St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 22a, The commandments: When the saying was heard.

Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 15.

And then came the telling of what must be done.  Christ had given the rich young man all that was needed to fulfill the hunger within.  He had given him the commandments to follow.  He had given him the yoke to unburden.  He had given him the treasure to have.  And finally he gave him the opportunity to become a follower.  The ball was the with the young man.  He was now ready to decide which path he would take.  He was now at the cross roads of his life.

He sought out the word.  He traveled in search of that which was within him that he might know the truth.  He came to the cross roads of his innermost desires and now it was time to decide.  Was he ready?  Did he know the direction to take?  Was he hesitant to move forward now that he had the choice?  And this is where the influence of all that had come before, came to bear on his decision.  Which road would he take?  For he knew what was at stake.  He knew the physical consequences of the choice that he would make.  But did he truly know the spiritual opportunity that he was about to give up?  And scripture says: "But when the young man heard the saying," he knew which direction he would take.

We are given a choice in life.  We are born into this world preprogramed.  Our habits, our beliefs, our thoughts, desires, aspirations, our successes are all given to us when we come into this world.  We have little choice but to follow the path that is given to us during the first course of our lives.  But then the word comes to us.  The longing for something more hits us. The desire to know gnaws at us from within sending us on a journey questioning that which is given us from birth.  Is it the truth?  Is it right?  Are we on the right road?  And these questions brings us to the cross roads of life. 

It is at this juncture that we must decide which direction to take.  The choice is ours to make.  We have been given the commandments of life, as passed down to us from our parents and grandparents and those who came before us, be they true or false.  Those beliefs are reinforced in the school of life and in the workplace.  We know what is expected of us from authority.  Yet we search for more, desire more, thirst for that which will quench our parched lips for the sweetness of true drink.  And then we go on that quest that takes us to the cross roads.

What guidance do we have?  What direction shall we take?  How shall we know if we have chosen the correct path?  There is but one guide that will provide direction to our journey.  And that guide comes from within.  If we truly seek the truth then she will come to us.  If we truly desire to know then knowledge will reveal itself.  If we truly want what has been promised to us from birth then our inheritance will be revealed to us through the desire of the heart.  The heart will guide.  The heart will open the door.  The heart will speak to that which is within and let us know the truth of who we are.  Love is the key and the Father loves us more than we can imagine.  And through this love we will come to walk the path that he has given us to walk, witnessing to those in the dark who are seeking to know the light.  Come!  Hear the saying and you will know. 

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 18, verse: 13, The Lost Sheep: Rejoicing over the one.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The lost sheep) Part 4.  

The Son of Man came.  He came to reclaim what was lost.  He came to save.  He came to take back the little ones.  For they are the lost sheep, scattered by the evil one.  They are the ones without a shepherd.  They are the loved ones of the Father.  Even though he had many, he came to reclaim the one.  Even though he loved all, he came to find the lost.  Even though he is all powerful, he has mercy.  Even though he passed judgment, he is forgiving.  Even though he issues wrath on those who trespass, he is compassionate.  For Christ came to carry out his father's will, to bring back the lost, to save the little ones.

There will be rejoicing.  There will be happiness.  There will be sorrow.  There will be sadness for each little one that is lost.  But there will be rejoicing at each little one that is saved.  The choice was given to each.  The decision is ours to make.  But the influence leads us in a direction that we do not know.  The turn of the head, the blink of the eye, the sound of the music can lead astray, away from the flock and into lost territory.  But Christ came to save.  Christ came to restore.  Christ came to take back what was lost.  He came to pay the price that we may have life.  And there will be rejoicing for each that returns to the flock, for each that returns to the Father.  "And if he happen to find it, amen I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray." 

And if he happens to find it, the lost one, he rejoices.  Christ tells this parable to demonstrate to his disciples and to us the depth of love that the Father has for his little ones.  For they were created from his heart.  They were created from his love.  They were brought forth from nothing into life that his love and his passion may be shared.  We have a God and Father that loves us deeply.  We have a God and Father that protects us totally.  We have a God and Father that provides for us completely.  The question is will we let him.  Will we seek him?  Will we open our hearts to him?  Will we allow our minds to comprehend that which is incomprehensible to the mind but lies hidden in the heart?

We have all the documentation in history.  We have the facts laid before us.  We have the institutions that help us to understand.  We have the grace of Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit to provide for us, if we believe, if we seek, if we desire to know, if we love, if.  And it is that if that deters us.  It is that if that delays us.  It is that if that causes us to pause.  It is that if that turns us away.  For that if, is what is used against us in the world. 

Can we not believe?  Can we not see with the eye that was given us, the key to the soul?  Can we not understand that which is within us, within our nature, within our being, within our soul?  If we are told otherwise, we can not.  If we are fed lies, we can not.  If we are deceived, we will not believe.  For deception is the tool of evil.  Deception is the blindfold that allows us to continue to sleep, to turn away, to follow the path of destruction.  But Christ came to save.  Christ came to take back.  Christ came to give new life.  Will you accept it?  Will you believe in it?  Will you be open to it?  Or will you be deceived?  Come!  Follow the path before you.  Seek the truth that is within you that you will know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Believe and you will see.  For he told us how to find the truth that is within us.  He gave us a path to follow.  Will you follow it?  Will you seek to know it?  Will you find you?  Christ awaits.  The Holy Spirit beckons.  The Father will rejoice at your coming.

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 17, verses: 4, The Son of God: The Future Leader speaks to Jesus.

Our paragraph topic is: (Jesus transfigured) Part 3.    

And Peter, seeing the past leaders of the house of Israel speaking to Jesus, did not know what to say.  He had awaken from sleep when he beheld this vision.  He had heard the voices of those that he had not heard before.  He was seeing a vision that no one had seen before.  And so where the other disciples, seeing Moses and Elias, whom they knew were dead speaking to Jesus as though they were still alive.  And they beheld the beatific vision of Christ transformed.  They had spent years at his side.  They had heard him speak on countless occasions.  They saw him day and night speaking, teaching, healing, and comforting the people, but never had they seen him like this.

Jesus  transformed, before their very eyes.  Jesus  was glorified like they had not seen him or known him before.  They were in awe.  They were stunned.  They were surprised.  All this time his true nature was hidden from them and they had no idea.  And then there was Moses and Elias appearing with him, before their very eyes.  One can only imagine their state of mind when this happened.  And then Peter spoke.  He spoke out of awkwardness.  He spoke out of passion.  He spoke out of love.  He spoke out of a need to speak, a desire to affirm to himself what he was witnessing and experiencing.  Then Peter addressed Jesus, saying, "Lord, it is good for us to be here.  If thou wilt, let us set up three tents here, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias."   

What would you do if you had a vision of Christ glorified?  What would you think?  Is it real or is it a dream?  Can you believe what you are seeing?  Can you believe what you are thinking?  We read the Bible and believe its truth.  We seek meaning in its words, the Living Words of God through Christ Jesus.  What do they say?  What do they mean?  What understanding can we gain from what we read?  How does it all apply to our lives today?  Some would say that there is no application.  Some would say that the Bible is a book of history written two thousand years ago, different time, different place, ancient history.  Does the Bible speak to you?

Christ walked, talked, eat, slept, drank with, and loved his disciples.  Yet during all that time they did not know him.  During all that time they did not see him in his true nature.  Can we say the same today?  His words speak to us from a book that has been passed down through ages, written and re-written, translated and reconfigured, different meaning and new meanings added.  Yet, is the message getting through to us that gives us truth, a truth that never changes no matter how it has been changed.  The heart is the key that opens our mind to the possibilities of understanding.  For it is through the heart and with the heart that we are open to the realm of the spiritual life that is within us. 

Not by math, nor science, nor logic, but only by and through the truth hidden for ages through the wisdom of God can we come to know who we are.  Search we must.  Desire is essential.  Repentance is the foundation.  And understanding what the heart knows is the key that opens the door to new life here in this realm.  All things have been given to us by our loving Father.  Yet through our ignorance and deceitful blindness do we seek to have all things to ourselves.  The three disciples saw what they had not seen before during all of their experiences with Christ.  And we, during all our searching through life, may miss the truth of the light within, the truth of the life within us. 

Christ told us, in his words, how to find it.  He told us where to look.  He gave us the key to see and know who we are.  Yet we turn the other way because that is what we have been given in this world.  Seek and ye shall find.  Knock and it shall be opened to you.  Ask and it shall be given you.  What do you seek?  Do you seek money?  Do you seek fame?  Do you seek honor and glory?  Do you seek the worldly possession that this life has to offer?  Continue to seek those things and you will miss the the truth of who you are and the treasure that awaits you.  Life, has been given me.  Light, has brighten my path.  I only point the way.  It is up to you to follow what is before you.  Christ awaits you.  Jesus loves you and so do I.

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 16, verse: 22, The Future of the Church: the first member wavers.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Passion and resurrection foretold) Part 2.   

Simon Peter was the first member of the Church.  Simon Peter was given the knowledge of Christ's origin.  Simon Peter was given the revelation.  And Simon Peter was under attack by evil because evil wanted to prevent the church from taking hold here on this rock, this earth.  For Christ had willed that his church would be established and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.  Yet the gates of hell and evil itself would make every effort to tear it down, to undermine it's efforts, to bring scandal, to discredit the the true nature of its creator, and to do anything it can to turn man against Christ.

Christ was the teacher.  It was his mission to teach his disciples.  He had to give them the wisdom to withstand what was coming before them.  He had to provide them with the understanding to see the truth of what would happen to him.  He had to show them how all was predestined and written about him before he came to earth.  And he had to prepare them for the future of their mission after his mission was complete.  They did not know.  They did not yet understand.  They did not fully comprehend the teachings that he gave them but they would take them to heart. 

And the first member of the church, Simon Peter, was under attack.  He heard what was being said.  He felt the agony of what would happen.  He knew the truth of the consequences of the forthcoming storm and he was afraid.  He was under attack and his heart was opened to allow fear to come in.  And with that fear came evil.  For evil took possession of him.  Evil controlled him and made him fear.  And evil moved him to action.   And Peter taking him aside, began to chide him, saying, "Far be it from thee,O Lord; this will never happen to thee."

Peter was the first member of the church and today there are many.  The church is in us.  The church is beside us.  The church is through us and with us in our daily lives.  But are we with the church?  Are we true members of the church?  Do we belong to the church as the church belongs to us?  We perform our weekly duties by going to Sunday service.  We pray.  We perform our ritual and prescribed duties, but does that make us true members?  For we live in a world that turns us away from the church.  We live in a world that would have us not believe in the truth of the church.  We work, sleep, cry, love, play, and have all our waking hours in a place that would turn us away from the kingdom of heaven. 

Simon Peter was under attack and he took Christ aside and told him that it would not happen.  He told Christ that he could not believe that these things would happen to him.  Yet he did not know that he was at war with the world.  Peter did not understand then, that evil was around him and influenced him to act.  The times since then and the times now have not changed.  The church is at war.  We the members of the church are at war with evil and the war starts with each of us individually.  How we think, how we act, how we believe, how we work, how we play, how we love, how we see, and most of all how we open our hearts are subject to the war we wage with evil. 

For it is through the heart that evil finds passage.  It is in the heart that evil wants to reside.  It is with the heart that evil wants to possess that it may create evildoers for its work.  Guard your heart from the tricks and traps of the world, for they are many and subtle.  Close the door of your heart to those things that would compels you to love.  And protect your heart with the truth that comes from and through Christ, our savior.  For with him and through him and by him, we are transformed into the children that our father created.  We are the light of the world and the light from the Holy Spirit should resides in us.  Do you know?  Can you see?  Christ told us how to be certain.  Open the door of your heart and invite him in.  He will come and reside with you.  Follow the path set before you and 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 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 15, verses: 20, Understanding: Awareness

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ explains what defiles a man) Part 4.   

Christ has revealed, to his disciples and the people, understanding of what defiles.  He has opened the minds and the hearts of the people so that they now know, so that they now see, so that they now understand truth.  For this is not the truth of the Pharisees that want the people to hear their truth.  This is not the truth of the world that wants the people to be confused, misled, and blind.  This is the truth that comes from the father of truth through Christ.  This is truth that comes from the creator of truth that knows no lie or falsehood or deceit.  This is the truth that comes to mankind from all eternity, the truth of God.

Christ spoke the words of truth and truth came to the people.  Christ explained the words of truth that there would be no doubt in the people.  Christ elaborated on the truth that all would understand.  And today we read and hear the truth and do not understand, do not comprehend.  He has said to us,   "These are the things that defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

These, defile a man when they enter the hearts of men.  These, defile a man when they come forth from the mouth of men.  These, are the things that are evil,the things that occupy the hearts and men and allow darkness to enter the heart.  For from the heart comes evil thoughts.  For the heart thinks.  The heart believes.  The heart knows.  The heart is.  "I praise thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, and didst reveal them to little ones."  Become like a little ones and not like the wise and the prudent that profess the knowledge and the wisdom of the world.  Hear the words of the truth of eternity and know that it comes from the father of wisdom and truth.

Let not the heart be opened to evil.  Let not the heart become dark with passion.  Let not the heart know adulteries and immorality.  Let not the heart give false witness or blasphemies.  Let not the heart conceive of murder.  For these are the things of evil.  These are the things that lead down the path of destruction and death.  These are the things that defile, corrupt, and kill the life that Christ came and died that we might have.  And these are the things that the evil one brings to us that we may fall to him.  Yet we live in a world where these things are all around us.  We live in a world where these evils present themselves to us on a daily basis.  We live in a world where these things a accepted as common occurrences. 

But we know not how to protect ourselves.  We know not how to fight against these things.  We know not how to guard our hearts that we may not succumb to the temptations of these things.  For this is not a part of our world.  We are not taught how to avoid these things.  We do not see and hear and understand the truth of the advocate that was given to us.  For Christ came that we may have life and have it more abundantly. 

Receive the life of Christ and open the heart to the advocate that he may live within.  Christ has told us how we may know that we have the Holy Spirit.  He has give us the guide.  He has opened the door that the Holy Spirit may come in.  Yet few accept.  Few know.  Few receive the truth of eternal life that is ours for the asking.  Read the words of the good news.  Study the words of the gospel of the New Testament.  Read it like you read a book and not as a study guide.  Receive the truth of the light of Christ.  Then, you too will know that you have received the light of the Holy Spirit.  And your heart will rejoice in his presence and his consolation.

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 19, Understanding: The Revelation

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ explains what defiles a man) Part 3.   

The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and it is they that defile a man.  Christ spoke these words to his disciples and to the people that he had called to himself.  He is the teacher.   He is the instructor.  He is the author of Truth that proceeds from the Father, and Truth is with him.  Yet they did not understand.  They did not know.  They did not see the things that he spoke to them.  Truth reached out to them but their minds and hearts were blocked by the things that filled their hearts.  Christ is the truth that comes from the father and in him there is no lie, there is no deceit.

Yet do we find truth in his words today?  Do we believe that he can not lie and his words are living truth?  He speaks of things that do not make sense.  He speaks of things that are difficult to comprehend.  He stretches the imagination to the limits of understanding that perplex the mind.  Yet he does not lie.  He does not deceive.  His words are truth.  Then he spoke these words to his disciples:  "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, immorality, thefts, false witness, 
blasphemies."    

The Revelation: "Out of the heart come evil thoughts."  Is this truth?  How is it that thoughts come from the heart?  We think with our minds and not our hearts?  Or do we?  Christ, the author of Truth through his Father, tells us that the heart thinks.  Is this truth or is it symbolism?  Out of the heart come thoughts???   Christ praised his father in a previous verse for hiding the things of knowledge and wisdom.   " I praise thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, and didst reveal them to little ones."

Hear and understand!!  The heart thinks.  The heart believes.  The heart knows.  The heart is!  For we are the children of God and through our hearts we are.  Let not the heart think of evil.  Let not the heart know adultery.  Let not the heart seek murder.  Let not the heart give false witness or think of theft, or immorality.  For it is from these things that open the door of the heart to darkness and the good heart becomes evil. 

Hear the revelation, hear the lesson.  Hear and learn!  Hear and understand!  Truth seeks to know you.  Truth seek to find you.  Truth seeks to give you joy and peace.  For from it and with it and through it comes the blessings of the spirit within you.  Let it not be contaminated with evil.  Let it not be defiled.  Let it be cleansed with the living words of Christ.  Fill it with the knowledge and truth that comes from the father and his blessing will flow unto you.  His seed will be planted in you to grow and bring forth much fruit.

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verses: 17 - 18, Understanding: Explanation

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ explains what defiles a man) Part 2.    
    
Christ is teaching the people and bringing to them understanding.  He has called forth Truth to come to open the minds and hearts of the people that they may not continue in darkness, lacking the knowledge they need to know truth.  Truth is with him.  Truth is in him.  Truth is upon him and the Pharisees did not want the people to have truth.  Even the disciples of Christ were wanting in truth.  Even they did not understand Truth despite Truth presenting itself through the author of Truth, the creator of Truth, Christ.

They did not realize.  They did not comprehend.  They did not have some way to make sense of the conflict that was presented to them.  The Pharisees taught that they were unclean when they ate if they did not wash.  Christ opened their eyes by teaching them that they were not unclean if they did not wash.  For it was not what was put into the mouth that made one unclean but what came out of it.  But they did not realize.  They did not understand.  They did not comprehend.  Christ told them,  "Do you not realize that whatever enters the mouth passes into the belly and is cast out into the drain?  But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is they that defile a man."

The things that proceed out of the mouth defile a man.  Hear and comprehend!  The things that proceed out of the mouth defile a man.  And the things that come forth from the mouth are things that come from the heart.  What is in our hearts?  What is Christ telling us about who we are?  Do our hearts reflect what and who we are?   For it is they that defile us.  It is they who speak to us.  It is they who guide us.  It is they who lead us, like blind men, into the darkness and we are not aware of who leads us.  What is in our hearts?  What comes forth from our hearts? 

Are we deceived?  Do we not have a brain that tells us what we do and do not do?  How does the heart say who we are?  It is how we think that makes us who we are?  It is what we believe with our minds that makes us a person of God.  It is what we know of the Gospel that gives us the words we speak.  Is it not with our minds that we are?  Or is it?  We feel.  We have emotions.  We love, we hate, we cry, we pain, we know, we have joy, we have sorrow, we have happiness, we are depressed, we have anger, all as part of who we are, humans.  These are emotions that we know in our minds and can feel within our hearts.  Yet do we think with out minds or with our hearts?  Christ instructed the disciples as he is instructing us today.  Hear and understand!  Realize that the "things" that come forth from our mouths are the things that are in our hearts and it is "they" that defile us. 

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verse: 9 , Vain Worship

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees)
Part 6.

Christ gave the Pharisees a wake up call.  He called them hypocrites.  They had changed the Commandments of God and preached and practiced the precepts of their own making in place of the just Commandments of God.  Arrogance guided them.  Evil was their companion.  Power was their love and rule of the people was their passion.  For they were the Pharisees.  They knew the Law.  They studied the Law; they were the keepers of the Law. Everyone had to obey their words and their commands or suffer punishment as metered out according to the wisdom of the Pharisees and suffer the wrath of God as they professed it.  They knew not mercy.  They knew not compassion.  They knew not love.  They only knew the law according to their own interpretations.  And the Law was for the people.  The Law was not for the Pharisees.  For behind closed doors the Law was interpreted differently for them.

And Christ called them hypocrites for what was in their hearts was not of God.  The evil of arrogance had taken them.  The evil of self deception had guided them.  The evil of the world was with them and they were with the world.   For they believed that they worshipped the one true God.  They believed that they followed the commandments.  They believed that the love in their hearts was that for the love of God.  And they believed that their actions demonstrated that love.  But arrogance had blinded them.  Evil had deceived them.  And deceit had filled them with hypocrisy that they might maintain their belief in themselves.  Christ repeated to them the prophesy of Isaias saying,   "In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the precepts of men."

Hypocrisy had led them to believe that the worship that they garnered was for God when in actuality they brought worship to themselves.  They loved to receive honor and praise.  They loved to have influence.  They filled themselves with pride for their positions over the people.  For the people honored them.  The people respected them and their positions.  The people praised them as they were taught that it was praise given to God.  But hypocrisy had deceived the Pharisees and the Pharisees deceived the people by leading them to vain worship.  For praise was not given to God but to the Pharisees.  Honor and glory was expressed to the Pharisees and not to God.  The heart was filled not with the love of God but was filled with love of the Pharisees in exchange for the power and privilege that they held. 

And so, worship became vain and empty and the people followed the traditions and precepts as handed down by the Pharisees.  We worship today out of tradition.  For it has been handed down from parent to child that we should go to church and worship God.  It is the right thing to do, we have been told.  We know not the purpose of our worship.  We have not a reason for our worship.  We believe not the love that is missing from our worship for we have missed the truth of worship.

God our father has given us life eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ, a precious gift that we value not.  For one does not value a gift until it is taken away.  One does not value life eternal until one experiences death eternal.  Yet, in that utter despair and loss of hope, does one realize the true value of the gift that was given.  We try, today, to grasp the value of that gift, without experiencing the despair and loss of hope, by expressing praise and worship to the giver of that gift of eternal life.  But in our attempts, our expressions are in vain.  Why??  Because our expressions of praise and worship do not come from the heart. 

How does one express love if there is no understanding of spiritual love?  We know physical love because that is what we are and what we know through our experiences.  And that is the basis of our expression of love.  But spiritual love is beyond the physical and requires the input of the spirit to understand.  Spiritual love comes from and through and with the human heart and the heart of man is in the world.  It is only through the input of the spirit of eternal love that one realizes that spiritual love comes from and through the Holy Spirit.   Then one begins to understand and know and experience the eternal spiritual love of God our Heavenly Father. 

Christ came that we may have life.  Christ came that we may have the spirit.  Christ came that we may know the love of God our father.  Yet today, we know not the spiritual love of God.  We worship the father weekly, daily, hourly but without the fruit of the spirit.  For over time the fruit dies on the vine.  Over time, the worship that we express to the father, dies and does not produce.  Over time, the world takes hold and entraps us, deceives us, and turns us into hypocrites and we become like Pharisees, clean on the outside and dead on the inside.

Seek the love that comes with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  You can know Him!  You can see Him!  You can be with Him, everyday, every minute, every hour.  A transformation will take place.  The ways of the world will leave you.  The passions of the world will seek to capture you again but you will only know the passion of the kingdom of heaven.  Christ came, a light into the world.  He gave us instructions how we might find our light.  Seek it!  Find it!  Know it!  For it is within you that you may know the truth of who you are, children of our creator, God.

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verse: 3, The Commandments of God vs Worldly Traditions.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 2 

The Pharisees questioned Christ about the practices of his disciples.  They did not wash before eating as the Pharisees had practiced and preached to the people.  For it was the Law that the people should wash before eating and it was the authority of the Pharisees to enforce the law.  So they witnessed this transgression and questioned Christ about why he did not enforce this tradition.

But Christ saw their plan.  Christ knew their intentions.  Christ understood the hearts of the Pharisees as they came forth to question him.  For the Pharisees were men of education.  The Pharisees were men of influence.  The Pharisees were the authority on the Law.  They were the enforcers of the authority for the people of Israel.  They were the final source of what should and should not be, the ultimate authority.  And in their arrogance and their power they opened their hearts to the evil one.  The Pharisees changed the commandment of God.

Christ did not address the question of the Pharisees.  He did not speak to the traditions that they sought to enforce.  Christ saw them for who they were.  He saw their hearts and knew that they were not followers of the laws of God.   But he answered and said to them "And why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"

The influence of power and the suggestions of the evil one had infected the hearts of the Pharisees.  For they had held the seat of power for many years.  They had ruled over the tribes of Israel for decades.  Their minds and their hearts were filled with the intoxication of power that they knew no wrong.  And the arrogance of power opened the door for Satan to come in and turn them.  For through his influence the laws were changed.  Through his influence men placed themselves above the commandments of God and made their own decisions.  How would it hurt if we lusted just a little?  How would it hurt if we lied just a little?  How would it hurt if we stole a little?  How would it hurt if we committed adultery just a little?  And how would it hurt if we influenced the people to do the same things just a little?

And so it is today.  We are entertained.  But through our entertainment we are influenced.  We see, through our entertainment, stories of lies, deceit, lust, adultery, murder, false witness, and all manner of evil.  And it is accepted as entertainment, entertainment that influences the mind and the heart.  For what we see, we practice.  For what will it hurt to lie a little?  What will it hurt to steal a little?  What will it hurt to commit adultery a little, to deceive a little, disrespect our parents a little, to worship idols a little?  And the world draws us into its web, we fall asleep, and we become the lost sheep not knowing or wanting to know that we are children of light and children of love. 

God is our father and he gives to us things that will keep us away from the evil that is in the world.  His love is our protection and our provision.  To know him is to love him.  To love him is to want to do the things that he has given us that will protect us.  Be not conformed to the world but be transformed out of the world.  Though we live in the world we do not belong to the world.  Our treasure is in heaven,  Your peace is in heaven. our eternal joy awaits us in heaven.  Do not fall asleep with the temporary fixes of this world.  Satan wants you to loose your treasure.  He wants you to forget about your eternal joy.  He wants to steal your everlasting peace.  Awake!  And know the true love of Christ.  Open your heart to his spirit and you will know the truth of who you are.  Experience the abundant life of Christ , here and now and awaken from the sleep of death offered by the world.