St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 27c; Dead men's bones.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their hypocritical purity) Part 7.  

Christ gave them an example they could understand.  He spoke of the grave.  He spoke of what happens to man's body after death when it is buried and laid to rest in the grave which most could understand and visualize.  In those times one could smell the stench of death before seeing it.  The wind carried it for many miles to let people know they were approaching death.  People often died in the open wilderness without being buried.  And in those times the Romans crucified people on the cross and left their bodies to rot and decay on the cross as a warning to the people of what could happen to them if they did not obey the Roman laws.

So the people had ample opportunity to see and smell what happened to the body after death.  One could imagine the same thing happened inside the grave as took place outside of the grave.  Christ calling the Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, calling them whited sepulchres was very graphic for them to imagine.  He wanted them to understand the true nature of their sins.  He told them:  "But within are full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness."  

They looked good on the outside but on the inside they were full of rotted flesh and dead men's bones.  They were nasty, filthy, unclean.  They were not worthy to be near.  One should be able to smell them from afar as with rotted flesh and dead flesh.  Christ wanted to be graphic.  He wanted to shock.  He wanted to open peoples minds and souls so they would see and believe his message.  He even wanted the Scribes and the Pharisees to have the opportunity to change, to hear the new message of forgiveness and repentance.  But they were unforgiving.  They were lost.  They were blind and deaf and could not nor would not hear or see the change that was happening before their eyes.

Where are we today?  Are we the same?  Are we blind and deaf to the change that is taking place before us.  Are things happening that we should be aware of that is going to affect our souls, our beliefs, our faith, our hope in the promise given us by Christ.  We have the words of the one true God who does not lie.  We have the words of the Son of Man who came down from heaven to walk with us that he might show us how to live, how to love, and how to be free.  We have the guidance of the Holy Spirit that lives with us every minute of the day to help us walk the narrow path to the kingdom of heaven.  What more could we ask for?

Some believe.  Some do not believe.  Some will question.  Some will ask.  Most will continue to walk the path of the world not knowing or believing that there is a God who loves them and wants to provide for all their needs.  Yet here we are walking through the phases of life seeking to grasp the riches of the world which are already given to us.  We are wealthy beyond all imagination.  We are rich beyond all worldly means.  We are loved beyond all the love that can be given us from all the people in the world.  Yet we believe that we are not.  God forgive us.  God touch us.  God awaken us to know that you are ours and we are yours.  

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, verse: 17b; Is it lawful.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Tribute to Caesar) Part 5.  

And there it was the question of the season.  The question that they knew would cause Christ to stumble, the question that would cause him to hesitate because he was a man of God and did not care for the person of man.  Yet Caesar was the emperor and they knew that all had to bow to Caesar and pay tribute.  So they waited with glee to hear what would be the response of this man of God who called himself the Christ.

Yet still with all their learned knowledge and their wisdom, they did not understand the words that they had studied, the words that they had heard, the words that came forth from the mouth of Christ.  They were blind and deaf and without understanding of the knowledge that comes from the children of God so they asked the question:  "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?"  

How he must have felt for them at that moment that they asked him this question.  What volumes it must have told him about the persons that were before him at that moment and what they wanted from him.  How shallow they must have seemed as he gazed upon them and through them to see the emptiness within, that they did not or could not comprehend the nature of the question that they asked of him.

He was the Christ, the Son of God, who came down from heaven to walk and talk among the children of God.  He came to experience first hand the nature of who we are and the life we live.  He wanted to be an example to us, to show us how life should be and is in heaven without hatred and lust, and murder and slander, false witness, and all the other sins that have came from the fall of man and the triumph of evil on earth.

Yet there were those who were under the influence of evil and wanted to continue the reign and dominance of evil for all eternity.  But Christ came to bring an end to death, an end to the dominance of evil.  He came to be a light in the darkness, a door open to those who sought a new life, a life without the influence of evil.  Oh what a glorious day it must have been to walk in the presence of the Lord, to experience his light, his mercy, his love, his peace.  Heaven awaits those who have not seen but still believe.  For the soul hungers for the presence of the Lord and nothing can satisfy that hunger except his 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 15, verses: 27, The Lost Children of God: The needs of the children.

Our paragraph topic is: (The Canaanite woman) Part 6. 

Christ said it is not fair.  Christ told the Canaanite woman that it was not fair to take the children's bread.  It was not fair to not care about the children.  It was not fair to have a selfish attitude without consideration of one's actions.  It was not fair to take and take and take no matter who one took from, including children.  It was not fair Christ told the Canaanite woman to have such an attitude, to be so careless, to be so self absorbed, to be so selfish, and yet she pleaded with Christ for help.

She believed that her daughter could be saved.  She believed that Christ could save her.  She believed that he was the one, out of all the others she had sought for help.  She knew within herself that he was the one.  And she came and cried out.  She pleaded with the disciples.  She begged for help and Christ did not answer her because he knew what was in her heart.  He knew of her carelessness.  He knew of her deeds.  He knew of her attitude.  And he did not answer.  But that did not dissuade the Canaanite woman.  That did not turn her around.  That did not stop her from pressing on, from continuing to believe, from having no doubts as to the help that Christ could provide.  And Christ told her that it was not fair to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs.

And she was devastated.  She was crushed.  She was cast down because this was what she did.  This was her life.  This was her attitude,where she did not have any concerns about who she hurt, even the children.  And she crawled up from the depths of her soul and admitted that she was wrong.   But she said, "Yes, Lord; for even the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."  

Yes, Lord, she admitted.  Yes, Lord, she was wrong.  Yes, Lord, she was selfish.  Yes, Lord, she took the children's bread.  Yes, Lord, she admitted and asked for help.  Even the dogs feed.  Even the dogs have a place.  Even the dogs get the crumbs.  Even the dogs are taken care of.  Lord, I have been wrong in my actions.  Lord, I have been wrong in my deeds.  Lord, I have been wrong in my selfishness.  But, Lord, even the dogs have a place to go.  Lord, even the dogs have a master to feed them.  Lord, even the dogs eat.  Lord, let me be a dog and feed from the crumbs of your table.

The Canaanite woman believed.  The Canaanite woman knew.  The Canaanite woman sought the help of Christ.   Even confronted with her wrongs, she still believed.  She still believed that there was a place for her.  She still believed that the master would take care of her needs, even though she was lower than the dogs who feed from their master's table.  She continued to believe.  She continued to have faith.  She continued to know that Christ would see through the depths of her heart and know her change in heart.  Christ would know her humility.  For she truly humbled herself from her high status and came to see the wrongs of her ways.  She humbled herself and let go of her selfish beliefs.  She cried out from the depths of her heart, "Lord let me be a dog at your table that I may feed of your crumbs." 

Lord, may I feed of your crumbs.  Lord, may I know of the goodness of your mercy.  Lord, may I find peace at your table.  Lord, may I know that you are the master.  Lord, may I believe that you are the protector, the provider, the healer.  Lord, may I know the truth of who you are.  Lord, may I know of your love.  Do you believe?  Do you know?  Do you see that you may not be blind?  For there is one who would have you deaf.  There is one who would have you blind.  There is one who would have you ignorant to the truth.  Lord, let me feed from the crumbs of your table.  Where do you feed?

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 22 - 23, The Battle continues: The Possessed Man.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Pharisees ascribe a miracle to the devil) Part 1. 

They mistake his meekness.  They mistake his mildness.  They underestimate his authority.  They do not understand who he is.  The prophets have spoken of Him.  Isaias has written of Him.  They have read of Him in their synagogues.  They have known of Him for ages.  But they do not know Him when he came.  They did not see Him when he was before them.  They did not hear the words that were spoken to them.  They were blind.  They were deaf.  They were dumb.  And the battle continues.

St Matthew tells us,  "Then there was brought to him a possessed man who was blind and dumb."   The lost souls continue to come and Christ continues to take back what was stolen.  He continues to bring souls to God through his miracles.  He continues to win the battles with the demons who had taken possession of the hearts and minds and souls of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  They brought them from all over.  They brought them from far away  towns and villages.  They brought them from nearby cities.  They brought them from across the Jordan because the word had spread of the kingdom.  And the demons gathered together to stop it.  

"And he cured him so that he spoke and saw," St Matthew tells us.  He opened his eyes and cleared his tongue and the man spoke again.  After years of oppression, after years of dominion, after years of pain and suffering, he spoke.  He saw.  And the sight that he saw was glorious.  He saw his redeemer.  He saw his salvation.  He saw with his first sight the Savior of the world.  And the crowd rejoiced with him.  The crowd stood in awe.  The crowd gave glory to God that such a one had come among them.  But the Pharisees gathered in counsel to plot against.  The Pharisees gathered in counsel with evil to determine how they would bring him down.  The Pharisees gathered in counsel to sacrifice the lamb and fulfill the prophecy.   "And all the crowds were amazed, and they said, "Can this be the Son of David?"  

He lives today and we do not see Him.  He speaks today and we do not hear Him.   He loves today and we do not love Him.  What is it going to take for our eyes to be opened, for our ears to be cleansed, for our hearts to be receiving, for Him to come to us?  Will it take disaster?  Will it take loss?  Will it take pain and suffering for us to know Him?  Will we not know Him willfully?  Will we not seek Him knowingly?  Will we not love Him fully?  For he calls to us daily.  He seeks us always.  He loves us continually.  He protects us forever.  He is our God.  He is our Father.  He is our brother and sister and mother.  He is Christ Jesus.  Come know Him, today!  Seek Him, now!  Love Him, forever and he will love you.  The battle continues.  On which side will you be?