St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 34a; Behold, I send you.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 9.  

It is amazing and chilling these next sentences in this paragraph because they pose a unique perspective from which we can view the nature of our God.  Christ speaks for God the Father because he is one with the Father.  Everything that he does comes from the Father.  Many times he tells the disciples that a cripple has not sinned as they might believe nor has someone in their family done so.  But it is the will of God that the cripple is there before them that he may be cured so that they might believe in him.

God has allowed those things to happen so that they will serve his purpose in showing the disciples who he is and who his son is, that they may believe in him.  And it is through his son that he works and performs his miracles.  And yet he does not speak.  But in this one sentence the voice of God comes forth after offering the Scribes and the Pharisees opportunity to escape hell.  God tells them:  "Therefore, behold, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them you will put to death, and crucify."

It is the "I" that testifies to the speaker.  For Christ does not speak but it is God the Father that speaks through him telling the Scribes and the Pharisees what they have done and will do to those that God sends to help his people.  They persecute religion and it is the evil within them that has taken over completely and will not let go of their souls.

They are possessed and ignorant of the fact.  They are workers of evil and see no wrong in what they do.  They are doomed to the judgment of hell as those before them and do not understand the punishment before them.  How can they escape?  How can they not reap the rewards of hell?  

How thankful are we to have the knowledge and the understanding we have today.  It has been given us the way and the truth of who we are.  It has been given us the word of God that we may know his will for us that keeps us from harms way.  It has been given us the path to follow that leads us to the kingdom of heaven.  It has been given us a guide to help us along the way that we may not go astray or be led astray.  All this is ours for the asking if we believe in him who came to save us and the one who sent him, our loving Father.  God is real, God is ever living, God is loving and forgiving.  He is merciful and full of joy and hope and peace for those who love him.  God your Father loves you as much as you love him.  Open your heart to him and see.


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.

St. Matthew, Chapter 21, verse: 4, The Word Fulfilled.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus sends two disciples into Jerusalem) Part 4. 

What was his purpose?  What was his goal that he sent the two disciples into Jerusalem?  They didn't ask.  They didn't know.  They only followed the instructions they were given.  They were even given words to say if they were questioned as to what they were doing with the ass and the colt.  And all went as they were told without any changes.

Many times throughout the Bible we find instructions that were given by God.  Those instructions were meant to be followed without question.  Yet we as humans have to make meaning of what we do.  We have to try and understand, to rationalize, to make things fit into our world.  Where it pertains to God we cannot understand his ways.  Only in retrospect do we come to understanding.  The disciples were given instructions and they followed them.  They only understood later the purpose of what they were doing.  Now this was done that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled.

The whys and wherefores of his actions had already been foretold.  The words of what he would do were already written so that all would know and have knowledge of what would happen.  Even to the ends of the world the words are written for those who seek to know, for those who look to see, for those who want to understand.  The word was fulfilled and will be fulfilled.  Christ came as it was written.  He spoke to us.  He walked with us.  He led us to his sacrifice and redemption that we would know who we are.  He gave us new life.

All this is being done so that what was spoken will be fulfilled.  The God of mercy, the God of love calls us to his name.  He calls us to come home to him where we belong.  We are not of this world.  We are not of this realm.  We are not physical beings even though we live and breathe in a physical realm.  We are his children.  We are created in his image and his likeness, waiting for the day that we will be transformed and become new beings.  We are like the caterpillar that lives as a worm crawling the earth.  And then one day it crawls into its cocoon and is transformed into a beautiful butterfly.

Happy are those who know.  Peaceful are those who understand.  Fulfilled are those who see that which they are.  Knowledgeable are those who know and trust in him.  Wise are they who worry not the trials and tribulations of their daily lives.  They are the ones who have been given purpose, who have been touched by his love, who know the reality of his presences in their lives.

He awaits your calling.  He awaits your belief.  He awaits your needs that he might come and sit with you and show you his love.  The words have been spoken through the prophets.  They await fulfillment.  They await your awakening from darkness into the light.

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: 9b, Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The question of divorce) Part 9. 

Christ told his disciples that they should not commit adultery.  He told them that anyone who puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery.  Moses allowed the Jews to give a written notice in order to divorce their wives or husbands.  Accordingly, anyone could give any reason, in written notice, and divorce their spouses.  Anyone could give any excuse to separate from their spouses so that they could marry another. 

Christ told his disciples that this is not the case.  God created them male and female for a purpose.  He created them that they should be together and not to separate.  This how he created them.  And Christ told them that the only reason for separation, the only reason for a divorce is, for immorality.  So if one decides to remarry to one who has been put away by written notice except for immorality, then one commits adultery.  And he told them:  "And he who marries a woman who has been put away commits adultery."

God created them male and female that they would bond together for a purpose.  He created them in his image and likeness.  What is it about this commandment that marks us?  What is it about this rule that prohibits us, that binds us, that creates a boundary that we must not cross and why?  Two people, male and female, come together for a reason, for a purpose, for love, for happiness.  For it is in the moment of commitment that we are most happy to be joined together.  So this commitment to stay together, has meaning, has purpose, has happiness?  Why is it that we find reasons to separate when there was such a cause to come together? 

We live in a society that brings male and female together.  We grow up, become adults, set out into the world to secure a place for ourselves, and then we have strong physical drives to mate, to bond, to become one.  We are driven physically, both male and female.  We are compelled, both male and female.  Our physical makeup, both male and female, drives us to come together.  And it is that internal drive, that physical compulsion, that hides, that overshadows, the spiritual being that we are.  For when we are fully engulfed in the physical, when we are fully experiencing the physical nature of bonding, we are consumed in the physical pleasure of our physical beings, like a drug that takes us to a height of pleasure that we have never known.   And it is that full experience of the physical that compels us to want more physical, to want more pleasure, to want more passion.  And it is that physical passion that turns us away from the spiritual beings that we are.

We are spiritual beings experiencing the physical realm through our physical bodies.  We live in the physical and we die in the physical and transition to the spiritual.  We leave the physical behind and become the spiritual beings that we are, transforming into butterflies from our cocoons.  Yet the physical holds us.  The physical binds us.  The physical wants to keep us, even though we are spiritual.  Thou shalt not commit adultery.  Thou shalt not transgress this rule least you commit to the physical and surrender the spirit.  For through this transgression one becomes engulfed in the physical.  Through this transgression one crosses the line into passion, to live in the physical experience of bonding.  Through this transgression one opens the door to the physical experience of the world and closes the door to the spirit, putting it in the closet away from the truth of the knowledge of who you are. 

We are created in his image and likeness.  But evil wants us to deny our spirit and accept our physical as reality.  We are created by God our Father who wants to love us and protect us.  But evil wants us to deny him.  He is a loving God.  He is a merciful God.  He is a forgiving God and Father.  Our hearts must be open to his love, to his mercy, to his forgiveness.  Come!  Find the truth of who you are in Christ.  He forgives those who have transgressed.  He is merciful to those who seek repentance.  He is loving to those who seek his love.  He is joyous to those who rejoice in his words.  And he is bountiful to those who know him and seek to do his will here on earth.  Seek the truth of who you are and you will know the light of the Holy Spirit that will be your guide.  Open the door to your heart and he will come and reside with you all the days of your life. 

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: 9a, Thou shalt not commit Adultery.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The question of divorce) Part 8. 

From the beginning it was given to Moses and the Jews, handed down from God: "Thou shalt not commit adultery."  Two persons, male or female, either one, bonded in marriage, shall not have intercourse outside of their marriage with another partner.  This was the law, handed down to the Jews from ancient times.  Yet Moses allowed them to put away their wives or husbands by written notice for any cause.  This was allowed because of the hardness of their hearts, because of the determination in their minds, because of the passion of their desires.

The practice still continues today, the putting away of the wives or husbands by written consent.  Christ had something different to say to his disciples about this practice. He wanted them to know the truth of this practice.  He wanted them to understand that even though Moses allowed it to happen, it was not permitted.  For God created them male and female that they would bond together for a purpose, for a cause.  He told them:  "And I say to you, that whoever puts away his wife, except for immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."

Thou shalt not commit adultery.  Why was it written?  Why was it given to us?  Why do we need to obey this law?  Does it apply to us, today?  These are some of the questions that we may ask ourselves about this commandment.  God, our father, gave us guidelines to follow.  He gave to man helpful instructions that would help to keep us from sin.  For he is not demanding.  He is not overbearing.  He is not standing ready to exact punishment at our every infraction.  God, our father, is a loving God and he wants that we do not cause ourselves harm.  He wants the same thing that we want for our own children, to warn them, that they do not cause themselves harm through the dangers of life.  He wants to give us knowledge, the same way we want to give our own children our knowledge of life that they may avoid the pain and suffering we experienced in life.

Yet we live in a world that downplays the spiritual dangers to ourselves and our children.  We exist in a world that does not want us to know of the those dangers, a world that encourages us to practice the same things that would cause us spiritual harm.  We are lulled to sleep about immorality, lust, deceit, anger, greed, and all the things in this world that would destroy our spiritual truths.  For we are spiritual beings living in a physical body.  And it is that spirit within us that is the prize of the world.  We sleep walk through life not knowing the truth of who we are.  We seek the trinkets that life offers in exchange for the most valuable prize of all, our spiritual soul.

Be not immoral.  Seek the repentance that Christ has given to us and come to know the truth of who you are in him.  Refrain from the world and seek the protection and provision that your heavenly father will provide.  For he is the creator of the universe and all that exists.  If he has done these things then surely he can provide for and protect us.  Practice the perfect patience spoken of by the apostles that you may know and see the miracles that your father will create in your life.  For he loves you more than you know.  He wants to provide for you more than you know.  He has a purpose for you.  And when you see what he offers, and know what he gives, you will understand that there is nothing on this earth that can compare with what your father has in store for you. 

Christ came that you would have life.  Christ gave of himself that you would have the freedom of choice.  Christ arose from death that you will know he lives and that he sits at the right hand of God.  Christ awaits you to receive him into your life, for the choice is yours.  Christ loves you and wants to demonstrate to you the passion of his love that you may see the truth of who you are in him.  We were created in his image and likeness.  Come and see the truth of who you are.

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 18, verse: 8, Occasions to Sin for the hand or foot.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Avoiding scandal) Part 5.

Christ continues to instruct his disciples about scandal and sin in the world.  He has given them the truth concerning the misleading of the little ones and the punishment that one will suffer.  He has instructed them on the causes of scandal and the wrath that will come upon one who brings forth scandal.  Now he tells them about occasions to sin.  He tells them about the eyes and the hands and the feet, if they lead one to sin.

It is far better to cut off those parts if they are occasions to sin.  If the feet lead one in the direction that causes one to sin then cut them off.  If the hands lead one to pick up sin then cut it off.  If the eye is the sight of sin then pluck it out.  For it is far better to not have these parts of the body that will lead us to sin than to enter into the fire of hell with them.  He tells them:  And if thy hand or thy foot is an occasion of sin to thee, cut it off and cast it from thee!  It is better for thee to enter life maimed or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.

How drastic these statements seem.  Who would dream of cutting off their hands or their feet?  Who would consider self mutilation?  How destructive is the occasion to sin that it could compare to such drastic measures?  What Christ is telling us is that the everlasting fires of hell are even more destructive than the actions that he suggests.  If thy hand or thy foot is an occasion of sin to thee then it is better to separate oneself from them in life.  Can one imagine such an occasion where the hand or the foot is totally out of the control of the rest of the body? Can one imagine where the hand or the foot does not yield to the control of the mind?  Can one imagine such an occasion where the hand or the foot leads one to sin despite all efforts to not sin?  Such is the possession of evil.  Evil in the would have us kill or steal or be controlled by parts of the body to commit sin.

Cast it from thee!  Throw it away!  Get rid of it if it causes you to sin continuously.  Compulsions!, Passions!, Strong desires!, drive us to do things that we otherwise would not do.  Lust clouds the mind.  Anger blinds the judgment.  Jealousy, revenge, rage causes us to see red and drives to the final conclusion of those desires without consideration of the consequences.  All these are the keys that open the door to evil that will posses us and lead us to sin.  Patience, love, repentance, forgiveness, all allow us to close the door to sin and return to the knowledge of who we are in Christ.  

We are the children of a loving God.  Our father does not want us to perish in the everlasting fire.  So he gives us these warnings to help us understand the seriousness of the sins we commit.  And he provides us a way out that we may find forgiveness and repent against the actions that we committed.  But far greater than all this is the opportunity to share in the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit so that we may fully understand who we are. 

For Christ gave us life.  He restored the life that is within us.  And he has given us an opportunity to understand who we are, to understand ourselves as we will be known in heaven, outside of the flesh that we occupy.  We are spiritual beings in a physical shell.  And it is through the spirit that we can come to know our true nature. 

Come!  See the light that is within you and know the spirit that you are.  Shake off the shackles of the flesh.  When you know the truth of who you are in Christ you began a journey of discovery that comes from and through the Holy Spirit.  Open the door!  Let him in!  Seek his presence and you will know the truth.  Christ sacrificed his life that you may have yours.  See the true light that is yours.  Follow the path that is before you and discover the other side of the physical realm.  Christ awaits you.  The Holy Spirit is welcomes you.  The Father adores you because you are his own.

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 18, verse: 7b, Woe to the originator of Scandals.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Avoiding scandal) Part 4. 

Scandals, are an evil in the fabric of mankind.  Scandals, are an opening into the heart and soul of man.  Scandals, are a thing that once spoken and breathed, takes on its own life.  Christ warns of these things.  He speaks to his disciples telling them to beware.  For Scandal will come.  Scandal will take on its own life.   Scandals will spread like a plague, a disease in the minds and hearts of men.  It is spread by word of mouth.  It will consume.  It will destroy.  And when it has fulfilled it's purpose it will die.

Christ tells his disciples that the world will suffer because of scandals.  He warns them of the impending doom brought on by it.  And he tells them that it is a necessary evil.  Scandals must needs be.  But scandals only come through men.  They only have life and take form through the thoughts and minds of the men and women that allow it to be created, allow it to have life in their minds and hearts.  Christ warns his disciples against scandals.  He tells them:  "For it must needs be that scandals come, but woe to the man through whom scandal does come!"

Woe to the man or woman through which it comes.  Beware, Christ tells us, that we are not the messengers of scandal.  For the punishment is great, the wrath is everlasting, and the justice of God will come to those who open the door to scandals.  Pride, envy, revenge, self-interest are all the causes that open the door to scandal.  For it is these evils that invade the heart and pollute the mind to bring forth scandals that destroy mankind.  For scandal is now commonplace in our society.  We have engines of scandal, tools that we can use to promote scandals, TV shows, news broadcasts that excite and tell us about the latest scandals, and talk show hosts that help us to laugh and joke about the scandals that are in our daily lives.  All these opportunities allow us to practice the basest of behaviors easily and readily without even leaving our homes or bedside. 

We are children of God created in his image and likeness, children of light.  Christ gave up his majesty and royalty to become man that we could be redeemed from death and given new life.  It is with gladness and hope and joy that we should be rejoicing in the new life that is available to us and the gifts that our father has prepared for us in heaven.  Why then, do we need to pride ourselves in the meaningless travails that the world has to offer.  Why then, do we need to be jealous and envious of what others have?   Why then do we need to spread lies and rumors and gossip about the affairs of others that we may profit ourselves through the pain and suffering of others.  The creator of the universe has already given us far greater gifts that fulfill our deepest desires and passions?  We seek to fill the holes within us when we practice such behaviors without realizing that evil has crept into our hearts and polluted our minds.  Christ has given us the keys to fulfilled our lives for eternity. 

It is with those keys that we can open the door to eternal life and welcome the truth of life into our hearts.  The Holy Spirit is given to us freely if we only believe and seek it.  The light of life will come to us if we only desire to know the truth of who we are.  The love of God will overwhelm us if we only ask to know his boundless love.  Our father is alive and wants his children to know who he is.  He wants to protect us.  He wants to provide for us.  He wants to love us, if we let him.  The choice is yours.  Awake from the sleep of the world and become alive with the truth of who you are in Christ.  Follow the path before you.  Open the door to the Holy Spirit.  Live the life that you are meant to live for eternity, both here on earth and in heaven. 

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 18, verse: 7a, Scandals in the World.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Avoiding scandal) Part 3.    

Christ has admonished his disciples and the people that follow him of the consequences of misleading the little ones.  He has told them that the sin of corruption of the innocent new life is more serious than the sin of suicide.  For it is far better for a man to hang a millstone around his next and drown himself in the sea than to corrupt the new life of the little ones.  They are the new life.  They are the new light from the tree of life.  They are the babies of the world, without sin, without knowledge, without corruption.

But the world is doomed already.  The world is fated to sin.  The world is on the path to death and those that are in and of the world will follow.  For the choice is theirs.  The decision is theirs.  The path is theirs to follow.  And the sleep is theirs to awaken from.  For without the knowledge of truth we wonder in darkness, the life within us is dead, the light within us is darkness.  We have no idea of who we are except that we have flesh and live and survive in the physical world.  The spiritual being is without knowledge, without awareness, without truth.  And Christ warns us of the world, for he says:  "Woe to the world because of scandals !"

Scandals are the gossip of the world.  They form the basis of the profits of what we call news.  They are the talk in the back rooms, the talk around water fountains and our cigarette smokes.  They are what we speak of during lunch, and have conversations about over dinner.  The talk we have, the judgments we make, the anger we feel, the decisions we decide, the actions we take, all result from the scandals that we hear, read and know of on a daily basis.  We are programed for scandals.  And there is more to come.  The world will be doomed because of scandals.  Woe to the world.  The world has faced wars because of scandals.  The world will face the wrath and punishment from God because of the scandals brought forth for the destruction of man.

For Scandal, she is contagious.  She is corrupt.  She is destructive and hideous, and addictive.  She demands to be told and she demands to be spread.  For those who hear are compelled to repeat, compelled to spread the news, compelled to seek out another to spread the contagion of her disease.  Yet we live in a world where scandal is accepted.  We live in a world where we are fed scandal daily.  We live in a world surrounded by scandal because it is profitable.  She is everywhere.  She is pervasive.  She is within and without, in every nook and cranny of our daily lives.  And she demands to be heard.  But once heard she requires obedience. 

Be not a party to scandal.  Spread not her lies and deceit.  Turn a deaf ear to her and let not her addiction fill your soul.  For death is upon her.  She is the door to evil.  Through her comes lies, deceit, murder, destruction, and darkness.  We were not created in the image of darkness, but in the image and likeness of our God.  For through Christ  new life was given to all mankind, if they only believe.  For those who believe or want to believe, seek the truth.  Search for the life that was given you by the sacrifice.  It is there waiting for you. 

The truth will come to those who want to know, to those who seek, to those who knock.  The door will be opened and the Holy Spirit will come and dwell with you.  And when this happens you will know the truth for he will show you the way.  Christ told us that he will not leave us as orphans.  He told us that he will send us an advocate.  He told us that we will be one with him and he is one with the father.  Believe and know the truth!  Seek and find your answers!  Follow the path and know the light that is within you.  For you were dead and now you have the life that Christ has given you through his sacrifice.  Then you will know the truth of who you are in Him.

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 18, verse: 6, Punishment for leading the little ones to sin.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Avoiding scandal) Part 2.   

Christ treasured the little ones.  They were newly born, fresh from the tree of life, given new life by God.  Theirs was the innocence.  Theirs was the beginning.  Theirs was the start of a life in eternity.  For they knew not life.  For they knew not existence.  They were conceived in the being of God who brought forth the tree of life that it may bring forth fruit.

Precious are the little ones.  Happy and joyous are their lives.  Full of questions and curiosity is their life.  Happy in the learning and the experience of all that life has to offer.  And Christ said to his disciples: "He who receives one such little one for my sake, receives me.  Yet there are those who do not receive them.  There are those who would corrupt them.  There are those who would use them for their own means, to serve their own purposes.  The little ones are the gems of heaven.  They are the newborn life of God.  They are the ones to be protected and guarded against the evil of the world.  And for this reason Christ told his disciples:   "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it were better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."

How precious are the little ones.  Look into their eyes and see the light of life that comes through them.  Feel the joy and love that comes through their hearts as they experience the physical life that is theirs.  Through them we become alive and experience the newness of life.  Through their lives we are reborn.  For with them and through them we shape the future of their lives and provide the protection and have the opportunity to set them on a path that they may follow for the rest of their lives here on earth.  We are their foundation.  We are their light in the darkness.  We are their protection as God protects us.

Yet there are those who would destroy.  There are those who would corrupt.  There are those who would lead astray the new life sent to earth by God.  There are those who would turn these little ones away from their true nature and send them into darkness.  Beware, you who corrupt, you who destroy, you who tear down and turn the light to darkness.  Grave is your sin.  And great is your punishment.  Far greater will be your suffering in hell for the sin that you commit hear on earth.  Christ tells you that it would be far better for you to commit the sin of death than to face the sin of corruption of a little one.  For the sin of death is far less a punishment than the sin of corruption. 

Turn away from these acts of evil against the Lord your God.  Seek forgiveness and repent.  Open the door to the light of Christ who forgives the sins we commit.  God loves you.  He created you in his image and not in the image of darkness.  You are life and you are light.  See the goodness within you and know the truth of who you are in Christ.  He has provided the way and the path awaits you to follow.  Come!  Receive the light of the Holy Spirit and you will know the truth of who you are in 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 18, verse:4, Pride vs Humility.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Against ambition) Part 3. 

Christ told them that they had to turn.  He told them that they had to change.  He told them that they were in the wrong place and that they had to leave that place and get to another place.  Satan was in their midst and had persuaded them to come to his place.  He influenced them to think about the future, to think about themselves, to think about fame and fortune and greatness.  He influenced them to think about all those things that were of this world and not of the spiritual world of heaven.  Satan wanted to turn them around, to turn them away from Christ.

Christ told them that they had to turn away from where they were.  He told them that they had to see what was needed to enter into the kingdom of heaven and that ambition would not lead them there.  Just as a child had no ambition, so the disciples had to become.  Just as a child had no desires, so the disciples had to become.  Just as a child was full of joy and wonder, so the disciples had to become.  Just as a child was humble, so the disciples had to turn away from pride and become humble.  Christ told them: "Whoever, therefore, humbles himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven".

Christ gave the disciples an example to follow.  He showed them the humility of a little child that they would know true humility.  Here they could refer back to this example and remember what they saw and what they felt to know who would be the greatest.  This is a simple example for us to follow if we can.  We live in a world filled with examples of how not to be humble.  We ware fed through all our senses the world's view of how we should live, how we should think and how we should be.  Humility is not a part of what the world teaches us.  Humility is not a part of what we see in the world.  Humility is not a part of what we believe today.

Yet Christ tells us that to be like a child is the key to entering the kingdom of heaven.  How can we do this?  How can we turn from the world and espouse humility?  How can we practice this principle in a world that presents everything to the contrary?  It all starts with the knowledge of who you are in Christ.  What knowledge is this? 

God, our father, created man in his image.  He created man and woman in his likeness as  spiritual beings and not physical beings.  God is not a man.  God is not a physical being.  God is not of this earth.  And yet we are created in the image of our God.  We are spiritual beings and not physical beings.  We belong to the spiritual world and not to the physical world.  Our life and our light comes from the light that was given back to us by the sacrifice made by Christ. 

Christ is the most humble of all.  He gave up his power, his majesty, his glory to become a physical man to save us from destruction.  And it is through his humility that we have life today as spiritual beings not physical beings.  The body dies, decays, and returns to dust.  But the spirit is eternal in Christ, if we choose it to be.  It is our choice. 

It is only that we do not know who we are that we follow the principles and precepts of the world.  For with the knowledge of the light of Christ we know who we are and we can see ourselves as we truly are in him.  Christ gave us the way.  He told us what to do.  He created the path to follow, the path to discover the joy and the peace and the happiness that is ours to have, if we choose. 

Follow the path that is before you.  See the light that is within you.  Know the truth of who you are and the world will no longer have a hold over you.  For you are a child of God, your father, and he will provide.  He will protect.  He will love you as no other can love.  Christ knocks at the door.  Open 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 18, verse: 2-3, Pride: Closes the door to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Against ambition) Part 2. 

They had discussed it among themselves.  Their minds were filled with the desire to know who would be the greatest.  Satan had entered into their midst and into their minds and into their hearts.  They were inflamed with the desire for ambition, the desire for fame, the desire to be great.  Not having an answer to their question and not being able to settle it between them, them came to Christ for an answer.  Who, they asked, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

Jesus knew what had happened.  He knew that they had been influenced.  He knew their hearts and he gave them a simple answer that would dispel the influence of Satan and bring them back to the simplicity and peace that had been stolen from them.  They were the disciples of Christ.  They would be the future of the new church.  They would be leaders and preachers and teachers of the flock.  So they had to understand the true nature of who they were.

Christ gave them a simple example to demonstrate who they were.  And Jesus called a little child to him, set him in their midst, and said, "Amen I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Christ gave them an example.  He put the child in their midst to show them who they were not.  He put the child in their midst the show them who they were.  He put the child in front of them to help them to understand what they had become, seeking ambition and pride.  And then he told them that they would loose the kingdom of heaven if they continued to be the persons they had turned into.  Satan was in their midst.  Satan had influenced them.  Satan sought to turn them into disciples of pride and ambition, but Christ knew in their hearts that they were his disciples.  He knew that they belonged to him and not to the evil that sought to turn them.  So he put the child in front of them to show them that they must turn away from the influence that sought to fill them with pride and ambition.

How are we to turn into children today?  How are we to become childlike that we may gain the kingdom of heaven when the world demands and declares that we must be ambitious.  Do we want to turn away from ambition, turn away from our passions, turn away from those things that we think will make us better persons, better spiritual beings.  The world demands that we have pride.  The world demands that we have passion and drive and courage and belief in ourselves before we are able to reach our goals, find our dreams, fulfill the desires of out hearts.  These are the principles and practices that we are raised with from childhood.  In order to be successful in this world we must espouse these principles and make them our own.  Or, are we going in the wrong direction in following the principles of the world?

God created the stars and the moon and the earth and the air we breathe.  He gives us food to eat.  He provides for us by giving us the materials that we need to make a life for ourselves and to live comfortably.  And he loves us.  For those that love him and know him, he will make provisions. 

There was a time in my life when I thought that I needed to follow the world.  There was a time in my life when I believed in the principles of the world.  There was a time in my life when I believed that I could do anything that I set my mind to if I only believed that I could achieve.  I espoused the principles of the rich and famous, of the wealthy and successful, the principles of the achievers in the world.  I failed, thank God.  I did not achieve, thank God.  I lost my way, thank God.  I hit my bottom, thank God.  And I called for help, thank God.  He held my hand.  He did not let go.  He pulled me up and let me know that I am his child, that I am loved, thank you God.  Thank you Father. 

Today, I know that the success that I have comes from and through him.  Today I know that I am not proud.  Today I know that I no longer have to follow the practices and principles of the world because I have a father who loves me.  I know that I do not have to be ambitious because I have a father who created the stars, the moon, the earth, the sky the water, and the air I breathe.  And today I know that my life is not without but within the mortal shell in this world.  For today I see the true spirit that Christ Jesus has given me which is the joy in my heart and the light in my life.  And today I am able to see my brothers and sisters as they are, spirits of the light of Christ that is within them.  If they only knew.  If they could only see.  If they could only experience the truth of who they are then they too will know who they are and where they belong.  My joy is the kingdom of heaven and not the kingdom of earth.  Christ loves you and the Holy Spirit awaits 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.