St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 6a; Rumors of wars.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ warns them not to be led astray) Part 4.  

Christ knew that they would be fearful.  He knew that fear would enter into them and take over their emotions leading them away from the path that he wanted them to be on.  He loved his disciples.  He had spent all this time, the last three years, teaching and preaching, and walking and talking with them to letting them know how much he loved them, how much he was as human to them as they were to him, even though he was their God and Savior.

Yet, he had to prepare them for the future.  He had to prepare them for the fear that would attempt to overtake them if they were not prepared.  So he told them as much as he could to get them ready for what they would face, what they would hear, what they would see, coming.  He told them:  "For you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars."

Many have experienced war and know the consequences of what it means.  Death, and famine, and ruin, and escaping from fear of capture, fear of torture or imprisonment and fear of forced labor.  Women being brutalized and raped, children killed, elderly being tortured for sport.  All manner of evil existed during the ravages of war.  So when Christ spoke of war and rumors of war the disciples understood the horrors that came to mind.

We live in a society today that is far removed from the ravages of war.  It is not in our daily experiences to know the meaning of it.  We do not live on the streets where we see or hear of bombs or explosions going off to let us know that we are in a war zone.  It is not in our lives, in our communities, in our towns or cities.  War is something that is far removed from us in another world on another continent.  We hear about it on the news at 6 O' Clock or 11 but not as we look out the window of our homes in our neighborhoods.  We do not know it personally.

But if Christ was telling us today then are we going to experience war in our community, in our city, in our towns?  What if his words to his disciples were meant for us today that we would hear and know of war and hear of war coming to our area?  What would we do?  How would we react?  How would we feel?  Would we be afraid?  Would we fear what we heard and panic about tomorrow or the next day not knowing what was to come?  Who would we turn to for help, for comfort, for support, for protection?

This is where the disciples found themselves.  In the mist of their fears and anxieties, they knew not what to do.  Yet in the mist of all their emotions, they could find calm because they were with him, they were with the Christ, and with him they found peace.  They knew that nothing would happen to them.  They believed in him because they knew who he was.  They had no doubts as to who he was.  They had spent all this time with him, walked with him, talked with him, watched him do the things that he did with others, saw his compassion for the people, come to know that through his miracles he was the Son of God.  He was the one and only one person that gave them peace of mind, knowledge, hope, faith, and a solid foundation to stand upon for the future, whatever would come.  Let us also have a solid foundation upon which to stand in times of troubles that our Savior will bring us through.

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 24, verse: 2; Temple destruction.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ foretells the Temple's destruction) Part 2.  
Many came to the city to marvel at the construction and beauty.  They came from near and far because they had heard of Jerusalem's beauty.  They wanted to see it.  They wanted to know it.  They wanted to hear of the history and the culture that caused such a city to be built.  So they came from all nations and tribes, from north and south, east and west to see this great city.  They wanted to learn so they could take that knowledge back to their own cultures.

And the Jews were proud of this fact that the people from all over the known world were coming to Jerusalem to see the majesty of their great city.  The disciples wanted Christ to see all there was of this great city.  They wanted to show him around to all the different parts.  But Christ did not see greatness.  All he saw was destruction.  All he saw was ruin.  "But he answered and said to them, 'Do you see all these things?  Amen I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.' "

And so it was that destruction was in his sight and not the beauty that was in the eyes of the disciples.  They were proud.  He was sadden.  They were joyful.  He was heart broken.  They could only see the here and now.  He saw the future and the destruction that was taking place even as they spoke because it was happening before their eyes and they could not see.  

What we see and what we do not see is what we are given to see or not see.  We are given to see the things around us because they are there every day.  We look for them and they are there.  We are not given to see those things that are not there.  They may be there but we are not given to see them.  That doesn't mean that they are not there it's just that we are not given to see them because we don't ordinarily look for them.  They could be right in front of our face and we do not see them because we are not looking for them.  

Christ sees all and knows all, past , present, and future.  He sees us in our daily lives and our daily struggles.  We are his body and together he provides for all, protects all.  We know not where we are going.  We only know that day by day we will eventually get there.  He will carry us through if we call upon his name to see us through.  We are not given to see the outcome of these things but our belief tells us that we can see that he is with us.  We ask him for help with our problems and though they may not get solved according to our time frame, they do get solved if we leave them in his hands.  

Thank you God for that which we cannot see that we know that is there for us.  Thank you Christ for being there for us to help us along the way.  Thank you Holy Spirit for being our guide every day when we need someone to lean on to help us along the way.   

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.