St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 18a, Which commnadments to keep.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 4.

The rich young man approached Christ and asked the question that we all ask.  What must I do to attain heaven?  Christ told him to keep the commandments.  Is it just that simple?  Is it just that easy to attain heaven?  Keep the commandments.  So as we review the commandments handed down to Moses and the Jews of Israel, what must we do today.

Today is different from the time when Moses lived.  Today is different when the Jews lived.  Today people live in cities, drive cars, watch TV, work in office buildings, go to schools, and do all sorts of things that are completely different from the time when Christ walked the earth.  How do we apply them today?  How do we keep the commandments today when times are so different?  The rich young man was puzzled by Christ's reply.  He did not know what commandments to keep.  So, He said to him, “Which?”

Of all ten commandments the young man asked, which ones should he keep.  And our question today is the same.  Do we keep all the commandments or do we observe some of them? Our society has rules.  Our families have rules.  Our jobs have rules and regulations that we follow in our daily routines.  Do we follow these rules or do we seek to find shortcuts around those rules that will benefit us more than they will benefit others?  Do we lie?  Do we cheat?  Do we lust?  Do we bear false witness?  Do we honor our fathers and mothers?  Do we hate or do we love our brothers and sisters?  Do we love all mankind or are we selective in who we care about and love?  These are some of the problems that present themselves to us on a daily basis.  It is how we respond to them that speak to what is in our hearts and minds.

We are born and breed in a society that teaches us how to survive.  That survival may mean stealing or taking what we want and desire or it may mean that we are given the tools needed to provide for ourselves adequately.  But as we look around in our environment we are faced with all that the world has to offer.  And if we do not conform to the way of the world then we do not have the opportunities to experience what the world offers.  We are left out.  We are denied.  We become outsiders looking in on what others have that we do not.  Is this what we want?  Do we want what the world offers?  Or does our Father in heaven offer more?  

Our desires and passions motivates us to conform.  Our desires and passions tell us that we must find a way to have all that our hearts desire.  And as we follow that path of our passions we toss out the guidelines given us by our heavenly Father as to how we should live.  We throughout the love that is a part of our spiritual nature and replace it with the desires of the world.  And we forget.  We compromise.  We adapt.  We change and rationalize that which is in our hearts for that which is in the world.  Slowly we move along the path of the world and get farther from the path of that which is of the spirit.  And finally we are so far down the road of the world that we forget who we are and fall asleep in the realm of the desires and passions of the world.

Which commandments do we keep?  Christ came that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  He gave of his own life to pay the price so that we could have our life.  And we give our lives to the world.  We turn away from the spirit that is within us and turn to the darkness that is in the world.  Keeping the commandments is keeping the life that is within us.  Keeping the commandments is maintaining the love that Christ has for us.  Keeping the commandments is holding onto the love that our Father has for us and the protection that he provides.  If we only knew.  If we only understood.  If we only allow ourselves to see the truth of who we are then we would not decide to fill our hearts with the passions and desires of the world. 

Our Father loves us.  We are his children and he is our Father who will provide and protect us.  And death is but a door that opens to the joys and happiness that is ours through Christ.  Or, it can open to the pain and sorrow of what life offers without our Father.  The choice is ours to make.  Seek to know the truth before making the decision.  Seek to find out who you are in Christ before traveling down the road of passion and desire for the world.  For great are the treasures that are sacrificed.  Great are the joys that are lost.  Great is the happiness that is forsaken without him that is the source of all happiness.  Come!  Seek to know the truth of who you are in Christ and you too will find peace, joy, and happiness that is everlasting.

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, verse: 24b, Tribute to the kings of the earth: Who pays?

Our paragraph topic is:  (Paying the Temple tax) Part 2.

Simon Peter was returning from the chores of the day, speaking with the people, walking in the market place, meeting with old friends, etc.  He had come to be known amongst the people.  He had some connections.  He was recognized as a follower of Christ and his disciple.  So people came to him.  People recognized him.  People in the villages and towns knew of him as he traveled with Christ.  But Simon was not yet known as the leader of the church that was about to come.  He was not yet seen as Christ's representative here on earth.

Christ recognized him as a leader.  Christ trained him to lead.  He gave him knowledge that he gave to no other disciple, knowledge that would be called upon to lead the people after the sacrifice .  So he tested Simon to see if he had learned what was being taught.  He questioned him about the lessons that he was given.  And he asked specific questions of Simon to see what his response would become.  So when Simon returned from his chores  Christ asked of his learning.  But  when he had entered the house, Jesus spoke first, saying, "What dost thou think, Simon?   “From whom do the kings of the earth  receive tribute or customs; from their own sons, or from others?"

Tribute was a touchy subject in those times just as it is today.  Christ wanted to know the thoughts of Simon Peter.  He wanted to demonstrate to him a lesson.  He wanted to show him that there was no reason to worry or to allow the trials and tribulations of the day to infect his mind and soul.  Just as Jesus wanted to instruct Peter in his time, he wants to instruct us today about all the issues that we as a people face.  He wants to comfort us.  He wants to protect us.  He wants to provide for us just as he did with Simon.

We worry about the issues that we face each day, especially for those who do not have the wealth of riches.  And even those who do have wealth, they worry also how to keep that wealth, how to hold on to it and not loose it or have it taken from them.  Yet it is that same wealth the same riches that becomes the reason for our downfall, the prison for an eternity.  Worry opens the door to anxiety about what we will eat, where we will sleep, will we have a roof over our head, what clothes we will wear, and many other issues we face daily.  It is these issues that will lead us astray.  It is these issues that will pressure us and force us to make decisions that could cause us to lie, cheat, steal, bear false witness, commit adultery, and all manner of sins against our father.  And they all stem from our disbelief in the Lord of the Universe, our God.

Our Father sent his only son from heaven that he may teach us and instruct us how to live, how to have joy, how to have peace.  He sent Christ Jesus to us that we may have life, first and foremost.  We were dead!  We had no life!  We are spiritual beings in a physical body.  We were doomed for an eternity in our physical bodies, and Christ came and gave us spiritual life, life beyond the physical.  Believe and you shall receive.  Ask and it shall be given you.  Seek and you shall find.  Knock and it shall be opened to you. 

Do not worry.  Do not fret.  Trust in the Lord and he will provide.  Worry no more.  Fret no more.  Receive the gift that God has in store for you.  I have.  I trust.  I know the truth.  My destiny has been rearranged that I may walk in the way of the Lord and I see miracles in my life each and everyday.  Believe in the Lord and practice "perfect patience" and you will witness miracles.  Come!  Walk with me and I will show you how to receive the light of the Holy Spirit.  He will reveal all to you.  God our father loves you.  Christ loves you and so do I.

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 10, verses: 9-10, The Instructions

Our paragraph topic is: (Instructions to the Twelve) Part 3.  

Now after Christ has given his disciples instructions on what they are to tell the people and the miracles they are to perform, he tells them about their appearance.  Christ instructs his disciples to not carry a wallet.  He tells them that they are not to keep gold or silver or money in their girdles.  They are to not take two tunics, or sandals.  They are to go barefoot into the villages and towns.  They are not to take a staff to lean upon, to indicate some degree of prestige of being a prophet.   He tells them, "The laborer deserves his living."  

The disciples of Christ are to become laborers.  They are to perform honest work amongst the people.  They are to deserve, through the contributions of the people, their daily bread.  They are to be dependent upon the people for their clothing, for their shelter, for their food.  They are to perform miracles by casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, and cleansing the lepers.  Through these acts the love of God in the people will provide for them.  Through these acts the spirit of love will open the hearts of the people and give them shelter.  Through these acts the charity of the people will feed them.  They will be taken care of through the love of the Holy Spirit.

The instructions that Christ gives to his disciples are the principles by which he has lived.  He has told us that "The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."   Christ had no home to sleep in, no roof over his head, no bed to lay in.  Yet he slept on this earth.  He was fed.  He had clothes to wear and sandals for his feet.  He worked for the living that he received.  His work was honest.  His work was pure.  His work was without deceit or trickery.  He did not want.  Yet he did not own.  The love of the people that he ministered to provided for him.  His heavenly father knew his needs and sent the people to take care of them.  These are the principles that he wants his disciples to possess and to live by.  An honest days work for an honest living.  These are the principles that he instructs his disciples to practice on their journey into the villages and towns to preach the good news.

We work today in the industries of the world.  For our labor we are paid a salary, a compensation, bonuses, perks, etc.  In this society it is OK to lie, to steal, to cheat to get paid.  We are encouraged to do anything to get ahead, to make more money, to live the good life.  We get angry when we see others getting ahead when we are left behind.  We search for ways to get more than we deserve without doing the labor that deserves the pay.  We want more than what we receive based on our individual labors.  Our passions tell us that we deserve more than what we receive based upon the work that we perform. 

Christ tells us that the laborers in his employ deserve their living by the honest work that they perform.  They are shepherds.  They lead the flock.  They work to bring the flock to pasture and to protect them from the hungry wolves that would kill them and scatter them.  They deserve their living by the sweat of their brow.  Will you deserve your living by the honest works that you perform as a laborer for Christ?