St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 31, Jesus Heals: They all marvelled.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus heals the suffering) Part 2.     

He had no place to lay his head.  He had no money to by food.  He had no job to pay for his clothing.  But he gave what he had to give.  He gave to the lame, he gave to the blind, he gave to the sick, he gave to the crippled, he gave to to all.  He walked this earth to experience this life.  He suffered the emotions that we all suffer, pain, joy, sadness, love, happiness.  He was human. He came to suffer the punishment for our sins.  He was Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

How do you believe that you will be cured of cancer?  How do you ask for something that you can not imagine?  How do you have faith that your prayers will be answered when you have not had them answered before?  How do you understand that you can move a mountain and it will cast itself into the sea, if you have not seen this done before?  How do you see in your mind the power of the devil when you do not believe that he has power? 

How do you know that there is a God , there is a heaven, when you have no experience of its existence?  Is this fiction?  Is this something that you can believe?  Is this something that you can rely upon to be real?  We say we believe.  We say we know that there is a heaven.  We speak of it as though we understand what we say.  Yet we cling to life here on earth as though it was the most precious thing in the universe.  The things that are of God are not the things that are of man.  We marvel at a miracle and say that we believe. 

The crowds marvelled at Christ and the miracles that he brought forth.   So that the crowds marvelled to see the dumb speak, the lame walk, and the blind see.   And they glorified the God of Israel.

They all glorified the God of Israel.  They did not belong to the Jewish faith.  They were not the chosen children of Israel.  But they knew of the God of Israel and they gave glory to his name.  They saw with their eyes the miracles.  They felt with their hearts the change that was in the air.  For so many were cured, so many were made whole, so many were rejoicing who had no joy in their lives.  Joy was in the air.  Happiness was on the mouths of the people.  And they gave glory to the God of Israel.  They all marvelled.

Be watchful.  Be vigilant.  Be rejoiceful that the God of Israel and our God is with us.  Marvel at the his miracles and not the miracles of man.  For the world wants you to sleep.  The world wants you to rejoice in its miracles, its joys, its happiness.  The world wants you to forget the marvels of God .  The world wants you to become immersed in the day to day workings so that you forget to marvel at the miracles of God. 

Be not conformed to this world.  Be vigilant.  Be watchful of going to sleep in this world.  For its riches, its desires, its passions, its love, its sin will engulf you and lead you down the path to destruction.  Wake up from your slumber and know that Christ died that you may have eternal life, everlasting, in heaven and not on this earth.  Do not be fooled.  Seek the wisdom of the Lord and you will know the truth. 

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 13, verses: 36 - 39, The Kingdom of Heaven: The symbols of the weeds explained.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the weeds explained) Part 1. 

Things have been spoken.  Understanding has been lacking.  Knowledge is missing.  And the people do not know.  Christ has talked about the kingdom of heaven and given several examples of what the kingdom is like.  He talked about the good seed.  He talked about the mustard seed and how it grows and he talked about the leaven and how it spreads to all parts.  Do the people understand?  Do the disciples understand?  Is knowledge given to them that they may know the mysteries of the kingdom?  Christ has finished his preaching and retires to the house.

The disciples follow and inquire of him the meaning of the parable of the weeds.   And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."  So answering them he said, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world; the good seed, the sons of the kingdom; the weeds, the sons of the wicked one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil."  

The disciples wanted to know his words.  They wanted to understand clearly.  They wanted the knowledge of Christ.  There minds sought him.  Their hearts desired his fruit.  So they came and inquired of his wisdom.  And he fed them with rich fruit that they may be satisfied.  He fed them with riches that they may know within their hearts the truth of the kingdom and they were blessed.  Christ loved his disciples.  He was patient with them.  He was loving of them.  He was understanding of their needs.  And he gave bountifully of his heart that theirs would be full.

We live in a world that we know not.  We are consumed by its constant flow, by its constant drive, by its constant movement.  Nothing remains the same.  Everything is changing and we are caught up in the change.  And that is our dilemma, we must keep up or be swept away.  We must constantly know the latest news.  We must constantly see the latest shows.  We must constantly have the latest gadgets.  We must constantly be in a state of change at all times that we may be in the world.  To stop being in the world means to be left behind.  To stop being in the world means not knowing the latest.  To stop being in the world means to fall out of the crowd.  And Christ said, beware the wide path that leads to destruction.  Do not follow the crowd!  Follow the narrow path that leads to life.  Open your heart, open your mind and let Christ feed you, as he did the disciples.  His love is fulfilling.  His knowledge is all knowing.  His understanding is permanent.  And his truth is from the Father of all truth.  Fall out of the world and fall into Christ and he will keep you forever.

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 30, Choose your side: Gatherer or Scatterer.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 5. 

The lines are being drawn.  The battle continues.  The sides are chosen and the players know the stakes at hand.  Christ has given the Pharisees the run down on his prophecy of what is about to happen.  They listen and are astonished that such a man, a man in their eyes and not the Messiah as they see it, would give such a statement to them, the men of authority, the men of power.  Christ told them that the kingdom of God was upon them and they did not see it.  He told them that there will be plundering because the strong man had been bound and all his treasures would be taken from him.  

Christ was speaking to the Pharisees and he was speaking to their counsels , the devil.  He was giving notice that he came to plunder.  He was giving notice that he came to take back the treasures that were stolen from the kingdom.  He came to separate the good from the evil, the just from the unjust, the damned from those who would be saved by his actions.  let nothing or no one get in his way.  For he brought the sword of God with him.  He brought the sword that would cut, the sword that would slash, the sword that would slice to the bone.  Christ came to bring victory to the house of God and to restore what was taken by force.

He told the Pharisees,  "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.   So the Pharisees knew without a shadow of a doubt where they stood.  They knew that they did not follow Christ.  They knew that they were against him, for he sought to take away their power over the people and spoke directly against their teachings.  So they knew that they were against him and being such, they knew that they were there to scatter.  For they wanted to divide the people.  They wanted to turn them away from Christ.  They wanted to be the leaders of the people.  They wanted the people to follow them and not Christ.

Give God the glory for he is worthy of the glory.  Give God the praise for he is worthy of the praise.  Unity in Christ is our desire and our future.  We desire to be one in Him and being in Him we are one with each other.  Yet we have those who would scatter, in our churches, in our towns, in our villages, in our homes, in our markets, at work, at school, wherever we are.  We have those who would seek their own praise and their own glory instead of giving it to God.  Do we go to church to scatter or to gather?  Do you go to church to be with Christ or to be against Him?  For in our churches, in our synagogues, in our chapels, we are one in union with Christ. 

There are many Pharisees in the midst of the believers.  There are those who would scatter for their own glory.  There are those who would scatter for their own gain.  There are those who would scatter for their own praise and yet they are not worthy.  And praise be to God that there are those who gather.  There are those who, through their efforts, others are brought into the church.  There are those who, through their sacrifice and their devotion, work to build up the church.  And they are the ones who are with Christ.  They are the ones who love Christ.  They are the ones who have the spirit of Christ within their hearts and know him.  Be not deceived.  There are workers in the church who work to build up the kingdom but they do not know Christ.  He does not live within them, for they work for their own glory and edification.  Give God the praise that all things work for the good.  Be not a scatterer but a gatherer with Christ.  Be with Him and not against Him.  The battle continues, even within you.  Come, join the army.  Which side do you choose?