St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 9; One Father.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 7.  
The Scribes and the Pharisees were worshipped in their day and time.  They were thought to be high priest by the people because of the way they carried themselves and the respect they demanded.  Yet Christ wanted the people to know that their worship of the Scribes and the Pharisees was wrong and out of place.  

There was only one person that they should worship and he is in heaven.  There is only one master whom they should show respect and that is the Christ.  One is the Father and there is not one else.  No one should not be placed above the One Father.  He told them:  "And call no one on earth your father; for one is your Father, who is in heaven."  

What is the difference?  Why the distinction?  Christ helped the people to understand the true meaning of Father in the highest and greatest expectation of the word.  For we have but one.  All others are less than and do not deserve the highest connection with the title of Father.
We call our male parents father.  We call our priest father out of respect for their spiritual position as shepherds of the people.  We give the title to those who have gone before us and have been a part of our heritage.  But not one deserves the highest meaning and understanding of the word than our Father the creator.  One should not confuse this distinction.  And this is the understanding that Christ wanted the people to know.

For they praised the Scribes and the Pharisees.  They worshipped them as though they were indeed the lords of all knowledge and understanding without having any knowledge of the true Father in heaven, a concept that we must not confuse today.  We call our leaders in different fields of study father i.e., father of physics, or father of modern medicine, or father of aviation, because they were the first to discover principles in certain fields of study.  And we revere them because of their knowledge and expertise in their field.

It is important that we realize that we are all brothers and sisters created in the image and likeness of the One.  He alone is the object of our praise.  For from him and through him and with him we have life.  Without him we are nothing.  He is our be all and end all and with him we have everlasting peace that surpasses all understanding. 

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: 13b, The agreement.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 19.

We have been talking about the laborers in the vineyard and how their minds and their hearts were changed when it came time for payment for the services rendered.  Christ told this parable to his disciples in comparing this tale to the kingdom of heaven.  He said that the kingdom of heaven is like a house-holder who went out to the market place seeking workers for his vineyard. 

Christ was seeking workers here on earth to do the work for his father, the house-holder.  The labor was needed here on earth to carry the message to the people.  Christ would not be here and he needed someone to carryon his work to lead the people and to speak with them about the Father.  He needed followers.  But he wanted those followers to know what he was asking them to do.  And he needed them to understand the reward that was being offered them.  For once the agreement was made then outside influences would enter and seek to change the minds of the laborers just as it did in the parable.  In the parable the question becomes:  "Didst thou not agree with me for a denarius?"

Agree with me.  Let us have an understanding.  Let us come to know each other and then we will have an agreement.  The laborers agreed to the compensation but later wanted to change the contract.  They became angered, and bitter and disgruntled about what they had agreed to and this was the central issue.  They saw that others got more for less work.  They saw that others who came after them received the same amount as they for less work.  They agreed to the amount from the beginning but later wanted more than what they had agreed.

Christ wants his disciples to understand that they needed to have an understanding.  They needed to agree with him on what was needed, what had to be done.  For the work was plentiful but the laborers were few.  And then came the outside influences that would seek to change them, seek to turn them around, seek to change the agreement, change the understanding that they have.  And by influencing the change in the understanding then the door is open to bring forth another mind different from the mind that made the agreement.

The agreement is a symbol of who we are in Christ.  Know thyself.  We are in him and not apart from him.  He is with us and we are not alone.  His love transforms and brings us to the knowledge of who we are.  For we were created in the image and likeness of God our Father.  And Christ is his only begotten son.  And through the passion and the sacrifice of Christ our Lord and Savior we have been restored to life.  Yet the life that we have is not known.  The life we have is not seen.  The life we have is not believed by many and that allows the influence of the outside to come in and seek to change that which is given to us. 

Seek to know thyself.  In that knowledge you will find the truth of who you are in Christ.  We are more than the physical and yet it is the physical that binds us, that holds us, that limits us to not comprehend who we are.  Death has been conquered.  It does not hold us.  It only frees us from the physical and transforms us to our true selves in Christ.  Close the door to the outside.  Open the door to the inside.  And within what is within you will see the truth of who you are in Christ.  For Christ came as a light to the world.  And he left that you may become his light.  Open your heart and see the light that is within you and Christ will send the Advocate to be with you forever.

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.