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 22, verse: 17a; Tell us thy thoughts.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Tribute to Caesar) Part 4. 

Now that the foundation was laid the real question comes.  They want to know the inner workings of his mind since they have laid the trap for him and set the parameters surrounding what they thought would be his response.  They were wise in their own conceited way.  They believed that they were knowledgeable enough to know more than this simple man called Jesus. They had met many others like him and brought about their downfall.

They did not know.  They did not understand.  They were blinded by their own arrogance and conceit in thinking that this man was the same as the others that they had met.  This was the Messiah, the living Christ, Son of God the Father.  But they did not know him.  So they asked him:  "Tell us, therefore, what dost thou think?" 

They wanted to know his thoughts, how he processes the questions that they would ask of him, and how he would respond since he is a man of truth and teaches the way of God.  They had set this trap with the knowledge of how they thought that he would respond but their knowledge was limited.  Their knowledge was flawed, their knowledge was human.  It was influenced by the desires of evil and wickedness that drove them to be blind to the truth that was before them, drove them to be deaf to the word that came to them, they could not hear, drove them to not believe in wisdom that had come down through the ages from the prophets that came before him.  They were lost without hope.  But they wanted to know his thought even though they could not comprehend them.  They could only anger at how their plan would fail.    

Yet Christ was loving.  Christ was gentle.  Christ was understanding in his knowledge of where they were and what they were doing.  He offered a way out.  He is merciful in that he never relents in his mercy.  He never stops offering his mercy to us no matter what we do, no matter how often we turn away, no matter how often we let go of him, he is always there waiting for us to call out to him.  He hears our voice.  He knows our cry and he will come to our aid if we are true to him in our need.  

That inner voice will tell us to give up, to not believe, to end it all.  But I am here to say that he, Our Father, is real.  Our God will come.  Our God will provide.  Our God does love you and will demonstrate his love for you everyday.  Patience is the key.  Belief is the way.  Once you taste the fruit of his love you will know that there is nothing else on this earth that will satisfy you.  You will walk your hand in his hand and no one or nothing can take that away.  And now your  journey begins.  

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 21, verses:30; Not Work in the Vineyard.

Our paragraph topic is (Parable of the two sons) Part 2. 

Some people have regrets.  Some don't.  What makes the difference?  Is it conscience?  Is it guilt?  Is it awareness?  What exactly is it that makes one regret?  We talked about the one son who told his father that he would not go into the vineyard and work but later regretted his disobedience.  This story comes after Christ spoke to the chief priest and the elders about his authority to preach and teach the people about the kingdom of heaven.

He wanted them to know from which he obtained his authority but they were not open to him.  They had no regrets.  They were blinded by their need to control, by their need to be in charge, by their arrogance with their own authority.  So to give them another chance to understand, another chance to be open, he told them this parable of the two sons.  And he came to the other and spoke in the same manner.  And this one answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go." 

The first son regretted his actions and went into the vineyard.  The second son lied and did not regret his disobedience.  The second son had no regrets.  Why did he not have guilt?  Why did he not have a conscience?  Why was he not aware of the wrong that he did against his father when he disobeyed and then lied about his disobedience? 

We all have fathers.  Most of us will become fathers at some point in our lives.  So we understand the authority of the father.  We understand the consequences of disobedience to the will of our father.  In most cases there is punishment.  In most cases there is judgment as to disobedience.  In most cases we may regret our actions and vow to not repeat our actions.  But for some there is no regret.  For some there is a turning point where the conscience is turned against the authority of the father and becomes a stubborn will to disregard that authority. 

We do not talk about those situations where the father is abusive, where the father completely dominates and exacts outrageous punishment that does not fit.  The father of these two sons loves them.  He raises his sons with the teachings and understandings that he has of the world that they too may become knowledgeable of the ways of the world.  Yet some stray.  Some become strong willed and believe that they know more than the father.  Some are influenced by others who tempt them to turn from the authority of the father.  This is the way of the world.  And the world does not care for the consequences of the actions of those sons that turn away.

Christ came into the world that the world may know of the Father.  He came to renew, to save, to give life, and to be a sacrifice for all.  Yet all do not accept.  All do not know.  All do not believe that he is the savior of the world.  We have life eternal if only we accept.  We have love from the Father if only we open ourselves to it.  We have protection from the pitfalls of life if 
only we walk in the way of the spirit.  We have already won.  We have already our reward.  We have already new life if we only see it within us.  Be open to that which is already yours and receive! 

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: 5 - 6, Man voids Commandments of God

Our paragraph topic is: ( Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees)
Part 4.   

Evil stands with the Pharisees as they challenge Christ about the law.  The Pharisees had witnessed the disciples of Christ breaking the Law by not respecting the traditions the Pharisees had implemented.  For the Pharisees were the keepers of the law.  They were the enforcers of the Law.  They were the learned in the law and no one knew more of the law, handed down to Moses, than they.   They held their office in high esteem and believed that they had the authority of God to command that the people follow the Law as they interpreted it.  So they challenged Christ, the author of the Law.  They did not know.  They did not understand.  They could not see because evil had taken them.

They had made void the commandment of God through their arrogance.  They had cancelled the judgement of the father of Justice according to their own designs, that they may maintain their enforcement upon the people and set aside judgement for themselves.  For they had no honor for their fathers and mothers.  They had no desire to obey the commandments.  They had set themselves apart from the people that they may set themselves above the law.  For this was the design of evil and the arrogance of man, to rule the people as they saw fit, without following the commandments of God.   For Christ said to them,  But you say ‘Whoever shall say to his father or mother, "Any support thou mightest have had from me is dedicated to God," does not have to honor father or his mother. ' So you have made void the commandment of  God by your tradition.

Man was with evil and evil was with man and together they were one.  The evil doer became evil, even though they were not made the same.  For evil resided with man but man was made from God and still had the spirit of God within him.  Yet evil came and took over man and he knows not what he does.  For evil persuades with convincing arguments and compelling evidence to the minds of men and man has no defense save to call upon the love of Christ.  Evil has no defense against the love of Christ and his Holy Spirit.  For Christ was the sacrifice that paid for all mankind to be free of sin.  Christ gave his life and his spirit so that man could be restored to salvation.  Christ came and died for our sins that man may be justified before God.  Yet evil still prevails and man knows not.

The Pharisees voided the commandment of God and replaced it with their own tradition.  Today man voids the commandments of God and replaces them with his own interpretation of how we should live.  We live in a world surrounded by the presences of evil.  Yet we know not that it exists and desire not to know that we are in a battle.  For evil tells us that we may set aside the commandments of God.  Evil tells us that we may live the life that we desire on this earth and not suffer the consequences of God's justice.  God is the ultimate judge and there is no other higher authority.  His justice is complete.  His justice is true.  His justice is honest and fair.  For he who transgresses the commandments subjects himself to God's justice, and this is what evil desires of man, that he suffers the justice of God and loose eternal life that is store for him in heaven.

So evil distorts, evil deceives, evil disguises truth, evil lies, and evil does everything that it can to turn man away from his true self.  For man was created in the image and likeness of God and his true place is in heaven.  But, changed by the designs of the world, man has lost sight of who he is.  Man does not know that he is the light of the world.  Man does not know that within him the Holy Spirit is to dwell.  Man has forgotten that Christ came, suffered and died for our sins that we may no longer live in sin.  Yet sin prevails and man continues to live, asleep in a world of sin, as evil grows in the minds and hearts of man.  

For the evildoer does the deeds of the evil one and man is not aware.  And the evildoer makes void the commandments of God that evil may prevail.  Guard your hearts!  Guard your minds!  Be vigilant of what you see and what you hear.  For evil is subtle in its attack upon the children of God.  Pray daily that the other advocate will come and live within you that you may be protected against the attacks of evil.  For you can know him.  You can see him.  You can carry him with you every minute, every second of the day that you will be protected and shielded from evil.  Seek him.  Ask for him to come.  Know that he will be with you for Christ has promised that he will send him.  And when he comes, Christ has said that you will be filled with his light that you will see and know the truth of who you are.  For the eye is the lamp of the body and if the eye is sound then the body will be full of light as though it shines from a lamp within.  Seek it!  Find it!  Know it, and you will see the spirit of Christ within.     

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verse: 4, The Transgression.

Our Paragraph topic is:  ( Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees)
Part 3.

The Pharisees questioned Christ.  Within themselves they believed that they had the authority to question him.  They believed that they were the enforcers of the law and that it was their duty to demand correction where they saw wrong.  For the disciples of Christ had taken food without washing.  The disciples had made an error and did not follow the laws and tradition laid down by the Pharisees.  So in their arrogance they questioned Christ about the behavior of his disciples.

Christ saw into their hearts.  Christ saw into their minds.  Christ saw the evil within them that they did not know.  Christ knew who they were and he knew the evil that was in them.  He knew the evil that persuaded them to come and speak about the behavior of the disciples.  For this evil had transgressed the commandments of God before. The evil within them decided that they were to rule mankind.  This evil decided that they were to control man and decide his destiny.  The evil inside decided that mankind would worship them and not the one true God.  The evil within the Pharisees decided that they would turn mankind away from God.  So they persuaded the Pharisees to question Christ.  But Christ saw their evil and he knew who they were.  His question to them was:   "And why do you transgress the commandment of God?"

The Pharisees were only vehicles through which the evil worked.  The Pharisees were only instruments through which the goals of evil were accomplished.  For evil was suggested to them.  Evil worked within them.  Evil made their plans with the Pharisees and the goals of evil were completed through the workings of men.  The Pharisees did not know why they transgressed the commandment of God, but evil knew.  The Pharisees did not know why they believed that they had authority to change the laws of God but evil knew.  For evil wanted to turn man away from God.  Evil hated the commandments of God and evil wanted to deceive mankind so that they could control his behavior and not God.   For God said, 'Honor thy father and thy mother '; and, 'Let him who curses father or mother be put to death.'

And so it is today.  Loving and godly parents lay down the law to their children.  Parents provide for their children.  Parents protect their children, care for them, educate them, give the love and nurturing that the body and soul needs to come forth and be a witness to the will of God.  But then the world takes over.  The world gets into the children.  The world draws the children into the darkness and without hesitation they become lost in the world.  For as the children grow and become older they rebel from the ways of the parents.  The children want the desires and the passions that the world has to offer and regard parents and being old and outdated not in tune with modern times.  And the world calls them to their death.

What makes us transgress the commandments of God?  How do we decide to go against his will?  Do we instantly make the decision to do so?  Do we see a lie and decide to lie?  Do we know dishonor and decide to dishonor?  Do we feel adultery and decide to be adulterous?  Or are we the pawns of the evil that is within us?  Are we whispered to, talked to, have visions from the evil that comes to turn us away?  Are we drawn into the transgression through the simple daily prodding of the world around us?  For evil is in the world.  Evil is through the world.  Evil is the heart of the world and it will not let us go until death comes. 

Do not be taken by evil!  Do not live in the evil of the world believing that it is the reality of life.  For the world is inclined towards death and has no life.  The world is darkness and leads to destruction.  Christ came into the world to bring life.  Christ came into the world that there may be light and not darkness.  But we must choose.  We must be aware of the darkness.  We must awaken from the deceit of the world and open our hearts to the light of Christ.  We are not of this world but of the kingdom of heaven.  For our treasure is in heaven and not in the world.  There lies our home.  There, in heaven, will we find eternal peace and the eternal joy that the world cannot give.  There in heaven will we see ourselves as we are in Christ.

COME!  Find your peace.  Find your truth.  Find your eternal joy and know the truth of the commandments.  For they were given to us to keep us on the path of life, the path that leads us to our eternal home.  Be not persuaded by the urgings of the world to transgress the commandments of God.  For God is our father, our creator, our protector, our provider.  He has prepared great and wondrous things for those who love him.  But for those who transgress, the wrath of the justice of God awaits.  Turn away from the suggestions of the evil that is in the world and live by the commandments of God.  Come!  Have eternal life in Christ!

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verse: 3, The Commandments of God vs Worldly Traditions.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 2 

The Pharisees questioned Christ about the practices of his disciples.  They did not wash before eating as the Pharisees had practiced and preached to the people.  For it was the Law that the people should wash before eating and it was the authority of the Pharisees to enforce the law.  So they witnessed this transgression and questioned Christ about why he did not enforce this tradition.

But Christ saw their plan.  Christ knew their intentions.  Christ understood the hearts of the Pharisees as they came forth to question him.  For the Pharisees were men of education.  The Pharisees were men of influence.  The Pharisees were the authority on the Law.  They were the enforcers of the authority for the people of Israel.  They were the final source of what should and should not be, the ultimate authority.  And in their arrogance and their power they opened their hearts to the evil one.  The Pharisees changed the commandment of God.

Christ did not address the question of the Pharisees.  He did not speak to the traditions that they sought to enforce.  Christ saw them for who they were.  He saw their hearts and knew that they were not followers of the laws of God.   But he answered and said to them "And why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"

The influence of power and the suggestions of the evil one had infected the hearts of the Pharisees.  For they had held the seat of power for many years.  They had ruled over the tribes of Israel for decades.  Their minds and their hearts were filled with the intoxication of power that they knew no wrong.  And the arrogance of power opened the door for Satan to come in and turn them.  For through his influence the laws were changed.  Through his influence men placed themselves above the commandments of God and made their own decisions.  How would it hurt if we lusted just a little?  How would it hurt if we lied just a little?  How would it hurt if we stole a little?  How would it hurt if we committed adultery just a little?  And how would it hurt if we influenced the people to do the same things just a little?

And so it is today.  We are entertained.  But through our entertainment we are influenced.  We see, through our entertainment, stories of lies, deceit, lust, adultery, murder, false witness, and all manner of evil.  And it is accepted as entertainment, entertainment that influences the mind and the heart.  For what we see, we practice.  For what will it hurt to lie a little?  What will it hurt to steal a little?  What will it hurt to commit adultery a little, to deceive a little, disrespect our parents a little, to worship idols a little?  And the world draws us into its web, we fall asleep, and we become the lost sheep not knowing or wanting to know that we are children of light and children of love. 

God is our father and he gives to us things that will keep us away from the evil that is in the world.  His love is our protection and our provision.  To know him is to love him.  To love him is to want to do the things that he has given us that will protect us.  Be not conformed to the world but be transformed out of the world.  Though we live in the world we do not belong to the world.  Our treasure is in heaven,  Your peace is in heaven. our eternal joy awaits us in heaven.  Do not fall asleep with the temporary fixes of this world.  Satan wants you to loose your treasure.  He wants you to forget about your eternal joy.  He wants to steal your everlasting peace.  Awake!  And know the true love of Christ.  Open your heart to his spirit and you will know the truth of who you are.  Experience the abundant life of Christ , here and now and awaken from the sleep of death offered by the world.         

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 9-10, The Battle begins: The traps are set.

Our paragraph topic is:  (A man with a withered hand) Part 1. 

The battle begins with the Pharisees, the enforcers, the power rulers.  Christ has refuted the Pharisees.  He has given them instructions in the face of the public.  He has put them down and told them of their errors.  And now Christ has told them who they are faced with, one greater than the temple and one Lord of the Sabbath.  The gates of hell are thrown open and all the demons turn focus upon Christ.  The battle begins.  

Christ has cast out demons.  He has cured the sick.  He has made the lame walk and raised the dead.  But he now confronts the demons of the rulers.  And the true battle begins.  For they are the ones who are the enforcers.  They are the ones who possess the power.  They are the ones who rule the people.  And they are the ones who are ruled by the biggest demons of all.   Christ spoke to the Pharisees, but in truth he spoke to the demons of the Pharisees.  For he spoke to arrogance.  He spoke to ignorance.  He spoke to pride.  He spoke to vanity.  And he spoke to hatred.  These are the spirits that ruled the land and the people.  They are the ones who sent suggestions in and out of their minds to make them feel what they felt for Christ.

Christ had finished his work with the crowds and moved on to other towns.  As it happened, he was in a synaggogue and there came a man with a withered hand into their midst and one could hear the traps being set.  For the Pharisees asked him a trick question.  They asked him,  "Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?"   They wanted to trap him in his words.  They wanted to have him speak words before the people in the synagogue so that his words would bring him to ruin where they could accuse him and bring him to punishment according to the law.  So they questioned him.

Often times we find ourselves in the same position as Christ, being questioned.  We live in a world that constantly questions us about our beliefs.  It questions us about our actions.  It questions us about our morals.  It questions us about our God.  For the world is not outside of us.  It sits on our shoulders and speaks to us.  It resides in our minds and talks with us.  It lives in our hearts and becomes us, if we do not take action and clean house.  For each action that we seek to do according to the will of God, the world will have a different opinion.  Often times the world will tell us what to do.  The world will direct us and our actions.  The world will tell us to relax when we should be on our guard.  The world will tell us that it is OK when we know that it is not OK.  The world within us will have us believe that we are in the world when we are not.  The world will put us to sleep in the matrix and we will not even know it.

Christ came to wake us up.  Christ came to remove the world from us.  Christ came to cast out the world from our hearts so that the true owner may take up residence.  For we are children of God and it is in our hearts that the light of the world should reside.  It is in our minds that the word should remain.  It is in our words that the truth should be spoken and not those of the world.  For from our hearts come the fire of life.  And through our minds we are freed from the world.  And with the words of the sword , we will slash and destroy the enemy.  The battle has begun.  The enemy is relentless.  Be on your guard and remember that you are not of this world but are of the kingdom of heaven.  There, shall your heart be and there, your treasure you will find.

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 5 - 6, The Accusations of the Pharisees

Our paragraph topic is:(The disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath) Pt 3.

Christ continues to instruct the Pharisees in their accusations of the disciples.  The disciples have plucked grain on the Sabbath and eaten it.  The Pharisees witness this act of violation of the Law, according to their interpretations, and bring it to the attention of Christ.  Christ does not respond to their accusations but instead instructs them in the interpretation of the Law.  The Pharisees were the authority on the Law.  They interpreted the Law to their satisfaction to keep the people in line.  They enforced their interpretation of the Law so that they could remain in power and have dominion over the people.  They did not know.  

They did not know that they spoke with the creator of the Law.  They did not know that Christ also knew the Law.  And he kindly and gently instructed them as to their error.  In their rush to judgment they forgot about those parts of the scripture that showed others breaking the law.  In their rush to judgment they forgot about King David breaking the law because he was hungry.  In their rush to judgment they forgot about the priest who brake the law on the Sabbath.  Christ asked them,  "Have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are guiltless?"  

You see, the Pharisees had their own interpretation of the Law.  They interpreted the Law according to their needs and their necessities, to keep the people in line.  This is why Christ said to them,  "But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here."  And with this statement came the shock.  For Christ told them that he was greater than the Temple and that, was considered blasphemy.  No one was greater than the temple except God.  Yet, here was a man, admittedly a man, a rabbi, with great power, but in their eyes, not God.  Yet the statement was out in the open for them to hear in shock and disbelief. 

The Pharisees wanted to align themselves with Christ.  They wanted to be his disciples also.  Because of his great power and miracles they could see that the people were following him and dismissing them.  And now came this statement and the violation of the Law in plain view of their enforcement power.  This was an insult.  This was injury.  This was unforgivable in their eyes.  They were the almighty enforcers of the law.  They were the keepers of the faith.  No one knew the ins and outs of their religion more than they did.  Yet Christ stood in their midst and instructed them on the error of their ways.  He instructed them on the scriptures.  He instructed them on their knowledge.  And there it was, the spirit of arrogance, standing there in their face.  They did not know.

Are you a Pharisee in your church today?  Are you a learned scholar of the scriptures?  Christ wants to instruct you.  Will you listen?  Will you learn?  Or will arrogance stand in your face causing you to be blinded to the truth?  Christ brought the good news to earth so that the people would know how to live.  Christ brought us the good news so that we would know how to forgive.  Christ brought us the good news so that we would know how to love one another.  Yet we still do not understand.  There is but one teacher.  There is but one preacher.  All others are merely shepherds leading the flock to the teacher.  And the Divine Helper teaches all.  Will you seek the wisdom of Christ?  Will you seek the humility of Christ?  Will you seek Christ's love for one and all?  For through it and with it and of it we are transformed into aliens not from this world.  For the Holy Spirit will convict.  The Holy Spirit will transform.  The Holy Spirit will reward.  The Holy Spirit will assign you your task in the workforce of Christ.  Will you seek Him?  Will you learn from Him?  Will you know Him?  I have and I do!

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 3-4, The Accusations of the Pharisees

Our paragraph topic is:(The disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath) Part 2.

On this sunny day Christ and his disciples and all the followers walked through a field of grain.  The disciples are hungry, so they pick the grain and eat it.  It is the Sabbath and according to the Law, one is not supposed to work on the Sabbath because it is the Lord's day and all should rest.  The Pharisees, who also followed Christ, see this transgression and bring it to his attention 
demanding that he do something about this transgression. 

They did not know.  They told the creator of the law about what was lawful.  They did not know.  They told the creator of the law what he should or should not do.  They did not know.  In their arrogance they told the creator of the law that he was wrong in allowing this act to take place.  They demanded that, as a teacher, he do something about this act of breaking the law of the Sabbath.  They wanted to know that Christ was going to exact punish upon his disciples for breaking the law of the Sabbath.  They, did not know.  They only wanted the satisfaction that the teachings of Christ aligned with what they were enforcing upon the people in order to maintain their positions of power and authority. 

The creator of the law was gentle.  The creator of the law was kind.  The creator of the law brought them to understand the true meaning of the law.  Christ said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry?  How he entered the house of God, and ate the loaves of proposition which neither he nor those with him could lawfully eat, but only the priests?"     

Christ referred them back to the Law.  He took them back to scripture to remind them of their history.  He was gentle.  He was kind.  He was understanding.  Christ knew that the Pharisees had their own interpretation of the scriptures that was used to keep the people in line.  He knew that the interpretation of the scriptures was two sided, one for the people and one for the Pharisees.  So he schooled them.  He brought them back to their roots that they would see that he knew what they knew.  King David ate the loaves of proposition from the house of God because he was hungry.  King David and all that followed him broke the Law because they had no food to eat.  And David was greater than these little ones who were hungry.  David was the king chosen by God to lead the people.  David broke the law and God did not punish him so why should these be punished.

Christ schools us today the same way.  He is gentle.  He is kind.  He is loving in his guidance to us.  Yet the Pharisees of our churches would have us punished.  The Pharisees who watch over us would bring fire and brimstone upon us for our transgressions.  Are you a Pharisee in your church?  Are you a keeper of the law in your church, looking for every opportunity to speak the law to your fellow parishioners?  Are you so high and mighty that you have forgotten that you too are a sinner?  Are you so quick to preach to others that you have forgotten what lowly place you come from?  Christ gave you the Bible to learn from.  Christ gave you the scriptures to keep in your heart, not to beat others with your mouth.  The source of all humility and obedience calls you to be humble.  The source of all love calls you to love.  The spirit of unity calls you to unite and not to separate.  For Christ is one with the Father.  Will you become one with him and understand the true meaning of love?