St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 28; Outwardly appear.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their hypocritical purity) Part 8.  

Christ came down from heaven to walk among mankind that he might experience the depth of life we live as humans.  He came with a purpose to do his father's will and save mankind from the sin committed by Adam and Eve from the beginning.  No one else was able to do so.  Yet his choice was made at a cost of his life on the cross, a horrible cost of pain and suffering for our sins.  He did not have to pay such a cost but because of his love, his passion for mankind, he wanted to give us a second chance to have life eternal.  

He came and he saw the horror and the iniquity that existed from the evil that had come forth upon the people.  They cried out for his help, begged for his assistance, had assurance in his power to heal, believed in his words of faith.  Yet there was still darkness in the shadows that hid from his brightness.  He saw what men could not see.  He looked beyond the outwardly appearance into the inner heart and soul of those who were full of evil and sin.  He heard the inner thoughts of the influence that evil worked upon those of power and prestige and knew their deepest thoughts and feelings.  He told the Scribes and the Pharisees:  "So you also outwardly appear just to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

You could say he had x-ray vision because he saw what men could not see.  He saw the true filth of who they really were on the inside.  Outwardly they appeared like great men, but inwardly they were filled with dead men's bones and all sorts of ugliness.  Yet these were the men that the people honored and praised.  These were the Scribes and the Pharisees they saw everyday in the market place and the synagogue and places of worship.  These were the men that they idolized and wanted to imitate.  Yet Christ saw the other side, the inside and he called them out.  He told the people who they were.  He let the people know that they were not all they were held up to be.

Faith goes deep within the soul.  It is either there or not there.  It is either believed or not believed.  It is either a part of you or not a part of you.  Sure it can be faked.  It can be put upon like a mask and taken off like makeup.  But real faith, real belief is in the skin, in the bones, in the marrow, in the heart and soul of a person.  They know who they are because they are real.  It does not need to be preached on the corners to have substance.  It does not demand that it is shared with others from a door to door campaign to be real.  It just needs to be lived that others may see the light from which it shines within.  

Let your light shine.  Open your heart to the love that Christ has for you and you will know the truth of the living faith within.

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, verses: 38; The Inheritance.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The vine-dressers kill the master's son) Part 1. 

They were greedy and full of themselves.  They had beaten the messengers, killed several of the servants, and injured several more.  They were serious about keeping that which did not belong to them.  They were joyous in thinking that the householder would not come and claim his property.  They believed that they had taken what was not theirs and made it there own.

The householder knew that something was wrong.  He offered an opportunity for the vine-dressers to change.  He sent them several messengers to warn them of what they were doing.  He finally sent his son, his heir to be, to claim his rights.  But the vine-dressers had a different plan.  They figured that they could take the vineyard from both the householder and the heir apparent.    "But the vine-dressers, on seeing the son, said among themselves, ' This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.' " 

So here they were, vine-dressers, filled with greed, thinking that what was not theirs was theirs and willing to go to any means to enforce their claim.  They had killed others before, the servants sent to claim the fruit.  Why not kill the heir since the householder had not come himself?  Maybe he was dead.  Maybe he was ill.  Maybe he was in prison and could not claim his rights.  Or maybe his son was the only other person to have a viable claim to the vineyard.  With him gone there would be no other challenge. 

Greed had taken over.  Lost were they to their passions.  Dead they were to the opportunity to turn around.  Yet they were too far down the road to destruction to turn back.  They were lost.  They were dead.

Today we can think about those who take the same road as the vine-dressers.  Take what is not theirs and die with the consequences.  This is the society that we live in.  Murder, theft, deception, lies, beatings, mutilations, all in the name of greed.  Some may even justify their actions in the name of need.  But what it all boils down to is a turning away from the boundaries given to us by our Father to keep us from harm.

We could say that those laws, those rules favor the privileged people and not the poor.  And yet it is not the laws that we live by in whatever locale we live.  It is the commandments given to us by our God and Father that protect us.  For beyond those commandments lie the influence of the world and the world would turn us away from our Father and toward evil.  The world would have us loose that which was freely given and replace it with eternal damnation.

The Father is patient.  The Father is loving.  The Father is forgiving.  The Father is merciful.  For we do not know what is hidden from us that will influence us to evil.  But the day will come when what is hidden in the darkness will come to light and all will see.  The time is now.  The time is here to know that you are saved, that you are blessed, that you are rich beyond all that earthly desires can fulfill.  For what thing of value could a man give that is more valuable to save his own soul?

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.