St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 39a; You shall not see me.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Lamentation over Jerusalem) Part 6.  

Christ felt a great passion for his city, for his people.  He loved them in all their glory and in all their sin.  His heart went out to them for he foresaw what he knew would happen to them without his protection, without his love.  Evil was waiting in the wings to take over completely.  Yet he was there to fulfill his destiny to pay for the sins of mankind and put a stop to evil.

Still he lamented over Jerusalem.  All the years of work and pain and toil put into making the city as it was, would come to ruin.  This was the city based on the kingdom of heaven, on the measurements of the city of God.  Evil was coming.  You could hear it in the hills.  You could understand what was happening in the courtyards of the rich.  They were selling their souls and Satan was coming to collect.  

Christ knew.  He came to put a stop to it.  He came to end it all.  His new covenant would provide protection and provisions for all mankind who chose to believe and follow him.  So he wept for the city of Jerusalem.  He lamented for the people therein.  He knew that there would be some who would believe and some who disbelieve.  He said: "For I say to you, you shall not see me henceforth."

The time was coming near for his sacrifice, for the payment to be made for the sins of the many.  He would not be available to aid the people in their struggles to come.  He would not heal the sick, cure the lame, open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead, perform all types of miracles as before.  His time was coming to an end.  Yet the people did not know or understand his meaning.

It is hard to believe that such a person walked the earth some two thousand years ago.  Yet we have writings of witnesses of his life and history.  Much is told of Christ over the years.  We have much to read and study of his life, his works, his words, his miracles, interpretations of all that he said and did.  Despite all this, in all that we know ourselves, in all we are taught from early childhood, it comes down to believing what we are given.  We are not scholars.  We have not spent a lifetime studying the books of old to gain the wisdom and knowledge of Christ's life and works.  So we take what is given us in our schools and churches and from our Bibles and Christian readings to help us believe in him.  And yet of this little knowledge the most basic understanding that we can come away with is belief.

Do you believe?  Do I believe?  Do I know?  Yes!  I know within myself, that I live within Christ.  I know within myself that I have life within him.  I know that he lives and therefore I have life because he has given me new life.  Before I was lost in the world, seeking the treasures of the world, not knowing who I am.  But now I seek the treasures of the kingdom of heaven because it is there that I want to be.  It is there that I am from.  It is there that my life originates and not from this world.  

When I seek the treasures of this world I seek darkness.  But when I seek the treasures of the kingdom I seek the light of life that comes from Christ because he has awaken me as to who I am and where I am from.  I am spiritual and not physical and within this flesh lives me, the spiritual being that Christ has awaken and given new life.  My flesh is but dust, but my spirit is alive in him.  Open your heart and seek that which only he can give and you too will know the truth of who you are. 

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 12, verse: 35, The Treasures of the HEART.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Blasphemy against the Spirit not forgiven)
Part 5. 

Christ has spoken to the Pharisees and he has spoken to the demons that possess the Pharisees.  For the Pharisees do not hear.  The Pharisees do not see.  The Pharisees do not understand the man that they speak with.  But the demons understand.  The demons know.  The demons despise and hate Christ because he is the truth of the father and will not allow them to spread their lies before him.  Satan cannot act in our world.  Satan cannot perform evil in this world.  But Satan can possess man to act for him.  Satan can persuade man to create evil.  Satan can possess the hearts and minds of men with his darkness and have them perform the evil that he desires.  Men kill, rape, rob, cheat, steal, lust, commit adultery, and do all manner of evil through the persuasion of the demons that possess them.

Christ spoke to the demons that possessed the Pharisees.  For he knew who they were and he knew that because of the darkness that had captured the minds and hearts of the Pharisees, they had become like vipers, just as their underlying evil demons.  And Christ knew that there was no light within them.  He knew that there was only darkness.  He knew that evil was in their hearts and only evil would come from it.  This is why he told the Pharisees that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  For there hearts were filled with evil and it overflowed into their mouths.

Christ spoke a mystery that is with us today.  He said, "The good man from his good treasure brings forth good things; and the evil man from his evil treasure brings forth evil things."   Christ spoke this to the Pharisees as if they would understand the meaning.  He spoke the mystery but they only understood the face value of his words.  They only heard that they were evil men and the evil came from their evil treasures within them.  They spoke with their mouths what was in their hearts, what was in their treasure.  Therefore, because their treasure was filled with evil, they were evil.  They had no good treasure.  They brought forth nothing good.  They only knew that they must do whatever it took to maintain their power, their authority, and if that meant bringing forth the evil that was in them, so be it.

Christ often spoke in mysteries.  He praised God the father for concealing the mysteries, not revealing them to the wise and the prudent, but only revealing them to the little ones.  And the mysteries have stood for thousands of years for the little ones to possess.  Are you a little one or are you wise and prudent?  Do you understand the mystery of the heart?  What treasure do you have in your heart?  Is it of good things or of evil things?  We live in a world where masks are a way of life.  We wear masks to keep others from seeing the truth of who we are.  But when we are put to the test the mask comes off and the true nature of who we are comes forth.  Christ spoke against anger and yet anger opens the door to the truth of our nature, the truth of who we are.

Do not subject yourself to the fires of Gehenna, but receive the peace of Christ that you may know the truth of who you are.  Receive the Holy Spirit and forsake the dust of the earth.  For the treasures of the earth are but dust compared to the treasures of heaven.  For out of the heart will come forth the knowledge that the Holy Spirit brings and you will be set free.  The heart is the key.  The heart is the vessel through which comes forth the good things from heaven.  Do you know the Holy Spirit?  Does he live within you?  Have you received the light?  Christ awaits you.  Come, open the door of your heart and receive the Holy Spirit that Christ may live in you!

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? 

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 15 - 16, The Battle Continues: Christ wins more souls.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mercy of Jesus) Part 1. 

Christ moves on.  He has finished his preaching and teaching in the synagogue before the people where he spoke against the Pharisees and their interpretation of the Law and the Sabbath.  Christ knew that they now gathered together to consort against him.  But he continued the battle of saving souls and preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.  And the demon possessed Pharisees sought ways to trip him.  They sought ways to trick him.  They sought ways with the evil spirits to bring Christ down before the people because they were loosing control.  

Christ was saving souls.  Large crowds followed him from the synagogue and St Matthew tells us that he cured them all.  He says, "Then, knowing this, Jesus withdrew from the place; and many followed him and he cured them all, and warned them not to make him known."   Christ continues to do the work of the Father by healing the sick, curing the lame, making the blind see and raising the dead.  He was winning souls.  He was bringing back the lost sheep.  He was taking back what had been taken by force by the dark forces of evil.  The battle continued.

Christ did not want to be known.  He did not want to be famous.  He did  not seek large crowds to follow him, yet he preached to the crowds and performed miracles.  And the word spread of him and the works that he performed.  For he wanted the people to know.  He wanted them to understand.  He wanted to remove the blindness from their eyes so that they would see and believe that indeed there was a God who loved them and he came down from heaven to show them his love.  Yet Christ removed himself from those who were controlled by the dark forces of evil.  He removed himself from those who would conspire against him.  For his time had not come.  The time for sacrifice was not yet here.

Christ gave us the example and the principles of how we should live.  He walked this earth with his people.  He gave his life for his people.  He battled with the dark forces for his people.  And he brought us out of captivity from evil.  Do you still find yourself in captivity?  Are you seeking a way to find Christ in your life this day? 

Many preach prosperity in your life, which is what most of us look for in this life.  If I could only be more prosperous today, then I could be a better christian.  If I could only have the anointing upon me to be successful, then I would be living the example of a christian life today.  Christ did not have a bed to call his own nor a roof over his head to call his own.  We pray for success.  We pray for good jobs.  We pray for a house.  We pray for a a good wife or husband.  We pray for all the things of this world and not the things of heaven.  Your home is not of this world and your treasures are not worldly things.  For those who know him, he has blessed with the riches of heaven which no earthly gift can compare.  Come join the battle.  Receive the armor of the Holy Spirit and be convicted of the cause.