Our paragraph topic is: (He tells them of trials and hard times to come) Part 6.
To them he looked like an ordinary man, but that was far from appearances. He was more than what he appeared to be. He saw more, he knew more, he understood more than ordinary man. And he told his disciples more. Hard times were to come and he wanted them to know, to be prepared. The sheep would scatter. The leaders would be persecuted. The believers would become martyrs. Many would turn against one another and dark times would prevail.
Christ didn't have a crystal ball to tell the future, he knew it. It was as if he could see what would happen in the future, as though time stood still and he walked through the future to see it all unfold. He knew that there were many true believers who would become saints. They sacrificed themselves for their beliefs. He also knew that there were those who professed to believe but were hypocrites. They were the ones who would turn and run for their lives. He told his disciples, their would be those who would deny their belief: "And will hate one another."
They had to hate in order to survive. Survival was important to them because it was what they knew. They did not know the Word. They did not hear the message. They did not accept the Word of God that there was more to life than just the physical. Christ came to testify to the spiritual. He came that we would have life, true life beyond just the physical. And many missed the message of the kingdom of heaven that he came to give us.
Today we have the Word. Today we know that there is life after death. Christ came and conquered death. He arose from death and ascended into heaven back to his Father where he sits at his right hand until the time comes for judgment. We have a choice today. We can choose life or we can choose death. We can choose to believe or choose not to believe. We can choose to love or choose not to love. We can choose to be with Christ and have life eternal or death eternal. This is what we are given today.
There is so much love and joy and happiness waiting for us in heaven. All we have to do is accept and believe that we have a father who loves us. Belief opens the door. Love fills the heart. Faith allows one to see the truth of his hand at work in your life. Prayer speaks to him of our weakness, our fears and doubts. It shows him that you seek his mercy and his love. Open your heart. Open your mind. Open your soul and let him in. For he is the fulfillment of all your dreams.
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.
