Our paragraph topic is: (Their persecution of religion) Part 4.
It must have been a great honor and privilege to live in the time of Christ. Though I must admit that compared to today there were many hardships. Many of the conveniences that we have today they did not have. Running water, and toilets, and refrigerators, stoves, and TV's, music, radios, all the modern things we take for granted they did not have. But then they had the greatest gift of all, Christ.
He came to be amongst the people, to walk with them and talk with them, to hear their laughter, their cries, their sighs, their tears, moans and groans. And he gave relief to many. Yet he saw the cause of much of the sorrow and pain of the people, the evil and the fear that came from the misdirection of the religious leadership of the people. For years the religious leadership had persecuted the people. The Scribes and the Pharisees ruled over the people as though they were slaves and not the people of God whom they were to love. They killed the prophets and the messengers sent by God because they wanted to maintain their positions of power. Christ told them: "Thus you are witnesses against yourselves."
The Bible tells us that our words will be our witness against us on the day of judgment. Every word we speak will be written in the book of judgment and on that day will be used to judge who we are. Speak good or speak evil, it will all come out on that day. The truth will be known as to who we are. Are we a tree that bears good fruit or one that brings forth bad fruit? The mask will be taken off and the truth will be known.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the two sons) Part 3.
Christ continues his parable to help open the minds and the hearts of the chief priest and the elders. He gave them the opportunity to understand but they were filled with deceit. So he now tells them this parable to give them a second chance to see, to understand, to open their eyes that they might be saved.
The two sons each were told by their father to go to work in the vineyard. One said that he would not and later regretted his answer and went to work. The other lied to his father and told him that he would go to work but later did not. Christ asked them: "Which of the two did the father's will?" They said "The first."
The first did the father's will being obedient to his request. Most of us come of age knowing the authority of a father or a father figure. It is in his will that we find our own. It is in his will that we come to know who we are. It is in his will that we have our example to follow through life. And it is in his will that we have a model to reshape our own authority in life.
Where does this authority come from? Who gave it to our fathers and their fathers and their fathers before them throughout history? Did it just come of its own? Did it just evolve into itself without the help of anyone or anything? Or were we given the authority from our Father on high and passed it down from generation to generation?
Fathers are protectors. Fathers are providers. They are the rule makers to the young and the givers of love and comfort to the children who do not know for themselves. Fathers come with mothers and together they make the home in which we grow and develop. They form us from the womb, give us our character and guidance through life. They are our patterns, our examples in life. We carry the genes of generations of learning passed down to us from our mothers and fathers. They have gone before us, experienced life that we have not, and survived with a knowledge that we can inherit.
Do the Father's will for he was here before us. He knows that which we do not. He teaches that which we have yet to learn. His is the love that filled his heart from the day we came into this world. He knew us in the womb. He rejoiced with our every kick, our every turn, our every move. He is the ultimate love and protection that comes to us, if we accept him. He comes to those who had an earthly father and for those who did not. God is our Father and the authority is with him. Do the Father's will and all will be well.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (The blind men at Jericho) Part 4.
Opportunity knocked at their door. Fortune favored their call. The word spoke to them and they were overwhelmed with the joy and happiness that comes with the fulfillment of a dream. For Christ was coming to their village. He was coming to their town. He was near and would soon be walking down the road where they sat begging for their survival. They were blind.
The two blind men knew that this was their one time to ask the one person they believed could help them, Messiah. They had heard the stories. They had heard of the miracles. They believed all were true and wanted to have their opportunity to ask the Lord for his help. What did they want? Was it gold? Was it silver? What was it that they wanted more than anything else in their lives. They wanted to see. More than life itself they wanted to be able to see and this was their opportunity. They would not be silenced. They would not cease their begging. They would not pass on this opportunity to have their eyesight because others wanted them to stop. "And the crowd angrily tried to silence them."
What will you do when your opportunity knocks? What will you want? What will you need more than anything else in your life? Will it be fame? Will it be fortune? Will it be riches? Will it power? Will it be influence? What is it in your life that you desire? And what will you sacrifice to obtain your dream?
We live in a world where we are bombarded daily, hourly with the things that make us want. We make minimum wage and live from paycheck to paycheck. But we see commercials on TV about owning a luxury car, buying a dream house, having money to buy expensive clothes. All this comes to us in the guise of advertising. All these things comes to us through the media that drive us to want, drive us to strive, drive us to be more, drive us to do more, drive us to want more. We can be all that we want to be, but at what price.
The two blind men sat by the roadside begging, as they did everyday, for their needs. We sit in our cubicles working in our daily grind to provide for our needs. We want more because we are given to want more. We are bored, dissatisfied, unhappy because that is what we are given to be. We see all the happy people who have it all and that is where we want to be. And for those who are given to extremes, they will seek to take what they want at any cost.
Christ came to the two blind men. They did not know, until they heard, that he was coming. Christ comes to us also. He comes to let us know that we are loved. He comes to hear our sorrows, our pain, our wants and our desires. He cares for us. He knows what we want, what we need. But we do not know what it is that will satisfy our hunger. We do not know what will fulfill our happiness and our joy eternally. We do not know that we are the children of our Father and he will provide.
God will provide. God has provided. He has given us more than we could ever want. He has given us his love. We were once dead. But now we live. The life we have is given to us through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. And it is through his sacrifice that we are blessed beyond imagination. We recognize the things of the world. But we need to recognize the things of the spirit. For this recognition opens our eyes and our hearts to that which is within us. To know the love that the Father has for each and everyone of us will fill the heart for all eternity. And beyond his love nothing else exists that can or will satisfy.
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.
