Our paragraph topic is: (The son of David) Part 7.
No one could speak to the answer. No one could utter a word. No one could respond to the question of whose son he was. No one knew the answer but he would not reveal it to the Pharisees. It was not to be known or spoken of. It was the revelation that would open the minds and hearts of those who wanted to know. No one knew but did not want the others to know.
And so the question of the Christ went unanswered in the minds of the Pharisees. They would not see. They would not understand. They could not be healed because No one would not have it. Neither did anyone dare from that day forth to ask him any more questions.
No One and Any One were together in their quest to trick the Christ. They came together with the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and all those who were against him. Each time they would attempt to trick him. Each time they would seek to try him in the public eye. Each time they would scheme in their hearts to do him harm to no avail. It was not his time, until the time of his arrival in Jerusalem.
When is our time? When will we go? Will we know? Some will and some will not. For some the thief will come in an instant. Others will know that the time has come for them to leave this plane and go to another existence. Others will ask for his hand and call upon him to bring them home. We all must go at some point in this journey. We all must face the transition of life, death, and spirit. It is our nature, given us from birth, from conception, from existence. I am, we are, we shall be according to the will of God our Father. Amen.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 24.
We have been writing about this parable for some time now and we come to its end. The house-holder had the right to choose to do as he pleased with his generosity to pay all the laborers the same amount and the laborers had the right to feel slighted. The first hired laborers agreed to the payment for a days labor in the beginning. They understood that they would work an entire day for a denarius. They believed that this was a fair and just payment for their labor. They were the first to come and the last to leave, the last to get paid.
It was in their payment that they turned, they changed, they felt slighted. They saw that the other laborers who came after them were paid the same amount. It was in this seeing, in this believing that their minds were changed, their hearts were bittered, their anger began to boil. But that was the decision of the house-holder and not the decision of the laborers. He decided to pay all the same. He decided to make all equal in terms of their pay. He decided to be generous. And that had no bearing on the laborers. As he told the laborers:
"Even so the last shall be first, and the first last."
This is a famous quote in religious teachings, but what does it mean for those who follow the teachings of Christ today. Christ was the first of all creations. And he is the begotten son of God our Father. He was there from the beginning of all creation. Before the heavens were created and the principalities came into being, he was there with the Father. He saw it all, he knows it all, he was a part of it all in the love of God our Father. Who will be the last? Who will be the last soul to enter into the kingdom of heaven before the doors are closed and no more enter into the kingdom.
God our Father is a generous God. He is a loving God and a protective Father who watches over his children. Out of the generosity of his love he gave us life . But there will come a point when time is fulfilled and all things are completed and the judgment will come forth. There is a time when the heavens will shake and the tree of life will no longer give of its fruit. There will come a time when our savior Jesus Christ will come forth with all his angels and demonstrate his power and majesty to the world that all will know his name. When will that time come? No one knows but the Father.
Will you be the last? Will you know the truth of who you are in Christ? You have, within you, the life of the Father. You have, within you, the instructions given you through the Word. You can have, within you, the path laid out by the Advocate each day. The choice is yours to make. Will you be the last? The Father awaits you with open arms. He seeks to embrace you with his love. He desires that you come home to him instead of the place built for the outcast angels. The choice is so simple and so easy to make. The choice is a thousand times better than anything the world has to offer. Come! Take his hand and follow the path given you from the life within. You will know the truth. You will know the love. You will know peace.
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: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 8.
We continue with the parable of the laborers. Christ relates this story to his disciples that they may have a better understanding of the kingdom of heaven. Many times telling directly does not register but relating in a parable or a story goes into memory without having to be understood and later the meaning reveals itself. This is how Christ taught his disciples and he teaches us today.
We are the sheep and he is the shepherd. But there is a wolf that wants to scatter. There is a wolf that wants to separate so that he may devour those that go astray. Christ is here to protect, to provide, to love that which belongs to him and not to the wolf. So he tells his disciples this simple story that they may have insight, that they may have understanding, that they may have truth of who they are in him. In the story the house-holder asked the men in the market place why they stood about idle. "They said to him, 'Because no man has hired us.' "
Why do we stand about idle? Why do we wait on man to give us something to do? Why do we depend on that which can not as opposed to that which can? We are independent of man and dependent on God our Father. He will provide. He will protect. He will give all that is needed to survive in this world. And yet we have not recollection of that fact. We are not given that understanding. We are not raised with the knowledge that God will provide. We are given that we must strive and work and be our best that we may succeed.
And yet all that is needed is already given to us. All that is required is provided if we only knew. We go out into the world believing that we can have all that we see and desire. We see the glitz and glamour of the world and we forget that we are children of God our Father. He it is that gave us life. He it is that provides for us. He it is that loves us so much that he sacrificed his most precious son that we may have life.
We were dead. We lost our life. We transgressed and were punished by the judge. But the judge was lenient. The judge was merciful. The judge was loving and he sought to give us another chance to have life again. We wait idly for the world to provide for us but the world can only provide death. We wait idly for the world to save us but the world can only condemn us. We wait idly for the world to protect us but the world will only destroy us. And we miss the opportunity to receive the grace of God our Father who loves us. Do not get caught by the thief unaware. Do not slip away without asking for forgiveness. Do not let the temptation of man's knowledge block faith and hope from entering.
We are not physical. We live in a physical world but we are spiritual beings living in a physical shell. We are created in the image and likeness of a spiritual God. We are spirits within. The light of life is within us if we only seek to know it. The light of life is within us if we only believe. The light of life is upon us if we only open ourselves to what has been given us. Christ came that we would know. Christ died that we would have. Christ arose and ascended that we would believe in him and in the Father. Lean not upon man but upon that which is real, that which will provide, that which loves eternally. Lean upon God and know that he will hire.
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: (The question of divorce) Part 6.
From the beginning he created them male and female. For this cause they will leave their parents and cleave to one another to become not two flesh but one. This was God's purpose from the beginning, that they would come together for his purpose. But man has created his own purpose. Man changed God's purpose so that he could make it according to his own thinking. And now we have divorce. Now we have separation. Now we have strife, anger, frustration, hatred, fear, doubt, and destruction. Today we have destruction of God's plan that will brings peace and harmony, and love into the male and female relationship.
Where did it all begin? God gave us bonding. He gave us relationships. He gave us the togetherness that comes with one flesh. Yet we have separation. Where did it all begin? It began in the desert. It began with the freedom of the captives from Egypt. For they were in captivity for four hundred years. They were under the Egyptian rule. They were under the customs and habits of another culture and they adopted that culture and those rules as their own. And they became hardened according to what they had known for four hundred years. And Christ told them that it all began with their hardened hearts. He said to them, "Because Moses, by reason of the hardness of your heart, permitted you to put away your wives."
Their hearts were hardened. Their minds were set. They were determined to separate, to divorce, to do other than what was God's plan. So Moses permitted it. Moses allowed them to put away their wives. Moses saw that they were determined. Moses saw what they would do. Moses knew in his heart that freedom from the Egyptians was not freedom but continued bondage to the culture and ways of their captures. And if this continued that their freedom would only lead to death and destruction. For this was the way of the Egyptians. This was how they dealt with their wives. This was their separation and their culture. And that same culture had been accepted by the Jews, freed from captivity.
So Moses sought a solution. Moses did not want destruction. Moses did not want his people to follow the same path. He sought to change them. He sought to move them in a different direction. Moses sought to bring his people back to the Father who had freed them. But they were determined. They wanted to stay with what they knew. They did not want to change. And now today down through history we have the same. We separate. We divorce. We ignore the will of God our Father who made us male and female, who made us that we would be one flesh for a purpose, for a cause.
Father, forgive us. Father, have mercy on us. Father, help us to understand your purpose, your plan for us, male and female. Help us to know you. Help us to see you. Help us to come to know the truth of who we are in Christ Jesus, our savior. For he came that we would have life. He came that we would no longer live in darkness. He came that we would live abundantly in faith, and hope and peace and love. Help us to understand the truth of who we are in you. For with this knowledge we are able to see your purpose. With this knowledge we are able to see ourselves as you created us, not as flesh and bones, but as spirits created in your likeness. And with this knowledge we will understand the purpose with which you have given us to be male and female. Thank you for your mercy, Father. Thank you for your patience, Father. And thank you most of all for your love.
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: (The question of divorce) Part 5.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. You gave us life. You give us joy. You give us happiness. And yet we are today without understanding of your will for us. For you created us male and female. You created us two flesh to become one. You gave us our purpose. You gave us our plan. You gave us the world we live in to multiply and prosper. And yet today we do not know you. Today we do not obey your commands. Today we live according to our own will.
For we were lost. We were deceived. We were dead, without your spirit. And Christ. He came to take back what was lost. He came to pay the price. He came that we would have life and have it more abundantly. The choice is ours. Do we live with you, according to the laws that you have given us, or do we live according to the dictates of the world. Christ gave us your command: "What God has joined together let no man put asunder." And yet we do. How have we come to changing your laws. They said to him, "Why then did Moses command to give a written notice of dismissal, and to put her away?"
Why did Moses allow for dismissal of a wife? Why was the practice of separation begun? Why was it necessary to have a divorce? God our Father put them together from the beginning. God our Father gave them a purpose? God our Father created them male and female so that they would come together for a cause. And it was God our Father who gave them life that they may prosper. Yet man has changed the rules of God. Man has decided that it is better that they are separate. Man has willed that they may divorce and remarry. And thus we have man's plan in today's world.
The plan was changed and the purpose discarded. And now we divorce, we separate, we remarry as many times as we see fit. For the structure of the original plan has been changed. Can we not accept the original plan? Can we not abide by the original plan? Are we not God's children living according to his will? Do we not start with his understanding, his plan, his purpose? Do we not accept that we are put together for a purpose? Do we not believe that he knows what is best for us? It is up to us male and female to come together with the knowledge and the will to live according to his plan and his purpose and not according to the will of the world.
If we are Christians and live according to the life that is given us through Christ then we should know the truth of who we are. We should accept the will of our Father when we make the commitment to live according to his purpose. Yet the tricks and traps of the world weigh upon us, both male and female. The wants and desires of the world lead us in a direction away from the knowledge of our protector. The passions of the life we live and the life we experience, on a daily basis, wear upon our conscience like water wearing upon rock, eroding away at our ability to follow the will of our father. Yet it is only with the truth of who we are and the consolation of the Holy Spirit that we find a stronghold away from the constant battering of the world we live in.
Come! Let us retire from the storm of the outside world. Let us live according to the will of our Father. Let us know the truth of who we are in Christ and thereby secure the protection of the Holy Spirit that will guide us through the darkness. Christ is the light in the darkness. He is the beacon to follow. He gives us the strength to weather the storm of the world. Stay strong. Stay true to who you are in him. Seek the solitude of his protection and you will know the peace and joy of his love. For he is our fulfillment. He is our purpose. He is our love and our happiness. For there is nothing in the world that can compare to what our father has prepared for us in heaven. And it is our decision to turn from the ways of the world and turn our hearts to him who made us and sustains us. For to know him is to love him and to love him is to be with 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.
Our paragraph topic is: (The servant's fate) Part 2.
How hard it must have seemed for the disciples who were told that they must forgive seventy times seven. How hard it must have been to understand what Christ was telling them. They, who had lived by the law, an eye for an eye, had to make a 360 degree turn around in their thinking. They had to bury their anger. They had to forget about vengeance. They had to turn to forgiveness. They had to love their enemies. This is like telling a wealthy person that they have to give up all their wealth and privilege. But this was the concept that Christ was preaching. This was the belief that Christ wanted his disciples
to grasp, to understand, to know.
So he told them the parable to help them understand. He told them about the "Wicked Servant" who would not forgive even after he was forgiven by his master. And this was the principle that he wanted them to understand, they are forgiven by their Father as they should forgive each other. Here is the question he posed to them: "Shouldst not thou also have had pity on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee?"
I had pity on thee. God the Father has pity on us as we struggle to live, to survive in this world. We know not the things that we do. We understand not the life that we live. We see not the influence upon us. We hear not the words that come to us. Yet we struggle to survive, to live. Some would say: "I struggle not." Some would say: "I enjoy my life." Some would say: "I have more than enough to enjoy this life." Yet, what has it cost us? What have we sacrificed? What transgressions have we made to get to the point in life that we are?
Some are in the world. Some are from the world. Some are outside of the world. And some do not belong to the world. For the world would have us sleep. The world would have us become unaware of who we are. The world would have us not know. And our Father forgave us all our sins. Should we not forgive others? Should we still seek vengeance? Should we still express our anger, our frustration, our dislike when others wrong us? Or should we consider our Father who forgave us when we wronged him, when we hurt him, when we transgressed against him? We are quick to exact an eye for an eye because that is how we were raised. This is the nature our the world we live in. This is how we were given to feel what is inside of us.
Christ asked his disciples to make a 360 degree turn around in their thinking, in their feelings. He asks us today to do the same. Forgiveness closes the door to hatred, to anger, to vengeance. Forgiveness allows the spirit to be free. Forgiveness allows us to love others as we love ourselves. For if, we know the truth of who we are in Christ, we would love who we are, love who we are like, and love the savior who gave us new life. And in that love we would find the love for each other, the love for our brothers and sisters, and the strength to forgive. Our Father, our God is love. He provides life for all, including the good and the evil. He forgave all that we might have the opportunity to choose.
Come! Choose life! Choose love! Choose forgiveness! Choose the one who was the sacrifice for your sins. Choose the one who loves you most! Choose to know the life that is within you and see the truth of who you are. For with this knowledge no one or nothing can turn you away from the truth. And what the world has to offer becomes meaningless to what your father wants to give you. Seek the truth! Seek the knowledge! Seek the love of Christ and open the door to the Spirit of Christ. Then your eyes will be opened and you will see the truth of who you are in him. May the love of God our Father, the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be 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 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.
