St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses: 18-19a. Faith is the cure.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Why the disciples could not cure him) Part 1.  

Christ made the demon leave.  He cast it out.  He returned the child to his father and set the guard to prevent the demon from returning.  And the light of Christ shone within the child.  The disciples tried to cast it out.  They made an effort to remove the demon but it would not obey them, it would not leave.  The father pleaded with them for their help.  He begged.  He knew that it could be done.  He heard the word of how others were cured.  He saw the ones who were transformed, the ones who were made whole, the ones who had demons that were cast out.  And he believed that this could happen for his son also.  He had faith in his belief.

The father was persistent.  He was demanding.  He was unrelenting because he loved his son and he knew that if it could happen to others it could happen for him.  He had faith.  So he searched, he traveled, he followed the word.  He listened to all the talk about Christ and what he had done for others.  He believed with certainty that it could happen for his son.  He believed with certainty and he had faith.  But the disciples did not know.  They did not have the certainty in their beliefs, in their faith.  So they could not cure him.  They asked Christ why they could not cure the boy.   Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could not we cast it out?"  He said to them, "Because of your little faith."

They had little to no faith.  They had little to no belief to guide them in their actions.  They were not ready to do great things.  Yet these were the ones Christ chose to follow him.  These were the twelve that he hand picked.  They were the chosen ones that the people would follow after Christ returned to his father in heaven.  When would they get it?  When would they believe?  When would their faith increase so that there was no doubt?  All plans were in place for the completion of the mission and the training time was coming to an end.  When will we get it?  When will we believe?  When will our faith increase so that there is no doubt?

What is faith?  How would we define it: faith is a belief in something?  Would we say that faith is a belief that there is a God, that there is a supreme being, that there is something greater than ourselves?  The question then becomes: Is this God a loving God?  Is this God a caring God?  Is this God a protective God?  Can we believe in this God?  Can we trust this God?  What is it that we believe, as we go through life on a daily basis?  We are taught that there is a God.  We are given the scriptures as a basis for our beliefs.  As children we are taken to church and taught in Sunday Bible study about our God from the scriptures of the Bible.  Is this enough to guide us through life?  Do we continue our beliefs as we grow older and venture out into the world to make our own way? 

The world would change our beliefs.  The world would turn us away from what we are given as children, as young adults.  The world would have us doubt what we are given through the teachings from the scriptures.  It would convert us to its way of thinking and lead us away from the commandments of the Bible.  The world says the Bible is outdated.  The world says the Bible is a book of fiction and not to be believed.  The world says do not follow the Bible but follow us and we will reward you with our riches.  The world says we will make you happy, we will make you rich, we will fulfill your desires, we will provide for you, we will protect you if you only follow our ways and not the ways of the Bible. 

How do we reconcile the difference?  How do we come to terms with what the world offers and what we are taught in church?  On the one hand we have the world that would offer to fulfill our needs and on the other hand we have the church that would have us believe that our needs will be fulfilled.  Do we have the faith to believe?  Do we have the faith to know with certainty that our beliefs are true, our hopes are real, and our desires will be fulfilled?  Only with certainty will we be able to act.  Are you sure?  Do you know?  Have you discovered the truth of who you are in Christ?  Faith is the belief in the desire to be one with Christ, as Christ is one with the Father?  Come!  Open the door to your heart and become one with he who is one with the Father.  And you will know for certain who you are.  There will be no doubt.  There will be no fear.  There will only be you in the truth of Christ and the Holy Spirit. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.   

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse:16-17; Unbelieving and Perverse Generation: The Cure.

Our paragraph topic is:(Jesus cures him by casting out a devil) Part 2.

They were unbelieving.  They were perverse.  They were scoffing.  They manipulated, lied, cheated, gave false witness, possessed the hearts of men to do the evil that was perpetuated upon the people.  And Christ knew who them.  He saw them for who they were.  He bore witness to their deeds and cast them out of men that they could not continue to do evil.  Yet there were those who wanted the evil to continue.  There were those who were possessed and influenced by evil so much that they perceived that it was right and just.  But Christ was meek.  Christ was mild mannered.  Christ was loving.  Christ was reserved.  He knew that the cups of God's wrath were being filled and the day of judgment was at hand.  But the sacrifice was not made and the justification was not yet complete.

Christ tired of their presence.  He would rid himself of their evil.  He would send them back to the pit where they belonged in due time.  But what was before him was a child.  What was in the child was evil.  And what had to be done was a cure.  So evil had to be cast out of this innocent child.  Evil had to be removed from this child of God so that it would never return again.  And evil had to be expelled so that the child within could be released from the prison where it was being held captive.  " How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to me."  And Jesus rebuked him; and the devil went out of him; and from that moment the boy was cured.

The boy was cured.  From the moment that Jesus spoke the devil left the boy and he was cured, He was free.  He was no longer possessed.  This is the power of Jesus.  He had the power to cure.  He had the power to change water into wine, the power to multiply loaves and feed thousands, the power to raise the dead, heal the sick, make the lame walk, and speak to nature to calm the seas.  Yet the demons continued to pester, to bother, to seek to insight, to do everything that they could to interfere with the mission of Christ.  Christ was loving.  He was compassionate.  He was understanding.  He was forgiving.  And he was patient.  He knew that the people did not understand.  He knew that they did not see with a sense of knowing.  Yet he continued to do the will of God that the love for mankind would be demonstrated in his actions.

The sheep are lost.  The sheep do not know where they are going, so they follow the crowd.  They go where others go and do not know where they go.  Where is the leader?  Where is the one who will turn them around and lead them away from harm?  Where is the one who will be a guide, a protector, a provider, a teacher, and a preacher to the lost sheep?  Christ came that we each would have a choice.  He came and made the sacrifice that we could know the truth of who we are.  Do you know?  Can you see?  Can you believe?  Are you certain of the knowledge and the truth that he has given us?  Do you acknowledge each day the truth?  Do you show the love of Christ that is supposed to be in us to the world?  For they must see.  They must know.  They must understand through our actions that Christ lives, that Christ loves, that they have an all powerful father who loves them.

Come!  Follow the narrow path before you.  If you are reading this page then you have a choice.  Know the truth and awaken from the sleep of the world, or continue to sleep and be led by the untruth that the world offers.  There is power in the truth.  There is enlightenment in the truth.  There is love in the truth.  There is peace in the truth.  And there is reward in the truth, a reward like none you can imagine or that the world can offer.  The devil offered Christ the world if he would only worship him.  Who will you worship?  Whom will you love?  Who will you believe?  It has been given to me that I may pass it on to you.  God loves you and so do I!

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.  

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 16, Unbelieving and Perverse Generation.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus cures him by casting out a devil) Part 1.

And now the disciples and Christ return from the mountaintop and continue the work at hand, teaching and preaching to the people.  The people were lost.  The people were like sheep without a shepherd.  The people were torn.  They did not know, they did not understand, they were misled and they were uncertain.  But Christ was there, to give them leadership.  He was there, to give them direction.  He was there, to provide understanding.  He came here to clear up the confusion and to give clarity so that the sheep would know with certainty.

But there were those who did not want the people to know.  There were those who did not want the people to understand.  There were those who wanted the people to continue to be confused so that they could continue to lead, continue to have power, continue to be in the dark so that they could influence in the direction that they wanted to lead the people.  Evil must have evil doers in order to act in this realm.  It must have followers that have been influenced by it in order for evil to thrive and flourish.  Evil is perverse.  Evil is unbelieving.  Evil was dominant in this time.  And evil had possession of the leadership.  So evil led, and evil flourished, and evil thrived, and was bold, and possessed outright.  And evil walked the earth in the guise of men.

Christ had the authority.  Christ had the power.  Christ saw the evil that possessed men and he cast it out.  He saw the evil doers who were possessed of evil and he knew that they were representatives of evil.  Yet he was patient.  He was kind.  He was forgiving of those who sought to do him harm and to thwart his mission here on earth.  And this made him sick and angry that he had to accept their actions.  But he was patient.  He was loving.  And he was kind for he knew that justice would prevail and the wrath of his father would balance all the evil that was being played out before him.  Jesus answered and said, "O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?"

Did Christ speak of the people?  Were the people perverse and unbelieving?  Were they the ones that Christ spoke of in his words?  Or, are there others, that he spoke of with these words?  Christ lived and walked the earth in a place and time when evil took possession of men.  He saw and cast out many demons that took possession of men.  Demons were taking possession by storm.  And then there were those that were under the influence of evil.  They were the ones that became the evil doers in the world.  The kings and the rulers, and princes and men of power and money, did as they willed without any conscience of the evil that they committed.  They had the power to grant life or to take it over the people.  They had to power to give and to take, to do as they willed without bounds.  And that power, opened the door for evil to enter into the minds and hearts.  That power opened the door to corruption and to the influence of evil.  Evil then had the power to do evil on earth.

Christ came and put a stop to the reign of evil here on earth.  He cast out the devil and his angel minions from the earth and prevented it from returning.  He set up his church here on earth and gave it the power to rule over evil that it would not prevail.  And so men were not possessed anymore.  Men did not have the absolute power to do as they willed.  Men did not become evil doers as they had in the past.  Yet evil continued to influence, even from the gates of hell.  And evil continues to influence men today, not outright but in subtle ways.  For today men are influenced by greed, by power, by lust, by hatred, by scandal, and by passion. 

We live in a world where our passions drive and direct us to be who we are.  You can do anything, if you set your mind to it.  You can be anyone, live your desires, make what you want to make, and have the love that you desire in your life.  All you have to do is believe, and act, and achieve.  See the goal.  Feel the passion of your heart.  Let your heart drive you to achieve what you believe that you desire and you will achieve.  We are fed these and other beliefs on a daily basis, from the cradle to the grave.  And we are possessed by what we are given.  So evil continues to have influence in our lives only in a subtle way.

Is there no antidote?  Is there something better? Our hearts desire to be filled with passion.  But what is there that would satisfy the desires of the heart?  What is there that would fill us with joy, fulfill our dreams, give us peace?  Do we want anything else?  Do we desire something higher, something greater, something more complete, other than to have our passions fulfilled?  We see others having whatever they desire and we believe that we can have it also.  We believe that we want the same things as what we see that others have.  So why should we change?  Why should we believe other than what we are given?  There is evil in the world and we can not see it.  We cannot feel it or know it if we do not awake to it.  Christ opened the door.  He provided the way.  He gave you the life that you have, that you may live eternally.  But the choice is yours.  Why live for eternity when you can live for the moment?  Why live for the moment and when you can suffer for eternity?  Come!  Take His hand.  Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Once you discover your truth you will know and awaken from the influence of evil.  The path has been given to me and I point to what was given to me that you may know you.  

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.