Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus curses a fig tree) Part 1.
So he left the temple. He wanted to get away from the indignance of the chief priests and the scribes. Christ had become man to walk among the people. He became man to show the people that there was a God. He became man out of his love for mankind. He gave up all that he was, king and lord, son of the Father, to become human. He was still one with his father and showed that he could perform many miracles. Yet even those who knew would not accept what they had seen and heard about him.
He was a man like any other man. Yet he was more than any other man, he was the son of God. And like any other man he had emotions. He loved. He felt pain. He was compassionate. He was angry. He was tired, and he slept. Now in the morning, on his way back to the city, he felt hungry.
Christ was just like any other man. He was a physical being. He was the spirit of the father in a physical shell. He came to set mankind free from the judgement that was placed upon it by disobedience. For we had lost something very precious. We had lost our souls. We were dead. We were the walking dead in the flesh. But by his passion, Christ came and restored the souls of mankind. Now anyone who believes in him, repents, and follows his commandments will have eternal life within 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 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: (Anger of the Jewish leaders) Part 2.
He cleansed the temple of the money changers and the buying and selling. He brought prayer and worship back to the temple. Christ taught the poor and downtrodden in the temple and he cured all that were brought to him. He was kind. He was compassionate. He was loving to all. He was the Messiah.
He knew what his actions would bring. He knew that the scribes and the chief priest would not like that he was swaying the people. He knew that they would fear that someone else was taking control of the people away from them. Yet his actions brought praise even down to the children. But the chief priests and the Scribes, seeing the wonderful deeds that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David," were indignant.
He came into Jerusalem with praise from the people that caused an uproar to all who did not know him. He went to the temple and caused an uproar with the money changers and the buying and selling in that place of worship. He taught the people of a new way, a way of faith, a way of peace, a way of love. He taught them of the Father and the Father's love for all. For he came to bring about a change. He came to renew. He came that all would know the truth of who he was and that the Father in heaven would forgive all of sin. He came, to be the perfect sacrifice.
We live today with the knowledge and the words that he left for us. We live today in the belief that there is more to this life than just what we have today. We live in this world today with the hope that if we follow his life we will be saved for all eternity. We live today because he gave to us a church, a temple, a place to worship, a place to belong, a membership in his body in the family of God.
We are blessed, those who know the truth of who we are in the spirit. Those of this world do not have the same truths. Their truth is death. Christ came and gave us a new life. He came and gave us a new beginning. He came and paid for our sins that we would no longer live under the cloud of death. We are new beings in him. We are spiritual in him. We are eternal in him. We are loved and protected in him. The world does not know. The world does not believe. The world wants to take away that knowledge and change us into the living dead. The world hates those who know and believe because the world is indignant.
Praise be to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end. 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: (Humility according to Christ's example) Part 2.
The mother of James and John had spoken the words that were in the hearts of the other disciples but were not spoken. The others heard the words and their hearts were opened to Indignance. They were angry. They were mad. They felt slighted that others would ask, through another, their mother, what was in their hearts. They felt injustice in their hearts that others would speak their desires that they would be able to sit at the right hand of Christ in his kingdom. Yet there it was in plan hearing, Indignance.
All wanted to be considered special. All wanted to be number one with Christ. But no disciple spoke these words that lay within their hearts. No one knew where they stood with Christ. Their model was what they saw in the real world. Their representation was what they knew with the rulers of the day. They knew how the rulers treated them. They knew how they were regarded by the lords of the day. They knew how they felt about the current lords and they wanted to be first at the table with Christ. But Jesus called them to him, and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them."
They all wanted to be lords. They all wanted to kings in Christ's kingdom. And they knew that by following him that they would receive a reward. Their example was what they saw in their time. Their understanding was what they knew of the leaders of the day. They knew who the leaders were. They saw them everyday. It was not a big town or a big city with millions of people. The rulers of the day had special privileges. They wanted to be special. They wanted to be known. They wanted the rewards that came with following the Messiah.
Christ would have them understand what their desires meant. He would have them know that they were different. He was different and not like what they knew and saw in their times. His kingdom would be different. His Lordship would be unlike what they knew in their times. So they would have to be different. They could not be like the current rulers. They could not walk with pride. They could not expect to be privileged as those they knew in their times. They could not lord their authority over the people as the rulers they knew in their times. They had to be different.
Christ gave up his kingship to come to earth. He gave up his divinity to become like man. He came to walk among us that we would know him. He came to teach us the ways of the Father, to be an example that we could follow. He came that we could know the love that the Father has for us, just as the Father loves his son. He came out of love. And the love that he brought to us is still available today. As we go about our daily lives we can see before us the love of the Father . The air that we breathe, the sun that we feel, the things that we are able to see are all manifestation of his love. They show us his might and his majesty. They show us that his glory is available for all to see, for all to feel and to taste, if we just open our hearts. Take a moment to know him. Take a moment to see him. Take a moment to let him into your hearts. He will come if you ask him. He will speak if you call him. He will touch you if you let him. and in his touch is a lifetime of goodness and mercy, and forgiveness, and love. The choice is your. Pick up the phone and call 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.
