St. Matthew, Chapter 20, verse:34a, Compassion.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The blind men at Jericho) Part 9. 

How do you see someone without seeing them?  How do you hear someone without hearing them?  How do we know someone without knowing them?  Christ was surrounded by people on all sides.  He did not see the two blind men.  He could not hear them over the din of the crowd.  But in his spirit he knew that their hearts were calling him.  They could not make their way to him because of the crowds.  They could not move closer to him because they could not see.  They could only stand by the wayside, out of the crowd and call to him with their belief, call to him with their hope, call to him with their faith in the words they had heard of him.

And he heard the sorrow in their hearts.  He heard the belief in their minds that he was the one who could transform their lives.  He heard the pain in their lives that they had endured in the darkness all of their life.  And he was moved.  And Jesus, moved with compassion for them.

He is the Son of God, our Father.  He lives in heaven.  He is Lord of all.  And yet he gave up all, that he might become like man and walk among us.  He became flesh and blood like us.  He laughed and ate with us.  He walked and talked with us.  He taught us how to live and he gave us an example of how he died for us.  He loved us then and he loves us now. 

I think of all the homeless and lost souls who wonder the streets, hopeless, living day to day, by any means they can.  I think of those who are trapped in the vicious cycle of addiction, not only to drugs but to any addiction that compels them to do the same things over and over again expecting the different results.  Even those who are stuck in the financial rut striving to find a way out of that cycle, wishing and hoping for something better.  They search for that one big opportunity to hit it big that will change their lives forever. 

I was there.  I ran the cycle.  I was lost.  I cried out to the Lord and he had compassion for me.  He heard my cry.  He heard my sorrow.  He felt my pain.  He rescued me from the depths of my hopelessness and brought me back from the abyss. I am a witness of his love, of his compassion, of his mercy.  I am no longer on the path to destruction.  Today I have a new path to follow, a path given me by my Father.  Today, I am saved and have the knowledge of who I am in him.  My spirit rejoices in who I am.  My heart is filled with the happiness of the life that is within me, the life given me by Christ.  His love overwhelms.  His love fulfills.  There is nothing that I want or need that he has not provided.  My life is full, my purpose is clear, my task is at hand and I rejoice in its completion. 

Christ loves each and everyone of us the same.  He is the reason that we have life today if we choose.  Without him we are dead, without a soul.  But with him we have the light of life within us and the Holy Spirit to guide us along the way.  And with him there is no sorrow, no pain, no regrets.  There is only the last day to go home to be with him for all eternity.  Come, join the party and be with those who love you.  Christ Jesus loves 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 19, verse: 18c, The commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 6. 

Which commandments to follow, is the question the young man asked Christ.  He wanted to know.  He wanted to have the truth from the one who was claimed to be the Messiah.  For the word had traveled throughout the land that Christ was the one.  The word spread like the plague that Christ performed miracles like no other.  The word spread that the time was come for the kingdom of heaven to appear.  And this young man wanted to know what he must do to enter into the kingdom.

The commandments were already known.  The commandments were handed to the people hundreds of years before the coming of Christ.  But were they known?  Were they accepted?  Were they upheld by the people who professed to believe in God?  Christ came that they would know.  He came that they would believe.  He came that they would see the truth of the words that were written in the testaments.  His miracles were a testament to the power of the one true God.  And his life was the sacrifice for the life of mankind.  So he told the young man to keep the commandments.  And Jesus said , "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

What is adultery?  Adultery is the sexual intercourse of persons when either is married to a third.  So Christ is telling this young man to not have sex with a married woman.  And this message carries down to each of us today.  The bond of marriage is sacred and should not be disregarded.  To break that bond by committing this act allows a third party to enter into the flesh of the marriage bond.  For two people cling to one another, male and female, and become one flesh in marriage.  To allow another to enter into that bond creates an unholy union of male, female, male union or a female, female, male union. 

Today we are given examples and reasons to create such unholy unions, fed by what we see in our entertainment, what we read, and what happens in our society.  The passion and pleasure of sex is like an addiction.  It will drive our every behavior and our every thought to find and to create the next high.  It has no limits.  It demands satisfaction.  It is a demon unto itself.  Once it is awaken with the first hit, the excitement and pleasure of an unholy union will seek to repeat itself.  And at the root of the passion is lust, the demon that draws us into its web of entanglement.  "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

Our Father has given us the pleasure of union with our partners in marriage.  Close the door of entrapment that is fed by unholy unions.  Close the door to what we see, read, and know from the world that is given to us on a daily basis.  Laugh not at the trespass of others who cross the line of passion and seek to entice us to cross over.  See not the acts of others through the entertainment of the media, for it seeks to lead us down the road of destruction through the enticements of lust and passion.  Pay not the price of disillusionment that comes from ignoring the warning signs of trespass that we see along the road of seduction. 

God is our Father.  He is our passion.  He is the pleasure beyond any pleasure that we can seek or know in the flesh.  For the knowledge of Him will fulfill all passion, overcome all lust, and transform us into the light of the spirit that is within us.  For the knowledge of who we are in Christ will open our eyes to the spirit that is within us.  And the wisdom of the spirit will enlighten us to the true path that is before us.  And the God of all creation will provide us with the love that is like no other love we have ever known.  Seek the truth of who you are!  Know the light of life within you!  Be the spirit that is within you and lust and passion and pleasure will have no hold over you!  For your passion will be in Christ and your love will be from the Father.  And your knowledge will come from the Holy Spirit that will guide you all the days of your life here on earth.

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:18b, Fraternal Correction: Unbinding on earth and in heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 7.  

The battle is against sin and the weapon is love.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that man would be saved from sin.  Man had sinned against the command of God.  But God was so loving that he was merciful.  God was so loving that he, through his mercy, allowed man to be saved.  He did not have to.  He was not compelled to.  But he wanted that mankind, his precious creation, would not be lost to condemnation. 

Christ came to take back.  Christ came to win back.  Christ came that man would have a chance to be born again in new life.  Man disobeyed the command of God and sin entered the world.  And sin ruled the world until Christ came.  And Christ restored what was lost.  Christ gave man life by paying the penalty for disobedience, the judgment for transgressing, the restitution needed to make whole again.  But sin does not give up.  Sin does not let go.  Sin does not release its captive until forced to do so. 

And Christ told his disciples that he gave them the power to separate.  He gave them the power to remove sin.  He gave them the power to loose sin from the soul of man by force.  He told them:  "And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven."

Be gone sin!  Be gone lust!  Be gone addiction!  Be gone evil!  By the power of Christ Jesus I loose thee.  By the power of Christ Jesus I loose thee from me, from my brother, from my sister!  Be gone!  Separate thyself from this person and enter in no more.  I bind thee by the name of Christ Jesus to enter no more into this person.  These are the powers that Christ told his disciples.  Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Whatever you cast out on earth shall, by the power of heaven, be carried out by the angels in heaven. 

The battle is against sin and the weapon is love.  The weapon is the love of God the Father for his children here on earth.  Sin will come.  Sin will tempt.  Sin will enter.  And sin will seek to take over, to control, to occupy, to drown the light of life completely until there is nothing but darkness within.  But Christ came.  Christ conquered.  Christ rose again.  And Christ lives forever seated at the right hand of the father.  And he gave us the power to bind and loose that will be a command executed by the angels in heaven. 

Christ came.  But he did not leave us alone and lonely.  For he watches over us in heaven.  He sends us the Advocate for those who seek him.  He protects us for those who want protection.  He provides for us for those who want provision.  He is our fulfillment for those who want to be fulfilled.  For his love overwhelms.  His love is complete.  His love is all.  And the his counsel is our guide.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in him.  Seek to find the light of life that is within you that you may know the Advocate.  For with him, and through him, and by him all will be revealed. 

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.