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 24, verse: 16; Flee to the mountains.

 Our paragraph topic is:  (The destruction of Jerusalem) Part 2. 

Time was an important factor in those days.  Where you lived, and worked, meant a great deal in terms of status and well being.  Yet for the coming destruction, location was also important.  It meant whether you had time to escape the oncoming slaughter.  It meant whether you had time to outrun the danger that was coming.  It meant whether you would live or die.

The farther away you were from the center of destruction meant that you had the time to get away from it all, to outrun death itself before it came knocking at your door.  This is what Christ was telling his disciples.  Do not hesitate.  Do not stop to take worldly belongings.  Run for your lives because death was coming and it would be swift.  He told them:  "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

Jerusalem, the sacred place for the Jews, was not a place to flee from but a place to go to, a place of sanctity.  The Israelites did not believe that their city would be destroyed.  They believed that they were protected by their god.  They were a sacred people delivered by the hand of God from the bondage of Egypt to the sacred land of Jerusalem.  Why would their city be destroyed?   Why would their temple be torn down?  Why would death ravage their land when God  himself had protected them for all these years?

This is what Christ was telling his disciples, warning them of the destruction to come.  He was the Messiah.  He was the word of God come down from heaven to walk among the people as an example of the one true God.  He came to redeem the people, to show the way to the kingdom of heaven.  He came to pay the price for the sins of all that all might have new life eternal if they believed in him.  He is the key.  He is the gate keeper, the shepherd, the Lord of all.  

God the Father made him human that he might be with us, teach us, show us how to live, how to love, how to follow the commandments that we may be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Let him who reads understand.  The knowledge is here for those who seek to know.  The door is open for those who wish to find it.  His love is fulfilling for those who need.  For there is everlasting peace in the knowledge of his wisdom and love.  Come!  Peace awaits your finding.

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 23, verses: 19a; Blind Ones.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their distorted religion) Part 9.  

We grew up signing the nursery rhyme three blind mice not knowing its meaning.  Christ calls the Scribes and the Pharisees blind fools, blind guides, hypocrites because they have created a distorted religion that they teach the people.  He even tells them that they are making converts to their religion that are becoming sons of hell.

They hound him.  They dog him constantly thinking that they might catch him in some trick to accuse him of some transgression of the Law so that they might punish him and silence him of his teachings to the people.  They refuse to see.  They refuse to hear.  They refuse to understand who they are dealing with.  In their minds they believe that Christ is an ordinary man attempting to lead the people away from the rulers of the temple.  Yet this is the one belief that keeps them from seeing the truth that is before their eyes.  And this is why Christ calls them:
"Blind ones!"

They could not see.  They were blind to the truth that was right before their eyes.  Many people are that way today.  Rather than admit an error or their wrong they rather deny the truth knowing that they were wrong.  They create a false lie in their minds in an attempt to make themselves believe that the lie is the truth.  Then there are those who just are not able to accept the truth that is presented to them right before their eyes.  Their minds break down and do not accept what they see.

We cling to what we know, what we can feel and see.  For many everything else is make believe.  Yet the physical and spiritual nature of who we are is a fact, we are one person in two bodies, physical body and spiritual body.  Christ came that our spiritual body would not die.  He came to pay the price for our sins.  Now we have a choice.  We can live in the physical body and die in the spiritual or we can die in the physical and live in the spiritual.  The choice is ours.  The belief is ours.  The asking is ours.  The love of our Lord and Savior is ours to believe.  He came for us.  He died for all of us.  He awaits our call.  Call his name! 

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 21, verse: 5, Thy King Cometh.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus sends two disciples into Jerusalem) Part 5.  

The words were spoken through the prophets for all to hear.  They were written in the books for all to see.  And they were waiting for fulfillment so that they may return to the Father complete from their purpose.  The rules were in place long ago.  The disciples were given the instructions by the rules so that the words written could be fulfilled.  And Christ spoke the words that were uttered by the prophets so that they would be fulfilled.

The disciples did not know.  They were given the instructions to follow.  It was only after the words were fulfilled that they realized the significance of their actions and the role they played in the completion of the word fulfilled.  "Tell the daughter of Sion: Behold, thy king comes to thee, meek and seated upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."

And now we understand the purpose of the instructions.  God works in mysterious ways, ways that are not available for man to understand.  He has given us the words that we might follow.  They have been written for us to follow if we wish.  They are waiting for completion that we might further understand the will of God our Father.  Patience is the key.

He has told us of his love.  He has told us of his mercy.  He has told us of his forgiveness of our sins.  He has given us a new start, a new life, a new beginning.  Those who believe will follow.  Those who see will know.  Those who want will understand the need for patience to see the fulfillment of the word.  Those who want will come to know who they are in Christ and understand that their heavenly Father loves them.

We are a chosen people.  Chosen by God to pass through the trials and tribulations of this life to be transformed into the spiritual beings that we are, created in the spirit and likeness of our heavenly Father.  Out of the love and kindness of his heart he created the heavens, the earth and all that dwells within.  He created the angels, powers and principalities that exist in heaven and he created us, mankind.  He gave us life eternal that we might know him and love him.  And he gave his only son to come, walk with us, die for us, and to be the substitute for the propitiation of our sins.  We are blessed if we do not loose sight of who we are.  For the word has been spoken.  The time has come.  And the fulfillment of its purpose is at hand.  Will you be a participant in its completion?  The choice is yours.  Come!  Join the living spirits that have gone before that you too may know the truth of who you are in Christ.

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:22a, A Mother's misunderstanding.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mother of James and John) Part 5. 

The mother of James and John came before Christ and made her demands for her sons.  She spoke what they would not speak.  She asked that her sons be seated with Christ on his left and on his right when he comes into his kingdom and sits upon his throne.  She believes that they deserve the place of distinction.  She knows, in her mind, that they are worthy of such an honor above all the other disciples.  They were the first to follow him.  They were the first to believe in him.  They were born to the role that they now follow as disciples of Christ, the Messiah.

All their lives the Jews have waited for the time when the Messiah would come.  Their history told them of this time.  They believed that he would come and redeem them.  They knew of the promise made by God but did not know the time that it would take place.  So they lived their lives in expectation of what would happen.  And when it did happen not many knew or believed that the time had come.  But the apostles James and John believed.  They knew that he would come and they prepared all their lives for the time when it would happen.  And that time had come and they were a part of history in the making.  Yet little did they know what they were a part of.  And little did their mother know what would come.  She only knew that he had come and now was the time for redemption.  So she came and made her request thinking that the redemption would be of an earthly or worldly event.  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you are asking for." 

And certainly they did not understand what they were asking.  They thought that he would come and overthrow the rulers.  They thought that he would come and create armies and take back all that was stolen.  They thought that he would come and be declared a new king over all the rulers.  But they were mistaken.  He did not come to conquer the world.  He did not come to destroy the rulers of the world.  He did not come to be served as a king.  He came to become a lamb.  He came to be sacrificed.  He came as an offering to compensate for the sins that man had committed.  And they thought that they wanted to be with him in his sacrifice.

They did not understand that they were asking to be a sacrifice.  They did not understand that they were asking to suffer and die.  They did not understand that they were asking to be scorned, beaten, bruised, battered, mocked, and crucified on a cross to suffer and die.  For this was the price that had to be paid for the sins that had been committed.  This was the price that had to be paid for redemption.  This was the price that was due for all the wrongs that man had committed against the commandments of God.  And they thought that they wanted to be a part of this price that had to be paid. 

Can we say the same today?  Do we want to be a part of the price that Christ paid for our redemption?  Do we want to suffer?  Do we want to deny ourselves?  Do we want to be beaten, mocked, suffer and die for what we believe about the Christ that came to die for us?  Is that something that we can accept?  Most would say no.  Most would not think of suffering.  Most would not think of sacrificing themselves for someone else.  Most would not be able to see the good in those actions.  Yet it is through the suffering, the pain, and the sacrifice that Christ was able to save me and you and all mankind from damnation. 

We were dead and now we have life.  We transgressed and now we are forgiven.  We were lost but now we are found and redeemed.  It is only through acceptance that we are able to find that which was lost.  It is only through recognition that we can come to the light.  It is only through sorrow that we can come to joy.  And it is only through the search that we are able to find that which was originally ours in the beginning.  The path is open.  The way is fixed.  The light of life is within you if you only seek.  For Christ has paved the way.  All we have to do is follow.  The choice is ours to make.  Redeem what was lost or loose what was taken away.  Only you can make the decision.  Come!  Christ awaits with open arms to receive you with love.

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.