St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 15a; Woe!

Our paragraph topic is:  (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 8.  

Jesus was bold.  He was outspoken.  Only the prophets and those who were crazy spoke to the Pharisees this way.  No one would dare speak out loud to them in public for all to hear.  Yet Jesus did.  He spared no words and did not hold his tongue.  He wanted all to hear what he had to say of the Scribes and the Pharisees.  He wanted all to know of their wrongs.

They did not believe.  They did not see.  They did not understand that the kingdom of heaven was at their doorstep.  The Scribes and the Pharisees only heard the words of a man calling them out to the public, something no one dared do to their honor.  But Christ did.  He said to them: "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"

In this paragraph he calls them hypocrites three times.  He tells the disciples what they did and how they did it so that all will know their sins.  He gives them three times to repent of their ways.  Yet they do not.  They can not hear.  They can not see.  They can not understand what is happening before them.  They are deaf in their hearing.  They are blind in their seeing and their understand has been taken away.

Where are we today?  Are we in the same boat?  Can we hear the calling?  Can we see the miracles before us?  Can we understand the things that are happening around us that give us the opportunities to repent of our ways?  We have a choice.  God is merciful.  He is loving and forgiving.  He is patient in his mercy and wants all to have the chance to receive his love.  The choice is ours if we can only hear, if we can only see, is we can only understand the gift that is given to us. 

 I am so thankful that I heard.  I am so thankful that I was able to see.  I am so thankful that I was able to understand the gift that I have received, that I am here today to write to you about it.  Seek it and you shall find it.  Knock on the door and it shall be opened to you.  Know that you have a heavenly Father who loves you and who will come to you and embrace you with his love.  I am a witness. 

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 20, verse: 15a, The right to choose.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 22.

The house-holder speaks to the laborers that were grumbling.  He speaks to those who were dissatisfied with their pay because they believed that they deserved more than they were paid.  They agreed upon a denarius to work for a day.  They were paid a denarius for a complete days work.  But others were paid a denarius for three quarters of a day.  And still others were paid a denarius for half a day's work.  And the last to work were paid a denarius for a quarter of a day's work.  And because the house-holder was generous with what he paid them the laborers became dissatisfied with their pay.

He made the choice.  He chose to pay the laborers as he saw fit.  He paid all, even from the last the same pay as he did the first.  And the choice was his to make.  The laborers agreed to the pay but changed when they witnessed the choice of the house-holder to pay all the same.  And he told them:  "Have I not a right to do what I choose?" 

They all had rights.  The house-holder had rights and the laborers had rights.  They all agreed upon what they agreed.  And the work went forward based upon the rights of each party to complete the agreements made.  The house-holder agreed to pay and the laborers agreed to work.  They all agreed.  But when the time for the agreement to be completed something changed.  There was a disagreement, there was dissatisfaction, there was grumbling.  So why did this take place?  Why was there disagreement at the end of the agreement? 

The state of change entered into the picture at the time of completion.  The mind was set at the beginning of the agreement.  The mind was in agreement.  The mind was satisfied.  And then change came to influence the mind.  Change came to make a comparison.  Change came to turn around the state of satisfaction to dissatisfaction and the mind was at a crossroads.  The mind had to choose.  The mind had to make a decision as to which direction it would take.  Would it continue on the road to satisfaction or would it take a different road? 

The road to dissatisfaction led to a different place.  Along the road different thoughts came into play.  Along the road different pictures were presented.  Along the road to dissatisfaction the emotions began to change and the skies became darker, the heart began to change and the once bright picture of happiness became a dark cloud of anger and frustration.  And the door was opened to let the world come in and take possession of that which would have brought happiness.  But back at the crossroads the decision was theirs, the choice was theirs to make.  The laborers had their choice to make and we today have our choice to make.  We all are brought to the crossroad at some point in our lives.  We all have the freedom to choose where we will walk, which road we will take, which path we shall follow. 

I thank God that he held my hand along the road that I traveled.  I thank God that he did not let me go.  I thank God that I was pulled back from the brink, from the cliff of the decision that came to me to take action.  I am thankful that we have a loving God, a forgiving God, a God who will protect us and guide us and keep us from harms way.  For without him I would surely be doomed, this day, for the decisions that I almost made from opening the door to the world and following in the footsteps of the influence of evil.  Today I know who I am.  Today I am saved.  Today I am a new person inspired by the new life given me by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  Today, who are you???

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.