St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 12a; The Lowly.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 10.  

The hypocrisy of the Scribes and the Pharisees presented an opportunity for Christ to teach the people and his disciples an important lesson.  He used the Scribes and the Pharisees as an example to show their pride and arrogance and to teach the people of their hidden nature.  They practiced piety on the surface but underneath they did not practice the laws that they enforced upon the people.  They were hypocrites.

Christ saw through their false piety and instructed the people to do the same.  They wanted all the praise and glory but did not do the work to obtain it.  They were not servants of the people but served their own purpose.  Christ told the people, the disciples, the Scribes and the Pharisees:   "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled."

We live in a physical world where we see the individual exalted.  We are shown on a daily basis all the stars, singers, athletes, business moguls, millionaires and billionaires, that are paraded before us in the media.  Everywhere we turn someone is raised up, someone has just become a hero, a star, a person who has achieve something that we all want to become.  This is news, worthy of feeding to the people who will buy it so they can read how they did it.  Maybe they too can achieve the same success.

We wish, we desire, we dream of being the one.  We would do anything to reach a level of importance that we should be in the news, in the media, before the public eye.  We don't know the meaning of humility, we only know praise.  And most would do anything to achieve that goal.  

Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled.  We know nothing of ourselves or who we are as a person.  We know even less of where we fit in the cosmic scheme of things.  We search the heavens in a constant desire to know that we are not alone.  We live in our own self awareness of the world knowing nothing of that which is inside of ourselves.

Christ came that we could began to know who we are.  He came to teach us how to live in a physical world that fits within the realm of the spiritual world.  For there are powers and principalities far beyond our understanding, far greater than ourselves, that we know nothing of and have not understood.  Yet we proclaim ourselves masters and lords within the small realm of the world that we live.  How little do we know.

His love provides.  His love protects.  His love fulfills all desires, all passions, all wants.  He is forgiving, merciful, patient, all knowing, all seeing, ever living.  He is our Father, God.  

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 23, verses: 10; One Master.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 8.  
This was a time of extremes when evil walked the land and inhabited men to do their work.  Christ warned the people and the disciples of what they had not seen or heard before.  He knew and could see the presence of evil.  He knew and could see within.  He knew and understood the workings of those that inhabited the souls of men.

The Scribes and the Pharisees were the rulers of the day.  It was their responsibility to keep the people in their place and to keep them subjugated to the Law, while they did not adhere to the Law.  They made sure that the people followed the Law but they themselves did not.  They were called Rabbi, took first seats in the synagogues, first places at supper, did everything to enforce their perceived places of honor and prestige.  


This was accepted by the people, Christ however, wanted the people to see the truth of who they were.  He wanted to remove the blinders from the eyes of the people so they could see the real souls of the Scribes and the Pharisees.  For there was evil and hypocrisy lurking within.  He told the people:  "Neither be called masters; for ONE only is your Master, the Christ."

Master, Father, and other titles were used to address those in authority.  Evil was within and to give honor and praise to evil was against the commandments.  There is only ONE living God worthy of the title Father.  There is only one Lord and Master deserving of the title Master.  Yet the people unknowingly called the Scribes and the Pharisees by these names giving praise to the evil that influenced them from within, an abomination.

We see not with our eyes.  We know not with our minds.  We are not who we appear to be but what we fail to see within.  For we were created in his image.  We are the children of his love.  He is our Father, our protector, and our provider.  Christ is our Lord and savior.  He it is who came down from heaven, walked among us, took on our shape and form that he might show us who how to live.  For we knew not.  We believed not.  We saw not and did not understand.  Yet we have been given the knowledge and the wisdom to see, to know, to believe, and to understand that which we are.  

The heart knows what it knows.  The heart sees what it sees.  The heart feels what it desires to feel that it can be fulfilled.  It is all written for those who seek.  It is ordered for those who want order.  It is given for those who want to give their lives to more than the ordinary day to day life of this world.  The Lord calls.  His voice can be heard if you listen.  Find it.  Seek it.  Cry for it.  Know that it is there for you to hear.  Others have heard and so will you.  The heart will know it's calling.

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 15, verse: 9 , Vain Worship

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees)
Part 6.

Christ gave the Pharisees a wake up call.  He called them hypocrites.  They had changed the Commandments of God and preached and practiced the precepts of their own making in place of the just Commandments of God.  Arrogance guided them.  Evil was their companion.  Power was their love and rule of the people was their passion.  For they were the Pharisees.  They knew the Law.  They studied the Law; they were the keepers of the Law. Everyone had to obey their words and their commands or suffer punishment as metered out according to the wisdom of the Pharisees and suffer the wrath of God as they professed it.  They knew not mercy.  They knew not compassion.  They knew not love.  They only knew the law according to their own interpretations.  And the Law was for the people.  The Law was not for the Pharisees.  For behind closed doors the Law was interpreted differently for them.

And Christ called them hypocrites for what was in their hearts was not of God.  The evil of arrogance had taken them.  The evil of self deception had guided them.  The evil of the world was with them and they were with the world.   For they believed that they worshipped the one true God.  They believed that they followed the commandments.  They believed that the love in their hearts was that for the love of God.  And they believed that their actions demonstrated that love.  But arrogance had blinded them.  Evil had deceived them.  And deceit had filled them with hypocrisy that they might maintain their belief in themselves.  Christ repeated to them the prophesy of Isaias saying,   "In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the precepts of men."

Hypocrisy had led them to believe that the worship that they garnered was for God when in actuality they brought worship to themselves.  They loved to receive honor and praise.  They loved to have influence.  They filled themselves with pride for their positions over the people.  For the people honored them.  The people respected them and their positions.  The people praised them as they were taught that it was praise given to God.  But hypocrisy had deceived the Pharisees and the Pharisees deceived the people by leading them to vain worship.  For praise was not given to God but to the Pharisees.  Honor and glory was expressed to the Pharisees and not to God.  The heart was filled not with the love of God but was filled with love of the Pharisees in exchange for the power and privilege that they held. 

And so, worship became vain and empty and the people followed the traditions and precepts as handed down by the Pharisees.  We worship today out of tradition.  For it has been handed down from parent to child that we should go to church and worship God.  It is the right thing to do, we have been told.  We know not the purpose of our worship.  We have not a reason for our worship.  We believe not the love that is missing from our worship for we have missed the truth of worship.

God our father has given us life eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ, a precious gift that we value not.  For one does not value a gift until it is taken away.  One does not value life eternal until one experiences death eternal.  Yet, in that utter despair and loss of hope, does one realize the true value of the gift that was given.  We try, today, to grasp the value of that gift, without experiencing the despair and loss of hope, by expressing praise and worship to the giver of that gift of eternal life.  But in our attempts, our expressions are in vain.  Why??  Because our expressions of praise and worship do not come from the heart. 

How does one express love if there is no understanding of spiritual love?  We know physical love because that is what we are and what we know through our experiences.  And that is the basis of our expression of love.  But spiritual love is beyond the physical and requires the input of the spirit to understand.  Spiritual love comes from and through and with the human heart and the heart of man is in the world.  It is only through the input of the spirit of eternal love that one realizes that spiritual love comes from and through the Holy Spirit.   Then one begins to understand and know and experience the eternal spiritual love of God our Heavenly Father. 

Christ came that we may have life.  Christ came that we may have the spirit.  Christ came that we may know the love of God our father.  Yet today, we know not the spiritual love of God.  We worship the father weekly, daily, hourly but without the fruit of the spirit.  For over time the fruit dies on the vine.  Over time, the worship that we express to the father, dies and does not produce.  Over time, the world takes hold and entraps us, deceives us, and turns us into hypocrites and we become like Pharisees, clean on the outside and dead on the inside.

Seek the love that comes with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  You can know Him!  You can see Him!  You can be with Him, everyday, every minute, every hour.  A transformation will take place.  The ways of the world will leave you.  The passions of the world will seek to capture you again but you will only know the passion of the kingdom of heaven.  Christ came, a light into the world.  He gave us instructions how we might find our light.  Seek it!  Find it!  Know it!  For it is within you that you may know the truth of who you are, children of our creator, God.

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 7- 8, The Transformation into Hypocrisy

Our paragraph topic is:   (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees)
Part 5.  

Christ called them hypocrites.  The Pharisees were the keepers of the law.  The Pharisees were the educated of the people.  The Pharisees were the elite of the people.  They had money, they had power, they had influence, and they knew the Law, handed down by God to Moses.  But in their arrogance they opened the door to evil and allowed evil to come into their hearts.  And in the arrogance of evil they changed the Commandments of God and preached and practiced their own precepts.  Evil persuaded them.  Evil helped them.  Evil came to them little by little until they became evildoers, the agents of evil.  But justice prevailed.

Christ came with justice.  Christ came that the scales of justice would be balanced and all mankind would be justified before God.  He was the sacrifice.  He was the propitiation for the sins of man.  He was the lamb, the innocent one.  He was the gift to mankind that God gave that all would be saved.  But hypocrisy had come in.  Hypocrisy had taken over the minds and hearts of the Pharisees.  They were the givers of the Law.  They were the enforcers of the Law to the people.  But, they did not live by the Law nor did they believe in the Law, for their hearts were not in and of the Law.  And Christ came and told them who they were.  Christ said to them, Hypocrites, well did Isaias prophesy of you saying, 'This people honors me with their lips, but
their heart is far from me.'

They pretended to be religious.  They pretended to believe in the Law and the Commandments of God.  But inside, their hearts were of the world.  Inside, their hearts sought after the power, the influence, the wealth of the world.  Inside, their hearts did not belong to God but to the world.  The arrogance of evil had persuaded them to follow.  The arrogance of evil had moved them along the path of self deception and denial that made them believe in themselves.  And the Pharisees believed in their authority to rule the people according to their own precepts.  So they transformed themselves into hypocrites.  They became the face of religion for the people and the face of the world to themselves.

Where does your heart lie?  Are you of the world or of Christ?  Does the world draw you to watch football on Sunday or does Christ draw you to his supper on Sunday?  The world is subtle.  It entices you with all its charm and fun and activity that you may slip into darkness without knowing how difficult it becomes to return to the light.  For the battle is not in the mind.  The battle is not in the actions.  The battle is for the heart of men that they may follow good or follow evil.  For out of the mouth the heart speaks and the actions of men speak to where lies their hearts. 

Can you stop in the middle of a great football game, turn the TV off and pray?  Can you stop in the middle of a good mystery or romance, turn the TV off and pray?  The enticement of the world is subtle.  It captures the mind.  And through what we see and what we hear the door is opened so that control of the heart follows. 

We go to a movie and our hearts are moved by what we see and hear.  Yet the control is so subtle that we are not aware of the change that is taking place.  And we like the control that has taken place so we go back for more and more until now our hearts are addicted to the control.  We see violence.  We see murder.  We hear language that is accepted as normal.  And our hearts are controlled by the upbeat of the music that we hear.  The beat of the music is set to the beat of the heart and the control is subtle.  So we go in to the movies being mindful of the things of God and come out being mindful of the things of the world.  And the decent into hypocrisy is a slow decline that takes place and we become transformed, our hearts become addicted.  Sex and violence and murder become accepted in what we see and hear in our entertainment.  It's not real.  It's only make believe, we say to ourselves.  Is it?  It may be make believe but the battle for the control of the heart is real.  And we slide a little further along the path of hypocrisy.

Christ called the Pharisees hypocrites.  It was a wake up call for them, a slap in the face that they may look in the mirror and see who they had become.  What have we become today?  Can we look in the mirror and say with true confidence that we are for Christ?  If there is doubt then there is hope.  If there is denial then the heart is lost and the control of the world has taken over.  How can you know the difference?  It is a difficult task to continue to deceive and deny to oneself who or what we are day in and day out.  Evil will continue to persuade us that we are disciples of Christ when we live in the world.  Only those who know the Advocate will be able to withstand the tricks and traps of the devil.  Many want to know, many want to believe, many want to find, want to see, but are misled.  Seek the truth!  Ask Christ for guidance.  Believe that he will come!  Be delivered from hypocrisy and live the life that Christ gave us to live.  Christ said, "I am the light of the world.  I came that those who believe in me will no longer live in darkness."  Step out of the darkness and into the light and welcome the Holy Spirit into your life.  I did!!

St Matthew, Chapter 13, verses: 55 - 56, Jesus in his own Country: Astonishment captures his town.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus at Nazareth) Part 2. 

And they were astonished at the wisdom and knowledge of Christ.  They knew him when he was a child.  He did not have the formal education of a scholar.  He did not have the wealth of a rich family.  His father was a carpenter, they thought.  He was a man of common means.  He learned carpentry from his father.  And they were common people.  So how is it, they said, that he has come by these miracles and this wisdom to teach us in the synagogue.  He was just a common man and astonishment had taken over the thoughts and minds of the people.  It had turned them against him that they could not see.  It had closed their eyes and blocked their hearing that they could not receive the message of the kingdom of heaven.

For Christ, the Son of God, walked among them.  Christ, the Son of God, had come down from heaven.  Christ, the Son of God, took the form of a common man and they could not hear his words.  His own countrymen could not understand his teachings.  His own villagers could not listen to the words of freedom given man from the mouth of God through Christ.  Astonishment had taken them.  Astonishment had closed their hearts that they were so shocked at his presences that their hearts could not accept the love that he gave.  For he sought to plant the good seed of God.  He sought to nourish the good seed that it may grow and produce the fruit of the kingdom of heaven.  But the evil one had called astonishment to the scene to corrupt their hearts that they could not hear.

Astonishment had brought forth anger.  Astonishment had brought forth confusion.  Astonishment had brought forth jealousy.  Astonishment had brought forth hatred.  And the forces of evil blocked the message of the kingdom.  The forces of evil worked against the words of Christ.  For the seed was stolen when it was planted and the message lost.  The townspeople said amongst themselves, "Is not this the carpenter's son?   Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Jude?  And his sisters, are they not all with us?  Then where did he get all this?"  

Christ, the common man they saw, was transformed.  Christ was not the person that they knew.  He was new.  He was different.  He was in God and God was in him.  How often today, our own townspeople are astonished.  How often today are our own church members astonished.  How often today are our own family, our own co-workers, our own brothers and sisters, astonished and become jealous at the new person in Christ.  Who does he think that he is?  Who does she think that she is?  How does she come by doing the things that she does?  How does he get all of the promotions and positions that he does?  Astonishment takes over and brings forth seven more demons and spirits more evil than the first.  And our hearts become blocked.  And our minds become closed.  And we do not hear the message of the kingdom of heaven because astonishment has taken over and our hearts are filled with anger, and jealousy, and envy, and hatred, and all manner of evil.  And we become hypocrites even in the worship of God in our own churches. 

Christ brought us a message of love.  He brought us a message of hope.  He brought us a message of new life where we could be transformed from our old selves to new beings in Christ.  Love one another as I have loved you, was Christ's last commandment to his disciples before going to the cross and sacrificing his life for us.  Let us do the same.  Let us love one another so that all men will know that we are his disciples.  Let us open our hearts to the Advocate who will teach us.  Let us open our hearts to the love that is in Christ that we may rid ourselves of astonishment and the other spirits that contaminate us.  Christ offers us new life.  Are we ready to receive it?

St Matthew, Chapter 10, verse: 32, Heavenly Value.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Confidence in divine protection) Part 8.  

Christ now concludes his talk with his disciples.  He has prepared them to do battle with the dark forces of evil they will face when they travel throughout the towns and villages carrying the message to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  His entire message was meant to prepare them spiritually for what they would face.  On several occasions he has told them not to be afraid.  This is the central theme of his message to them.  Keep fear out of your hearts for the Spirit of the Father will come to you when you have a calm heart and a quiet spirit.  

The mission of the disciples is to carry the message of the kingdom of heaven to the people.  The people have strayed away from their worship of the one true God.  So the disciples are sent for to gather the lost sheep and bring them back into the fold.   They will face obstacles.  They will face trials.  They will encounter resistance by the demons of the evil one.  But Christ has given them the weapons to defeat them.  He has armed them spiritually by giving them power to cast out demons.  He has given them power to heal the sick, cure the lame, and restore life to the dead.  Those who do not accept the message he has instructed his disciples to kick the dust off their feet and mark the towns and villages for destruction in the last days. 

This is war.  This is spiritual battle and he wants his disciples to know the consequences of the decisions that men make.  The disciples can only carry the message.  They can not force the people to accept.  Christ tells his disciples, "Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven."   Blessed are they who accept the message of the disciples.  They will be accepted by Christ  before his heavenly father.  He is telling his disciples that everyone that they meet, that accepts the message of the kingdom of heaven, he will accept also when he is restore to his heavenly father.  Hearing is believing.  And believing is the door to faith and truth. 

Acceptance, acknowledgement, truth, God, religion, all denote concepts that evoke mixed feelings and awareness, in our society today.  To believe in God and accept his precepts requires one to step back from the world that we live in today.  It requires a distinct separation of mind and spirit from the reality of today.  This for many is a position of isolation, a position that brakes away from the reality of the world.  Most people struggle to be accepted in the world and not to separate from it.  After all, it is most peoples desire to become more involved in the world.  They want more money.  The want more fame.  They want more beauty and power.  They want more passion and lust.  They want more involvement with the world.  For this is the world that will bring them happiness, only if they can just get more of it. 

Many people try to live partly in the world and partly spiritually.  They do all the things that demonstrate their commitment to the spiritual precepts of God.  Yet they continue to live in the world also.  But acceptance,complete acceptance, requires one to live apart from the world.  

Complete acceptance requires one to brake from the world, to open the door to the spiritual realm of God and his principles.  One has to almost become schizophrenic to separate from the world.  And yet this separation is not a make believe world but one that is real, reinforced by Christ himself and the Holy Spirit.  For with the acceptance of Christ the Holy Spirit comes and resides with one.  Small miracles begin to happen in ones life and one walks along the path of righteousness.  No longer is one in the world but only exist in the world to do the will of God. 

Trust in the word of God and one will not walk alone.  Trust in the Holy Spirit and one will see the miracles of Christ.  Believe in the desire to be one in Christ as he is one in the Father and you will live a life of peace and joy.  Acceptance is the key.  Surrender is the vehicle.  Trust is the paddle and faith in the word is the direction that takes you to the kingdom.  Will you accept Christ before you accept men?  Partial acceptance is not the key.  Hypocrisy will not work.  Only in your heart will you truly know the gift of God.  If you accept Christ he will accept you before his father.  Will you accept Christ today and surrender to his will for your life?  He waits patiently for your response.