Our paragraph topic is: (Their distorted religion) Part 13.
You see, it had come to this, gold and silver, precious metals, and jewels were more valuable in the eyes of the religious than the kingdom of heaven. They did not place much value on the temple and the sacred items in it. They did not value the altar but they placed value on the gold and silver placed on the altar. They did not place value upon the temple itself but on the gold that the temple was made of which is how their religious beliefs had become so distorted.
These were the leaders who taught the people what to believe! How wrong could they be? They despised Christ for telling them that their beliefs were distorted and that they had it all wrong. This is why he had to tell them also: "And he who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it."
They had no idea that they were swearing by God himself. They had no idea that they were telling their followers that their bond with God was nothing when they swore by the temple. They had no idea that they were encouraging the people to break their vows that they were making with God himself, thereby bringing forth the wrath upon themselves. The people only knew that they were following the rules and the laws that were handed down by their religious leaders.
They were sheep being led by their shepherds. And we prey today that God has given us a true shepherds to lead us along the right path to the kingdom of heaven. Of course the ultimate choice is up to us to follow. The ultimate decision is within ourselves if we want to believe what we hear each Sunday. And the choice is up to us if we want more than what we hear each week. If our hearts desire to know more about our heavenly Father, it is up to us to seek him out. If our hearts yearn to feel the truth of his love it is up to us to delve deeper into the knowledge that is available for us. All we have to do is knock on the door to have it opened to us.
And if we truly want to know him all we need do is get on our knees and ask him. We have to be patient to get his response. We have to listen quietly to hear his voice. We have to know that he speaks when he calls us in that soft voice that fills us with joy and happiness. We have to rejoice in his presence when he comes to us with the gifts that he gives us each and every day through the spirit of his heart. For he is a loving Father, and he is a devoted Savior, and they have an everlasting Guide that will be with you until your time to return home.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ . The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
Our paragraph topic is: (Their distorted religion) Part 3.
They were worldly in their beliefs. They valued gold and silver and incents and jewels and all kinds of precious things. Their eyes and minds were filled with the ways of the flesh and not the spirit of the Lord. The prophets came to warn them of their transgressions but they did not listen. The words spoken to their forefathers did not reach them. For it had been years since the Lord had spoken to them.
The leadership of the people had lost their way. They had become blinded by the ways of the world as did the Israelites in desert when they fashioned calves of gold to worship as their god. Their minds were still set on the glitter of gold as having a value greater than anything on earth or in heaven. This is why they said that: "But whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound."
They were fixated on gold. They placed it at a higher value than anything else. And they believed that if one swears by this higher value then one is bound by that value because if one breaks that bond then one would have to pay that bond in gold. And yet not many had such a value in gold to pay.
Yet who was to determine if that bond was broken? Who was to judge if that bond was a just bond or a false bond, one that could be easily broken? If the bond is broken do we fear paying the price in gold? What would be the consequences if not paid? Would it be jail, or a beating, or lashing, or death, or servitude? What would be the ultimate price that one would pay for breaking a bond of gold?
What would be the price of breaking a bond with God? Can we swear by him that we will be bound to do what we say we are to do? Are we confident in ourselves that we can commit to do what we say that we are bound to do? Is that something that we can swear by? Is that something that we can keep?
We are really between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand we have a god who does not want us to transgress and on the other we have evil that does. Our Father knows that we will be influenced by the evil that is in the world. He is willing to forgive our transgressions if we understand that we have done wrong and ask for his help and forgiveness. We are not perfect beings. We are subject to make mistakes. He is perfect and is willing to forgive our mistakes and love us still because he knows that there is evil in the world.
Christ saw the good and the bad in all mankind and he was willing to sacrifice his life that we might have the chance for a new life. His passion for mankind is so great that it transcended the pain and suffering that he endured to save us. Now we each have a decision to make about our lives. That choice is ours to make. Open your heart. Find the true soul of who you are within. Christ is waiting for your call. He will come knocking at the door of your heart. Will you open it and let him 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 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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 1.
Christ told his disciples what hinders anyone from entering the kingdom of heaven. He gave them examples and details so that everyone would know what to do and what not to do. In this new chapter he gives another example of the kingdom of heaven. He compares the kingdom of heaven to a house-holder.
He tells his disciples:
FOR the kingdom of heaven is like a house-holder who went out early in themorning to hire laborers for his vineyard
. It is in this comparison that Christ tells his disciples that the kingdom of heaven is like a person who owns property and needs help to maintain it. The house-holder hires laborers to maintain his vineyards and the kingdom of heaven hires laborers to maintain its children. The kingdom of heaven is a living entity. It is God's creation. It has needs that must be met in order for its crop to flourish.
Christ uses this example to further illustrate to his disciples and to us how the kingdom works. He wants us understand. He wants us to know. The kingdom is seeking laborers. The kingdom wants you and me. The kingdom owns the property of God and is looking for those who would work the property for a reward. The doors are open and the laborers are few. The work is plentiful and the harvest is ripe and ready for the picking. Are we willing? Are we ready? Do we have the skills to get the job done? Christ is calling us to come and work with him to get the job done.
Can you go? Can you work? Are you willing to work for the reward that is open to you? We work here on earth for the rewards that are given to us. We are given money that we use to buy the things that we want. Christ calls us to the work in his vineyard. The kingdom of heaven calls us to work in its vineyard. What will be our reward for the work that we do? Will we be given paper money that we can use in the here and now? Will we be given something else that is more precious than paper money? What will that be? What will we receive? What is more precious than the money we get today?
Is life everlasting more precious than paper money? Is life everlasting more valuable than gold, or silver, or diamonds, or any other thing that we hold in high esteem today? The kingdom of heaven calls us, just as the world calls us. Which one will we choose? Some know of the call. Some don't. Some are lost and do not know that they have a choice. Some know that they have the choice and choose not. That decision is ours and ours alone to make. But the call is still there. The kingdom calls, will you answer. The kingdom calls, do you hear. The kingdom calls, will you ignore the call. Christ is waiting. Come! Heed the call and come work in the vineyard for the kingdom of heaven. The reward is greater than anything that you will receive here on earth.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 4.
Christ continues to address his disciples and the crowd on the value of the soul. For Satan has attempted to turn Christ around through the fears of Simon Peter. Through fear Peter took Christ aside. Through fear Peter spoke to Christ about the coming sacrifice. And it was through fear that Satan entered into Peter to move him to speak to Christ in an attempt to persuade him to change. But Christ saw the fear in Peter and he saw Satan acting through Peter in an attempt to prevent the sacrifice that was necessary to save mankind. For without the sacrifice mankind could not be justified. Without the sacrifice man could not be saved. Without the sacrifice man would remain dead, without spiritual life, without a soul. And Satan wanted man to continue in death, without justification, without sanctification, without life.
Christ came that man would have life and have it more abundantly. He came to sacrifice himself that the punishment of death would be lifted from mankind and man would be restored to new life in him. For his death and resurrection was the gift that demonstrated to mankind that there was a God who would overcome and restore life to all who believed. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world? What does it profit a man to save his physical life if he looses his soul? And here is the central point of what Christ was teaching, "What is the value of the soul?" He asked his disciples: "Or
what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Will we forsake our souls for profit? Will we kill to get ahead? Will we lie and cheat to get a promotion? Will we forgo all morals and principles to make that big deal happen, to increase our income one hundredfold? Will we steal to get the money that will give us a taste of the good life today? Will we seek revenge so that we may have justice in our hearts today or will we forgive knowing that justice belongs to God? Are we aware of the value of our souls?
The battle is before us and yet we are not aware of the impending doom. For we live in a world that teaches us, trains us, entertains us based upon the principles that would separate us from our souls. We are given examples daily of how we should live, how we can live, how we are missing out on what we should have to live, if only we accept the principles that are before us and go for it. Wouldn't you like to have more than enough money to pay your bills, keep a roof over your head, food on the table, buy nice clothes, afford a racy car, attract the women, enjoy the pleasures that life has to offer? Or wouldn't you like to make enough money that would allow you to live a life of luxury? We all would! All you have to do is accept what greed has to offer and follow in the footsteps of those who would lead you to prosperity, to luxury, to happiness, to bliss. These are the lines that fill our daily lives everywhere we look, see, hear, and they become ingrained into our subconsciousness. From cradle to grave we are led to believe that all that we are, can be, or will be, is in this world. And yet the world is dying and taking us along with it.
What is more valuable than our souls? What can a man give that is of greater value than his soul? Can we give paper money? Can we give gold or silver or some other metal that we deem precious? Or can we give diamonds and jewels that sparkle and glitter to the eye? What can we give that is of greater value? And yet we desire life and desire it more abundantly.
Our greatest desire is for peace and happiness. Our strongest passion is for love. And our physical life seeks to provide that which is not possible for it to give. We have a choice to make in life. Live in the world or live in Christ. Seek the pleasures of the world or seek the blessings of Christ. Awake from the sleep of desire or drown in the passion of death. For death will come when least expected. Death will take away all hope. Death will bring full awareness of the life of our decisions.
Life will restore faith. Life will bring joy. Life in Christ will open the heart to the peace of who you are and where you belong. Life in Christ will give new meaning to living in the world and living in heaven. For with new life comes knowledge. With new life comes awareness. With new life we awaken to the truth of who we are in Christ and gain knowledge of the spirit that he will give to us. We are aliens in this world encased in the physical house where we reside. And death is not to be feared.
Death is joy and happines, peace and love. For with it and through it we go home to our father, no longer being separated from the place that we know that we belong. So, life is now, but a journey in the love that Christ has to offer. For the Holy Spirit becomes our guide, leading us through the day to day obstacles that the world puts in our path in an attempt to turn us away from who we know that we are. Come! Follow that path set before you. I do not lead. I merely point in the direction, a voice crying in the wilderness. Christ awaits you. The Holy Spirit greets 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!
