St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 23, Entrance into the Kingdom for rich men.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The danger of riches) Part 1.

Christ gave the rich young man the opportunity of a lifetime and he went away saddened.  The young man turned away.  He did not know how to accomplish it.  He did not know how to do what was being asked of him.  He did not understand the greatness that stood before him which would change his life forever.  The physical had a hold of him.  The riches of this world would not let go.  The things that he had so treasured in this life possessed him.  He could not let them go.

This is what Christ wanted to warn his disciples about, the dangers of riches.  He wanted them to know the depths to which riches could and would possess mankind.  For the deception was real.  The hold was crippling.  The unrelenting grip would so lock a person that with difficulty one would struggle to find a way out.  And this young man could not find a way out.  Christ saw the struggle and warned his disciples that they would know the truth of what physical riches would do to the spiritual life within us.  But Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen I say to you, with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven.

Those were the words that Christ spoke to his disciples that they would know the effects of the physical riches of this world.  What are the riches of this world?  We scrap and grab and claw at, wish for, desire and work for our whole lives to have that which is presented to us from our time of birth.  Have the good life.  Paper money or wealth gives us the opportunity to do as we please.  We become free to live a life that others dream about.  We have the opportunity to buy whatever we see that pleases us.  For we are rich.  We are wealthy.  We have the buying power to own that which our heart desires.

And it is this power, this wealth that will drive us to keep it, to maintain it, to hold onto it least we loose it.  And it is in that struggle that we become possessed of the things that we desire.  For we continue to want that which we have and that which we have continues to hold us.  It is with difficulty that we will enter the kingdom of heaven Christ says.  It is with difficulty that we will let go of that which we have struggled so long and hard to have.  It is with difficulty that it will let go of us once it has possessed us.

Through this possession we loose sight of that which is most precious and dear, our life, our soul.  For more than anything else in this world, the life within us is more precious, more valuable than anything this world has to offer.  The life within is more precious than ten thousand diamonds, precious gems, or tons of gold.  For all this is dirt compared to the life that was given us by Christ through God our Father.  And yet we are not able to see, not able to understand, to know this one simple truth.  Be not blinded by the glitz and glamour that the physical world has to offer in exchange for the true light of life given us by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

He came that we would know.  He came that we could see.  He came that we would have that life eternally.  Yet darkness prevails.  Darkness is all around us.  Darkness wants to put out the light.  Darkness wants to take control of us and influence us to do evil.  And darkness wants to destroy us in the eternal pit of fire in hell.  We are the children of God our Father.  We are children of the creator of the universe.  We are children of the one who created the wealth that is presented to us.  And as His children we already have the wealth of the world.  Not only do we have the wealth of this world but we have the wealth of the entire universe.  The universe that we can barely perceive is ours.  It belongs to us as our inheritance.  It is our treasure, our gift, and our joy.  It is already given.  It is not something that we must exchange to obtain.

But more than the physical treasures of the universe is the spiritual love of the Father.  Things cannot satisfy us.  Riches cannot fill the hole.  Physical passions, physical desires, wants and needs cannot begin to fulfill the longing within.  The love that our Father bears for us is the only thing that can fill us completely.  For it is overwhelming.  It is uplifting.  It is like nothing that we have experienced before.  It is there for the asking, there for the receiving, there for the knowing. 

Be not deceived by the riches of this world.  Do not exchange that which is real and eternal for that which is not.  Entrance into the kingdom awaits you.  Fulfillment of that which your heart desires, is yours.  Seek that truth within yourself and you will know the love that the Father has for you.  He has given you the path to follow.  He has placed the Advocate at your door waiting for you to open it.  He has given you the keys to unlock your treasure once you find it.  The choice is yours.  Chose to see it.  Chose to open it.  Chose to believe that it is there for you and you will find it.

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 19, verse: 22b, The commandments: Having great possessions.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 16.

And now we come to the culmination of this paragraph topic, the rich man speaks to Jesus.  He came because he wanted to know.  He had conquered all the experiences of his time, having the freedom to do as he pleased.  Yet within all that he had accomplished he still desired something more.  He had a hunger within.  He had a hole that needed to be filled.  He had yet to find anything in this world that could fill it.  He had riches.  He had opportunity.  He had freedom to do all that his wealth allowed.  Yet he did not have the fulfillment that enlightenment brought.

He sought Christ because he heard the word.  He sought Christ because the word opened the door to his heart and stirred something within him.  He sought Christ because that which was within pointed him in the direction of Christ to get the answers.  And when he found Christ he was given answers.  Keep the commandments he was told.  That he did, but that was not enough to fill the hunger.  If he wanted to be perfect he was given other tasks to complete.  Sell what he had.  Give to the poor and have treasure in heaven.  And then, to reach that perfection, come and follow Christ to fill the hunger within.  When he heard the words he was filled with sorrow and sadness.  "He went away sad, for he had great possessions."

He had great possessions.  Much had he acquired in his lifetime even though he was a young man, he had great possessions.  Typical of what we aspire to have today is great possessions.  We want much riches, cars, beauty, good health, love, passion, power, beautiful homes, travel, fine clothes, fine wines, fine men or women in our lives.  All these are the things that we aspire to have today.  Is it wrong to want these things?  Is it wrong that we see and feel the desires of our hearts?  Is it wrong for us to want what is given to us to have?  After all we see these things presented to us everyday.  We are given to want these things because others have them and they tell us that we should want them also.

Great possessions are the things that are plugged into our brains daily.  Yet it is those same possessions that possess us.  It is the desire, the passion, the need, that drives us that consumes us, that possess us in our every waking thought and deed that lead us to the destination that we seek.  Some succeed in that goal.  Most do not.  What must we do to obtain that goal?  Or is that goal something that we truly want or desire?  Thousands of potential actors, singers, comedians, and performers grow up seeking to be the stars of today.  Yet only a handful succeed in reaching that goal.  And what are the consequences that are paid to obtain that goal?  What price do they pay to be number one? 

The rich young man had an opportunity.  He had an opportunity like nothing else that he had experienced in his life.  He had the opportunity to become a follower of Christ, to become a disciple.  Yet he had possessions.  He had great possessions.  And those possessions had a hold of him.  He could not find a way to let them go.  He was blinded by the glitz and glamour of death.  For all that is physical leads to death.  And all that is spiritual leads to life.  What is the dollar but ink on paper?  What is gold but a shimmering rock?  All that we are given to value in this world does not give life but death.  And there is nothing in this physical world that will give life except that which is life. 

Christ came that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  We are the life that he has given us if we only are able to see it, to feel it, to know it, to be it.  We are given death in the disguise of life, but life is within us and not from outside.  Life is the light that is within us.  It is the essence of that which Christ gave to us.  It is the light of life that results from the spirit within.  I am the spirit and not the physical.  I am the light within and not the body.  I am the life of the spirit and not the darkness of death.  For I know the truth of who I am in Christ and so can you.  I know the consolation of the Spirit and so can you.  I know the protection and the provision of the Father and so will you.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in the spirit and see the life that is within 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.  

St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 22a, The commandments: When the saying was heard.

Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 15.

And then came the telling of what must be done.  Christ had given the rich young man all that was needed to fulfill the hunger within.  He had given him the commandments to follow.  He had given him the yoke to unburden.  He had given him the treasure to have.  And finally he gave him the opportunity to become a follower.  The ball was the with the young man.  He was now ready to decide which path he would take.  He was now at the cross roads of his life.

He sought out the word.  He traveled in search of that which was within him that he might know the truth.  He came to the cross roads of his innermost desires and now it was time to decide.  Was he ready?  Did he know the direction to take?  Was he hesitant to move forward now that he had the choice?  And this is where the influence of all that had come before, came to bear on his decision.  Which road would he take?  For he knew what was at stake.  He knew the physical consequences of the choice that he would make.  But did he truly know the spiritual opportunity that he was about to give up?  And scripture says: "But when the young man heard the saying," he knew which direction he would take.

We are given a choice in life.  We are born into this world preprogramed.  Our habits, our beliefs, our thoughts, desires, aspirations, our successes are all given to us when we come into this world.  We have little choice but to follow the path that is given to us during the first course of our lives.  But then the word comes to us.  The longing for something more hits us. The desire to know gnaws at us from within sending us on a journey questioning that which is given us from birth.  Is it the truth?  Is it right?  Are we on the right road?  And these questions brings us to the cross roads of life. 

It is at this juncture that we must decide which direction to take.  The choice is ours to make.  We have been given the commandments of life, as passed down to us from our parents and grandparents and those who came before us, be they true or false.  Those beliefs are reinforced in the school of life and in the workplace.  We know what is expected of us from authority.  Yet we search for more, desire more, thirst for that which will quench our parched lips for the sweetness of true drink.  And then we go on that quest that takes us to the cross roads.

What guidance do we have?  What direction shall we take?  How shall we know if we have chosen the correct path?  There is but one guide that will provide direction to our journey.  And that guide comes from within.  If we truly seek the truth then she will come to us.  If we truly desire to know then knowledge will reveal itself.  If we truly want what has been promised to us from birth then our inheritance will be revealed to us through the desire of the heart.  The heart will guide.  The heart will open the door.  The heart will speak to that which is within and let us know the truth of who we are.  Love is the key and the Father loves us more than we can imagine.  And through this love we will come to walk the path that he has given us to walk, witnessing to those in the dark who are seeking to know the light.  Come!  Hear the saying and you will know. 

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 19, verse: 21c, The commandments: If thou wilt be perfect, come, follow me.

Our paragraph topic is:(The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 14.

Christ looks into the rich young man and sees something that is seeking fulfillment.  He see the heart of the young man.  He sees the soul of the young man.  He sees the desire of the young man to have something that he has not found before.  So Christ instructs the young man on how he can fulfill the longing desire that burns within.  He tells the young man to sell what he has to unburden that which possesses him.  He tells the young man to rid himself that which has a hold upon him.  Finally he tells the young man to give what he has sold to the poor that he himself may become poor in spirit.

Following these instructions will free the young man from the physical bonds that enslave the spirit within him and open his mind and heart to the truth of who he is.  For without an awakening one remains a slave to the flesh.  Christ tells the young man that if he completes these tasks he will have treasure in heaven.  He will have riches far beyond what this earth can offer.  Now to complete the journey to spiritual awakening he gave the young man one last instruction.  Jesus said to him,"And come, follow me."

What would you do if Christ came to you and said: "Come, follow me?"  If Christ told you to sell all that you had, give it all to the poor and follow him, what would you do, what would you think, what would you say?  For many of us, we see this as a hypothetical question because we believe that this would never happen.  We would believe that we would never see Christ in our lifetime, only after death will we have that opportunity.  Would we follow?  Would we go and do as was asked of us?  Would we hesitate and think about what we are being asked to do? 

Of course we would.  This is our nature.  We are two feet in the world and nothing in the spirit.  We believe that we have a father and that our God will protect us and provide for us.  We believe that if we follow the prescriptions that are given us, go to church, pray, give to the poor, do some services in our church, and act as Christians then we will be saved.  And this is the truth.  But there is more to be had.  There is more to be known.  There is more to understand.

Christ gave the young man the opportunity that is not offered to anyone in a lifetime.  He offered to teach the young man first hand the ways of the spirit, to instruct in the reality of the truth of the heavenly kingdom.  He offered to open the mind and the heart of the young man that he would know the wisdom of the kingdom of heaven that has not been revealed to ordinary people.  And this is the gift that is given to us today if we seek it.  For if we desire to know, desire to see, desire to be with the spirit, it will avail itself to us.  The spirit will come to us and be with us and provide for us like we can never provide for ourselves. 

For with his consolation we can know, within ourselves, the truth of the kingdom.  With the consolation of the spirit we can rejoice in the presence of the Advocate.  With the consolation of the spirit we can live a life without the fear and anxiety, disappointment and depression, hatred and lust.  With the consolation of the spirit we can live a life without succumbing to the temptations that will turn us against the commandments of our Father.  The Holy Spirit will reveal the wisdom and knowledge of ages as we practice perfect patience in the trust of our Father.  For we can now be certain of who we are and who we belong to.  And in that certainty comes the foundation of the faith and the hope and the knowledge of who we are, spiritual, not physical beings.

Can you follow?  Do you want to follow?  Do you seek the burning desire to know?  Have you tried all else and failed to succeed?  The desire for success in the world and the failure to achieve it, is the plan of the world that seeks to change who we are.  But the desire of the heart to know the truth of who you are is the plan of the Father to bring you back to his loving arms.  Come!  Follow me, is the cry!  Open the heart and seek the treasure that is within you and let not the world corrupt the treasure that is within.

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 19, verse: 21b, The commandments: If thou wilt be perfect, give to the poor.

Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 13. 

Christ continues to instruct the rich young man in the things of heaven and of the kingdom.  The young man wanted to know what to do just as we today want to know.  He, however had a burning desire to know.  He came to the one person that he heard would give him the truth.  Jesus spoke the word.  He spoke the word that would reach many ears far and wide.  He spoke the word that would reach the hearts of his people, those who belonged to the Father.  For they came in search of what they had heard.  They sought out the truth of what had come to them via word of mouth and they wanted to know if what they heard was true.  They wanted to see this person themselves with their own eyes.  And they came just as this young man had come.

For the word called them.  The word spoke to them.  The word entered their hearts, their minds, and spoke to the spirit within them.  Christ came to teach.  He came to instruct.  He came that all who would believe would have a reference to the truth of his words, his life, and his sacrifice.  And just as he spoke to the rich young man, he speaks to us today.  Jesus said to him, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.

Christ had already told the young man that he should sell what he had.  He told him that he should divorce himself of that which holds him, that which binds him to the physical.  For the physical is dead.  The physical is imperfect and temporary, but the spiritual is perfect, and everlasting.  So Christ was telling this young man to let go of the physical.  And in this statement he was telling him to give that which he had to those that are in need.  By giving to those that are in need he would in turn gain for himself permanent treasure that is in heaven. 

How difficult is this concept to grasp?  We know of the physical.  We know of that which we can see and feel and touch and taste and smell.  We do not know of that which is beyond our physical senses.  Yet we have something that is much more than the physical.  We have the spirit that is within us.  How can we see the spirit?  How can we feel the spirit?  How can we touch and taste and hear that which is spiritual that is within us?  How can we know that which is proclaimed as part of us and yet have no physical proof?  The simple truth is belief.  To open the door to the spirit within, you must first believe that you are spirit.  You must open the mind and open the heart in order that the spiritual eye within may see. 

You see all science starts with a belief.  We believed that the earth was not flat and set out to prove it.  We believed that the earth is not the center of the universe and use that which we have to prove it.  If we believe that we are physical beings wrought by millions of years of evolution then that is what we will seek to prove and to find.  However, if we search the world around us and see the majesty of its construction and know that this complex and beautiful world did not just evolve from an amoeba, then we allow ourselves to come to believe that there is something that is far greater than ourselves that created the grandeur and majesty before us.  And with that open mind we can begin to see the truth of what we seek.

And if we seek the knowledge and wisdom of God who created us,  we can find the key to the truth of who we are in his instructions, in his words.  Christ came that we would have the word.  He came that through the oneness with the Father we could find the instructions we need to ourselves.  We are spiritual beings.  We belong to the spirit and not to the physical.  The mind cannot see, the ear cannot hear, but the heart can know the truth of who we are.  For through the mind of the heart we open the door to that which is ourselves.  We can see the light of life that is within us.  Through the mind of the heart we can feel the presence of the spirit that will abide within us.  Through the mind of the heart we can know the wisdom that is given us on a daily basis that will be our guide in life. 

Christ tells the young man to give to the poor and he will have treasure in heaven.  Give to the poor and you will find your treasure.  For heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field and once you find it you will sell all that you have to have your treasure, what heaven offers.  For nothing on this earth can compare to the riches that await in heaven.  Nothing on this earth is everlasting as what awaits you in heaven.  Nothing on this earth can fulfill as what awaits you in the presence of the Father in the kingdom of heaven.  And once you taste that, you will long for nothing else here on earth. 

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 19, verse: 21a, The commandments: If thou wilt be perfect.

Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 12.

What is wanting, what is missing in my life, were the questions that lingered in the mind of the rich young man who sought Christ.  He sought something.  He hungered for something that nothing up to now had satisfied.  He was young.  He was mindful of all that transpired in his lifetime and he wanted to understand all.  The word had come to him and stirred a longing within him.  He had heard of the new teachings of Christ and felt that this was what he wanted.  So he sought the teacher, he sought Christ to get answers to the longing that was calling deep within him.

What he found were things that he already knew.  What he heard were commandments that he most likely already practiced.  But these were not enough to satisfy the hunger within.  These did not touch the surface when it came to the desire to be more, to do more, to feel complete within.  Christ gave him the basics.  He gave him the foundation upon which to build an entrance into the kingdom.  But the young man wanted more.  So Christ gave him more tasks to do, more to accomplish, he gave him an assignment that would open the heart, unburden the mind, and release the longing spirit within.  Jesus said to him, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast." 

If thou wilt be perfect, if thou wilt fill thy soul, if thou wilt desire to have more, then do this is what Christ told him, sell what thou hast.  Get rid of all that possesses thee.  Unburden thy body so that you can free the spirit within you.  Did he have the will to be perfect?  Did the young have the desire to fulfill the passion that was burning within him?  Do we today have the desire to strive to be perfect in the eyes of God even though we are imperfect beings?

This young man followed all the requirements of his faith, just as we do today.  We go to church regularly.  We give out tithes as required.  On occasion we give to the poor.  We honor or fathers and mothers.  We try not to lie, cheat, or steal.  We try to follow the commandments as best we can.  If we seek more, we must fight the status quo of our times.  We must be different.  We must dress differently, talk differently, live differently which will make us stand out, make us unpopular.  Even if we seek to be more among those that are our peers we stand the risk of alienating ourselves from those that we can call friends.  We become like religious geeks in our own group.

Yet what do we seek?  What did the young man seek?  He was rich.  He was independent.  He was in a class all his own for there were very few who had the same wealth.  And Christ told him to sell all that he had.  He told him, if thou wilt be perfect then sell what he had.  Get rid of that which possesses thee.  And he tells us the same today.  Rid yourself of those things that hold thee.  Separate yourself from that which will control you, possess you, lend sway over you.  For these are the things that will prevent you from achieving your goals in Christ.

Christ wants us to be free.  He wants us to open our minds and our hearts to all that he has to offer.  He wants us to know that what is in the world is not of him and what is of Christ is not in the world but in the Father.  So the focus must be on God and not on the riches of the world.  For what the Father has to give cannot be found in the world.  What the Father offers is everlasting and not fleeting.  What the Father gives is true and not fake. 

So to seek to fill the desires of the soul, the longing of the spirit, one must relinquish that which is in the world.  One must empty oneself of that which we see in the world and seek that which is in the spirit.  For it is through the spirit and by the spirit and with the spirit that one comes to know and understand the truth of who you are in Christ.  And through this knowledge and wisdom in Christ on finds the treasures of the heart, one finds the unspeakable peace that only the spirit can bring.  And through this knowledge and wisdom one comes to know the eternal love of our Father who gave us life eternal.  Come!  Empty thyself and find the treasure that is waiting for you.  Sell all that thy hast and buy Christ.

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 19, verse: 20, The commandments: What is yet wanting.

Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 11.

So Christ has given the young man all the commandments that he must follow to enter into the kingdom.  He should not steal, not kill, not bear false witness, not commit adultery; he should honor his father and mother and love his neighbor.  But as a good Jew he has committed himself to following all of these commandments.  What more is there to do?  Why does he not feel that he will attain his goal.  What is wanting in his life that holds him back?

These are lingering questions that hang in the back of his mind.  These are the doubts that give cause to concern that he has not done everything that he can.  He sees Christ.  He feels the presence of Christ and his disciples.  He desires to have that something that they have which sets them apart.  He wants to be in the inner circle with the disciples.  What holds him?  The young man said to him, "All these I must have kept; what is yet wanting to me?"

What is yet wanting?  What have I missed?  What am I not getting in this world that will let me know that I am close to God?  I keep the commandments.  I follow the prescribed laws of the church.  But I do not feel certain that there is a God who loves me.  I have not found what I need to fill the emptiness, to fill the hole, to complete me inside.  Why do I feel this loneliness, this darkness, this sense of struggle within?  These are the questions that the rich young man may have asked himself and that we may even ask ourselves today.  There are questions.

We do have questions.  We do seek answers.  We want to have a connection, a feeling of certainty, something to hold onto that lets us know for sure that we belong to a living God.  The world would have us believe that there is no God.  The world would have us partake in the joys of today and forget about the commandments that our Father has given us to live by.  Go about your daily routine!  Think not about what God has given you to do!  You are safe just by going to church on Sunday.  Live the other six days according to the world and you will be alright.

These are the concepts and beliefs by which the world has given us to live.  Yet is there nothing more that we may have to guide us, to be with us, to demonstrate the love to us, to protect us, provide for us?  Can we not know our Father more than just on a superficial level?  What more is wanting in us?  Dig deeper, I say.  Seek more, I believe.  Desire to know truly, you can.  But the heart must be sincere.  The heart must seek to know from within. 

The mind does not know.  The heart will see.  The heart will feel.  The heart will know the truth of who is the Father, and who is the Son, and who is the Holy Spirit.  You must want, more than anything else that you have ever wanted in your life.  Your desire must burn from within.  You are willing to do anything in search of Him who you seek.  And with that desire, with that burning, with that open heart, he will come to you.  He will speak to you.  He will touch you to let you know for certain that he is with you.  And he will send the Advocate to be with you always that you may have a guide to give you a right judgment in all things.  And then you will see beyond all doubt that you are real and nothing else in this world matters except His love.  What else is yet wanting?

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 19, verse: 19b, The commandments: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 10.

And now Christ tells the young man to do something that he has not heard before.  He gives him a commandment that is the foundation of all the commandments.  And Jesus said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

Love thy neighbor!  Who was the neighbor of the young man?  Who was he to love, as he loved himself?  He had sought Christ because he knew that he was a man of truth.  He believed him.  He believed in the words he spoke.  He had come a long way to find the truth, to find what he needed to do to obtain the kingdom.  He wanted to make sure that he had the right information that he could follow.  He did not steal.  He did not kill anyone.  He did not commit adultery.  He sought not to bear false witness against anyone, least of all to be false to himself.  And he honored his mother and father, for he was a dutiful son.  And here he was seeking knowledge from Christ as to what else he should do to complete his journey into the kingdom. 

Love thy neighbor as thyself.  This was the last commandment that Christ gave the rich young man who sought to know what he must do.  The rich young man loved himself but how was he to love others as himself?  How was he to treat others as he treated himself?  How was he to love those who hated him, those who sought to do harm to him?  How would he love the poor, the less fortunate, the laborers, the sick, those imprisoned, those that were Gentile and not Jews?  How was he to do this?  This was a hard thing to think of doing since it meant seeing others in a different light.

Christ calls upon all who read or hear these words to love.  He calls upon us to see others as though we were seeing ourselves.  Despite the race, despite the creed, the religion, despite the crime, the wealth or the poverty, we are to see everyone as we see ourselves.  This is the message that Christ spoke of so that we would all hear.  These are the words that he left for every human being.  But how can we know, how can we overcome, how can we practice love  with all the evil, all the hatred, the envy, the jealousy, all the other barriers that prevents us from doing so?

The barriers in the world are there to stop us from being who we are.  The barriers in the world are there to blind us from seeing who we are.  The barriers in the world are there to prevent us from loving one another as we should.  For we are all children of the Father.  We are created in his image and likeness.  We are spiritual and not physical.  And it is that spiritual being that we are, inside, that we should see.  It is that likeness within that we should know.  It is that love from above that we should feel within, that will allow us to be who we are in ourselves and in others.

Christ came that we would know ourselves.  He demonstrated his passion for mankind that we would see the love that the Father has for us.  He gave his life that we would have new life, in him, for eternity.  And he loves with the love of the Father for each and every one of us, no matter what the barriers.  For we are not black, or white, or Hispanic, or Jews, or criminals, or the poor, or democrat or republican or any other barrier that is placed upon us.  But we are spiritual beings created in the likeness of God our Father.  And in this likeness we are the light of the world. 

Within the physical, through the darkness, inside the spiritual eye, lies the truth of who we are.  The world seeks to deny our nature.  The evil wants to blind our sight.  And the darkness wants to cover the light of Christ that is within us.  Yet each and everyone of us has that same light, that same nature, that same likeness; if we could only see it.  For within, lies the joy, the happiness, and the peace that comes with the knowledge and the wisdom of life in Christ.  And the knowledge and wisdom of Christ opens our minds, our eyes, and our hearts to the true vision to see our neighbors as we truly see ourselves.  And the vision of ourselves and others will overwhelm us with the love that is from Christ.

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 19, verse: 19a, The commandments: Honor thy Father and Mother.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 9.

The rich young man is there before Christ as Christ tells him what he must do to enter into the kingdom.  He is listening intently.  He is taking in all that is being spoken.  He is absorbing on a conscious and subconscious level all that which is being given him by Christ.  For he has to make sense of it all.  He has to understand it.  He has to remember it and repeat it so that he can accepts it completely.  And Christ has given these commandments to him in simple terms in order that he can accept them.

Just as he was speaking to the rich young man, he was also speaking to all that heard, to all that was in ear shot of his words, and all that would hear these words as they are passed on to others.  For he has given to all the stepping stones, the building blocks, the foundation for salvation.  These are the commandments that have the most meaning and these are the commandments that will open the doors to the kingdom.  And Jesus said, "Honor thy father and mother."

Of all the things that we should not do: kill, steal, commit adultery, etc., this is the one thing that Christ tells us that we should do.  We should give honor to those who gave us life.  We should give honor to those who brought us into this world.  We should pay homage to those who came before us.  We should show respect and recognition to their contribution to our life. 

Why was I born?  Why am I here?  These are two questions that each and every one of us has asked at some point in our lives.  We want meaning.  We want purpose.  We want direction.  We want understanding that we may know what is our purpose, our goal, our destination.  And thus we turn back to those who gave to us the who that we are today.  We turn to them for purpose, for direction, and for knowledge.  Lacking that meaning, that purpose, that direction we must seek it from the world around us.  And we must go in search of knowledge and wisdom that we may have purpose.

In search of that meaning and purpose we may, if we are fortunate, come full circle to those who gave us life.  For the purpose is meaningless.  The direction is full circle.  And the question that we seek the answer to brings us back to our beginning.  We have life.  We have spirit.  We have joy and peace and love and hope and faith and belief that our lives do have meaning and purpose.  And that meaning comes from what has been give to us.  That meaning comes from the life that we have.  We are not talking about the physical but the spiritual life that is given to us.

For the spirit is eternal.  The spirit is everlasting.  The spirit is created from an image and a likeness that is eternal.  And the spirit will be light or it will be dark.  The spirit will know its meaning and purpose or the spirit will turn to the darkness that is within and be influenced by the evil that is in the world.  We all have the choice.  What do we choose?  Do we know who we are or are we asleep in the world, following the norms that it gives us.  The light of life is within all.  This is the gift given us by Christ.  For he came that we would have life again.  He came that we would know.  He came that we would believe in the one true God.  But the choice is ours.  We can believe or not believe.  We can know or we can deny.  We can see or we can be blind.  That is our choice.  But the knowledge or the ignorance that comes from the choice that we make can enlighten us to our destiny or blind us to darkness. 

If we choose life then we can know the truth of who we are in Christ.  We can see the light of life that is within us.  We can know the love that our Father bears for us.  And we can be with the spirit that will come to live with us.  We give homage to those who participated in the creation.  We honor those who came before us.  We remember those who brought us into physical life that we would have choice.  And we honor father and mother for the love and sacrifice that they made for us.  For they gave what they had.  They loved with what they could love.  They gave direction with the direction that was given them.  And they died with the spirit that will transform them to the true nature of their existence.  May God be with them and may be with our Lord Christ Jesus forever.

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 19, verse: 18e, The commandments: Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 8.

The rich young man had come to Christ with a question on his mind.  He wanted to know what to do to enter into the kingdom.  He was serious.  He had come a long way to hear the truth for he believed that Christ would tell him the truth and not falsehood.  So he found Christ and asked the question of what he must do.  Christ told him in simple terms what he must do.  He must keep the commandments.  The young man knew the commandments as anyone who was a member of Israel knew. 

The commandments were the rules by which the Jews lived and thrived and believed.  Some of the people kept the commandments completely, some partially, some knew them but did not keep them at all.  This was what the young man saw and knew but was puzzled about.  So Christ told him the commandments to keep: Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, and Thou shalt not steal.  And Jesus said:"Thou shalt not bear false witness." 

This is another commandment given to the young man seeking the kingdom.  Why did Christ tell him this commandment?  Why did Christ tell him the any of the commandments that he already knew?  Why did the young man want to know what to do?  Why do we want to know what to do?  Do we believe in what we must do to gain the kingdom?  In our day and time, it seems as if we live in a world where there is no knowledge of the kingdom, no knowledge of a God, no knowledge of the commandments he has given us to live by.  We go to church on Sundays, fulfill our religious obligations, and return to the world and live by the norms of the world and not by those given us by Christ.

We are the sheep that he left behind and they are the shepherds left behind to guide us in our daily lives.  Do we have guidance?  Are we led in the right direction?  There is the world and then there is the church.  There are our jobs, our homes, our children, our rest, our play, our hopes and our dreams.  Then there is our beliefs, our practices, our thoughts, our knowledge, and our beings, which define who we are.  The two are separate.  The two are not one.  Should they be one and the same?  Should we be one person, one being, one love, one knowledge, one spirit, one job, one home, one parent, one rest, one play?  Or should we be true in one area and false in another? 

We are witnesses to our beliefs.  We are spirits in our lives.  We are truth in our thoughts and our beings.  But are we true or are we false?  Do we bear witness truly to who we are or do we bear witness falsely?  To live separately bears witness to who we are.  To live as two contradicts what we believe.  To bear falsely in one area and truly in another shows the split in the person that we claim to be.  The world drives us to be false.  The world reinforces us each and every day to be separate, to not be one.  The world would divide us, create conflict, lead us away from who we are.  The world would have us bear false witness even to ourselves. 

We are children of God our Father who created us in his image.  We are spirits housed in the flesh, eternal beings given new life through the sacrifice of Christ our Lord.  Live true to the nature that is within you and falsely according to the world.  Be the spirit that is within you and seek to know who you are in Christ.  For he came that we would know.  He is that we will see.  He loves that we will love with the love that is given to us.  And he guides us that we will not be lost in the world.  To know is to seek.  To find is to understand.  To understand is to see the truth of who you are.  Be the truth that is within you and the Holy Spirit will come and be with you always.

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 19, verse: 18d, The commandments: Thou shalt not steal.

Our paragraph topic is:(The rich young man speaks to Jesus ) Part 7. 

The rich young man asked Christ which commandments to follow.  Christ told him which ones to keep: Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery.  The young man knew about the commandments but he wanted to know the truth from the one who had been proclaimed a teacher, a Rabbi, the Messiah.  For the word had come to him that there was one who performed miracles like no other.  The word spread that he was the one who had come to save mankind from the evil of the day.  And he wanted to know what he must do to obtain the kingdom of heaven.

Christ told him simply, keep the commandments.  He told him that these were the essentials to assure that he would obtain the kingdom.  Even though the young man knew of the commandments he was unsure of their importance in helping him open the door to the kingdom of heaven.  Christ wanted him to know all that is required so he gave him another commandment to follow.  And Jesus said, "Thou shalt not steal."

To steal: to take, without permission, that which does not belong to you.  It can take many forms but at its basis it means the same, to take.  We see something that we want, something that we desire, and we take it.  We steal.  We want, we take; we desire, we steal.  Christ tells us that we should not steal.  He tells us that we should not take that which is not ours, without permission.  Yet today we are programmed to want, we are programmed to desire that which we are not able to have.  We see the things, the objects of our desires everyday, every minute of our existence.  Some of those things are within our reach and some are not.  Some are things that we can attain in the future and some are things that we will never be able to have, through our own efforts, unless some fortune of luck passes our way.

Why do we steal?  Why do we have to have all that the world presents to us?  Why are our desires, our passions fed to encourage us to seek, to find ways to have what is not within our reach?  This is the way of the world.  This is what we are given from birth to death, a burning passion of worldly desires that drive us to achieve, to seek success, to have that which others have.  We follow the carrot on the stick, wanting to reach that goal of what has been given to us as a the measure of success.  And yet we are already successful in the eyes of God.  We do not have to take.  We do not have to steal.  We already have all that the world can offer us and more.  We are already given the riches of the kingdom only to give them away for the glitz and glamor that death offers in this world.

If we only knew who we are.  If we only understood the riches that is already ours.  If we could only see the truth of who we are in Christ, we would know the wealth that is ours, a wealth that nothing on this earth could compare.  Christ gave us new life.  He gave us abundance.  He gives us joy and peace, and happiness.  He gives us all, simply for the asking and only for believing in him.  He gives us the light of life that we may know and he gives us the consolation of the spirit to guide us.  And God our Father provides for us, keeps us from harm, protects us.  Yet we turn away from the Father and turn to the world for guidance, for love, for protection.  We turn to the world and away from God that we may have the things that are dying in the world, the things that are of no value.  We are already rich.  We are already kings.  We are already rulers, and priests, and ministers, and lords.  This is the heritage given us from the beginning.  Why throw away all that we already have so that we can steal that which is of no value?  Find your treasure that is within you and you will know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Then you will know that there is nothing in this world that you will want or desire that can compare to what you already have in Christ.  "Thou shalt not steal."  

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.