St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 19b, Mustard Seed Faith.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Why the disciples could not cure him) Part 2.

The disciples were disturbed.  They did not understand why they could not do what Christ had given them power to do before.  He sent them out to the villages in pairs of two.  He gave them power to cast out demons and to heal the sick, cure the lame, and perform miracles.  But they could not help this father who pleaded with them for help.  They could not cast out this demon.  Why was it that they could not do this?  Christ told them, they had very little faith.  They performed the miracles based upon the power that he gave them but not upon the faith that they had. 

What would they do when he was gone?  What would they say?  What would they think, after the sacrifice was complete and Christ's, mission here on earth, was complete?  Would they have the faith to believe in his works, to believe in his words, to act upon their belief that he is the Messiah?  If they could only have faith.  If they could only believe without seeing, believe without feeling, believe without having his physical presence before them, then they would come to know far beyond what their physical minds could comprehend.  They would know that there is something more than just the physical realm.  So he told them:  "For amen I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed."

It is said that the mustard seed is the smallest seed in the garden.  Yet it grows larger than any other plant.  What is faith?   Would we define it as having a belief in something?   Would we say that faith is a belief that there is a God, that there is a supreme being, that there is something greater than ourselves?  If we believe that there is a God greater than ourselves then how strongly do we believe it?  Do we believe strong enough to act on that belief?  Do we believe strongly enough to follow the commands that have been given to us, pasted down through the generations?  Can we follow the laws of God and the new covenant given by Christ in this modern day and time?  Or are we so caught up in the world that we can not see the importance of God's commandments? 

Do we believe strong enough to not follow the world in its beliefs as to how we should live?  Do we believe strong enough to know that there is the spirit of God that lives within us?  And do we believe strong enough to see the light of Christ that resides within us, the light that guides us, the light that protects us, the light that loves us, the light that provides for us.  We should have nothing to fear, nothing to doubt, nothing to change our belief in who we are in Christ?  For when we know the truth of who we are in Christ then the seed within grows and becomes like the mustard seed.  The seed of faith becomes the largest plant in the garden and our faith becomes the largest belief that we have.

Faith to me is belief in the desire to become one with Christ.  When I am one with Him I have no fear, I have no doubts, I have no situation or circumstance that will change me from what has been given me by his sacrifice.  There is nothing that can change me from the knowledge that I have life in him and he has life in God the Father.  And in that knowledge I abide.  For the light shines within me and I know it.  The light lives within me and I see it.  The light of Christ fills me and I feel it everyday.  I look around and see his presence, I feel his love, I know his protection and I have the faith of a mustard seed, because it has been given me by and through the light of the Holy Spirit.  Come!  Share in the light that is within you.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Come!  Celebrate the joy of new life.  Christ awaits you.  Christ Loves you.  And the Holy Spirit will guide you.  Follow the path before you and know the truth of life.

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, verse: 12, The Lesson: The Pharisees take offense.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Disciples warned to shun the Pharisees) Part 2.  

 Christ had called the people unto himself that he may give them instructions.  He called their attention that they may hear, that they may listen, and that they may understand the lesson being taught.  He told the people that it was not what they put into their mouths that defiled but what came out of the mouth that made a man defiled.  And the Pharisees heard and understood.  And the Pharisees heard and were angered.  And the Pharisees heard and took offense.  For they, the Pharisees, had taught, for hundreds of years, that a man was unclean and defiled if he did not wash before eating.  They, the Pharisees, had impressed upon the people that they were unclean if they did not follow the traditions as they were taught.  And many people felt and believed in the teachings of the Pharisees.  Many people believed that they were unclean.  Many people, because of the limited availability of water, believed the teachings of the Pharisees.  

They did not have flowing water available to them as the rich, and the wealthy, and the powerful.  They could not wash before every meal, as the rich, and the wealthy, and the powerful were able to do.  They could not follow the traditions as handed down by the Pharisees, as the rich, and the wealthy, and the powerful.  So they believed that they were unclean.  But Christ came and made a change.  Christ came and taught differently.  Christ came and made the people clean, for he taught that it is not what is put into the mouth that makes one unclean but what comes out of the mouth that makes one unclean.  For from the mouth the heart speaks.  And many, spoke evil from their mouths and were unclean because of what came from their heart through their mouths.  The disciples came and told Christ .  Then his disciples came up and said to him, "Dost thou know that the Pharisees have taken offense at hearing this saying?"

The disciples listened to the Pharisees.  The disciples heard the talk of the Pharisees.  The disciples believed in the teachings of the Pharisees because they did not know.  The disciples did not know that if the heart is clean and pure then the mouth speaks no evil.  The disciples did not know that what is put into the mouth does not make one clean or unclean.  And so Christ had to teach.  Christ had to inform.  Christ had to give a lesson to his disciples and to the people gathered around him.  And Christ had to offend the evil in the Pharisees.  For the Pharisee took offense to what was spoken by Christ.  The evil within the Pharisees arose and brought forth the anger against the teachings of Christ.  The evil within made the Pharisees spoke against the teachings of Christ and took offense.

Christ taught a lesson 2000 yrs ago and it still rings true today.  The Pharisees objected.  The Pharisees were compelled to speak.  The evil within them had to come out.  Is this still true today?  Are you compelled to speak?  Does your mouth speak before you have had to time to think about what you are to say?  Does your heart know what comes forth from it or not?  Defilement comes out of the mouth.  Unclean words are an indicator of what lies within.   And when the words of truth are spoken to us the unclean spirits come forth.  For we do not speak of and by ourselves.  We do not know what is to be said in the heat of an argument.  Only the evil that is within us comes out and we are made unclean.  Only the darkness that hides within our hearts comes out and is spoken through and by the mouth giving evidence of the state of our being. 

God is love and within his being is love.  We are created in his likeness.  We are created in his image.  Yet we can be infested with evil.  We can be filled with evil.  We can be taken over by the darkness that is in and of the world.  But there is a choice.  Christ came, a light into the world.  Christ came that we may not walk in darkness but in the light of his life.  The choice is ours.  Which do you choose?  Do you choose darkness or do you choose the light?  It is a conscious decision.  It is a decision that requires action.  It is a decision that means walking a different path than what the world would have us walk.  Come!  Walk the path with Christ.  He will walk with you and give you the light of life to walk with you.  And you will know the treasures of the kingdom of heaven in your walk.  

St Matthew, Chapter 14, vers: 36, The Test of the Heart: the desire of the people

HAPPY HOLIDAYS and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Our paragraph topic is:  (Other miracles) Part 2.  

The word went out, the healer was in the land.  The holy one was in Genesar.  We saw him.  We walked with him.  We heard him speak.  Tell all.  Bring the sick.  Bring the lame.  Bring the possessed that they may be healed.  For he is the great one.  He is the one who performs miracles.  He is here.  Let the word spread to those who would hear.  And so the word spread by mouth, from person to person, from mother to daughter, from neighbor to neighbor, from traveler to traveler, to all the villages and towns in the district.  All were told about Christ who healed all.

They did not know.  They did not understand.  They only wanted to be healed.  They only wanted to see miracles.  They only wanted to know that there was one in their midst who cared for them and could make a difference in their lives.  Christ came and he taught.  Christ came and he demonstrated the power of God amongst the people.  Christ came and he loved.  For no one had shown love or compassion to the people.  In all his power and in all his majesty Christ showed love for mankind through his actions.  For he came to earth and became man that he may demonstrate God's love for man.  And the people responded to his love for  "They entreated him to let them touch."

To only touch but his cloak.  To only touch but his hand.  To only touch but his garment.  To only be in his presence.  These were the wishes and desires of the people.  They only wanted to be with him, near him, beside him, to touch him, to feel his presence.  Just to touch but the tassel of his cloak; and all who touched it were saved.

The people of Genesar only wanted to touch his cloak.  And all who did were saved.  All who touched him were delivered from damnation.  All who touched his tassel were washed clean and transformed by the healing power of Christ.  Oh, that we could be in the presence of Christ today.  Oh, that we could know the reality of his presence.  For many are caught up in this present world and do not know that he lives.  Many are caught up and do not believe that he exists.  For they travel down the wide path of destruction following the lead of the world.  And the desire of the world is death to the soul.

Christ came to give life.  Christ came to transform.  Christ came to show the love of God to mankind that they may know that they do not exist alone.  To those who will believe and to those who know, God provides, God protects, and God directs their footsteps.  To those who know but do not believe, in their hearts, God provides a way out, God provides an open door, God gives the opportunity to know the truth, here on earth, of his presence. 

Christ came that we may have life and have it more abundantly, here and now.  Do you believe?  Do you know?  Seek and you will find!  Knock and it will be opened!  Ask and it shall be given unto you!  But you must seek with your heart, knock with true belief, and ask with the desire to know the truth.  For we have a loving God and father.  We have a just provider.  And we have the creator of all things to watch over us.  In due time all things will be revealed to those who trust.  Miracles will happen for those who have patience.  And the light of the Holy Spirit will console those who believe. 

We celebrate the coming Christmas holiday for the coming of our savior.  Christ gave up his heavenly kingdom to become man.  Christ took off his kingly crown to accept a lowly position and birth in a manger.  Christ, the Son of God, became man that justice might be served and that the union between man and God could be restored.  The price had to be paid.  The injustice had to be corrected.  The scales of justice had to be balanced.  And Christ came, as a lowly infant to bring mankind back to God.  The door is open.  Seek the way from darkness with a true heart and the light of Christ will come and abide within you.  Faith is the belief in the desire to be one in Christ.  How strong is your desire?