St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 20b - 21a; Great Tribulation.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The destruction of Jerusalem) Part 8. 

The Bible is an interesting book to study.  It is a study of man's belief system.  What does mankind believe?  What belief system has he developed to order his world and make it such that it has meaning and understanding?  Here we are in Chapter 24 of the book of Mathew where Christ is telling his disciples of the coming destruction of the city of Jerusalem.  

What do we believe?   We have prognosticators today that foretell of things to happen in the future.  Scientist foretell of the doom that carbon emission is causing to the planet and what we must do to prevent the consequences of its outcome.  The flooding that will come, the unusual rains, the unseasonal cold weather that will come, all as a result of the outcome of climate change.  These are all predictions being foretold today.

But two thousand years ago no one had the scientific equipment or knowledge to foresee the future, to foresee the coming destruction of Jerusalem.  Except Christ.  Believe it or not. And he told his disciples exactly what would happen.  Pray, he said that it does not happen in winter:  "Or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation."

Here was a man, not just an ordinary man, but one of much power and mystery.  He traveled throughout the country doing good for the suffering people.  He healed the sick, made the lame walk, cured the lepers, made the blind see, fed thousands, gave people hope of a new beginning, taught them to love one another, and gave them new ideas to live by.  He feared not the leaders and the rulers, calling them out for their sins.  Yet he knew that all this would only bring him to his destruction.  What do we believe today?

Does the Bible give us structure to live our lives in these times or is it just another book to read?  What can we obtain from the reading or the study of it?  What message does it have for us today?  

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: 35b; The Blood Abel to the BLood of Zacharias.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 12.  

The pronouncement of judgment continues upon the Scribes and the Pharisees of the crimes they have committed against the just.  The list of the blood they have spilt is long.  Yet that list can only include those evils they have done during their lifetime.  God speaks of the blood that was shed long before they were born and how that blood will be accounted to their list of crimes.  How can this be?  How is it that the Scribes and the Pharisees are responsible for those evils before they were born, before they were conceived, at the beginning of the history of mankind?

God speaks beyond the physical to the spiritual evil that is within them.  He speaks to the evil that has taken over the Scribes and the Pharisees to posses them to do the murders.  He speaks to Satan's minions.  They are the ones who will suffer the wrath and the judgment for the blood that has been shed since the beginning of time.  He tells them upon their heads will come all the just blood shed on the earth:  "From the blood of Abel the just unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias."   

What gives life to the body?  Is it the blood that pumps through our veins?  is it the heart that pumps the blood through the veins to all parts of the body such that if it stops life ceases to exists?  Or is it the electrical impulses that comes from the brain that tells the heart to pump the blood, that tells our muscles to work, that causes our eyes to see, that allows us to feel sensations and taste food?  What gives life to the body?  In all of this is it the soul that comes from God that starts the entire process of life as we know it that allows us to experience reality.

We live through the experience of life.  We have knowledge of the world around us.  We explore it.  We dissect it.  We seek to know it and control it to make it our own.  But this is life for us, this is how we come into this world and how we will leave it.  We are given a history and a reality that tells us there is good and there is evil in our experience.  We can choose either to know as our own.  Where does that take us?  We are led to search for a deeper knowledge of either experience which will reinforce our belief systems of who we are and who we will become.  We will either have good experiences or evil experiences and produce lifestyles that result from those. 

Christ came that we might know the truth of who we are in him.  He came that we would see, that we would hear, that we would have real life experiences to follow.  His was the way of enlightenment, the way of knowledge, the way of belief, the way of hope and faith, that opens the doors to a new way of life.  He came to show us that we are not just the physical but also the spiritual.  He also let us know that there is also the real evil that wants to posses and lead us astray.  

God is ever-living.  He is the God of the living and not of the dead and we have the opportunity to live beyond the flesh if we believe.  Call upon Christ and he will come.  Believe in Christ and he will hear.  Open your heart to Christ and he will fill it with 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 21, verse:19c; The Tree of Nothing withers.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus curses a fig tree) Part 4. 

It is amazing to see the truth that is in Christ Jesus.  He is man incarnate.  He was born of the flesh of Mary.  He is descended from heaven and brought forth from the love of God the Father, first born of all the living.  Yet in his state of union with the Father and common among men he feels hunger.  He fills pain and thirst, love and passion, mercy and forgiveness.  He is Lord and Savior of all mankind. 

He comes upon a tree that has no purpose.  It does not bear fruit.  It does not have seeds that bear fruit.  It only has leaves.  What purpose does it serve man or God?  Christ sees this tree, without compassion, curses it that the tree will not have fruit now or forever.  And this is our sign:  And immediately the fig tree withered up. 

What would we do if Christ told us that we would not bear fruit henceforth and forever?  Would we wither up and die?  Would we cease to exist?  Thankfully, Christ values us a more than the tree.  Thankfully, we are that which he loves that the father created.  Thankfully, we are that which he sees as good in mankind as well as the evil.  Thankfully, we will not be judged as one.  Thankfully, we are that which his passion is so great for us that he gave up that which he was in order to save that which he loves in us from damnation.

The tree of nothing withered up.  For many years mankind withered and died due to the transgression of one.  Yet through the passion of one we are saved.  Through the love of one we are transformed.  And through the mercy and forgiveness of one we are born again into the spirit that was ours from the beginning.  We are given a new life.  We are brought back to life.  We are infused with the spirit of the Advocate, for those who seek to know.  We are brought out of the darkness into the light and taken to our home.

Thank you Christ Jesus for loving us.  Thank you God our Father for forgiving us.  Thank you Christ Jesus for your mercy and your compassion.  Thank you God our Father for the spirit that you have given us.  Thanks 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 19, verse: 17c, Keep the commandments?

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 3.

One there is who is good and he is God.  The Father created us.  The Father gave us life.  The Father protects us and guides us and provides for us.  And he is good.  He is great.  He is wonderful.  He is glorious.  He is above all and is all.  And he is good.  But we live in a world where our actions indicate that there is no belief in God.  Our actions demonstrate that we are our god.  We believe that we must do for ourselves.  We believe that we must provide for ourselves.  We believe that we must protect ourselves in any and all circumstances.  And when the world demonstrates that we are not in control, we do not know how to make sense of it.  We loose control rather than surrender the control to our Father.  We believe through our actions that we are the ones who are great and wonderful and glorious.

The young rich man questioned Christ to get an answer to his question.  He wanted to know what he must do.  And behold he came.  Of all the people who followed Christ and sought his teachings, this young man appeared and asked the question that could have set him on the right path as he stood at the crossroad seeking to know which direction to take.  He asked:  "What must I do to attain heaven?"  And Christ told him:  "But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." 

Keep the commandments.  Simple, easy, straight to the point: "Keep the commandments."  Is it just that simple.  Is it just that easy, to just keep the commandments.  As we are children our parents command us to follow their rules.  Looking out on the world and seeing what it has to offer, we rebel.  Our society commands us to follow the laws that are set before us, we do not.  We adapt them to fit our own needs as we see fit.  Our God gives us commandments to follow as a guide to life, but we create our own guide to follow as we choose.  There are those who would believe and would attempt to follow the commandments.  We are not perfect so we make some effort to obey.  Yet in the world we live in, we are compelled to disobey, to set aside, to rationalize our actions to fit the situations we face.  Our society motivates us to turn away from the commandments and to follow the norm of today.

Keep the commandments.  Keep the rules that are given to us and do not go astray from them.  They are the boundaries that separate us from the protection that our Father provides and the evil that wants to lead us away from our Father.  The choice is ours.  Choose to follow the commandments or choose to cross over and be led by that which will lead you astray.  What do we loose?  What do we gain?  If we only knew the peace, and the joy, and the happiness, and the glory that is ours, we would not make the choices that we make today.  We sacrifice our heritage simply for the glitz and glamour of the moment. 

Our Father does not dictate to us.  He merely sets guidelines to follow.  He is good and he knows what is best for us.  He sees the truth of the choices that we make.  He knows the path down which our decisions will lead us.  And he is compassionate and merciful to forgive us if we awake from the influences of evil and turn back to his protection.  But if we knew the truth of our decisions and the treasures we give up for the passion of the moment, we would not make the decisions that we make.  We would rejoice in the commandments, if we knew.  We would celebrate the gifts of the Father, if we knew.  We would be overwhelmed with the path that we walk, if we only knew the treasures we forsake.  We have a choice.  And the choice is ours to make. 

Let us not be led astray by the influences of the world.  Fear not the loss of the flesh, for the spirit is alive and cannot die.  Fear not the death of the body for the body is dust and must return to dust.  For worse than death is the one who can kill the body and kill the soul in hell.  We have the life that has been given us by Christ.  We have the life that is within us.  We are the children of our father, created in his image and likeness.  Yet we live in the flesh not knowing the truth of who we are in the spirit.  Keep the commandments!  Seek the truth of who you are in Christ and you will know and see the light of life that is within you.  The Holy One will come and abide with you.  The Holy One will teach you.  The Holy One will guide you, protect you and be with you at all times.  Then you too will know the truth of who you are.  And with that truth no one will be able to lead you astray.  For your light shines within, and that light is the life that Christ has given you that you will know where you are from.  Open your mind.  Open your heart.  See the truth that is within you.  For you too are a child of God, your Father.

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 19, verse: 17b, God is good?

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 2.  

And behold there appeared a young man from nowhere with a question for Christ.  The young man was innocent.  He was perplexed.  He was without a sense of direction with this question that he sought to find an answer but the answer eluded his understanding.  The question was, what must one do to obtain the kingdom of heaven.  What must one say, or think, or behave, or be to assure that he would enter the kingdom of heaven.

Christ came into this world and preached to the people the coming of the kingdom of heaven.  He told them that they must repent and be renewed in the spirit.  He spoke to them of the old ways.  He spoke to them of the new ways that must come into play.  He spoke to them of attitudes, of behaviors, of love, of hate, of good and of evil.  He wanted them to know the truth of what was taking place here on earth.  He wanted them to see for themselves the light of life that was before them that they would know who they are.  And then comes this young man seeking knowledge of what was good.  And Christ told him:  "One there is who is good, and he is God."

The young man was filled with the question of what was good.  He was driven by the need to know what was good,  what was right, what was wrong, or what was bad.  And he sought the one person that he thought was good.  He placed a label upon that person who he thought was good.  So he called Christ the good master.  He asked Christ what good works must he perform to assure that he would attain the kingdom of heaven.  But deep within him was the unknown.  Within him was the innocence and the desire to fulfill.  Yet also within him was the slight tinge of evil that was hidden.  And Christ saw and corrected him that he would not be allowed to think that he was the source of all goodness.

Only one who is good and that is God our Father.  This is a statement that is true, in and of itself.  Yet our concept of God is not real.  Our concept of our heavenly Father is not tangible to us as the world is tangible, as our physical bodies are tangible, as our need for food, clothing and shelter is tangible.  For these are the things that occupy us.  These are the things that consume our daily consciousness.  These are the things that we strive to overcome, to obtain, to master, to assure that we have enough of.  And our Father is good.  Our Father is all powerful.  Our Father is protective.  Our Father is loving and merciful, and forgiving, and good.  But to our understanding this is not tangible to us as the world is tangible.  Or is it?

For our understanding tells us that we must provide for ourselves.  Our understanding tells us that we must be a success unto ourselves.  We are the be all and end all of who we are.  And this is how we are programed to think and believe and be in the world.  For is the world is good?  Is the world caring?  Is the world loving if we just embrace what it has to offer?  This is what we are told.  This is what we are given to believe.  This is what we love by and not by the goodness of our Father.  How deceived we are.  How misled we are.  How unknowing we are of the truth of who we are in Christ.  The truth will come to you.  The truth will knock at your door.  The truth will set you free.  The truth will open the eyes of your heart and fill it with the love of the Father so much so that nothing else on earth can compare.  All you have to do is open your heart and accept what the Father has to offer.  He offers love!  Open up and let him in.  God is good. 

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 19, verse: 17a, What is good?

Our paragraph topic is:(The rich young man speaks to Jesus ) Part 1.

And behold a certain man came to Christ with a question.  He wanted to know what was good.  He wanted to know what was acceptable.  He wanted to know what he had to do to enter the kingdom of heaven.  He had heard of the miracles performed by Christ.  He had heard of the words spoken by Christ.  He had understood the meaning of those words but he wanted to be certain of those words and not just depend on the hearsay as passed down from those who carried the word.

So his curiosity led him to find Christ.  For he figured that Christ had to be a good man.  He figured that Christ had to be a just man.  He figured that Christ had to be a religious man who would tell him what was right and good.  So he sought him out that he may get the true words directly from Christ himself.  And he believed that he would get the truth from such a good man as Christ.  But underneath his question, hidden in the back recesses of his mind was that lingering question, the question of good and right.  And Christ spoke to that question.  He said to him, "Why dost thou ask me about what is good?

What is good?  What is bad?  What is right?  What is wrong?  Do we know good from bad?  Do we know what is right or what is wrong?  Can we determine for ourselves what is good or what is bad, what is right or what is wrong?  We are the ones who must live by what is good or what is bad.  We are the ones who must abide by what is right or what is wrong.  Are we to make these determinations for ourselves?  Are we to abide by our own determinations of these boundaries?  It would seem so in the world that we live in today.

We are brought into a world that has existed from the past.  And with that existence are the things that are given to us as what is right and what is wrong.  God our Father gave us rules to live by.  He gave us boundaries to abide within.  He helped us to know what is right and what is wrong according to his wisdom and knowledge.  He has given us free will to choose.  He has not dictated to us that we should follow his commandments but allows us to make our own decisions.  And our decisions are influenced by the evil that exists in the world today.  So we are given the rules that are created by the world that we live in and they are handed down to us by those who have made those decisions for us.  Yet we have within us the truth and the knowledge of the father.

So what is good?  What is right?  What is wrong?  And what is bad?  The decision is ours to make.  If we choose, we can know the answer to these questions.  If we choose we can have the knowledge to discern these answers.  If we desire with our hearts, we are able to know what is good, what is right, what is bad and what is wrong.  For Christ came that we would know.  He came that we would see.  He came that we would understand the truth of who we are in God our Father through his sacrifice.  We are created in his image and his likeness.  God our Father is good.  He is kind.  He is merciful.  He is forgiving.  He is loving.  He is full of all grace and glory.  And it is from his gifts that we receive our goodness, our mercy, our forgiveness, and our love.  The choice is ours for the taking.  The belief is ours to believe.  The knowledge is ours for the knowing.  The love is ours to be loved, if we open our hearts and receive it from the one who gives it freely.  Open your heart and know the love that fulfills all desires.

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 19, verse: 14b, The Children are the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus blesses the children) Part 4.

Christ sat with the children.  He played with them and laid hands on them that they would be blessed.  His disciples did not want the children to disturb Christ.  They did not want them to be brought to Christ.  But Christ told them that they should not hinder the children from coming to him.  He told them that they should not stop the children from being with him.  For these were they whom he loved.  These were they whom he had passion.  The children were they who were the new life, fresh from the tree of life.

They knew not about the Christ.  They knew not about the miracles.  They knew not about the message that he came to bring to the world.  They only knew that Christ was special according to what their parents spoke.  But Christ knew them.  He loved them.  He saw them as they were, little ones.  And he had compassion for them, for they were the innocent ones whom he would sacrifice his life.  They were the innocent ones who had died without life before his coming.  They were the passion of his heart.  And he told his disciples:  "For of such is the kingdom of heaven ."

The little ones are of the kingdom.  The little ones belong to the kingdom.  The little ones are the innocent ones, they are the ones without corruption, without malice, without hatred, fear, anger, and evil.  For they are fresh from the tree of life, newly born into the world.  Long had time pasted with many of them without life.  Long had time pasted without the light of life within them.  Long had time pasted with them living in limbo until the coming of Christ.  He was the one who made the sacrifice.  He was the one who paid for the sin.  He was the one who redeemed all.  He was the one who gave new life to all, male, female, young and old, children and adults.

Save the children.  Do not allow them to be harmed.  Sad is the day when we loose the young before their time.  But many have been martyrs.  Many have been sacrificed.  Many have died before their time.  And yet joyous are they that enter into the kingdom.  Joyous are they that meet the Father.  For Christ told his disciples: "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God."  Joyous are the ones who live in the presence of the Lord, because they are the innocent ones.  They are the ones who's life was given and taken away.  And yet they exist in God's presences in the kingdom of heaven.

We live in a world today where anything goes.  Our lives are filled with desires and passions that lead us astray.  We are given to be bad rather than good, to be wicked rather than pious, to be evil rather than filled with the light of life given us by our Father.  It becomes thrilling to us, it raises our blood pressure, it makes us feel good, feel alive, feel strong.  And yet it is just those feelings that lead us astray from who we are, spiritual beings created in the image and likeness of God our Father.

We are his children and he is our Father.  We are his little ones and he is our provider, our protector, our joy and our hope.  He is merciful and through his mercy we live and exist.  We are given to be strong, to seek power, to be wise and knowledgeable.  Yet it is through our own humility that we can come to understand true knowledge and true wisdom.  Acceptance is the key to who we are.  Denial of the world is what must happen.  And understanding of what fills our souls completely will open our hearts to the love that awaits us in him.  Such is the wisdom of the kingdom.  Such is the knowledge of our existence.  And such is the makeup of the children of the kingdom of heaven.

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.