St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 34b; Scourge and persecute.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 10.  

In the previous part God speaks to the Scribes and the Pharisees through Christ Jesus to let them know his judgment upon them.  God and Christ are one.  But we know that God speaks simply through the use of the pronoun I.  He says " I send you."  Christ does not speak this but God speaks this through Christ to the Scribes and the Pharisees.

Christ has offered them opportunities to repent of their ways.  He has opened the door for them to repent of their persecution of their religion but they are not open to the idea of repentance.  They are set in their ways, completely possessed of the evil within them.  This is why Christ calls them a brood of vipers.  They cannot change.  God tells them that the prophets and the wise men he will send them:  "And some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from town to town."

How did he know what they would do?  How did he foresee their actions?  Would they fight and continue to persecute the spread of God's religion from town to town?  Were they that zealous in their beliefs against the spread of God's love for his people?  

Christ came to establish a new covenant with man.  He came to build his church on earth, to teach his disciples how to love, how to live, how to spread the words of the kingdom of heaven.  In order to do that he had to suffer the sacrifice for our sins and pay the price for our deliverance.  The Lamb of God shed his blood for us.  He died, was buried, and rose again on the third day declaring his deliverance over death and the grave.  And God took him into his arms up into heaven where he sits at his right hand waiting for the coming of judgment day.

Do not be afraid Christ told his disciples many times.  His last words were that he will be with us always, even until the end of the world.  Let us remember that we have a Father in heaven who is the creator of all things who is in control.  When things do not go the way that we expect or would like and we get disappointed, always remember that God is in control and it is he who has the ultimate say.  It is his plan that will work out and not ours.  We must be thankful that he is in control and not us.  Thank you Father for the blessings that you have given us this day.  Keep us in your grace. 

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:34b, Touched by Compassion.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The Blind men of Jericho) Part 10. 

Christ asked them what would they have him do for them.  They wanted more than anything else to have their sight.  They wanted to experience all that they had heard, all that they had smelt, all that they had tasted without their eyes.  And they wanted more than anything else to be able to not be beggars.  They wanted independence where they could provide for themselves.  They wanted to see.

All their lives they lived in darkness.  They sat by the roadside and begged for their living not being able to provide for themselves.  All their lives they were dependent upon what ever the passersby gave them, be it a penny or not, a crust of bread or not, a rebuff, a curse, a kick or not.  They were dependent upon the mood of the passerby.  They had no choice.  They were like children who were not loved, children without parents, children lost.  But Christ was there.  He came by their road.  He heard their cries.  He was moved with compassion for his lost children.  And he:  "Touched their eyes." 

Many times we are like the two blind men, lost in the world, trying to find our way.  We get caught up in the whirlwinds of life not knowing where we are going, being blown by the whims of the wind that comes our way.  Our friends, our relatives, the media, where we live all provide the environment that move us one way or the other.  We are led and influenced by what comes our way and like the two blind men, we follow where we are led.

Some may say that they are in control of their lives.  Some may believe that they are independent of the winds that surround them.  They believe that their lives are together and do not worry like those less fortunate then themselves.  How blind are they?  Do they have direction?  Do they have purpose?  Do they have the knowledge that comes from within?  Christ touched the eyes of the two blind men, but even more he touched their souls.  He opened their hearts that they might know that they were not lost even though they were blind.  He let them know that they were loved and cherished by their Father in heaven.

Have you been touched by his compassion?  Do you know his love?  Have you felt the truth of who you are in him?  His love will change you.  His touch will give you life.  His compassion will change your life forever and you will know who you are in him.  The world we live in, is death.  The world he lives in, is life.  Come!  Know the life that is within you and you too will be free.

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.