St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 12b, Who can accept His teachings?

Our paragraph topic is:  (Continence preferred to marriage) Part 4.

Who can accept this teaching of marriage without divorce?  Christ told his disciples that not all can accept it.  But for those who would try he set the ground rules that they should follow.  Man and woman should stay together.  There should be no separation except in the case of immorality.  And marriage to one who has been put away by written notice, is considered adultery.  These were the ground rules that Christ gave his disciples that they would know the will of the Father as he created them from the beginning.

God our Father had a purpose when he created them male and female.  He had a plan that would allow man to participate in the creation of physical life and spiritual life.  But there was evil that also had a plan.  Evil wanted to change man.  Evil wanted to make man for itself.  Evil wanted to have man participate in the creation for the worship of evil.  So the examples were set.  The participants were allowed.  And the beginning of the change took place and has remained throughout time.  For who can accept this teaching.  Christ told his disciples:  "And there are eunuchs who were made so by men." 

Eunuch made so by men, these are they who can accept this teaching.  These are they who have been changed by man.  These are they who have no say in the creation of the physical and the spiritual.  But for the rest of mankind, what do they say?  Can they accept this teaching?  Can they believe in God's plan?  Can they come together, stay together, and become one flesh, become one spirit?  Is this the will of God that we abide by?  Can we agree to this teaching in a world that isolates us if we accept this teaching?

Eunuch can abide by this teaching.  Why can we not abide by it?  Acceptance is the key.  Obedience is the rule.  Knowledge is the foundation.  Love is the food that keeps us together and allows us to grow beyond the physical into the spiritual.  Physical love is love of death.  Physical love is love of passion.  Physical love is love of that which is decaying.  Yet we are given the physical each and every day.  Even though we live and abide in the physical we are spiritual in nature and it is the love of the spirit that will elevate us to a new where we can accept the teachings of Christ.  Are you ready, both male and female, to accept?

He came that we would have life.  He came that we would not die.  He came that we would have knowledge of the Father and have insight into the Father's will.  And it is through the will of the Father that we live, breathe, and exist.  He made them male and female and it is the choice of both male and female to know the will of the Father.  With this knowledge we can live.  With this knowledge we can survive.  With this knowledge we can succeed and accept the teachings that Christ has given us.  But it takes both male and female.  Both must know.  Both must believe.  Both must see the truth of who they are in Christ.  Both must open their hearts to the consolation of the Holy Spirit that they may have the knowledge of who they are in him.  For in Him and through Him and by Him we become one with the Father. 

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, verses: 33: As I Forgave All!

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.   

St Matthew, Chapter 18, verse:17a, Fraternal Correction: Appeal to the church to save him.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 4.  

The battle is with sin and the weapon is love.  We love our brothers and sisters.  We would have them saved.  We would have them share in the riches of heaven.  We would have them experience the love of Christ and the protection of God the Father.  But the ways of sin are deceiving.  The ways of sin will blind.  The ways of sin will overpower and contaminate the mind and the soul.  And the soul will lose the light of life when it turns away from light into darkness.

Christ tells his disciples if the face to face talk fails, and the meeting with two or more fails, then appeal to the church.  For we are at war with sin.  We need reinforcements to overcome the black grip of sin.  Sin will enter the soul.  Sin will take hold.  And sin will overpower the mind and the soul until one is unable to recognize the deep dark hole that sin has taken us to.  Light become darkness.  Good becomes evil and our sister or brother may be lost to the ways of sin.  Christ tells his disciples:  "And if he refuse to hear them, appeal to the Church."

Seek the counsel of the church.  Seek the wisdom of the elders.  Seek the prayers and supplications of the body of Christ that thy brother or sister may be saved from sin.  For if there is any hope, if there is any good left in them, if there is any spark of life left within, then every effort must be made to save them.  Who would want to see thy brother condemned?  Who would want to see thy brother or sister cast into the fire of eternal damnation?  They know not what they do.  They have no understanding of the consequences of their actions.  They are blinded by the appeal of sin.  They are asleep in the world of sin and do not know that they are asleep. 

Try to awaken them and they resist.  Try to appeal to them and they deny.  Try to show them and they refuse to see.  For they see the world in a different light than we do.  They see the world through rose colored glasses and everything is fine to them.  Yet to take off the glasses is unwanted in their eyes.  The battle is with sin and the weapon is love.  For God's love fulfills all.  God's love completes all.  God's love is all that our life and our light needs for fulfillment.  And without his love we are nothing.  Without his love we are void.  Without his love we wither and die and become darkness. 

So take the light of love with thee and shine it into the darkness that they may see the truth.  Love thy brother.  Love thy sister.  Not with a physical love but with a spiritual love that comes from the heart, should we love one another.  For we are spirits.  We are aliens.  We are the light that Christ gave us when he became our sacrifice.  Through him we have been given life anew.  And with this new life one can find the peace and love and charity that comes from God.  

With the realization of the truth of who we are comes the separation of the mind and the spirit.  And with this separation comes the open door that brings forth the light of the Holy Spirit.  For he will provide.  He will protect.  He will counsel.  He will show forth the love that God our Father has for each and every man, woman, and child.  Come!  Follow the path that leads to understanding.  Follow the path that will enlighten.  Follow the path that will open the door to the light of life that is within you.  Christ awaits you.  The Holy Spirit seeks to know you.  And the Father seeks to love you as his child.

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:15a, Fraternal Correction: First: Speak, Face to Face.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 1.   

Christ has given his disciples the joy and glory that will be celebrated in heaven over the return of a single little one.  He told them that it is not the will of the Father that a single little one should perish.  For God loves all his children and desires that they, will love him when they know him.  But that is the will of the Father.  Man has his own will.  So Christ has given them the opportunity to understand the happiness and love that awaits them in heaven.  He has set the framework around which they can begin to understand what God has prepared for all in heaven.  And the mystery will be revealed.

Christ goes further in teaching his disciples how to love one another.  If thy brother sins against thee, what does one do?  Accuse him/her!  Speak foul of him/her!  Talk with others about their sin when they are not present?  What should one do?  Christ gives his disciples the answer to what they should do.  "But if thy brother sin against thee, go and show him his fault, between thee and him alone."

Consult thy brother face to face, alone.  Seek his/her understanding of the sin without malice or accusation.  Express love for thy brother that he/she may turn away from sin.  These are the ideas and principles that Christ seeks for his disciples to understand.  He spoke these words that they may know how to approach each other when sin comes into a relationship whether it be a relationship  between men or our relationship with God.  When we sin, God comes to us quietly seeking to have us recognize the sin that is within us.  He does not shout it out.  He does not bash us over the head or punish us immediately because of our sin.  He continues to love us until we can recognize the sin that is within us.  For it is his children that he seeks to save, just as it is our brother that we should seek to save.  It is the sin within us that we should seek to expel through the love that is within us for one another.  Satan seeks to divide.  Satan seeks to separate.  Satan seeks to control.  Satan seeks to turn us away from God our Father and to turn us to himself.  And he will seek to do this in any way that he can.

Does thy brother know that he has sinned against thee?  Does thy brother have any conscience of his error?  Does thy brother understand the consequences of his actions?  Does thy brother know that he has opened the door to Satan?  Has Satan taken control and turned him/her completely away from thee?  Love is the key.  Love thy brother/sister, for they do not know what they do.  And if they do know what they do then they do not understand the consequences of what they do.  For no one desires to jump into the fire.  No one seeks to live eternity in damnation, if they truly understand what they do.  Yet many are blinded.  Many are without understanding.  Many have not been made fully aware of what they do.  And yet we all have the capacity to understand.  We all have the ability to make sense of our world.  Yet, in that sense, we choose what path we walk.  We choose what road we travel.  We choose the outcome of what we are.

God has given us a spirit of love.  For he is love.  He is light.  He is life and he has given us life through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  His love is so fulfilling that it overwhelms the mind, the body and fills the soul.  And we cannot fully comprehend the complete meaning of his love for to do so would be too much for our being.  Yet he loves us.  He completes us.  He provides for us.  He fills us with a peace that nothing on earth can provide.  Our desires, our passions, our wants, cannot begin to compare to that which he can provide.  No amount of gold, diamonds, jewels or paper money can come close to the wealth that the Father has prepared for each of us.  The choice is ours, provided we understand, provided we can make sense of it all, provided we can believe and receive the spirit that he will send to show us his ways. 

Seek thy brother alone and reconcile thy difference.  Love thy brother as God has loved thee.  When we were in sin, he did not let go.  When we were in sin, he did not turn away.  When we were in sin, he walked with us.  When we were wrong, when we were in the darkness, when we were tempted by Satan, he was still there.  He still loved us.  He still cared for us.  He still allowed us to sin.  By his grace we awoke from our worldly sleep and turned away from sin.  By his grace we were forgiven.  By his love we were cleansed.  By his mercy we will be restored.  By his love we will rejoice at his glory and power and majesty.  Seek to express the love of the Father to thy brother that he may understand.  For one does not desire to jump into the fire if one understands.  Christ loves us.  The Father provides for us.  The Holy Spirit will teach us the ways of truth and light.  Come!  Follow the path before 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.  

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses:1-2, The Son of God: Jesus is Transfigured.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus transfigured) Part 1.   

And now Jesus had taught them of the soul of man.  He had given them the knowledge of the value of the soul.  What would a man give to save his own soul?  What is more valuable than the soul of man?  And yet we would believe that we are just flesh and blood, skin and bones, and nothing more.  Christ wanted them to know that they were far more than the eye could see.  He wanted the disciples and the people to know that in this flesh there is something more than just the flesh.  So he had to demonstrate to the disciples the true nature of who he was and who they are.

On the seventh day he led three of his disciples up a mountain to show them his true nature.  They did not know Christ.  They did not know his true nature.  They had not seen him before he gave up his majesty and glory to become man.  They did not see him in his true glory.  But on this day they would see before them the true Son of God.  NOW after six days Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves, and was transfigured before them.  And his face shone as the sun, and his garments became as white as snow.

The Blessed Vision and the Transfiguration are reserved for the few.  Only those who are chosen will see.  Only those who are blessed will know.  Only those who can withstand the experience will understand the reason why.  For one's life will be changed.  No more will one look at the world in the same way, in the same light, with the same desires.  Jesus choose only three to witness his transfiguration.  And those three would know, would see, would experience the truth of the nature of Christ.  Would they believe?  Would they know for certain?  Would they hold on to what had been given them? 

His garments were changed.  His face was changed.  His body became like the sun.  Can we behold the sun in its full magnificence?  Can we look into the full radiance of the sun today without turning away?  What must it have been like for those three to behold the full radiance of Christ?  And what magnificence did they take away with them after witnessing this most beautiful sight.  Was it real to them?  Did they know what they beheld?  Were their hearts able to hold the truth of what they experienced?  What would you do today?  What would you say?  What would you believe if you were so privileged to have such a vision?  Would anyone believe you?  Would they think that you had lost it?  How would you rationalize it into your thinking?  

Christ gave the three disciples a glimpse into his true nature.  He allowed them to see him in his glory.  He shone in their presence and they experienced his glory.  Would that have changed them?  Would that have changed you?  Would that make a difference in your life today? Would you be the same person as you were before?  And yet he gives each and everyone of us, today, the opportunity to experience him, as the disciples did then.  Do you believe that you can?  Would you want to have that experience?  Come!  Open the door.  Seek the presence of the risen Lord.  Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  The opportunity awaits you.  Christ awaits you.  And the Holy Spirit greets you as you seek the truth.

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 16, verse 28, The Cross of Man: The Blessed Vision!

Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 6.    

Christ spoke to his disciples in no uncertain terms.  He wanted them to know the truth.  He wanted them to understand the rules.  He enlightened them on the ultimate value that they possessed and that all men possessed in their souls.  What would it profit a man to gain all there is in the world and then to loose the most valuable thing on earth.  There is nothing more valuable that a man can give other than his soul.  And this is the very thing that Satan wants to posses.  For Satan minds the things of man and the things of this world.  Christ is from the father and minds the things of God.

So Christ came to give man instructions.  Christ came to show man how to live.  Christ came to be an example.  And Christ came to be the sacrifice to satisfy the judgement placed upon man, a judgement made by God before man sinned.  And God told Adam, do not eat of the fruit in the middle of the garden least you shall die. 

And so it was that Christ knew his fate, he knew his destiny, and he knew the hardship of the road that he had taken.  He knew that his father loved him, provided for him, and would keep him in the final hour.  But death had to be overcome.  The price had to be paid before the sentence was removed.  And the disciples feared death.  The disciples knew not what lie beyond death.  So Christ told them that some would see him in his kingdom before they would pass through the doors of death.  He gave them the faith to know that he would be waiting for them on the other side of death.  He said to them: "Amen I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death, till they have seen the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

The blessed vision that some would have.  The blessed experience that some would be able to stand in both realms, heaven and earth, and live by both experiences.  To see Christ coming in his own kingdom, to have the experience of knowing that Christ lives in his glorious majesty and splendor before facing death is an experience to die for.  For who would not want to be with him in heaven?  Who would not want to taste the glory and the majesty and experience the truth of God's love in heaven?  Who, after having that experience, would want to live in this world anymore?

But Christ gave us hope.  He gave us the faith to continue to live in this realm even though we know that our home is in heaven with him.  For those who know, blessed are they in Christ.  For those who do not know, lost are they in this world.  And yet it is the knowledge and the truth of who we are in Christ that allows us to experience this life with love.  For God is love.  He did not demand, or force, or punish us to bring us into compliance with his will.  Instead he gave us free choice to choose if we wanted to live with him or live without him.  He gave man free will to decide if he wanted to have eternal life with Christ or to not have eternal life.  And this is the truth of the battle. 

God loves us so much that he created us in his image and likeness and gave us free choice.  And then Satan wants us to choose him or not to choose our heavenly Father and Christ Jesus.  Some will be blessed enough to experience the touch of God's love.  Some will be blessed enough to experience his mercy.  Some will be blessed enough to experience the truth of his wisdom and the forgiveness of his compassion for us.  And some will have the blessed vision of Christ coming in his kingdom, either in life or before death comes.  The experiences are yours, waiting for you. 

What does it take to know them?  Only your willingness to search for them, only your willingness to believe that they exist, only your desire to know that he is real and his words are truth.  Come!  Seek the treasure that is yours; know the truth of who you are in Christ.  I sought!  I found!  I believed!  And now I know!  Christ has given me a gift to give to you, a path, a trail, a tried and tested method that works.  It is all laid out for you to follow.  And I will walk with you.  Christ loves you and so do I!  The Holy Spirit awaits you and greets 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!         

St Matthew, Chapter 16, verse 26b, The Cross of Man: What value is the Soul!

Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 4.     

Christ continues to address his disciples and the crowd on the value of the soul.  For Satan has attempted to turn Christ around through the fears of Simon Peter.  Through fear Peter took Christ aside.  Through fear Peter spoke to Christ about the coming sacrifice.  And it was through fear that Satan entered into Peter to move him to speak to Christ in an attempt to persuade him to change.  But Christ saw the fear in Peter and he saw Satan acting through Peter in an attempt to prevent the sacrifice that was necessary to save mankind.  For without the sacrifice mankind could not be justified.  Without the sacrifice man could not be saved.  Without the sacrifice man would remain dead, without spiritual life, without a soul.  And Satan wanted man to continue in death, without justification, without sanctification, without life.

Christ came that man would have life and have it more abundantly.  He came to sacrifice himself that the punishment of death would be lifted from mankind and man would be restored to new life in him.  For his death and resurrection was the gift that demonstrated to mankind that there was a God who would overcome and restore life to all who believed.  What does it profit a man to gain the whole world?  What does it profit a man to save his physical life if he looses his soul?  And here is the central point of what Christ was teaching, "What is the value of the soul?"  He asked his disciples: "Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Will we forsake our souls for profit?  Will we kill to get ahead?  Will we lie and cheat to get a promotion?  Will we forgo all morals and principles to make that big deal happen, to increase our income one hundredfold?  Will we steal to get the money that will give us a taste of the good life today?  Will we seek revenge so that we may have justice in our hearts today or will we forgive knowing that justice belongs to God?  Are we aware of the value of our souls? 

The battle is before us and yet we are not aware of the impending doom.  For we live in a world that teaches us, trains us, entertains us based upon the principles that would separate us from our souls.  We are given examples daily of how we should live, how we can live, how we are missing out on what we should have to live, if only we accept the principles that are before us and go for it.  Wouldn't you like to have more than enough money to pay your bills, keep a roof over your head, food on the table, buy nice clothes, afford a racy car, attract the women, enjoy the pleasures that life has to offer?  Or wouldn't you like to make enough money that would allow you to live a life of luxury?  We all would!  All you have to do is accept what greed has to offer and follow in the footsteps of those who would lead you to prosperity, to luxury, to happiness, to bliss.  These are the lines that fill our daily lives everywhere we look, see, hear, and they become ingrained into our subconsciousness.  From cradle to grave we are led to believe that all that we are, can be, or will be, is in this world.  And yet the world is dying and taking us along with it.

What is more valuable than our souls?  What can a man give that is of greater value than his soul?  Can we give paper money?  Can we give gold or silver or some other metal that we deem precious?  Or can we give diamonds and jewels that sparkle and glitter to the eye?  What can we give that is of greater value?  And yet we desire life and desire it more abundantly. 

Our greatest desire is for peace and happiness.  Our strongest passion is for love.  And our physical life seeks to provide that which is not possible for it to give.  We have a choice to make in life.  Live in the world or live in Christ.  Seek the pleasures of the world or seek the blessings of Christ.  Awake from the sleep of desire or drown in the passion of death.  For death will come when least expected.  Death will take away all hope.  Death will bring full awareness of the life of our decisions. 

Life will restore faith.  Life will bring joy.  Life in Christ will open the heart to the peace of who you are and where you belong.  Life in Christ will give new meaning to living in the world and living in heaven.  For with new life comes knowledge.  With new life comes awareness.  With new life we awaken to the truth of who we are in Christ and gain knowledge of the spirit that he will give to us.  We are aliens in this world encased in the physical house where we reside.  And death is not to be feared. 

Death is joy and happines, peace and love.  For with it and through it we go home to our father, no longer being separated from the place that we know that we belong.  So, life is now, but a journey in the love that Christ has to offer.  For the Holy Spirit becomes our guide, leading us through the day to day obstacles that the world puts in our path in an attempt to turn us away from who we know that we are.  Come!  Follow that path set before you.  I do not lead.  I merely point in the direction, a voice crying in the wilderness.  Christ awaits you.  The Holy Spirit greets 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!

St Matthew, Cahpter 16, verse 24, The Cross of Man: Death!:

Our paragraph topic is:  (The doctrine of the cross) Part 1.   

Christ rebuked Satan in his attempt to thwart the will of God.  Now it was time to rebuke man and instruct him as to God's will for all mankind.  Christ came that man could have life.  Christ came that man would no longer suffer the fate of judgement.  Christ came that man would be lifted up from the judgement of sin and restored to sanctification through his sacrifice.  And Christ came to cancel the actions wrought by Satan in deceiving Eve and Adam to go against the will of God.  For God declared that disobedience would bring death to man.  And death, which did not exist before, entered the world through that disobedience.

And when time was fulfilled Christ gave up his heavenly throne and became man.  He gave up all his power and glory and majesty so that man may be redeemed.  He became a pauper instead of a rich man.  But this transformation was not enough.  There had to be temptation by Satan.  There had to be torture by evil.  There had to be torment by the minions.  There had to be morning and weeping and pain.  And finally there had to be death. 

And this was the example set by Christ as to the path of sanctification and glorification through him.  Man must suffer.  Man must be tempted.  Man must have pain, and morning, and weeping and finally death.  Man must have his cross.  Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Follow me, he told his disciples and the people around him.  He gave them the path to follow.  He gave them directions.  He showed them the way.  Take up your cross.  Deny yourself.  Follow me, he told them.  He spoke to them then, just the same as his words tells us today.  Deny yourself!  Deny myself is not what most want to hear today.  For there is so much for us to have.  There is so much for us to want.  There is so much for us to see, do experience, to live, to enjoy in this life, in this world.  Why then should we deny myself?  Why then should we give up having all that is for us to have, simply because Christ said to do so some two thousand years ago? 

We live in a world where all pleasure and desire is placed at our feet if we just seek it.  We are led to believe that simply by our hard work, devotion to the principles of this world, that we can have all that we desire.  For, there are ample examples of those who have made it in this world and live a life of joy and pleasure.  Or so we are told and led to believe.  And death awaits us all.  Death stands by in the shadows waiting for the opportunity to steal us away from this good life. 

We live our lives in fear of death.  We live our lives attempting to protect ourselves from the uncertainty of death.  With enough wealth we can have the right doctors, lawyers, and specialists that will keep us alive and healthy to enjoy the potential of the good life.  Non would seek to conquer death.  Non would seek to challenge death.  Non would enjoy the prospects of what death brings for fear of loosing the potential of the good life here on this rock.  And yet this is what Christ instructed us to do.  Take up your cross!  Take up your death and embrace it with joy!  For it is through death that we are transformed.  Christ gave us that belief, that certainty, through his resurrection.  For through him we have life.  Through his sacrifice, through his death, and through his resurrection, we have life eternal.

Follow the example.  Take up your death and embrace it.  Take up your cross and enjoy its meaning.  For through it and with it one comes home to the Father.  Through the cross one has life and life eternal.  Through death, the cross, the love of the Father awaits all who follow Christ in this life.  He awaits your decision.  He awaits your choice, for the choice is yours.  Choose the world or choose Christ.  Choose life or choose death.  Choose eternal joy and happiness or choose suffering and eternal damnation.  The choice is yours.  Come!  Follow the path set before you.  You have come this far to this point in reading this message.  Take the next step and know the truth of who you are in Christ.  If you think that the world has joys and pleasures to offer, come know the eternal joy and peace in Christ.  Christ, your savior awaits.  The Holy Spirit will be your guide and counselor. 

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 12, verses: 15 - 16, The Battle Continues: Christ wins more souls.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mercy of Jesus) Part 1. 

Christ moves on.  He has finished his preaching and teaching in the synagogue before the people where he spoke against the Pharisees and their interpretation of the Law and the Sabbath.  Christ knew that they now gathered together to consort against him.  But he continued the battle of saving souls and preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.  And the demon possessed Pharisees sought ways to trip him.  They sought ways to trick him.  They sought ways with the evil spirits to bring Christ down before the people because they were loosing control.  

Christ was saving souls.  Large crowds followed him from the synagogue and St Matthew tells us that he cured them all.  He says, "Then, knowing this, Jesus withdrew from the place; and many followed him and he cured them all, and warned them not to make him known."   Christ continues to do the work of the Father by healing the sick, curing the lame, making the blind see and raising the dead.  He was winning souls.  He was bringing back the lost sheep.  He was taking back what had been taken by force by the dark forces of evil.  The battle continued.

Christ did not want to be known.  He did not want to be famous.  He did  not seek large crowds to follow him, yet he preached to the crowds and performed miracles.  And the word spread of him and the works that he performed.  For he wanted the people to know.  He wanted them to understand.  He wanted to remove the blindness from their eyes so that they would see and believe that indeed there was a God who loved them and he came down from heaven to show them his love.  Yet Christ removed himself from those who were controlled by the dark forces of evil.  He removed himself from those who would conspire against him.  For his time had not come.  The time for sacrifice was not yet here.

Christ gave us the example and the principles of how we should live.  He walked this earth with his people.  He gave his life for his people.  He battled with the dark forces for his people.  And he brought us out of captivity from evil.  Do you still find yourself in captivity?  Are you seeking a way to find Christ in your life this day? 

Many preach prosperity in your life, which is what most of us look for in this life.  If I could only be more prosperous today, then I could be a better christian.  If I could only have the anointing upon me to be successful, then I would be living the example of a christian life today.  Christ did not have a bed to call his own nor a roof over his head to call his own.  We pray for success.  We pray for good jobs.  We pray for a house.  We pray for a a good wife or husband.  We pray for all the things of this world and not the things of heaven.  Your home is not of this world and your treasures are not worldly things.  For those who know him, he has blessed with the riches of heaven which no earthly gift can compare.  Come join the battle.  Receive the armor of the Holy Spirit and be convicted of the cause.