St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 25; I have told you.

 Our paragraph topic is: (The sign of the last day) Part 5.  

What does Christ say to us today?  Watch out!  Beware!  Look out for these things to happen!  Listen for the false prophets for they will attempt to mislead.  There will be great signs and wonders.  Great tribulations will occur causing fear and disbelief.  These things must happen, but they will not be the end of days.  They will only be the signs leading up to the end of days.

You will know when the end of days has come.  You will see the truth of what Christ has spoken. The things he has said will happen when the end of days comes.  Why? As he has said:  "Behold, I have told it to you beforehand."   

Indeed, the word has been spoken from the mouth of Christ Jesus who is the living word of God himself.  God the Father knows all, sees all.  He has given the words to Christ to speak in the world so that all will know the truth of what is to come.  Those who believe will have the knowledge of truth.  Those who do not will suffer the trials and tribulations of the world as it attempts to deal with and accept what is happening on the last day.

Faith is the foundation upon which our belief is built.  It is supported by the living word giving us by Christ.  The disciples as they lived their lives, spread the word throughout the land during their stay here on the earth.  They built up the foundation of the church that we reside in today.  But the church is just a physical structure wherein we live work, play, worship, and find our fellowship with each other in love and charity.  It is a spiritual, physical dwelling place for our physical beings just as our physical bodies are a physical dwelling place for our spiritual being.

The last days will come as Christ foretold.  Pray that we are not here physically to experience it.  Pray that our time has come and gone and that we have transitioned into the spirit living with him in his kingdom before that day.  He has foretold it.  It is coming.  Let us be prepared. He has foretold it.   

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 23, verses: 25a; Hypocrites.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their hypocritical purity) Part 1.  

Once again Christ called the Scribes and the Pharisees out in the public eye.  He wanted the people to know who they were.  They acted as though they were pious religious leaders, but instead they were wolves in sheep's clothing.  To the public they were revered.  They were honored by the people.  But to Christ they were masquerading as something else. 

They talked the talk and walked the walk some of the time but behind closed doors the masks came off and the talk was completely different.  They looked down on the people.  They were arrogant and unbelieving in what they preached to the people.  They thought the people were fools, unlearned, and could not discern the truth.  They were deceitful and this is why Christ called them out: "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"   

Is this a warning to our religious leaders today?  Are they the same as the Pharisees of old who were hypocrites?  We see from time to time where preachers have transgressed the line and committed sin, had some affair with another woman while married, molested children, robbed from the church, even committed murder and attempted to cover it up.  

These are just a few of some of the stories that have come to the public's attention.  Christ was telling the Scribes and Pharisees back then they had a greater responsibility to the people as do the preachers of today.  We are all human and subject to failure, but those who take up the calling to become messengers and preachers are governed by a higher standard.  They are given a special blessing from God to carry his message to the people.  

I pray each time that I write that the words that come from me are not mine but come from the spirit through me.  I seek not glory in these words but only to complete a commitment made upon become a new person, a new me.  My awareness was so strong that I wanted to do something to let anyone know that they too could experience what was given to me, a new life, a new beginning, an awakening.  I know forgiveness.  I know love.  I know eternal life within.  I know the light of life that Christ has awaken within me.  I know God's love. 

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 21, verse:25a; The Dilemma of the Question.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The authority of Jesus) Part 4. 

Shocked by his response, the chief priest and elders were in turn asked to answer a question before their question was answered.  They wanted to know the origin of Christ.  They wanted to know where he was taught, who taught him, what school he attended, where did he obtain such knowledge.

They were angry and indignant at him and his teachings.  He captivated the people.  The people were drawn to him, listened intently, more than they had listened to the priests and the elders.  More than that his words stayed with them long after they were spoken and were pasted on to others.  They Word spread.  So the dilemma to the question:  "Whence was the baptism of John? from heaven, or from men?" 

Most of the common people knew and believed that John the Baptist was anointed, a prophet.  He inspired the people from near and far to come and repent of their sins.  He was the one written of in the Bible as the messenger who came before the coming of the Messiah.  Yet here were the chief priests and the elders, learned men, who knew and studied the Law and the books of the Bible, faced with the question of the origin of John the Baptist.  How could they answer?  How could they speak of this prophet?  How should they respond?

We are faced with a similar question today:  Is Christ the Son of God or is he just the son of Mary and Joseph?  The question goes to the core of what we believe today, or values, our hopes, our dreams, our life, and our being.  If he is the Son of God and the writings of the Bible are true then we can have faith and hope in what was written.  If he was the son of Mary and Joseph, just a man, then those writings are fiction and not believable.

Where lies the truth?  From what realm do we operate our lives?  How do we fit what we know and what we believe in the world we live in?  Is it a mystery, something that we cannot fathom and must store in our minds as a mystery, not to be questioned, only to be accepted?  There is the world around us that we accept with truth and fact, facts that we see everyday.  Then there is belief, a leap beyond facts and what we can see and feel daily.  And it is that leap that allows us to go beyond the everyday, the mundane, the mysterious. 

Some have that ability to leap.  Some do not.  Some only rely on facts that they can see and feel and know within themselves.  But those who have that ability can do more than see and feel.  They can understand the life within.  They can see the truth of what was sacrificed and what was given.  For we are two in one.  We are spiritual in the physical.  We are eternal and perishable.  We are children of the one who created us in his image and likeness.  And it is that image and likeness that Christ came to restore to those who can make the leap, to those who can believe, to those who know the truth of his passion and the love of God our Father.  It is real.  It is truth.  It is eternal.  It is here and now waiting for those to take the leap of faith and believe. 

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.