St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses: 4, The Son of God: The Future Leader speaks to Jesus.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus transfigured) Part 3.    

And Peter, seeing the past leaders of the house of Israel speaking to Jesus, did not know what to say.  He had awaken from sleep when he beheld this vision.  He had heard the voices of those that he had not heard before.  He was seeing a vision that no one had seen before.  And so where the other disciples, seeing Moses and Elias, whom they knew were dead speaking to Jesus as though they were still alive.  And they beheld the beatific vision of Christ transformed.  They had spent years at his side.  They had heard him speak on countless occasions.  They saw him day and night speaking, teaching, healing, and comforting the people, but never had they seen him like this.

Jesus  transformed, before their very eyes.  Jesus  was glorified like they had not seen him or known him before.  They were in awe.  They were stunned.  They were surprised.  All this time his true nature was hidden from them and they had no idea.  And then there was Moses and Elias appearing with him, before their very eyes.  One can only imagine their state of mind when this happened.  And then Peter spoke.  He spoke out of awkwardness.  He spoke out of passion.  He spoke out of love.  He spoke out of a need to speak, a desire to affirm to himself what he was witnessing and experiencing.  Then Peter addressed Jesus, saying, "Lord, it is good for us to be here.  If thou wilt, let us set up three tents here, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias."   

What would you do if you had a vision of Christ glorified?  What would you think?  Is it real or is it a dream?  Can you believe what you are seeing?  Can you believe what you are thinking?  We read the Bible and believe its truth.  We seek meaning in its words, the Living Words of God through Christ Jesus.  What do they say?  What do they mean?  What understanding can we gain from what we read?  How does it all apply to our lives today?  Some would say that there is no application.  Some would say that the Bible is a book of history written two thousand years ago, different time, different place, ancient history.  Does the Bible speak to you?

Christ walked, talked, eat, slept, drank with, and loved his disciples.  Yet during all that time they did not know him.  During all that time they did not see him in his true nature.  Can we say the same today?  His words speak to us from a book that has been passed down through ages, written and re-written, translated and reconfigured, different meaning and new meanings added.  Yet, is the message getting through to us that gives us truth, a truth that never changes no matter how it has been changed.  The heart is the key that opens our mind to the possibilities of understanding.  For it is through the heart and with the heart that we are open to the realm of the spiritual life that is within us. 

Not by math, nor science, nor logic, but only by and through the truth hidden for ages through the wisdom of God can we come to know who we are.  Search we must.  Desire is essential.  Repentance is the foundation.  And understanding what the heart knows is the key that opens the door to new life here in this realm.  All things have been given to us by our loving Father.  Yet through our ignorance and deceitful blindness do we seek to have all things to ourselves.  The three disciples saw what they had not seen before during all of their experiences with Christ.  And we, during all our searching through life, may miss the truth of the light within, the truth of the life within us. 

Christ told us, in his words, how to find it.  He told us where to look.  He gave us the key to see and know who we are.  Yet we turn the other way because that is what we have been given in this world.  Seek and ye shall find.  Knock and it shall be opened to you.  Ask and it shall be given you.  What do you seek?  Do you seek money?  Do you seek fame?  Do you seek honor and glory?  Do you seek the worldly possession that this life has to offer?  Continue to seek those things and you will miss the the truth of who you are and the treasure that awaits you.  Life, has been given me.  Light, has brighten my path.  I only point the way.  It is up to you to follow what is before you.  Christ awaits you.  Jesus loves you and so do I.

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:23, The Future of the Church: Evil is rebuked.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Passion and resurrection foretold) Part 3.  

And so it was that evil stepped in to make an effort to change the will of God.  For Christ had willed that he would establish his church here on this rock and the gates of hell would not prevail against it.  But the gates of hell, Satan, and all his minions were upset.  They knew what this would mean.  They knew that if the church found its footing on this rock then their time here would be limited.  And they did not want that to happen.  So they began their attack to try and prevent the church from taking hold.  And their attack started with the first member, 
Simon Peter.

Peter was afraid.  He was fearful of the outcome of Christ's journey to Jerusalem.  Peter loved Jesus and he did not want to see him suffer and die.  But the fear that gripped Peter was only a doorway for evil to come in.  And so the door was opened and evil came and took possession of Peter.  It came and moved Peter.  It came and influenced Peter to take Christ aside.  Peter did not know.  He did not understand why.  He only knew his fear and that he believed that he had to act.  But Christ knew the cause of Peter's action.  Christ saw the evil that had moved him to action.  And Christ spoke directly to that evil, Satan.  He turned and said to Peter, " Get behind me, satan, thou art a scandal to me; for thou dost not mind the things of God, but those of men."  

Christ rebuked Satan in Peter.  For Satan had made an effort to change the course of history by influencing Simon Peter.  And Christ knowing that he was under the influence of evil, rebuked it and cast it out that Simon Peter may know the truth of his influence.  And this is our example today, of how to cast out evil that comes to influence us to go against the will of God.  This is our strength to fight the temptations that we face on a daily basis; rebuke the evil in the name of Jesus Christ.  Begone from me evil, for you are a scandal to Christ and to me!  For evil cannot work without an evildoer.  Evil cannot murder, defame, create scandal, lust, commit adultery, slander, or do all sorts of deeds without an evildoer.  So evil seeks to influence and then to create action in the person it influences. 

Do we accept the influence of evil as our behavior in the world?  We are affected by it.  We see it everyday.  We live with it in our society.  We are entertained by it in the media.  We absorb it in our everyday lives because it is in the air we breathe and the food we eat, and the cars we drive and the sound we hear, and our every moment of life.  And we accept it.  Or do we??  It is our norm or life.  But Christ rebuked it and we should also.  For evil wants to turns us away from God.  Evil wants to blind us from the truth of who we are.  Evil wants us to accept the norm of our everyday lives and believe that it is OK, it is fun, it is exciting.  Is it acceptable and must it be rebuked?  How then, can we rebuke something that we are not aware, exists.  

We first must awaken to the sounds, the sights, the taste, the smell of evil.  We must become aware of what we face.  Evil would have us sleeping but we must be awake, eyes fully open, ears fully sensitive to the sounds of evil, and hearts closed to the addiction that it places upon us.  For without this awareness we are lost in the trap of this world.  And it is not until we face the crossroads and have to decide or until death knocks upon our door that we become aware of our state of our mind and heart.  Our hearts go out for those who do not have a choice, where death steals their life and death destroys their opportunity to have eternal happiness with Christ.  For Christ came that we may have life and have it more abundantly.  So open your eyes, and ears and your heart to the will of Christ.  A path has been set before you that you can follow.  Christ awaits you and the Holy Spirit welcomes 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: 20, The Rock: The admonition.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Peter's confession) Part 8.   

Through the revelation of the Holy Spirit from God, Simon Peter became the first member of the church here on earth.  Christ gave him the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Christ gave him the authority to close or open doors here on earth that would be closed or opened in heaven.  And he, with the other disciples, would become witnesses to the Son of the Living God.  However, that time had not come and the sacrifice had not been given.  So their ministry had not begun until the time was fulfilled.

They heard the truth.  They now knew without a doubt that Christ was the Messiah.  There was no turning back.  Fear was at their door.  Death was following in their footsteps close behind.  And the time was almost at hand when the mission of Christ would be fulfilled here on earth.  But the time for the disciples was just beginning.  Their time would start at the sacrifice.  Their ministry would be anointed at the Pentacost.  Their voices would be heard after the ascension.  But not today.  Not tomorrow.  Not until after the sacrifice.  So Christ warned them not to speak.  Christ admonished them not to reveal.  Christ protected them against the evil that wanted to kill them before their ministry would begin, but not today.  Then he strictly charged his disciples to tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.,

Evil was upon them and scandal wanted them to talk.  For they held a great secret that the people should know.  But the time had not been fulfilled for the truth to be revealed.  So they were admonished to keep silent.  How often we are filled with the spirit of the truth and want to tell the world.  We are evangelist.  We are compelled to speak to everyone that we meet.  We are driven to convert all.  We are youth in our wisdom of the love of God and unknowing of the trickery of evil.  For evil would have us turn souls away from Christ rather than bring them to him.  Evil would have us fill our brothers with hatred rather than love.  Evil would have us be examples that would keep people in the world rather than bring them from it.  We know not the trickery of evil.

As I look around the world that I live in, I am conscious of one thing, there is evil in the world.  One might make the reasoning that there is good and evil in man thereby excusing the fact that evil exists in the world.  I recently watched a program on national TV where a well known journalist completed a documentary on finding the truths of the Bible.  The documentary took a look at the origins of sin in mankind and acknowledged that Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan.  Yet from that point Satan and his evil was not mentioned again in the documentary, as if to say he does not exist.  

We live in a world influenced by evil and the results of what evil brings.  All the sins of mankind come from and originate from the evil of Satan and his agents, whose sole purpose is to influence mankind against the commandments of God.  Our heavenly father says to us, do these things and you will avoid the wiles of Satan.  And yet our society is filled with all manner of influences that we accept as commonplace, influences that originate from Satan and are against the will of God. 

We are on the battlefield and yet we are asleep.  Guard what you see and guard what you hear that your heart may be protected against the influences of evil.  Desire to seek the truth of who you are and your heart will be opened to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  God's love will come and protect you, guide you, feed you, and give to you the wisdom to see and know the truth of who you are in Christ.   Follow the path!

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: 19, The Rock: The Keys to the Kingodm of Heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Peter's confession) Part 7.

And so the church was established on this earth.  His time was coming to an end.  His mission was being completed and his final sacrifice was about to be made.  Christ was the lamb, the perfect offering, the pure gift to amend the judgement made against man for his sins.  Death would be overcome and new life given to those who believed.  And the gates of hell would be opened to all those who waited so long for this time to come.  Now the final chapter must be written and it would be finished.  

Evil did not like what was happening.  Evil wanted to stop the process, to stop the establishment of the church, to prevent it from being established.  But Christ spoke and his will was done.  The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Try as they might evil had no say.  Yet evil still wants to prevail and so the powers of heaven were given to Peter as the symbol of the church.  The powers to maintain the church and assure that it would stand throughout all time.  And Christ said to him: "And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

And so it was and is still today.  The church has the keys of the kingdom of heaven as given it by Christ.  To bind on earth is also set in heaven and to loose on earth is the rule in heaven.  The keys of heaven were given to open doors and the keys to lock them and keep them shut.  To the church was given this power.  What is the church, who is the church?  Is it the physical building that we inhabit today?  Is this the church?  Or are the people the church?  Do the people have this power to bind and to loose if they are the church?

The soul of mankind is at stake here today.  Evil wants to possess mankind that it may rule over him to perform evil in the world.  For evil exists to influence man to do evil in the world.  Evil doers are the handy work of evil for they perform all sorts of evil in the world.  But without the evildoer evil does not have a slave to perform its will.  So it is, that man is possessed of evil and commits murders and other crimes.  We have only to witness the evil that is performed on the innocent today.  Justice is mine says the Lord and the scales of justice will be balanced. 

We are the church, not the buildings and structures that we worship in.  Christ has given us the choice to close the doors to evil or to open them.  The decision is ours individually and collectively.  And so is the justice or injustice that comes with our decisions.  Close the doors to evil or open them.  Close the doors of heaven or open them to your hearts.  That is the power which is given us, the church.  The gates of hell shall not prevail against our decision once it is made.  

We live in a world possessed of evil.  We are on the battlefield everyday for the possession of our souls and yet we are asleep on the battlefield.  We live without awareness.  We eat, sleep, play, work, dream, desire, worship, toil, cry, moan, bleed, and die, dimly aware of the battle that we are engaged in.  And yet when evil raises it's ugly head our lives are shattered to pieces trying to make sense of why evil prevailed.  We are aliens in an unknown world and do not realize that we belong to Christ and not to this world.  Our home is in heaven and not on this earth.  Our joy and our happiness and our peace cannot be found on this rock but only with Christ.  And for those who choose to loose evil, their place is in hell with evil.  It often amazes me to see how we cling to this physical body, fearing death, and yet desire to go to heaven, unable to let go of the physical and accept the spiritual.  Come, you have the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  Open the door of your heart and let it in.  The Holy Spirit awaits your call, your request, your plea.  Follow the path and experience the treasure of your heart.

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 14, verses: 32 - 33, The Test of Heart: The Affirmation.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Peter walks on the water) Part 5.   

Peter was sinking into the water and doubt was taking over.  He had questioned.  He had wondered how.  He had opened the door for everything to came in, doubt, fear, anxiety, and darkness.  Christ had said to him, "Come."   And he got out of the boat and he was coming to Christ.  He was walking on water.  He was filled with excitement, joy, exhilaration.  He was walking on water.  But then he began to sink.  He began to fear.  He began to allow doubt to come in.  And he called to Christ for help.  Peter was a fisherman and his livelihood was made in and on the water.  So he was not afraid of water, he knew how to swim.  He knew how to tread water.  He knew how to survive on the water.  But he called to Christ to save him because he was sinking.   

What was the strange feeling of sinking when one has just experienced the feeling of walking on water?  The water was solid as the ground.  The water pushed back when Peter took a step.  The water was hard and firm as a rock.  But then the water become soft.  The water began to give way.  And Peter began to sink.  Why did he fear?  Why did he doubt?  Why did he open himself up to the questions of the flesh when his spirit and his heart were filled with joy?  He called to Christ for help and Christ reached out and lifted him up and together they walked back to the boat.  Together they walked on the water, back to the boat. 

Peter was broken.  He could not understand what had happened.   One moment he was walking on water and the next he was sinking as in quicksand.  You see, with the coming of doubt the water changed from solid to semisolid, like quicksand, and then back to the consistency of water.  It did not change from solid to water at once.  There was a gradual transition which made the sinking feel like quicksand and not like water.  And Peter did not know how to accept this transition.  So he called out to Christ for help.  And Christ admonished him that the doubt was the cause of his sinking.  The doubt opened the door to fear and with coming of fear the miracle stopped.   And when they got into the boat, the wind fell.

Peter was in shock.  His emotions and his feelings were in disarray.  He walked on water.  What a joy!  Then he sank as in quicksand.  He was high one moment and low the next.  He was in joy and ecstasy one minute and deep fear and doubt the next.  How do you experience such extremes?  And yet the miracle took place.  All, witnessed it.  The disciples in the boat were in ecstasy also.  What they witnessed happened before their eyes.  The waves were high and they came crashing into the boat.  The boat was filling with water, more water was coming in than they could bail out and they were afraid of drowning.  And then Christ came walking on the water.  They forgot about the water and watched in amazement as Peter walked on the water.  They also watched in fear as he begin to sink.  But Christ saved him.  And then they knew.  They experienced it within themselves.  No one could tell them otherwise.  They saw it, they believed it and they knew it.   This was the Messiah, this was the Son of God became man.  And they were with him.  They were before him.  They were in him and he was in them.   But  they who were in the boat came and worshipped saying, "Truly thou art the Son of God."
          
That was then, 2000 years ago, and this is now 2011.  Christ left the world and returned to his father and the world returned to itself.  For we are in the world and the world is in us.  From the time we are born the world takes over.  It tells us how to think, how to eat, how to act, how to live, how to love, how to enjoy, how to believe, how to fear, how to doubt, the world is in us and we become the world. 

The young ones grow up with the world in them.  They do not grow up with Christ.  Even though they receive the traditional upbringings in a church or a religious environment, most do not grow up with Christ in them and the knowledge of the Holy Spirit.  For the knowledge of Christ in not in them or in their parents and the joy and love of the Holy Spirit is unknown.  So they are swollowed up into the world and there they remain until they are called. 

Where does it all begin?  Can we look to our parents?  Are we the offspring of our parents, they are in the world and so are we?  Where does the cycle end?  Christ said, "Come!"  Christ opened the door.  Christ is our example and the Holy Spirit is our guide.  The disciples saw it and affirmed the truth.  When will we see it and know the truth.  The spirit awaits your awakening.  Open the door, say goodbye to the world and say hello to him.  Your miracle awaits!  It all starts with you.  Come receive the light of the Holy Spirit and know that he is with you!

St Matthew, Chapter 14, verses: 29b, The Test of Heart: The Proof.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Peter walks on the water) Part 2.   

Peter saw the ghost.  Peter heard the voice of Christ.  Peter believed that it was he.  Peter took courage and discarded his fear.  Peter wanted to know that what he saw was real.  He wanted to believe that what he saw the Messiah, the Christ walking on water.  So, he challenged, Christ if it is you then command that I come to you.  Christ if it is you, then command that I come to you over the water.  Christ if it is you then command that "I" walk on water just as you are walking on water.  And Christ said, "Come."   

Christ did not say, think about it.  Christ did not say maybe.  Christ did not say, well you can not do this.  Christ said, "Come."  And that command made Peter believe that he could come.  Christ's command told Peter that he was given the power through Christ to walk on water.  That command told Peter that he heard Christ say that he could.  And hearing brought faith, and faith brought courage, and courage brought the action that made Peter move from the boat to the water.  At first it was trembling and then action.  Then there was the first step onto the water, the challenging step, the step of proof.  And finally the proof of his feet touching the water and the water pushed back against his feet to hold him up.  Such things the eyes have not beheld.  Such things the body has not felt.  Such things the mind has not conceived.  And such things the heart has not felt as that moment when Peter took the first step and stood on water.  And the rush of truth pervaded his body, his mind and his heart as he stood there.  Then he took the next step and put the other foot out to take another step on the water, and the water pushed back holding him up.  The truth took hold of him and he took another step, and another and another.  And his heart was filled with the joy and the happiness and the awareness of what he was doing.   Then Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to come to Jesus.  

He did not stumble out of the boat.  He did not fall out of the boat.  He got out of the boat as he normally does and he walked on the water.  He placed one foot in front of the other and he walked on the water.  He was confident.  He was bold.  He was knowing, for he was walking on the water as he saw Christ walking on the water and he was joyous.  For Christ had commanded him.  Christ had told him what to do.   Christ had given him the authority to walk on the water.  Christ had placed within him a memory that would never leave him.  Christ had given him an experience that would last his entire life.  Christ had shown him and demonstrated to him that he was the Son of Man and God was his father.  For what man could do such as Christ had done.  What man could command as Christ had commanded.  What man could perform such miracles as Christ had completed.  And all the disciples were his witness.  For they all saw.  They all were in awe.  They all felt the realism of what was taking place with Peter walking on the water.  Can you believe?

Christ calls us today to believe.  Christ commands us to walk on water as Peter did.  For we asked him to save us.  We asked him to heal us.  We asked him to provide for us.  We asked him to protect us from our enemies.  But do you believe that he will do these things for us?  Do you know within yourself that he will do all these things for us?  Peter had faith.  Peter had hope.  Peter heard the command and he got out of the boat.  Do you hear the command, "COME"?  Will you get out of the boat of life and leave the world behind that Christ may show you how to walk on water?