I had less time now and just wanted to get it finished so I could turn it in, another click to copy and paste and this answer was gone too! I was really getting stressed and started crying and praying, this course is important and if I didn't get this answer turned in it would affect my whole standing! I frantically started trying to pull myself out of the panic enough to stop crying and to be able to put some words together to describe what I had learned from the teaching about Matthew 5:25 "Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison". 
     What I learned from this scripture did became more extensive with each time I wrote my answer!(*My computer ate about 3 answers!) I now have a more complete understanding of the purpose of this teaching than I did when we first read it and I spent the rest of the day in a very different spiritual place. I do understand that as I do have many shortcomings and accept that fact I more fully welcome the covering of Jesus' righteousness I am in a much more humble position... humble and thankful. I'm not trying to reteach what the lesson covered about this scripture, because it is taught much better by Francis Frangipane than I would be able to give it justice, but I can tell you that you do need to face the fact that we are all far from perfect, but that's ok...we are in a process of being perfected by the Holy Spirit...but while our righteousness is as "filthy rags" to God we are covered by Jesus' righteousness and it is Glorious! Don't try to walk in your own righteousness...it will put you in the guilt zone! Thank You Jesus for Your covering!