St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 27, Leaving All.

Our paragraph topic is:  (A hundredfold reward promised) Part 1. 

Christ made a statement to his disciples to help them understand the nature of God our Father.  He told them:  "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  He told them this because they were thinking with the minds of men and not with the possibilities of God.  He did not explain the simple example that he gave them with reference to the camel and the eye of the needle.  He did not show them how it was next to impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Instead he gave them this simple example to illustrate to them the physical limitations of this act.

So the disciples were introduced to the unlimited possibilities of God.  Nothing is impossible for God and that was the understanding that Christ wanted his disciples to have.  He wanted them to think with a different mind.  He wanted them to see the power and majesty of the Father.  He wanted them to believe the dangers of riches and how they would hinder one from entering the kingdom.  And then Peter grasping the thought of not having riches and the thought of giving up all asked the question.  Then Peter addressed him, saying, “Behold, we have left all and followed thee; what then shall we have?" 

If we do not have riches, then what do we have?  This is the questions that is on the minds of millions of people today.  What do we get if we do not have the riches of today?  What can we look forward to if we do not have the luxury of today?  Do we get a brand new car in heaven?  Do we get a million dollar home?  Do we have wealth untold in heaven?  What do we get then that we can not have now?  What does heaven have to offer that is far more glorious than what the world offers now? 

We see all the riches that others have that we want.  We see the joy and the happiness that others have that we do not have.  We are constantly bombarded with the images, and sounds, and impressions of the luxury of what wealth and riches has to offer and those are the things that we desire to have.  So we set our minds to going about having those things that are not ours now.  We commit ourselves to doing what it takes now, to get those things that our hearts desire.  And for some the desire is so strong that there are no limits as to what they will do to get them.

Temptation is strong in the world.  The desire and the passion for wealth and riches is nonstop.  We see them in our everyday lives.  We dream of them when we are asleep.  We are consumed with their possession, in everything that we do.  What will we sacrifice to have them?  And for those who believe in the teachings of Christ, what do they want?  What do they get for turning away from the world and turning to Christ?  As Peter asked:  "What shall we have?"

Christ came that we would have life.  He came that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  For those who know this meaning there is joy in their hearts.  For those who do not, the meaning is lost.  What profits a man if he gains the whole world yet looses his own soul?  Better still what can a man give for his soul if it is lost.  There is nothing more valuable in this world than the life that was given back to man by the sacrifice made by Christ. 

What do we get?  We get eternal life with Christ.  What do we get?  We get eternal joy and happiness with Christ.  What do we get?  We get eternal peace here and now with the knowledge of who we are in Him that created us and gave us life.  For he will provide.  He will protect.  He will assure that we will have all that is needed to live and prosper and to carry his message of life and joy and peace and happiness in the Lord.  This is what we get.  And for those who do not understand but want to know, seek him.  Ask him.  Search for him in truth and honesty and you will know what you get.  You get the gift of love that comes from a father who loves you.  You get a gift that is priceless if you know it's value.

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 14, verses: 3 - 5, Herod's murder plot: Imprison John the Baptist.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Herod murdered John) Part 1.  

Herod was fearful.  He thought that Christ was John the Baptist resurrected.  And he knew that he had murdered John.  He knew that he had planned and plotted to get rid of John.  John was loved by the people.  He was a prophet.  He carried the message of the kingdom preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah.  Many came to John to repent.  Many came to John to be baptized.  Many came to John that they may prepare themselves for the coming of the kingdom.  And John was the messenger.  John was the voice of one crying in the wilderness calling people to repent, telling them of the evil in the world.  And John spoke of Herod.  This is why Herod wanted to get rid of John.   For Herod had taken John, and bound him, and put him in prison, because of Herodias, his brother's wife. 

John told the people of Herod.  John told the people of the sins of Herod.  John told the people to repent of their evil ways and not to follow the ways of Herod.  For Herod was their ruler.  He set the morals of his people by his own example.  And the people followed what they believed was true and correct as set by Herod.  Herod had married his brother's wife.  Herod had his brother murdered so that he could marry his wife, Herodias, for he wanted her.  Lust had filled him with desire and he wanted his brother's wife.  So he created a plot to get rid of his brother that he may have Herodias.  And she, Hereodias, participated in the plan.  For she lusted for Herod.  She lusted for power.  She lusted for the position to be the mate of Herod the king.  So together they plotted that they may be together.  And John spoke to the people of this evil.   "For John had said to him, “It is not lawful for thee to have her."

John had spoken of the evil that existed in the kingdom.  John had preached of repentance to the people.  John preached of the coming of the Messiah and told the people to repent of their evil ways that they may be saved.  Do not follow the ways of Herod, he preached.  Do not fall into temptation as Herod did, he told the people.  Do not lust as Herod does, he told the people.  For Herod was living in sin and should repent of his ways.  Herod should repent and rid himself of Herodias.  But Herod did not follow the preachings of the prophet.  Herod did not believe that he should rid himself of Herodias.  Herod lusted of her pleasures and wanted to rid himself of John and his preachings.   And he would have liked to put him to death, but he feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet.

John spoke of the evil in his time.  He told the people to repent.  He spoke to them of the coming of the Messiah that they may be saved.  John was bold.  John was outspoken.  John was a man of God.  He spoke to the evil wherever it stood.  John feared not.  Are you like John the Baptist, today?  Are you fearless?  Are you outspoken?  Are you a man/woman of God?  Speak to the evil wherever you see it.  Speak to the evil wherever you encounter it.  Be bold yet be loving.  Be courageous yet be understanding.  For God is the ultimate judge of evil. 

We speak to evil that our words may open the eyes and the ears of those who may hear the message of the kingdom, helping them to repent of their sins and be healed by Christ.  We are not to judge.  We are not to condemn.  We are to love.  We are to understand that those who commit sin are like us.  We are all human.  We are all sinful.  But with the light of Christ within us we sin no more.  And if we do sin we have his forgiveness and his love to bring us back from sin.  For it is through our repentance that we are justified.  It is through our repentance that we are sanctified.  It is through our repentance that we are born anew and glorified in Christ.  Be a John the Baptist today.  Preach the gospel wherever you go.  Call for repentance with whoever you meet.  For God is our creator and our father.  He loves us all and would have us with him in the kingdom of heaven for eternity.