Our paragraph topic is: (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 4.
Theirs was a grievous crime against the law of God. They were the rulers of the people. They were the religious leaders, the guides for the people. They were supposed to lead the people, to show them the way to the kingdom of heaven. Yet they themselves did not know. They, themselves, did not see. They, themselves, did not open the door to the kingdom so they could enter and go in.
Instead they remained outside. They decided not to enter. They decided that it was better to stay here in the realm of the physical, not enter the spiritual. So if this was good for them it should also be good for the people. And this was their belief according to the influence of evil.
History and their heritage had given them evidence of their God . Writings from their father told of how their God had saved them from destruction and brought them forth from the land of Egypt to the land of milk and honey. But that was so long ago that they had forgotten their beliefs, their foundations, their heritage. And evil came in to take the place of what was given to them from the hand of God himself. For they do not go into the kingdom of heaven: "Nor do you allow those going in to enter."
What is the influence of others in our lives today? How much weight do we give to the beliefs of others? How much wieght do we give to our desire to be accepted by others? Are we willing to allow them to turn us away from what we believe, against our own inner thoughts and beliefs? Are we willing to allow others to influence us to do things that we know is wrong just so that we might be accepted? Do we go along just to go along without any knowledge of where we are going or where we might end up? Do we have the conviction, the inner fortitude to say no to what seems wrong? Being accepted is a strong motivation to change. Being alone is also a strong motivation to cause us to change.
The home is the incubator for us to learn acceptance. We venture out into the world little by little experimenting with accepting ourselves and others in an attempt to fit into the world order. Finally we break our tether with the home environment and go it alone into the world where we experience who we are as individuals. Our home experience will determine where we land in the world and how we are motivated to change. We may find the right places, the right peoples, groups, communities, societies to join that give balance to self. Or we may find that we changeour inner self according to the motivation of what the world presents us as opportunities.
In all of what we experience in the world God waits in the background. Some may have had a foundation in the home environment, others may not. There are those who may have been devoid of any religious or spiritual experience in the home but instead exposed to pain, suffering, and evil. God waits for those too, for we were all brought into this world as his children, created in his image and likeness. He holds our hands. He walks with us. He gives us opportunity to see, to understand, to know him. He wants all his children to know his love. No door is closed if we want to open it. No voice goes unheard if we call out to him. Seek him and he will come to you and comfort your pain and sorrow. He loves all. He knows all. He is all. Be with him, for he is with 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 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.
Theirs was a grievous crime against the law of God. They were the rulers of the people. They were the religious leaders, the guides for the people. They were supposed to lead the people, to show them the way to the kingdom of heaven. Yet they themselves did not know. They, themselves, did not see. They, themselves, did not open the door to the kingdom so they could enter and go in.
Instead they remained outside. They decided not to enter. They decided that it was better to stay here in the realm of the physical, not enter the spiritual. So if this was good for them it should also be good for the people. And this was their belief according to the influence of evil.
History and their heritage had given them evidence of their God . Writings from their father told of how their God had saved them from destruction and brought them forth from the land of Egypt to the land of milk and honey. But that was so long ago that they had forgotten their beliefs, their foundations, their heritage. And evil came in to take the place of what was given to them from the hand of God himself. For they do not go into the kingdom of heaven: "Nor do you allow those going in to enter."
What is the influence of others in our lives today? How much weight do we give to the beliefs of others? How much wieght do we give to our desire to be accepted by others? Are we willing to allow them to turn us away from what we believe, against our own inner thoughts and beliefs? Are we willing to allow others to influence us to do things that we know is wrong just so that we might be accepted? Do we go along just to go along without any knowledge of where we are going or where we might end up? Do we have the conviction, the inner fortitude to say no to what seems wrong? Being accepted is a strong motivation to change. Being alone is also a strong motivation to cause us to change.
The home is the incubator for us to learn acceptance. We venture out into the world little by little experimenting with accepting ourselves and others in an attempt to fit into the world order. Finally we break our tether with the home environment and go it alone into the world where we experience who we are as individuals. Our home experience will determine where we land in the world and how we are motivated to change. We may find the right places, the right peoples, groups, communities, societies to join that give balance to self. Or we may find that we changeour inner self according to the motivation of what the world presents us as opportunities.
In all of what we experience in the world God waits in the background. Some may have had a foundation in the home environment, others may not. There are those who may have been devoid of any religious or spiritual experience in the home but instead exposed to pain, suffering, and evil. God waits for those too, for we were all brought into this world as his children, created in his image and likeness. He holds our hands. He walks with us. He gives us opportunity to see, to understand, to know him. He wants all his children to know his love. No door is closed if we want to open it. No voice goes unheard if we call out to him. Seek him and he will come to you and comfort your pain and sorrow. He loves all. He knows all. He is all. Be with him, for he is with 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 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.
