St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 9b; Put to Death.

 Our paragraph topic is: (He tells them of trials and hard times to come) Part 2.  

The disciples are all sitting around listening to the things that Christ is recounting to them of the events to come as though he was telling them a bedtime story.  Their minds intently absorbing all that is said without understand fully the meaning of how it will impact their lives.  It is almost as if they are in a dream listening to him speak not knowing what he is saying but taking it in for later reference.

Christ spoke to their souls.  He spoke to things that would happen in the future.  He spoke of things that they did not completely understand.  Yet they listened, they heard, they remembered, they recalled all that was said and put to written word what they witnessed, saw, and what was said.  The spirit works in ways that they did not understand yet it was within them and came forth from them for us today.  He told them they will deliver you:  "And will put you to death."

And death was the word that brought them back to reality because it was something that they all understood.  They lived it daily.  They saw it regularly.  They knew it at the hands of the Romans frequently.  It was something that brought both anger and fear.  Anger because it came at the hands of an outside invader and fear because no one wanted to suffer the brutal consequences of death by Roman torture.

This was the way of life during the life of Christ.  The people did not know or believe in life after death.  They did not completely believe in heaven and the God of their ancestors.  They read the Torah on Sundays as part of their ritual and heard from their elders but mostly were forced to follow the Law by the scribes, the elders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  Christ came to change all that.  He came to bear witness to the truth, to open the gates of heaven, to allow all the waiting souls to enter, to pay the price for the sins of the world.  He was the sacrificial lamb, the innocent one, the one born without sin.

Today we live our lives in pursuit of happiness.  We seek to have those things and those ones in our lives that will give us pleasure and joy and make us feel good about ourselves.  We care not about others as long as we are satisfied in our own world.  We seek to surround ourselves with like individuals of the same mindset to create a circle of friends that make up our world.  And as long as our world is complete we are happy.  Death is the final goal in life and time is the gate keeper.  And when that time comes the door opens and we must enter whether we are ready or not. 

So life ultimately is about a choice.  We have so many years to come to a knowledge and to make a decision based on that knowledge of who we are.  Christ came that we would have the truth of that knowledge.  He came that we could have life and have it more abundantly.  For life is temporary here and permanent, eternal, there.  Which we choose is up to us.  Death is only the doorway to the truth.  Christ awaits our choice.  He has open arms for those who love him and want to be with him for eternity.  The choice is ours to make.  Make the choice to accept his open arms of love.   

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 24, verse: 4; Led astray.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ warns them not to be led astray) Part 1.  

So they wanted to know.  Their hearts and minds were curious as to the how and the wherefore of the coming doom.  It was burning inside of them to know.  But they could not know.  They were not ready to know.  It was not the time or the place for them to know.  The panic would have taken hold and led them astray.

They were like little children who had to be protected if they were told of the boogie man without no one to keep them from harm, no father or mother, or sister or brother.  They were not ready to hear the truth of what was coming.  Christ had to prepare them for the truth.  He had to first fill their minds and hearts and spirits with the truth of who they were in him so that nothing could harm them before they could receive the message.  And in answer Jesus said to them, "Take care that no one leads you astray."

Our message today also is to take care not to be led astray.  It is easy in this world of hype, glamour, and glitz to be led astray, to be hypnotized, to be mesmerize by all that we see, hear and come to believe.  We are raised in a protected environment that our parents and guardians try to give us to put us on the right path to life.  But as we grow older we examine that path and want to change it believing that it needs to be changed to fit what we see as our wants, needs and desires.  And as we enter the world on our own we have to make our own decisions as to what is right and wrong for us, as a path to take in life which will lead us in the direction that we want to go.

Many times we find ourselves, later on in life, along a path that we want to change or that we wish we had not taken, a path that led us astray.  And in every attempt we make an effort to turn our lives around  to go in a different direction.  Christ directed his disciples not to be led astray.  He wanted them to stay on the path that he had given them, the path that makes them his disciples, his preachers and teachers of the gospel.  The church must be built and must spread throughout the land after he leaves.  It will be up to the disciples to complete his work.  They must not be led astray.

We have a purpose also, not to be led astray.  Our purpose is to choose to live or to die in Christ, to accept him as our savior, to be born again into a new life or to die into the darkness of death.  And with that choice comes the joy of living a life that he has shown us how to live, sharing the love of the new life he has given us with others that they too may know the truth of new life in Christ.  It is a joyous life, a happy life, a life of peace and love, a life of fulfillment in him who fulfills all.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in 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.

St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 15a; Woe!

Our paragraph topic is:  (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 8.  

Jesus was bold.  He was outspoken.  Only the prophets and those who were crazy spoke to the Pharisees this way.  No one would dare speak out loud to them in public for all to hear.  Yet Jesus did.  He spared no words and did not hold his tongue.  He wanted all to hear what he had to say of the Scribes and the Pharisees.  He wanted all to know of their wrongs.

They did not believe.  They did not see.  They did not understand that the kingdom of heaven was at their doorstep.  The Scribes and the Pharisees only heard the words of a man calling them out to the public, something no one dared do to their honor.  But Christ did.  He said to them: "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"

In this paragraph he calls them hypocrites three times.  He tells the disciples what they did and how they did it so that all will know their sins.  He gives them three times to repent of their ways.  Yet they do not.  They can not hear.  They can not see.  They can not understand what is happening before them.  They are deaf in their hearing.  They are blind in their seeing and their understand has been taken away.

Where are we today?  Are we in the same boat?  Can we hear the calling?  Can we see the miracles before us?  Can we understand the things that are happening around us that give us the opportunities to repent of our ways?  We have a choice.  God is merciful.  He is loving and forgiving.  He is patient in his mercy and wants all to have the chance to receive his love.  The choice is ours if we can only hear, if we can only see, is we can only understand the gift that is given to us. 

 I am so thankful that I heard.  I am so thankful that I was able to see.  I am so thankful that I was able to understand the gift that I have received, that I am here today to write to you about it.  Seek it and you shall find it.  Knock on the door and it shall be opened to you.  Know that you have a heavenly Father who loves you and who will come to you and embrace you with his love.  I am a witness. 

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, verses: 42b-43a; Whose son is the Christ?

Our paragraph topic is:  (The son of David) Part 3.  

They knew the answer to the question.  They knew their history and their ancestry, for Jesus was from the tribe of David and this was written for all to know.  But they did not know the meaning of this answer.  They were the scholars of the scriptures.  They had studied the books all their lives, but they had not made the connections.  Or maybe they had made the connections but refused to see the truth in them.

Christ was the son of David but he was also the son of God and that was also written.  They, the scholars, did not want to believe that this man was the Messiah.  They did not want to believe that the Christ would come from such a lowly means, that God would send his son in the place of a man with such low standing.  So when they answered: They said to him, "David’s."   Christ responded:  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord."  

Here was the mind twister, the rattler, the thought that could give them the opportunity to see the truth and be opened.  Christ wanted them to see.  He wanted the Pharisees to understand the truth and be healed.  He had the opportunity to have them all together before him in a group so he posed the question that would make them all think at once.  It would give them the chance to think together, on the same level, to resolve a problem among themselves in his presence.

We are like the Pharisees.  God presents us with problems, issues, that will make us think about the consequences of our actions, of our lives.  He allows things to happen, either to us or for us that we may open our eyes and see who we are.  We are fragile.  We are human.  We are flesh and blood that can easily be destroyed, or injured, where our life is taken away in an instant.  Yet it is not that which is flesh and blood that is of value that we should treasure but that which is of the spirit that is permanent.  We live most of our lives not knowing it and yet it exist within us.  Most times it is not until we come close to loosing it that we realize that it is there.

We are given a choice how to live.  Christ gave us that choice through his love, through his passion.  Thank you Lord for your fulfilling love, for your overwhelming passion.  Thank you for your the sacrifice that you made for me and for mankind.  May we come to understand and know the truth of what you have given us.  Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

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: 23; The Sadducees' Question.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The Sadducees question Christ) Part 1.  

The Herodians came, questioned and tested him, and left marveling at his answer.  Now we have the Sadducees coming on the same day with their questions in their attempt to gather evidence against him.  They were learned men.  They studied the text and the books handed down by their fathers and the prophets but they had no wisdom or insight into the meaning behind the words.  The spirit of the Lord was not with them.

They were the ones who did not believe in the resurrection.  They only believed that we lived for today and die tomorrow.  So they had no understanding of what happened after death.  They had no knowledge or belief that there was an after life, a soul or a spirit.  They only believed that they lived for today and tomorrow you die and that is the end of life.  So, "On that same day some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him, and questioned him."  

Christ was an ordinary man, an ordinary man of flesh and blood.  He was not a hero.  He was not a prince or a scholar, at least not in the eyes of those who practiced being a scholar in those days, those who trained with the elders and learned various schools of thought.  He was just an ordinary man who would not attract the attention of anyone.  Yet within this ordinary man lived the Son of Man, the Son of God.  

He came down from heaven to walk among the ordinary people to be an example to them of a new way of life.  He wanted to show that there is a God and a heaven and a life after death that we could all believe in and live for.  He showed that he had the power of the Holy Spirit and God the Father to perform miracles that no other man or prophet had performed before him.  He wanted the people to rejoice, to have hope, to be happy in the knowledge that they had a God to provide for them, to care for them, to protect them, and to love them, even if they had to suffer in the present.

For he came to suffer.  He came to die for us.  He came to become a substitute for us all that we might have new life.  He came that the life that we lost in the garden we could have again.  He came because of the passion of his love for us all.  He came that we each might now have the choice to make our own decision as to whether we wanted to live with him or to die without him.  The choice would be ours alone.  The message would be spread to all.  All would have the opportunity over and over again till the last day, to decide.  The choice would be ours.  We must choose or the choice will be made for us.  Death will come and it will decide.  Why wait.

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: 46b; The People and a Prophet.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Application of the parable) Part 9.  

We now come to the end of the paragraph and the end of Chapter 21.  Much of this chapter has been about Christ and his entry into Jerusalem.  He came with the praise of the little people, riding on a donkey.  The people of the great city did not know him.  They did not understand why there was so much of a uproar about this man that no one knew.

Yet it was those who lived on the outside of the city, those little ones who had seen the miracles, heard the words, followed his teachings, that knew him, worshiped him, and praised him as the new leader of the people.  He cleansed the temple, taught the people in the temple, and criticized the leaders on their two faced behavior.  The leaders rejected the corner stone but it would crush them and ground them to dust.  He gave them opportunity to understand.  But they could not and would not understand.  He spoke in common terms that they would understand.  They were blinded, deaf, and were not allowed to understand, until at last the word got through and they were angry.  They sought to beat him but:  "They feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet." 

We are the sheep and we follow what is given to us.  We are given our way of life, how to think, what we believe, who we accept and deny.  All of that which we are today is given to us by our surroundings.  People live in different environments today all over this earth and have different ways to live, think, behave, and ways of being who they are.  People in India may have some similarities to the way people in America think but overall they are entirely different cultures.  The environment makes who we are and what we believe.  But we have choices.  We can change.  

Change can come in many forms.  It can come through a critical process of thinking, we decide to change without any outside influence.  Change can come through a force that causes us to make the decision to do away with our old behavior and adapt a new one because there is pain with the old behavior.  Change can come through association with others who we follow that seem to have a better way of living, so we go along with the influence of others.  Change can come through enlightenment, a revelation that we have that brings us to a new way of thinking, of believing, of seeing the world.

We can be locked in on our beliefs that change can not be affected.  We can be so influenced by our way of life that nothing can bring about change in us because we refuse to believe.  We can be blinded by others that their way is better than any change that we may seek, so we remain unchanged.  Ultimately the choice is ours to follow.  The choice is ours to want to change or not.  The option is ours but the opportunity is present for us to see or not to see.  The opportunity is there for us to believe or not to believe.  The opportunity is present for all because we have a God who loves what he has created and wants all to have the opportunity to experience his love and compassion.

There is so much pain and suffering in the world one has to ask why do we have a God who would allow such suffering to happen.  Who are we to question the ways of our Father for he was here before us.  He created the universe before we were a thought in his mind.  He created the earth and the heavens.  He gave life to the world with trees and birds and animals of all sorts.  He carved man out of the dust and gave life to him and the spirit of himself that we may have his image within us.  It is he that lives through all eternity, even unto today.  And it is he that gives all the opportunity because he loves so much that which he has created.  The Prophet calls but we must be able to hear his call.

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, verse: 32b; Believing.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the two sons) Part 6. 

Where would we be without the law.  For the law sets boundaries that we live and breathe by.  The law gives justice to the people who are aggrieved and oppressed.  The law is the standard by which we live.  One cannot say that the punishment is not just if it has not been spelled out for all to see and believe.  For the law sets those standards by which justice is given.  It is a warning to all that these are the boundaries by which you will be judged and by which justice will be dispensed.

John came in the way of justice.  He came to announce the coming of the kingdom of heaven here on earth.  He came as a precursor to announce the law and give notice to all to repent to avoid the punishment of justice.  Many heard his words and believed.  Many heard and did not believe.  And justice came to those who did not believe for they were given the warning and the opportunity to repent.  Christ told the chief priest and the elders:  "But the publicans
and the harlots believed him." 

What was the difference between the priests, the elders, and the publicans and the harlots?  What allowed one group to believe and another to disbelieve?  What stands in the way of those today who believe and those that do not?  Is it just human nature that separates the two?  Is it complete and utter doubt that prevents one from seeing through the inner being who they are?  One has the choice.  One can believe.  One can decide.  But one does and one does not.  Why is the question?

We are in a world that ultimately makes us question our being, our self-worth, our purpose in life.  This world gives us all the opportunity to achieve the desires of the heart through what it has to offer.  The young see a world of opportunity that allows them to be all that they desire.  The old see either those desires fulfilled or those desires fade.  And it depends from which perspective that we view the desires of the heart that tell us who and what we are in this world. 

We judge our self-worth by what we have achieved in this world.  Yet our Lord and Savior judges us by who we are, who he created in his image and likeness.  Even those who have fulfilled the desires of their heart find themselves still wanting more of what this world has to offer but time runs to completion and death awaits.  God is life.  He is the great I Am!  In him is no death.  And in the life he has given us there is no death, only transition. 

We believe or we do not.  We know or we do not.  We seek the truth or we do not.  We are more than what this world has to offer and the life within us is everlasting.  Believing is the key to open the door to that which is within us.  Believing is the path which will lead us to the truth of the kingdom of heaven.  Believing is a leap from the physical to the spiritual that allows us to know the truth of who we are and that truth is in him.  The desires of the heart are in him.  The desires of peace are in him.  The desires of complete love are with him and no other.  Believe and you will see.

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 20, verse:30a, Two Blind men.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The blind men at Jericho) Part 2. 

A great crowd followed Christ as he was leaving Jericho.  He was the person of the times.  Everyone wanted to see him.  Everyone wanted to be near him.  Everyone wanted something from him.  They were drawn to him through the word.  They heard through the word.  And the word spread of his deeds, of his miracles, of his teachings.  Many thought that he would bring about change.  But his change was of a greater purpose than what was imagined.

He came for a purpose.  He walked and talked for a purpose.  He taught of the things to come and of his Father.  And he gave comfort to those in need.  He gave hope to those without hope.  He brought light into the darkness so that those without belief would know, those without hope would be hopeful, those without faith would see that their faith was real.  Even the blind who could not see knew that he was the one.  "And behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside heard that Jesus was passing by."

The word was everywhere.  Everyone was talking about him.  Everyone was spreading his message and what they saw.  And that meant that they stopped what they were doing and came to him.  He was in their town.  He was in their village.  He was nearby and they wanted to see for themselves.  He was nearby and they wanted to know for themselves.  He was there and they wanted to be there.  The two blind men were there and this was their opportunity.

Great people come into our lives and we have opportunities to see them, to be where they are, to even have a chance to meet them.  So when that opportunity presents itself, if we are lucky, we rush to be in that place where they are.  This is our nature.  This is who we are.  This is the opportunity to grab a moment in time that we will remember for the rest of our lives. 

What would you do if you heard that Jesus was passing by your city?  What would do if you heard that Christ was coming to your town?  If it were announced on the news that Christ was having a meeting at your local church, your local arena, or coliseum, would you come?  Would you make an effort to buy a ticket, to get off from work, to plan a way to get to where he would be?  He performs miracles.  He changes lives.  He makes the blind see and the lame walk, and the cripple whole.  What could he do for you, if you came to see him?

Each and everyday we have that same opportunity.  Each and everyday we can go to see him, be with him, touch him, know that he is with us.  Each and everyday we have the opportunity to live with him just as the disciples did two thousand years ago.  The choice is ours.  The opportunity is ours if we choose.  All we have to do is ask. 

We must know that our asking requires patience.  We must know that our asking requires believing.  It is believing that we must act on, knowing with certainty that he will hear us and answer.  For without that certainty, impatience will creep in.  Without that certainty, impatience will seek to persuade you to give up.  Impatience will talk to you and seek to make you believe that he will not answer.  Impatience will seek to destroy your faith in him.  But patience will deliver.  For patience will allow you to see the miracles that he will perform in your lives.  Patience will give you the strength to know that he will answer.  Patience will walk with you each day, each hour, each minute and show you how to walk in belief, and to walk in faith, and to walk in hope.  We are his children and he is our Father.  He will provide.

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 20, verse: 16a, The Order of things: The Last, first and the First, last.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 24.

We have been writing about this parable for some time now and we come to its end.  The house-holder had the right to choose to do as he pleased with his generosity to pay all the laborers the same amount and the laborers had the right to feel slighted.  The first hired laborers agreed to the payment for a days labor in the beginning.  They understood that they would work an entire day for a denarius.  They believed that this was a fair and just payment for their labor.  They were the first to come and the last to leave, the last to get paid.

It was in their payment that they turned, they changed, they felt slighted.  They saw that the other laborers who came after them were paid the same amount.  It was in this seeing, in this believing that their minds were changed, their hearts were bittered, their anger began to boil.  But that was the decision of the house-holder and not the decision of the laborers.  He decided to pay all the same.  He decided to make all equal in terms of their pay.  He decided to be generous.  And that had no bearing on the laborers.  As he told the laborers:  "Even so the last shall be first, and the first last." 

This is a famous quote in religious teachings, but what does it mean for those who follow the teachings of Christ today.  Christ was the first of all creations.  And he is the begotten son of God our Father.  He was there from the beginning of all creation.  Before the heavens were created and the principalities came into being, he was there with the Father.  He saw it all, he knows it all,  he was a part of it all in the love of God our Father.  Who will be the last?  Who will be the last soul to enter into the kingdom of heaven before the doors are closed and no more enter into the kingdom.

God our Father is a generous God.  He is a loving God and a protective Father who watches over his children.  Out of the generosity of his love he gave us life .  But there will come a point when time is fulfilled and all things are completed and the judgment will come forth.  There is a time when the heavens will shake and the tree of life will no longer give of its fruit.  There will come a time when our savior Jesus Christ will come forth with all his angels and demonstrate his power and majesty to the world that all will know his name.  When will that time come?  No one knows but the Father.

Will you be the last?  Will you know the truth of who you are in Christ?  You have, within you, the life of the Father.  You have, within you, the instructions given you through the Word.  You can have, within you, the path laid out by the Advocate each day.  The choice is yours to make.  Will you be the last?  The Father awaits you with open arms.  He seeks to embrace you with his love.  He desires that you come home to him instead of the place built for the outcast angels.  The choice is so simple and so easy to make.  The choice is a thousand times better than anything the world has to offer.  Come!  Take his hand and follow the path given you from the life within.  You will know the truth.  You will know the love.  You will know peace.   

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 20, verse: 15a, The right to choose.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 22.

The house-holder speaks to the laborers that were grumbling.  He speaks to those who were dissatisfied with their pay because they believed that they deserved more than they were paid.  They agreed upon a denarius to work for a day.  They were paid a denarius for a complete days work.  But others were paid a denarius for three quarters of a day.  And still others were paid a denarius for half a day's work.  And the last to work were paid a denarius for a quarter of a day's work.  And because the house-holder was generous with what he paid them the laborers became dissatisfied with their pay.

He made the choice.  He chose to pay the laborers as he saw fit.  He paid all, even from the last the same pay as he did the first.  And the choice was his to make.  The laborers agreed to the pay but changed when they witnessed the choice of the house-holder to pay all the same.  And he told them:  "Have I not a right to do what I choose?" 

They all had rights.  The house-holder had rights and the laborers had rights.  They all agreed upon what they agreed.  And the work went forward based upon the rights of each party to complete the agreements made.  The house-holder agreed to pay and the laborers agreed to work.  They all agreed.  But when the time for the agreement to be completed something changed.  There was a disagreement, there was dissatisfaction, there was grumbling.  So why did this take place?  Why was there disagreement at the end of the agreement? 

The state of change entered into the picture at the time of completion.  The mind was set at the beginning of the agreement.  The mind was in agreement.  The mind was satisfied.  And then change came to influence the mind.  Change came to make a comparison.  Change came to turn around the state of satisfaction to dissatisfaction and the mind was at a crossroads.  The mind had to choose.  The mind had to make a decision as to which direction it would take.  Would it continue on the road to satisfaction or would it take a different road? 

The road to dissatisfaction led to a different place.  Along the road different thoughts came into play.  Along the road different pictures were presented.  Along the road to dissatisfaction the emotions began to change and the skies became darker, the heart began to change and the once bright picture of happiness became a dark cloud of anger and frustration.  And the door was opened to let the world come in and take possession of that which would have brought happiness.  But back at the crossroads the decision was theirs, the choice was theirs to make.  The laborers had their choice to make and we today have our choice to make.  We all are brought to the crossroad at some point in our lives.  We all have the freedom to choose where we will walk, which road we will take, which path we shall follow. 

I thank God that he held my hand along the road that I traveled.  I thank God that he did not let me go.  I thank God that I was pulled back from the brink, from the cliff of the decision that came to me to take action.  I am thankful that we have a loving God, a forgiving God, a God who will protect us and guide us and keep us from harms way.  For without him I would surely be doomed, this day, for the decisions that I almost made from opening the door to the world and following in the footsteps of the influence of evil.  Today I know who I am.  Today I am saved.  Today I am a new person inspired by the new life given me by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  Today, who are 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 20, verse: 14b, The choice is mine.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 21.

We continue with this parable of the laborers and the house-holder.  The laborers are angry.  They are disgruntled.  Those that were last to get paid thought that they should get paid more than those who only worked for a short time.  They were the ones who worked the entire day.  They were the ones who worked the longest and bore the heat of the day in their labor.  So when they saw that those who came after them got the same pay as they, they were mad and angry about their agreement. 

They felt that they were cheated and deceived.  They believed that, even though they agreed to a denarius, they deserved more for their labor.  What changed their minds?  What caused them to think otherwise?  What influenced them to the point that they became angry and disgruntled?  The house-holder told them to take what was theirs and leave because he did them no injustice.  He told them:  "I choose to give to this last even as to thee." 

The choice was his to make.  He decided that all would be paid the same even from the first to the last.  He was a generous house-holder.  He demonstrated to the laborers that he wanted them to work in his vineyard even if it was only for one hour.  And the reward would be the same for each and every laborer.  His judgment was not like our judgment.  We would think that those who worked the longest would get paid more.  We would think that those who came first would receive a greater reward.  We would think that because they labored more that they should receive more.  But this was not the thought processes of the house-holder.  He wanted all to work and he paid all the same.

What can we learn from this parable?  What does it demonstrate to us?  Christ told his disciples that the kingdom of heaven is like a house-holder who goes out to the marketplace to hire workers to labor in his vineyard.  We are laborers in the vineyard of the Lord.  Our job is to carry the message of love and hope to those who are without hope, those who do not believe, those who have no direction or purpose in life.  We are the workers.  We are the laborers and it is our job to demonstrate to the world the love of God that is within us.

Our work is not easy.  It is not without trials and tribulations.  For there are those who hate us.  There are those who would destroy us.  There are those who would turn us from our labors and attempt to convince us that our labors are futile.  They do not believe.  They do not know.  They are the ones that are influenced by the world and what is in the world.  Ours is the influence of our Father in heaven who loves us, provides for us, and protects us.  The choice was the house-holder as to what he would give.  The choice is God our Father as to who he chooses and who he does not, who he rewards and who he does not.

Let us go forth and be glad that we are chosen.  Let us rejoice that he has chosen us to work in his vineyard.  For he is a just God.  He is a loving God.  He is our Father, our creator, and through Christ our Lord, our redeemer.  The choice is his to make.  Are you chosen?  Come, seek the Lord and he will choose 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 20, verse: 5, So they went.

Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 5.  

What is just?  What is fair?  What is honest?  What is good?  What is right or wrong?  We see and ask these questions on a daily basis.  Christ told his disciples a parable that raised all of these questions.  Why did he do this?  He wanted them to have an understanding that was not openly available to everyone.  Theirs was the understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.  Theirs was the knowledge that was not available to wise men.  Theirs was the vision of the Christ in his full glory.  Theirs was the insight given them by God our Father.

They did not yet posses all that was given to them, but the seeds were planted.  They would witness the coming forth of the fruit.  Christ spoke of a house-holder who needed workers in his vineyard.  He spoke to his disciples in plain terms that they could understand.  And yet underlying those plain term was the fruit that would later blossom into the understanding and insight given to them by the grace of God.  So the house-holder hired workers and agreed to pay them what was just.  "So they went.  And again he went out about the sixth, and about the ninth hour, and did as before."  

The house-holder called his workers, even in the middle of the day.  He saw them standing idle in the market place and he called them to work.  Christ calls his workers.  He calls them at all times of the day.  And he agrees to pay them what is just.  He does this again and again and again.  No matter what the time of day he calls workers to come and work in his vineyard.  Are you a worker?  Are you a weed?  Are you the fruit that needs to be harvested?  How do you fit into the kingdom of heaven?

The door is open to all who want to come.  The requirements are easy.  Anyone can qualify.  The choice is yours to make if you understand the offer.  There is another offer also, the offer of the world.  It is the one we are born into.  It is the one we live with.  It is the one that surrounds us daily.  But one must rise above what is seen.  One must view beyond what is obvious.  One must change the perspective to see what is hidden.  We have a choice.  Some understand that choice early on.  Some find that choice later in life.  And some struggle with that choice only to not understand.  And then there are those who see the choice, know the choice, but cannot make the choice.

Can you make the choice?  Can you choose to be the one?  Can you accept the choice of who you are in Christ?  The world will blind you.  The world will deceive you.  The world will seek to turn you away from your choice.  But the spirit cries out in you.  The spirit burns in you for fulfillment.  The spirit within you knows the truth of who you are.  Can you seek it?  Can you find it?  Can you know the truth of who you are in Christ?  The choice is yours to make.  The thief is out there seeking to steal your choice.  Be careful!  He will not announce himself to you.  He will not knock at your door.  He will come and take you away without your having a choice.  And then you will know.

Christ calls you.  Christ loves you.  Christ gave his life for you that you would have life.  Seek him and know.  Know him and love.  Be with him and be fulfilled.  The spirit cries out for you.  The spirit awaits for you.  The spirit is within you waiting for you to open the door and say: "Come in!"

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.