St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 15b; Sons of Hell

Our paragraph topic is:  (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 9.  

How do you reach a lost soul?  How can you show them the error of their ways?  How is it possible to shock them back to a sense of justice that they might be able to see the mistakes that they made?  We all are human.  We all make mistakes.  We all are subject to the influences of evil.  In the time when Christ came, evil was rampant.  Evil was with men.  Evil was within the hearts of men and they had forgotten the God of their forefathers.

And this is why Christ called out the leaders, the Scribes and the Pharisees.  They were the ones who set the rules.  They were the ones who enforced the laws.  They were the ones who taught the people how to follow the laws of their forefathers, because they had the books written by the prophets.  They could enforce the laws the way that they saw fit and understood.  Christ called the hypocrites.  He told them:  "Because you traverse sea and land to make one convert; and when he has become one, you make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves."

He called them hypocrites.  They were masquerading as religious men but underneath the masks they were creating evil in the hearts of men.  They were creating sons of hell, doing the work of the devil, not the work of God.  

 How appropriate is this message for us today.  We go out and evangelize to bring others into the church so that they may be saved.  The church is something new for them in that there are guidelines that we live by to help us follow the life that God wants us to live.  These may be difficult for a new comer to follow or even comprehend if they see others who do not follow the same guidelines.

God our father gave us basic commands to follow to keep us away from harm, out of the way of evil.  He loves us and does not want us to be harmed, just as we love our own children.  We would tell our own children not to put their hands in the fire because it will burn them.  God wants to do the same for us.  We can not base our experience upon that which we see others do.  It is up to each one of us though, to seek a personal relationship with our Father so that we know in our hearts what his will is for us.  His love for us is the key.

Christ is our Lord and Savior.  It is through his passion that we were reborn into a new life.  He came down from his thrown in heaven to be with us, to walk with us and talk with us to leave a legacy that we might know that he is with us.  It is through him and with him that we have a spokesperson to the Father. He knows our faults and failures.  He knows our pains and our sorrows.  He knows our hopes and our fears.  He is with us and in us, if we open ourselves to him through the Holy Spirit.  His love is endless.  His love is boundless.  His love is fulfilling.  He is the be all and the end all of all our needs.  To be with him is to be at rest for all eternity.  

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 20, verse:32b, Jesus responds.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The blind men at Jericho) Part 7. 

The two blind men sat by the roadside and heard that Jesus was passing by.  They cried out for his help.  They cried and they cried and they cried out and would not stop.  All the crowd told them to stop.  All the crowd tried to stop them.  All the crowd would not help them.  So they continued to cry out because they believed that he could help them.  They believed that this was their one opportunity to end their pain and suffering in the darkness.

Christ did not hear them over the din of the crowd.  Christ did not see them because of the large crowd.  Christ could not help them because the crowd would not let them get to him.  But over all the noise and all the people that followed Christ heard their hearts crying out to him.  He heard their faith.  He heard their belief in him: and called them, and said, "What will you have me do for you?" 

What would you have me do for you was his response.  What would you say to this response?  What would you ask him to do for you?  What would you want Christ to do for you today?  The two blind men wanted to see more than anything else in the world.  They did not want gold.  They did not want power.  They did not want prestige.  They did not want to be popular.  All they wanted was to be able to see.  What would you ask Christ for today?

Would you want to have your bills paid?  Would you want to have money?  Would you want to be powerful?  Would you want to be popular like an actor or actress?  What more than anything else would you want in your life to ask Christ to do for you today?  I cried because of the mistakes that I made in my life.  I cried because of the failure that I had become.  I cried because of the wrongs that I did to others.  I cried because I was a sinner and did not want to be left out of the kingdom.  What did I ask for?  I asked to know that he loved me and that he would forgive me for my sins.

Many are lost today.  Many are sitting by the wayside not knowing what to do with their lives having lost their ability to see.  Many have taken to dark roads to get what their hearts desire.  They have been blinded into believing that material things can satisfy their hearts desires.  What do you believe?  What do you want?  Do you know what will bring you peace, what will satisfy you in your life?  True satisfaction can only through Christ.  True peace can only come through his wisdom.  True knowledge of the love of the Father brings joy and happiness that no earthly prize can give.  For he is the source of all happiness, the source of all joy, the origin of true peace.  What do you want in your life 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 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.