St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 27b; The Son of Man.

 Our paragraph topic is: (The sign of the last day) Part 9.  

What are we looking for?  What do we search for each day of our lives?  Is it love?  Is it happiness?  is it money, a good job, wealth, success?  Is it peace of mind?  What is it that we want from life that makes us tick?  If we had lots of money would that fulfill our desires?  Would power to do what we want, make us content?  Would the ability to fulfill our sexual desires when and where we wanted, be enough to make us happy, satisfied, pleasured?  We see others with many of the things that we wish we had, that we desire to have, that we strive to achieve in this life.  What do we really want?

Some are fortunate enough to have the things that we desire.  Many are less so.  And it is those few who have, those few we look up to, with passion in our hearts, that we wish to have the same lifestyle they have.  Yet only a few will achieve that life.  Only a few will reach that top.  Only a few will be chosen to have the riches that they see others with.  The many will strive but fall short of reaching that goal.  

Christ told his disciples that life will not always be the same.  He told them that there will come an end to life when all will be destroyed.  He gave them signs to look for, told them what wonders would happen, spoke to them about people who would become false prophets in order to lead many astray.  Yet there would be no secret meetings, no special conferences, no general sessions that only the few would know about.  The end would come for everyone to see, for everyone to know.  He told them, just as the lightning comes from the east and shines even to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  

He came in the beginning as the son of a carpenter, the son of Joseph and Mary.  Yet he came that man would have life, a second chance at life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only son as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind.  Christ came once to forgive sins; he will come again to end the sins of the world.  What do you want?  Do you want the riches that the world has to offer now, or do you want a second chance at eternal life?  In the end there will be no haves and have nots.  All will see, all will know, all will understand that he is the one who gives life to the world.  

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: 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 19, verse: 25b, The hearing of the disciples.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The danger of riches) Part 4. 

The disciples heard the words of Christ and they were astonished.  They were in disbelief.  They could not understand what they had heard.  Their minds immediately thought of fear and anxiety.  And their hearts were filled with loss.  For they assumed that all would have access to the kingdom of heaven especially those who had wealth and riches.  But Christ wanted them to know the rules.  He wanted them to understand that the spiritual kingdom was not the same as the physical world. 

In the physical world those who have riches, those who have power, those who have influence are the privileged.  They are the ones who can use their power to get what they want.  But in the spiritual world there are rules, there are criteria by which one is judged before entering.  And the criteria specify that one lives by certain requirements here on earth.  The disciples did not understand the truth of the words that were spoken.  They did not hear with their hearts the meaning of the message.  And as a result they came to the conclusion and said, "Who then can be saved?"

If the rich man has difficulty entering the kingdom, what about the poor man.  Will he be able to enter the kingdom?  Will all those who do not have wealth, those who have means, be shut out of the kingdom?  Who, will be saved, was the shocking question on their minds?  And shocking was what Christ wanted to do.  He wanted them to understand.  For they did not see.  They did not hear.  They did not understand the truth of the kingdom of heaven.  Wealth or power or influence does not of itself open the doors to the kingdom. 

Christ wanted them to understand the difficulty that riches of itself could pose to hinder one from entering the kingdom.  Riches are of the earth.  Riches belong to the world.  Earthly riches are of no value in the kingdom.  Yet earthly riches are what we seek to have.  Earthly wealth is what we all desire.  Power and influence are the things that we wish to possess so that we might walk with those who are rich and famous.  We desire to be seen in the news or on the magazine cover or at a celebrity event.  We seek recognition.

But the criteria for the kingdom is not recognition.  The criteria for the kingdom is not pride but humility.  The criteria for the kingdom is not wealth but poverty of spirit.  The criteria for the kingdom is not hatred but love, not anger but forgiveness, not lust but modesty, not greed but charity.  Christ wanted his disciples to understand these principles just as he wants us to understand them today.  He calls upon us to practice these principles in the here and now so that we will be prepared to enter into the kingdom.  He has given us the blueprint on how to live our lives.

The decision is ours to make.  God is our father.  He knows our needs.  He provides for us daily in every way, if we choose to see and believe.  Those coincidences and circumstances that happen to us, happen by his hands.  Those little things that he gives us, daily, are his provisions, his protections.  If we could only see and understand, how grateful we would be.  For he is our provider.  He is our protector.  He is our source for life.  Our heart's satisfaction is in him.  Our desire to be loved is fulfilled in him.  Our longing for peace is through him and he will give us everlasting peace.  Seek him and you will know.  Ask him and he will provide.  Patience is the key.  Love him and you will know his love for 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.  

St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 24, Difficulty for a rich man entering into the Kingdomof heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The danger of riches) Part 2. 

With difficulty will a rich man enter into the kingdom of heaven is what Christ told his disciples.  He spoke words of wisdom to them.  He spoke words of knowledge.  He spoke words above and beyond their comprehension.  But he wanted them to understand the truths of the kingdom of heaven.  He wanted them to know the rules and the mysteries of that place which we all ascribe to attain.  For he lives in heaven and it is the place where we want to be with him.

Yet he spoke these words to the rich young man as he left upon hearing the words of truth.  The young man wanted to know what he had to do to enter the kingdom of heaven.  He had a desire to be with Christ for all eternity.  And in order to achieve this goal he had to rid himself of all that would hold him back.  He had to rid himself of all those earthly possessions that he had acquired, those things that had a hold on him.  For as Christ told his disciples:  "And further I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." 

And this was the wisdom of the kingdom of heaven that Christ wanted his disciples to know.  He presented to them an impossible example to help them understand the difficulty with which a rich man will have entering the kingdom of heaven.  One can only imagine a large, hump back camel attempting to pass through a small sowing needle.  To our way of thinking this would seem impossible.  For a needle as we know it today is very, very small.  And a camel is very, very large.  The two do not seem to compare at all.  How would this be imaginable in anyone's mind?  But this was the example that Christ gave to his disciples to ponder, to understand.

This was the example that he gave to show how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Riches demand holding onto.  Riches demand that they are kept.  Riches demand that they are protected, provided for, adored, glorified, and guarded least they are stolen.  They are not easily come by.  They require hard work and sacrifice.  They often times demand that we forgo our morals to acquire them.  And yet we can not take them with us.  We can hide them.  We can lock them up so that no one else may have them.  Or we can pass them on, so that others may possess them as we have.  But they can not be taken into the kingdom of heaven.

And this is the example that Christ wanted his disciples to understand.  The impossibility of a camel entering the eye of a needle is compared to a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven.  The two do not compute.  A camel would have to be reduced to the size of a pin head or the size of thread to be able to pass through the eye of a needle.  And likewise, a rich man would have to reduced to the size of a pauper to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  You see, what have we of earthly riches?  What have we of paper value, glass rocks that we value as precious or gold colored rocks or silver?  These things have no value in the kingdom.  They are already plentiful and in abundance, available to all.  Possessions of these things imparts no special significance.  They give no power, no prestige, no glory, no honor, no status in heaven.  For the gold in heaven is God's love and it is available to all.

We are children of God our Father.  His love is what fills us, what completes us.  His love makes us whole; without it we are empty.  Christ came to give us this message: our Father loves us.  Our Father loves us so much that he forgave us our sins and sent his only son to atone.  And with that atonement he gave us new life.  Our sins killed us.  Our sins destroyed the life that we had from the beginning.  And even today our sins take away the life that is freely given.  We have only to ask to receive it back.  We have only to seek to find again.  We have only to knock and the door will be opened to us to regain that life that we lost. 

The world does not want us to have that life.  The world does not want us to know.  The world wants us to forget and to continue to live in sin.  For those who want, the opportunity is theirs for the taking.  For those who seek the treasure is there for the finding.  And for those who want the love of the Father, his arms are open wide for you to receive his love only for the asking.  You will know the truth if you seek it.  You will see the life if you knock.  Your heart will know the peace when you open it to the love of the Father.  Come!  Receive the life that is yours for the asking.

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: 22b, The commandments: Having great possessions.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 16.

And now we come to the culmination of this paragraph topic, the rich man speaks to Jesus.  He came because he wanted to know.  He had conquered all the experiences of his time, having the freedom to do as he pleased.  Yet within all that he had accomplished he still desired something more.  He had a hunger within.  He had a hole that needed to be filled.  He had yet to find anything in this world that could fill it.  He had riches.  He had opportunity.  He had freedom to do all that his wealth allowed.  Yet he did not have the fulfillment that enlightenment brought.

He sought Christ because he heard the word.  He sought Christ because the word opened the door to his heart and stirred something within him.  He sought Christ because that which was within pointed him in the direction of Christ to get the answers.  And when he found Christ he was given answers.  Keep the commandments he was told.  That he did, but that was not enough to fill the hunger.  If he wanted to be perfect he was given other tasks to complete.  Sell what he had.  Give to the poor and have treasure in heaven.  And then, to reach that perfection, come and follow Christ to fill the hunger within.  When he heard the words he was filled with sorrow and sadness.  "He went away sad, for he had great possessions."

He had great possessions.  Much had he acquired in his lifetime even though he was a young man, he had great possessions.  Typical of what we aspire to have today is great possessions.  We want much riches, cars, beauty, good health, love, passion, power, beautiful homes, travel, fine clothes, fine wines, fine men or women in our lives.  All these are the things that we aspire to have today.  Is it wrong to want these things?  Is it wrong that we see and feel the desires of our hearts?  Is it wrong for us to want what is given to us to have?  After all we see these things presented to us everyday.  We are given to want these things because others have them and they tell us that we should want them also.

Great possessions are the things that are plugged into our brains daily.  Yet it is those same possessions that possess us.  It is the desire, the passion, the need, that drives us that consumes us, that possess us in our every waking thought and deed that lead us to the destination that we seek.  Some succeed in that goal.  Most do not.  What must we do to obtain that goal?  Or is that goal something that we truly want or desire?  Thousands of potential actors, singers, comedians, and performers grow up seeking to be the stars of today.  Yet only a handful succeed in reaching that goal.  And what are the consequences that are paid to obtain that goal?  What price do they pay to be number one? 

The rich young man had an opportunity.  He had an opportunity like nothing else that he had experienced in his life.  He had the opportunity to become a follower of Christ, to become a disciple.  Yet he had possessions.  He had great possessions.  And those possessions had a hold of him.  He could not find a way to let them go.  He was blinded by the glitz and glamour of death.  For all that is physical leads to death.  And all that is spiritual leads to life.  What is the dollar but ink on paper?  What is gold but a shimmering rock?  All that we are given to value in this world does not give life but death.  And there is nothing in this physical world that will give life except that which is life. 

Christ came that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  We are the life that he has given us if we only are able to see it, to feel it, to know it, to be it.  We are given death in the disguise of life, but life is within us and not from outside.  Life is the light that is within us.  It is the essence of that which Christ gave to us.  It is the light of life that results from the spirit within.  I am the spirit and not the physical.  I am the light within and not the body.  I am the life of the spirit and not the darkness of death.  For I know the truth of who I am in Christ and so can you.  I know the consolation of the Spirit and so can you.  I know the protection and the provision of the Father and so will you.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in the spirit and see the life that is within 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.  

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses: 18-19a. Faith is the cure.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Why the disciples could not cure him) Part 1.  

Christ made the demon leave.  He cast it out.  He returned the child to his father and set the guard to prevent the demon from returning.  And the light of Christ shone within the child.  The disciples tried to cast it out.  They made an effort to remove the demon but it would not obey them, it would not leave.  The father pleaded with them for their help.  He begged.  He knew that it could be done.  He heard the word of how others were cured.  He saw the ones who were transformed, the ones who were made whole, the ones who had demons that were cast out.  And he believed that this could happen for his son also.  He had faith in his belief.

The father was persistent.  He was demanding.  He was unrelenting because he loved his son and he knew that if it could happen to others it could happen for him.  He had faith.  So he searched, he traveled, he followed the word.  He listened to all the talk about Christ and what he had done for others.  He believed with certainty that it could happen for his son.  He believed with certainty and he had faith.  But the disciples did not know.  They did not have the certainty in their beliefs, in their faith.  So they could not cure him.  They asked Christ why they could not cure the boy.   Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could not we cast it out?"  He said to them, "Because of your little faith."

They had little to no faith.  They had little to no belief to guide them in their actions.  They were not ready to do great things.  Yet these were the ones Christ chose to follow him.  These were the twelve that he hand picked.  They were the chosen ones that the people would follow after Christ returned to his father in heaven.  When would they get it?  When would they believe?  When would their faith increase so that there was no doubt?  All plans were in place for the completion of the mission and the training time was coming to an end.  When will we get it?  When will we believe?  When will our faith increase so that there is no doubt?

What is faith?  How would we define it: faith is a belief in something?  Would we say that faith is a belief that there is a God, that there is a supreme being, that there is something greater than ourselves?  The question then becomes: Is this God a loving God?  Is this God a caring God?  Is this God a protective God?  Can we believe in this God?  Can we trust this God?  What is it that we believe, as we go through life on a daily basis?  We are taught that there is a God.  We are given the scriptures as a basis for our beliefs.  As children we are taken to church and taught in Sunday Bible study about our God from the scriptures of the Bible.  Is this enough to guide us through life?  Do we continue our beliefs as we grow older and venture out into the world to make our own way? 

The world would change our beliefs.  The world would turn us away from what we are given as children, as young adults.  The world would have us doubt what we are given through the teachings from the scriptures.  It would convert us to its way of thinking and lead us away from the commandments of the Bible.  The world says the Bible is outdated.  The world says the Bible is a book of fiction and not to be believed.  The world says do not follow the Bible but follow us and we will reward you with our riches.  The world says we will make you happy, we will make you rich, we will fulfill your desires, we will provide for you, we will protect you if you only follow our ways and not the ways of the Bible. 

How do we reconcile the difference?  How do we come to terms with what the world offers and what we are taught in church?  On the one hand we have the world that would offer to fulfill our needs and on the other hand we have the church that would have us believe that our needs will be fulfilled.  Do we have the faith to believe?  Do we have the faith to know with certainty that our beliefs are true, our hopes are real, and our desires will be fulfilled?  Only with certainty will we be able to act.  Are you sure?  Do you know?  Have you discovered the truth of who you are in Christ?  Faith is the belief in the desire to be one with Christ, as Christ is one with the Father?  Come!  Open the door to your heart and become one with he who is one with the Father.  And you will know for certain who you are.  There will be no doubt.  There will be no fear.  There will only be you in the truth of Christ and the Holy Spirit. 

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.