St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 22; The Throne of God.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their distorted religion) Part 13.  

You see, it had come to this, gold and silver, precious metals, and jewels were more valuable in the eyes of the religious than the kingdom of heaven.  They did not place much value on the temple and the sacred items in it.  They did not value the altar but they placed value on the gold and silver placed on the altar.  They did not place value upon the temple itself but on the gold that the temple was made of which is how their religious beliefs had become so distorted.

These were the leaders who taught the people what to believe!  How wrong could they be?  They despised Christ for telling them that their beliefs were distorted and that they had it all wrong.  This is why he had to tell them also:  "And he who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it."

They had no idea that they were swearing by God himself.  They had no idea that they were telling their followers that their bond with God was nothing when they swore by the temple.  They had no idea that they were encouraging the people to break their vows that they were making with God himself, thereby bringing forth the wrath upon themselves.  The people only knew that they were following the rules and the laws that were handed down by their religious leaders.

They were sheep being led by their shepherds.  And we prey today that God has given us a true shepherds to lead us along the right path to the kingdom of heaven.  Of course the ultimate choice is up to us to follow.  The ultimate decision is within ourselves if we want to believe what we hear each Sunday.  And the choice is up to us if we want more than what we hear each week.  If our hearts desire to know more about our heavenly Father, it is up to us to seek him out.  If our hearts yearn to feel the truth of his love it is up to us to delve deeper into the knowledge that is available for us.  All we have to do is knock on the door to have it opened to us.  

And if we truly want to know him all we need do is get on our knees and ask him.  We have to be patient to get his response.  We have to listen quietly to hear his voice.  We have to know that he speaks when he calls us in that soft voice that fills us with joy and happiness.  We have to rejoice in his presence when he comes to us with the gifts that he gives us each and every day through the spirit of his heart.  For he is a loving Father, and he is a devoted Savior, and they have an everlasting Guide that will be with you until your time to return home.

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: 20; The Oneness of the gift and the Altar.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their distorted religion) Part 11.  

They had taken the essentials of faith and distorted it to their own beliefs.  Little did they understand the true meanings of religion.  Little did they know the truth of faith.  Little did they believe in the spirit of the living God who brought them out of Egypt into the land of milk and honey.  The Scribes and the Pharisees were only concerned in maintaining the status quo over the people so that they could keep their positions of power.

They did not understand the oneness of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Without that understanding how could they understand the oneness of the altar.  They believed that swearing by the altar was nothing but swearing by the gifts that were placed upon the altar meant that they were bound by the gift.  Christ had to explain to them: "Therefore he
who swears by the altar swears by it, and by all things that are on it."

This is the distinction that had to be made, the oneness of the altar.  Everything that is placed upon the altar becomes one with the altar and is sanctified by the altar.  They are not separate from it but are one with it.  The altar is the sacred table of God upon which Christ made his covenant with the church at the last supper.  He blessed the bread and the cup of wine that he gave to his disciples as a symbol of the new covenant that he made for the sacrifice which he was about the make for the sins of mankind.  And it was upon that sacred table upon which he made that covenant.

Today, all over the world, we have the sacred altars which are blessed by the church before they are used in services.  Our gifts are no longer gifts of food, or animals, or incense, but today we give tithes that are placed before the altar to show our thanks to God for the many gifts that he gives us on a daily basis.  We show our gratitude through what we give back to the church to help spread God's word to his people.  

We are blessed to know our God.  We are blessed to walk in the light and not in darkness and despair.  We are blessed to be able to call out to our God and have our voices heard.  For truly he will respond.  And truly we must be patient.  For he is loving and caring and protective and providing and vengeful of those that would do us harm.  Thank you Lord Jesus for loving us. 

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: 18b; Swearing by the gifts.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their distorted religion) Part 7.  

He called them blind guides, fools, they did not know what they were doing.  They believed in themselves.  They believed that they had the authority to know, the authority to declare, the authority to be right in their decisions.  But Christ called them fools, blind guides that did not know where they were going.  

They called themselves leading the people.  They called themselves religious leaders, yet Christ said that their religion was distorted, made up, not true, contrived.  They were blind and could not see the truth in their own beliefs that they taught the people.  They told the people that if they swear by the alter it is nothing: "But whoever swears by the gift that is upon it, he is bound."

Christ called them hypocrites, fools, blind guides, because they walked in the dark not knowing where they were going and they led the people in that same darkness.  But these were the Pharisees and the Scribes, the rulers of the day.  They were the ones that walked the streets who enforced the rules of the Law to the people.  They saw to it that the people kept the Law or they paid the fines for breaking it.

And then out of the blue came this stranger that no one knew called Christ who taught the people a different way to live, a different way to love, a different way to know their God in heaven.  He walked with them, talked with them, eat with them, drank with them, danced with them, did all the things that a normal person would do even though he was the Son of God.  He heard their cries and their sorrows, and the moans, and the groans of those who were suffering from affliction and he cured them all.  He opened the eyes, and the mouths, and the ears, and healed the wounds of the lepers and raised the dead that all would know that he was sent from the Father from above.

And they still would not believe.  They still hated him.  They still could not see the truth of who he was.  What do you do with a person who faced with all the evidence but still will not accept the truth?  You can not force them to change.  You can not beat the change into them.  What do you do?  You can only love them for who they are and accept that they are not able to change.  God is a god of love.  He loves the good and the bad.  He makes the sun shine and the rain fall on both until that day comes when his judgment takes place.  Where will you be?

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.