St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 19b; Which is greater?

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their distorted religion) Part 10.  

He called them blind ones because they could not see beyond the physical.  They were the spiritual leaders of the people but they had no spirit themselves.  Their religion was contrived, earthly, physical, without the understanding of the knowledge and wisdom of God.  They had the writings handed down by God to Moses.  They had the writings from the prophets. But they did not have the deep understanding and wisdom that came from the study of the wisdom from God and the Holy Spirit.

Christ came to give understanding.  He came that eyes would be opened.  He came that ears would hear.  He came that joy would be in the hearts of men once again from knowing that there is a true living God in heaven who loves mankind.  He came to show that there is forgiveness of sin for those who seek it.  He came to give clarity to their distorted religion to show:  "For which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift!" 

The altar is the sacred table upon which we place our gifts of thanks to God for his graciousness of the benefits that he has given us.  For it is by his goodness that we live and breathe and eat and find the many things in life that we have on a daily basis.  The sun shines every day and the rain comes, and the wind blows, and the plants grow from the ground and we have food to eat and the many things that we have that we take for granted everyday that others do not have or that someday may be taken away.  Where would we be without his grace? 

It is through his grace that we live and breathe each day.  The gifts that we give back have no meaning to the one who created them but it is the altar that we place them upon that makes them sacred, that transforms them into blessed gifts coming from the ones that he has created that shows our gratitude to our God for the many, many things that he does for us.  

How can we possibly repay?  How can we possibly make up for all that is given to us?  It is only through these gifts placed upon the sacred altar that are transformed that express our love and thanks for him that is our Lord and Savior and our God.  Thank you God our Father.  Thank you Lord Jesus.  Thank you Holy Spirit for all that you do for us.   

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: 44b; The Powder.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Application of the parable) Part 6. 

Again Christ continues to talk about and forewarn what will happen to those who can not accept or believe in the Word that he brings to the people from God his Father.  He has given the priest and the elders every opportunity to hear the Word.  He has spoken to them several parables in the language of their time.  He has made every effort to break through their hardened hearts with no results.

The people heard the Word and believed.  The people saw the miracles and believed.  The people were in the presence of the Living Word and came to understand the truth of his teachings.  Why have not the leaders done the same?  So he tells them about the stone that the builders rejected will fall upon them.  He said:  "But upon whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." 

Powder and ashes, will be the remains of what is left of those who oppose the word of God.  This is the message the Word brings to the people.  He wants everyone to know the truth of what they will get from the opposition of the Word.  So where does that leave us today.  We hear the word yet do not comprehend the hidden meanings in them.  We practice our weekly ritual yet do not come closer to the life that we are to live as a result of the word.  It is almost like we are programed to hear yet not hear.

Religion and the spoken word is everywhere in the world.  Though it is not as prevalent as the presence of the world itself.  For the world we live in is everywhere.  We hear, see, feel, it every day, every hour, every minute of the day that we live.  And then comes the word and we almost turn it off because it is something that we do not want to hear.  The religion that we have today is not what the Word is about.  The written words spoken by Christ have been taken and transformed into something that is used to bring the people to believe in something that is good for the membership that they belong to. 

We have every religious denomination imaginable in the world today.  And each one teaches a different variation of the true Word.  The Word is meant to transform.  It is meant to open the mind and the heart to the truth that lies within.  We were created in his image and his likeness and his likeness is not physical,  his likeness is not made of flesh.  His likeness and his image is spiritual.  It is light.  It is goodness.  It is love.  It is something that is within us and not outside of us.  The eye can see.  The ear can hear.  And the heart can know who we are if we stop and listen, if we stop and seek, if we get off the merry-go-round and ask for direction.

Christ Jesus is open to our calls.  Christ Jesus is available for us to speak with.  Christ Jesus is our hope and our dreams, our protection and our provision.  He is the truth that sets us free from the world and transforms us into a new life that is eternal.  The door is open.  The invitation is waiting on us.  The new life is ready for us to put on like a new and rich garment of kingly fashion.  Your rewards await.  Come!  Be a part of the new kingdom. 

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: 26, The impossible is possible.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The danger of riches) Part 5.  

Christ had spoken to his disciples about riches and how they can make if difficult to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  He gave them a simple example so that they would have an understanding.  He told them that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  With what difficulty one would have trying to get a camel through the eye of a needle, one would also have even more difficulty getting a rich man into the kingdom of heaven.

This was a concept that was foreign to them and even to us today it seems extreme.  Our imagination would tell us that you would have to shrink a camel to less than the size of the eye of the needle to get it through.  In the same sense one would have to reduce the rich man down to nothing to get him into the kingdom of heaven.  Yet Christ wanted them to not think with the minds of men but to understand the power and majesty of the Father.   And looking upon them, Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 

Christ gazed upon his disciples and saw that they did not understand his words.  He wanted them to understand the true nature of the possession of riches.  He wanted them to know the dangers of having riches and where they could lead.  Having riches and possessing riches is like a fever.  One wants to keep them.  One wants to hold onto them.  On wants to not loose them for fear.  And yet death is the ultimate divider.  For one cannot take riches after death.  One cannot posses riches after death.  For we are all children of God and in heaven there is no place for pride.

Our Father created us.  He gave us life.  He provided us with a place to live to grow, prosper, and to multiply.  He gave us this realm, the physical.  He gave us the intelligence to use the physical to produce the things that would allow us to live and prosper.  All these things he gave us freely that we may know his goodness and his mercy.  After we had rejected him and turned towards the world he still forgave us.  His love for mankind is so great that he allowed his only son to come and live among us that we may know him.  And he gave his only son that he would come and sacrifice himself to redeem us to give us new life.

With this new life we now are able to enter into the kingdom.  Before Christ came to redeem us, no one could enter into the kingdom.  All had to wait until the sacrifice was completed.  Christ  released all those who were in waiting.  He was the first.  And he is the last.  All things are given to us in his name.  The riches of this world will stop us.  They will hinder us.  They will hold us back from entering into the kingdom.  Possession of riches is not the danger but the riches of possession is.  Remember, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is 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.   

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses: 3, The Son of God: The Leaders of the Past appear before Him.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus transfigured) Part 2.  

And Jesus went up a high mountain and he took with him Peter, James, and John.  These were the chosen ones who would lead the church in the future.  These were the chosen ones who would have the opportunity to see the Son of God in his true nature.  These were the chosen ones who would have the unique experience of seeing the transformation of Christ.  For they would remember the experience through their entire lives.  They would treasure the experience in their hearts.  They would know for certain that they had seen the true Christ in his full glory.  And they would rejoice in that experience for the rest of their lives.

But then something else happened while they were with Christ.  Something else that they had not seen before happened before their very eyes that would further astound and surprise them, Moses and Elias appeared before Christ and he spoke to them as though he was speaking to the disciples himself.  The great leaders of the past came before Christ.  Moses, the leader who led the Israelites from the captivity of Egypt, appeared before Christ.  And Elias the great prophet appeared also.   And behold, there appears to them Moses and Elias talking together with him. 

They saw their great leaders appearing before Christ and talking with him.  Who will you see?  Who will appear with Christ when you see him?  Will you see your mother?  Will you see your father?  Will you see your grandmother, your grandfather, your sisters or brothers?  Will you see the loved ones from the past that you only know from pictures and stories told to you by your parents?  Will you see the ones who made history that you read about in your history books, John the Baptist, Moses, David, Abe Lincoln, or many others that your heart would leap for joy just to see and know.

Imagine having the time to sit with these loved ones.  Imagine having the time to talk with them, to ask them questions, to know the truth of who they are and how you came to be.  And imagine leaving all this behind that you would not have to worry about what to eat, where you would sleep, what you would wear, how you would look, what money you would have, or how you would survive.  All these things would be in the past and you would not think about the cares and worries of this physical realm.

Imagine a place without day or night.  Imagine a place where there is no need for sleep, a place where there is no worry, no hunger, no anger, no fighting, a place where your dreams and desires are all fulfilled.  For in the presence of God all things are.  And then there is Christ Jesus, our savior and our redeemer.  Just to be with him I would give anything.  For he is all my needs and all my desires.  He is the fulfillment of my heart, of my peace, of my love.  For with him I am complete.  And through Him I am satisfied.  And that is my treasure here on earth, the knowledge that in Him all my desires are met and I am complete. 

No longer do I need the things that this world has to offer.  No longer do I desire the earthly pleasures and comforts of this world.  I know that through and Him and in Him I am complete.  This I have been given and this I know.  So my life here on earth is devoted to the task I have been given, to write the truth of the knowledge that has been given to me that others may know of his love and of his goodness, of his forgiveness and of his patience that everyone who desires to know the truth may have a path to seek him.  Come!  Follow the path before you and seek the truth of who you are in Christ.  Your life will change.  Your love will change.  You will become a new person 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 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!