Our paragraph topic is: (Application of the parable) Part 9.
We now come to the end of the paragraph and the end of Chapter 21. Much of this chapter has been about Christ and his entry into Jerusalem. He came with the praise of the little people, riding on a donkey. The people of the great city did not know him. They did not understand why there was so much of a uproar about this man that no one knew.
Yet it was those who lived on the outside of the city, those little ones who had seen the miracles, heard the words, followed his teachings, that knew him, worshiped him, and praised him as the new leader of the people. He cleansed the temple, taught the people in the temple, and criticized the leaders on their two faced behavior. The leaders rejected the corner stone but it would crush them and ground them to dust. He gave them opportunity to understand. But they could not and would not understand. He spoke in common terms that they would understand. They were blinded, deaf, and were not allowed to understand, until at last the word got through and they were angry. They sought to beat him but: "They feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet."
We are the sheep and we follow what is given to us. We are given our way of life, how to think, what we believe, who we accept and deny. All of that which we are today is given to us by our surroundings. People live in different environments today all over this earth and have different ways to live, think, behave, and ways of being who they are. People in India may have some similarities to the way people in America think but overall they are entirely different cultures. The environment makes who we are and what we believe. But we have choices. We can change.
Change can come in many forms. It can come through a critical process of thinking, we decide to change without any outside influence. Change can come through a force that causes us to make the decision to do away with our old behavior and adapt a new one because there is pain with the old behavior. Change can come through association with others who we follow that seem to have a better way of living, so we go along with the influence of others. Change can come through enlightenment, a revelation that we have that brings us to a new way of thinking, of believing, of seeing the world.
We can be locked in on our beliefs that change can not be affected. We can be so influenced by our way of life that nothing can bring about change in us because we refuse to believe. We can be blinded by others that their way is better than any change that we may seek, so we remain unchanged. Ultimately the choice is ours to follow. The choice is ours to want to change or not. The option is ours but the opportunity is present for us to see or not to see. The opportunity is there for us to believe or not to believe. The opportunity is present for all because we have a God who loves what he has created and wants all to have the opportunity to experience his love and compassion.
There is so much pain and suffering in the world one has to ask why do we have a God who would allow such suffering to happen. Who are we to question the ways of our Father for he was here before us. He created the universe before we were a thought in his mind. He created the earth and the heavens. He gave life to the world with trees and birds and animals of all sorts. He carved man out of the dust and gave life to him and the spirit of himself that we may have his image within us. It is he that lives through all eternity, even unto today. And it is he that gives all the opportunity because he loves so much that which he has created. The Prophet calls but we must be able to hear his call.
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 nd 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.
We now come to the end of the paragraph and the end of Chapter 21. Much of this chapter has been about Christ and his entry into Jerusalem. He came with the praise of the little people, riding on a donkey. The people of the great city did not know him. They did not understand why there was so much of a uproar about this man that no one knew.
Yet it was those who lived on the outside of the city, those little ones who had seen the miracles, heard the words, followed his teachings, that knew him, worshiped him, and praised him as the new leader of the people. He cleansed the temple, taught the people in the temple, and criticized the leaders on their two faced behavior. The leaders rejected the corner stone but it would crush them and ground them to dust. He gave them opportunity to understand. But they could not and would not understand. He spoke in common terms that they would understand. They were blinded, deaf, and were not allowed to understand, until at last the word got through and they were angry. They sought to beat him but: "They feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet."
We are the sheep and we follow what is given to us. We are given our way of life, how to think, what we believe, who we accept and deny. All of that which we are today is given to us by our surroundings. People live in different environments today all over this earth and have different ways to live, think, behave, and ways of being who they are. People in India may have some similarities to the way people in America think but overall they are entirely different cultures. The environment makes who we are and what we believe. But we have choices. We can change.
Change can come in many forms. It can come through a critical process of thinking, we decide to change without any outside influence. Change can come through a force that causes us to make the decision to do away with our old behavior and adapt a new one because there is pain with the old behavior. Change can come through association with others who we follow that seem to have a better way of living, so we go along with the influence of others. Change can come through enlightenment, a revelation that we have that brings us to a new way of thinking, of believing, of seeing the world.
We can be locked in on our beliefs that change can not be affected. We can be so influenced by our way of life that nothing can bring about change in us because we refuse to believe. We can be blinded by others that their way is better than any change that we may seek, so we remain unchanged. Ultimately the choice is ours to follow. The choice is ours to want to change or not. The option is ours but the opportunity is present for us to see or not to see. The opportunity is there for us to believe or not to believe. The opportunity is present for all because we have a God who loves what he has created and wants all to have the opportunity to experience his love and compassion.
There is so much pain and suffering in the world one has to ask why do we have a God who would allow such suffering to happen. Who are we to question the ways of our Father for he was here before us. He created the universe before we were a thought in his mind. He created the earth and the heavens. He gave life to the world with trees and birds and animals of all sorts. He carved man out of the dust and gave life to him and the spirit of himself that we may have his image within us. It is he that lives through all eternity, even unto today. And it is he that gives all the opportunity because he loves so much that which he has created. The Prophet calls but we must be able to hear his call.
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 nd 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.
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