Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus blesses the children) Part 2.
The children were playing near, where Jesus was resting. And he watched them play. The parents and guardians wanted them to meet Jesus. So they proceeded to bring them to him that he might lay hands and bless them. The children did not know who he was. They did not know that he was the chosen one, the Messiah. They only knew that he was someone special, someone that their parents respected and honored. So they played as all children do.
But the disciples did not want that he should be troubled. They did not want to bother him because they knew that he had other things to consider, other things to think about, other serious problems to consider. For Christ was a mystery. He was their teacher. He was their leader. He was the miracle worker and they did not know what he would do or say next. So they did not want the children to disturb him. "But the disciples rebuked them."
The little children were rejected. They were set aside. They were of no concern that they should interfere with the master. How often is this true today? The children are sent outside. They are sent to their rooms. They should not be in the presence of honored guest. They are silly. They are immature. They are childish. And yet it is this feature that makes them so adorable, so loving, and so much like we ought to be. For we have a father. We have a guardian. We have a protector who watches over us that we should not worry. But we cannot be children.
We are adults. We are mature. We have responsibilities. We are the protector, the provider, the caretakers of our families. And we are the ones who must be watchful and not playful. So we rebuke the children and those that are childlike. We rebuke their innocence. We rebuke the playfulness. We rebuke the unselfish love that they exhibit. For this is something that we cannot do, something that we cannot afford to have, something that is beyond our reach. And yet it is our example.
Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings peace. Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings joy and happiness. Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings love. For with knowledge we are able to see ourselves as we are, not as we want to be. With his knowledge we become children. And as children we are able to recognize who is our Father. Christ gave us life. He gave us hope. He gave us love. He gave us peace. It is only through him that one is able to know the eternal nature of his being. And through his eternal spiritual nature our physical life looses all meaning. It is only through this knowledge that spiritual life comes into focus and the desire to be with the one who completes all our desires, becomes our passion. His love is all. His love is complete. His love is everlasting. When will you come to know his love? When will you become a child of God?
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus blesses the children) Part 1.
He gave his disciples lessons to live by: lessons on adultery, immorality, and marriage, lessons on bonding, acceptance, and love. They were powerful lessons for them. But as with all things from Christ they took it in until they could understand. They accepted his teachings because he had demonstrated to them that he was special, he was the chosen one, he was the Messiah. There were many strange things that he said and did. They knew that he loved them and wanted them to understand. While all the time in the back of their minds, in the darkest corner of their being there was always that lurking voice speaking to their doubts and their fears.
So they took a rest and all the children came to play. The children had heard their parents talking about him. They had heard about all the miracles. They knew that this man was special because of the way that the others treated him. And they played near him, in his sight, in his presence, not knowing who he was. They wanted to know. They wanted to see up close. They wanted to be with him. So they got closer until they were within his reach. "Little children were brought to him
then that he might lay his hands on them and pray."
They brought the children to him that he might bless them. Parents brought them that he might impart some spiritual healing upon them, that they might grow up knowing that this man affected their lives. Lay hands on them. Pray for them. Teach them that they might know the true meaning of God. We are fortunate, those who grow up in a Christian environments. We are brought to church. We are taught the history of our religion. We are given the essentials of our beliefs that we might have a foundation to grow upon as we encounter the world.
For too many of us, our religion, our beliefs, our faith is based upon what was forced upon us in early childhood. We did not want to go to church. We did not know what we were being given through the many lessons and teachings and preachings. All we knew was that it was required of us. And if we did not obey then we were taught about the wrath of God. We would burn in hell. We would be eternally damned. We would not go to heaven. All of this was given to us at an early age. We would carry these teachings, these thoughts, these beliefs, with us throughout the rest of our lives and pass them on to our children and their children's children.
And yet love was within us, as children. Love was a part of us as little ones. For we loved life. We loved our parents. We loved our brothers and sisters, most of the times. We had the seeds of God's love within us but no one cultivated those seeds that they would bring forth fruit. Are children able to become fruitful? The seed within us was buried deeper. Instead a new seed was planted within us as children, a seed that would set our beliefs on a vengeful Father, a Father of wrath, a God of punishment if we did not obey. Our Father is a God of love. No matter what we do he will still love us.
With understanding, true understanding of who we are in his love, our eyes can be opened, our hearts can beat with a different beat, and we can become aware of the spirit within us. With that awakening we can know the truth of who we are in Christ. With that awakening we are able to receive his love. And the knowledge of his love makes us keenly aware of our sins, our wrongs, our transgressions. Repentance, sorrow, regret comes with knowledge of his love. And like little children we are able to free ourselves from the grips of evil and become once again his children. For He is forgiving. He is merciful. He is loving. He is protective. He is our provider. He is Our Father above all. Open the door and let him lay hands on you that you may become a child again.
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.
Our paragraph topic is:
(Continence preferred to marriage) Part 6.
Christ spoke to his disciples concerning God's law, God's plan for man and woman. He gave them the truth. He gave them knowledge, even though they did not understand it then. He gave them a foundation upon which to build relationships with each other for the future of mankind. He gave them love. For it was through the love from the Father that they would come to understand the truth of God's law concerning marriage.
They thought it was hard. They thought it was difficult. They thought it was extreme. But they did not understand the depth of meaning in what was being given to them. For their eyes were focused upon the physical. Their minds were concerned with the emotional. Their hearts were built upon the passions of the world and not the spiritual being and the nature of God. For God was about to give them new life. He was about to transform them from the dead into the living. And all this was to take place through his son Jesus. So, they did not completely understand. But soon they would completely know, the truth of what they were given. He told them: "Let him accept it who can."
That was his message to his disciples concerning marriage and divorce, adultery and immorality, male and female, one flesh and many flesh. There were eunuchs who were created so. There were eunuchs who were made so. And there were eunuchs who gave of themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him accept it who can. Let him who desires to be chosen do so. Let him or her who loves God do so. Let him or her who understands God's plan and God's purpose be so, for the kingdom of heaven. For they are the ones whom the future will be built upon. They are the ones who are planted to yield fruit. They are the ones who were chosen from birth to be the fathers and mothers of men and women for all eternity.
And so the world goes on. The day to day lives of us all are not impacted. We live. We eat. We breathe. We have joy, pain, sorrow, troubles, trials and tribulations and we survive. But amongst all of what we do each day, we are of the world and not in it. For we are spiritual. We are aliens. We are created in his image. And we do not belong here for eternity. This is an awareness that each of us must come to. It is an awareness that we can have now or after now. But the truth still remains as to who we are.
Christ came that we would have the opportunity to be aware. He came that our eyes would be opened if we chose to see. He came that the truth would be there if we sought it. Whether we believe or not, the truth is still present. And our awareness of the truth will happen. The joy in that truth is in the now. The happiness in that truth is today. The peace in that truth is in his presence. Are you ready to see? Are you ready to believe? Are you ready to know? The love of his presence awaits, you and only you, both male and female. Come! Let him, or her, accept it who can!
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.
Our paragraph topic is:
(Continence preferred to marriage) Part 5.
Not all can accept this teaching except those to whom it has been given. Has it been given to you? Are you one of the ones to whom this teaching is meant for? Christ gave his disciples this teaching concerning the bonding of male and female as created by God. He wanted them to know and to understand the history of this teaching. So he told them that from the beginning God had a plan for them to come together and for them to stay together. And yet that has not been the case.
For man was so bitter that Moses gave them a rule by which they were able to put away their wives and marry again. They were captives. They were slaves under another master. They had lived under the house of Egypt for over four hundred years. So the customs and the habits of the Egyptians had become theirs by proxy, even though they were Jews with laws handed down by God. Yet they wanted to do as they saw the Egyptians do. They wanted to divorce their wives as the Egyptians did. Who can follow this teaching? Only those to whom it has been given and to those who wish to follow the teachings of Christ. For he told them: "And there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of heaven."
Are you a eunuch? Have you made yourself one for the kingdom of heaven? Can you follow this teaching? It is only meant for those who have been chosen. Have you been chosen? It is only through belief and knowledge that one is able to understand. We were created male and female. We were created separate, not one without the other. Our goal is to bond. Our purpose is to create. Our mission was set from eternity that we would create the physical beings that would come after us.
But evil has other designs. Evil would have us not create. Evil would have us lust. Evil would have us desire. Evil would have us live in the pleasure of the physical flesh and discard the plans of God. We were created separate, male and female. But to bond we must come together and become one. Our bonding is physical in nature but spiritual in purpose. Each male and female must decide. Each male and female must understand the purpose. Each male and female must know the truth of who they are in Christ and resist the temptations of the world.
Christ came that we would know. He came that we would understand. He came that we would have life. For we were dead until he came. We were without spirit. We were devoid of spiritual life according to God's judgment. But that judgment was set aside. That judgment was delayed in its execution until the coming of Christ. And when he came, he paid for our sins, he died on the cross, and we were given new life. The life of Christ shines within us, if we seek to know. The life of Christ shines in our souls. The life of Christ that is within us brings us back to the Father. Do you know who you are? Can you see the life that is within you? Can you accept this teaching, man? Can you accept this teaching, woman? Become one with each other, one with Christ and one with the Father.
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.
Our paragraph topic is:
(Continence preferred to marriage) Part 4.
Who can accept this teaching of marriage without divorce? Christ told his disciples that not all can accept it. But for those who would try he set the ground rules that they should follow. Man and woman should stay together. There should be no separation except in the case of immorality. And marriage to one who has been put away by written notice, is considered adultery. These were the ground rules that Christ gave his disciples that they would know the will of the Father as he created them from the beginning.
God our Father had a purpose when he created them male and female. He had a plan that would allow man to participate in the creation of physical life and spiritual life. But there was evil that also had a plan. Evil wanted to change man. Evil wanted to make man for itself. Evil wanted to have man participate in the creation for the worship of evil. So the examples were set. The participants were allowed. And the beginning of the change took place and has remained throughout time. For who can accept this teaching. Christ told his disciples: "And there are eunuchs who were made so by men."
Eunuch made so by men, these are they who can accept this teaching. These are they who have been changed by man. These are they who have no say in the creation of the physical and the spiritual. But for the rest of mankind, what do they say? Can they accept this teaching? Can they believe in God's plan? Can they come together, stay together, and become one flesh, become one spirit? Is this the will of God that we abide by? Can we agree to this teaching in a world that isolates us if we accept this teaching?
Eunuch can abide by this teaching. Why can we not abide by it? Acceptance is the key. Obedience is the rule. Knowledge is the foundation. Love is the food that keeps us together and allows us to grow beyond the physical into the spiritual. Physical love is love of death. Physical love is love of passion. Physical love is love of that which is decaying. Yet we are given the physical each and every day. Even though we live and abide in the physical we are spiritual in nature and it is the love of the spirit that will elevate us to a new where we can accept the teachings of Christ. Are you ready, both male and female, to accept?
He came that we would have life. He came that we would not die. He came that we would have knowledge of the Father and have insight into the Father's will. And it is through the will of the Father that we live, breathe, and exist. He made them male and female and it is the choice of both male and female to know the will of the Father. With this knowledge we can live. With this knowledge we can survive. With this knowledge we can succeed and accept the teachings that Christ has given us. But it takes both male and female. Both must know. Both must believe. Both must see the truth of who they are in Christ. Both must open their hearts to the consolation of the Holy Spirit that they may have the knowledge of who they are in him. For in Him and through Him and by Him we become one with the Father.
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.
