Highlighted New Testament Bible

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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

St Matthew, Chapter 18, verse: 2-3, Pride: Closes the door to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Against ambition) Part 2. 

They had discussed it among themselves.  Their minds were filled with the desire to know who would be the greatest.  Satan had entered into their midst and into their minds and into their hearts.  They were inflamed with the desire for ambition, the desire for fame, the desire to be great.  Not having an answer to their question and not being able to settle it between them, them came to Christ for an answer.  Who, they asked, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Jesus knew what had happened.  He knew that they had been influenced.  He knew their hearts and he gave them a simple answer that would dispel the influence of Satan and bring them back to the simplicity and peace that had been stolen from them.  They were the disciples of Christ.  They would be the future of the new church.  They would be leaders and preachers and teachers of the flock.  So they had to understand the true nature of who they were.

Christ gave them a simple example to demonstrate who they were.  And Jesus called a little child to him, set him in their midst, and said, "Amen
I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Christ gave them an example.  He put the child in their midst to show them who they were not.  He put the child in their midst the show them who they were.  He put the child in front of them to help them to understand what they had become, seeking ambition and pride.  And then he told them that they would loose the kingdom of heaven if they continued to be the persons they had turned into.  Satan was in their midst.  Satan had influenced them.  Satan sought to turn them into disciples of pride and ambition, but Christ knew in their hearts that they were his disciples.  He knew that they belonged to him and not to the evil that sought to turn them.  So he put the child in front of them to show them that they must turn away from the influence that sought to fill them with pride and ambition.

How are we to turn into children today?  How are we to become childlike that we may gain the kingdom of heaven when the world demands and declares that we must be ambitious.  Do we want to turn away from ambition, turn away from our passions, turn away from those things that we think will make us better persons, better spiritual beings.  The world demands that we have pride.  The world demands that we have passion and drive and courage and belief in ourselves before we are able to reach our goals, find our dreams, fulfill the desires of out hearts.  These are the principles and practices that we are raised with from childhood.  In order to be successful in this world we must espouse these principles and make them our own.  Or, are we going in the wrong direction in following the principles of the world?

God created the stars and the moon and the earth and the air we breathe.  He gives us food to eat.  He provides for us by giving us the materials that we need to make a life for ourselves and to live comfortably.  And he loves us.  For those that love him and know him, he will make provisions. 

There was a time in my life when I thought that I needed to follow the world.  There was a time in my life when I believed in the principles of the world.  There was a time in my life when I believed that I could do anything that I set my mind to if I only believed that I could achieve.  I espoused the principles of the rich and famous, of the wealthy and successful, the principles of the achievers in the world.  I failed, thank God.  I did not achieve, thank God.  I lost my way, thank God.  I hit my bottom, thank God.  And I called for help, thank God.  He held my hand.  He did not let go.  He pulled me up and let me know that I am his child, that I am loved, thank you God.  Thank you Father

Today, I know that the success that I have comes from and through him.  Today I know that I am not proud.  Today I know that I no longer have to follow the practices and principles of the world because I have a father who loves me.  I know that I do not have to be ambitious because I have a father who created the stars, the moon, the earth, the sky the water, and the air I breathe.  And today I know that my life is not without but within the mortal shell in this world.  For today I see the true spirit that Christ Jesus has given me which is the joy in my heart and the light in my life.  And today I am able to see my brothers and sisters as they are, spirits of the light of Christ that is within them.  If they only knew.  If they could only see.  If they could only experience the truth of who they are then they too will know who they are and where they belong.  My joy is the kingdom of heaven and not the kingdom of earth.  Christ loves you and the Holy Spirit awaits 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.