St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 37d; Gathered thy children.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Lamentation over Jerusalem) Part 4.  

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I loved thee.  From the foundation of your beginnings to the finishing touches of your crowning, I watched you grow.  I watched as you were planned and sketched out on the grounds to become the magnificent city that you are.  Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, the crown jewel of the Jewish nation, how I loved thee.  How I watched over thee making sure that nothing or no one would harm thee as you in your infancy were growing to become the jewel that you are today.

I wanted to protect thee.  I wanted to provide for thee.  I wanted to love thee as a mother hen loves her young.  O Jerusalem:   "But thou wouldst not!" 

They were his chosen people, the Jews.  From the beginning, he picked Abraham to be the father of a great nation of people as numerous as the stars in the sky, as great as the grains of sand on the beach.  Yet when the time came for their glory to be recognized as the people of God they turned away.  The kingdom of heaven was at hand and they did not accept it.  The Prince of Peace came down from heaven and they crucified him.

The price had to be paid but why at their hands.  Why did they have to be the ones who made the decision to betray the Messiah?  Evil won the day.  The price was paid and mankind was freed from sin.  But the chosen family of God were left in darkness to walk the earth until the day of their reunion.  For God has not forgotten his family.  He has not given up on them.  He is patiently waiting for their day to come when he can bring them back into his family to reunite all as one.

Christ paid the price.  He overcame death.  He rose from the grave and ascended into heaven to take his seat at the right hand of his father.  There he sits waiting for that day when he will come to reign over all.  Come.  Let us rejoice that he is our savior, our king, our provider and our protector.  It is he who has brought us out of the darkness into the light and given us eternal life 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 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: 14b, The choice is mine.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 21.

We continue with this parable of the laborers and the house-holder.  The laborers are angry.  They are disgruntled.  Those that were last to get paid thought that they should get paid more than those who only worked for a short time.  They were the ones who worked the entire day.  They were the ones who worked the longest and bore the heat of the day in their labor.  So when they saw that those who came after them got the same pay as they, they were mad and angry about their agreement. 

They felt that they were cheated and deceived.  They believed that, even though they agreed to a denarius, they deserved more for their labor.  What changed their minds?  What caused them to think otherwise?  What influenced them to the point that they became angry and disgruntled?  The house-holder told them to take what was theirs and leave because he did them no injustice.  He told them:  "I choose to give to this last even as to thee." 

The choice was his to make.  He decided that all would be paid the same even from the first to the last.  He was a generous house-holder.  He demonstrated to the laborers that he wanted them to work in his vineyard even if it was only for one hour.  And the reward would be the same for each and every laborer.  His judgment was not like our judgment.  We would think that those who worked the longest would get paid more.  We would think that those who came first would receive a greater reward.  We would think that because they labored more that they should receive more.  But this was not the thought processes of the house-holder.  He wanted all to work and he paid all the same.

What can we learn from this parable?  What does it demonstrate to us?  Christ told his disciples that the kingdom of heaven is like a house-holder who goes out to the marketplace to hire workers to labor in his vineyard.  We are laborers in the vineyard of the Lord.  Our job is to carry the message of love and hope to those who are without hope, those who do not believe, those who have no direction or purpose in life.  We are the workers.  We are the laborers and it is our job to demonstrate to the world the love of God that is within us.

Our work is not easy.  It is not without trials and tribulations.  For there are those who hate us.  There are those who would destroy us.  There are those who would turn us from our labors and attempt to convince us that our labors are futile.  They do not believe.  They do not know.  They are the ones that are influenced by the world and what is in the world.  Ours is the influence of our Father in heaven who loves us, provides for us, and protects us.  The choice was the house-holder as to what he would give.  The choice is God our Father as to who he chooses and who he does not, who he rewards and who he does not.

Let us go forth and be glad that we are chosen.  Let us rejoice that he has chosen us to work in his vineyard.  For he is a just God.  He is a loving God.  He is our Father, our creator, and through Christ our Lord, our redeemer.  The choice is his to make.  Are you chosen?  Come, seek the Lord and he will choose you.

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.