St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 6a; Rumors of wars.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ warns them not to be led astray) Part 4.  

Christ knew that they would be fearful.  He knew that fear would enter into them and take over their emotions leading them away from the path that he wanted them to be on.  He loved his disciples.  He had spent all this time, the last three years, teaching and preaching, and walking and talking with them to letting them know how much he loved them, how much he was as human to them as they were to him, even though he was their God and Savior.

Yet, he had to prepare them for the future.  He had to prepare them for the fear that would attempt to overtake them if they were not prepared.  So he told them as much as he could to get them ready for what they would face, what they would hear, what they would see, coming.  He told them:  "For you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars."

Many have experienced war and know the consequences of what it means.  Death, and famine, and ruin, and escaping from fear of capture, fear of torture or imprisonment and fear of forced labor.  Women being brutalized and raped, children killed, elderly being tortured for sport.  All manner of evil existed during the ravages of war.  So when Christ spoke of war and rumors of war the disciples understood the horrors that came to mind.

We live in a society today that is far removed from the ravages of war.  It is not in our daily experiences to know the meaning of it.  We do not live on the streets where we see or hear of bombs or explosions going off to let us know that we are in a war zone.  It is not in our lives, in our communities, in our towns or cities.  War is something that is far removed from us in another world on another continent.  We hear about it on the news at 6 O' Clock or 11 but not as we look out the window of our homes in our neighborhoods.  We do not know it personally.

But if Christ was telling us today then are we going to experience war in our community, in our city, in our towns?  What if his words to his disciples were meant for us today that we would hear and know of war and hear of war coming to our area?  What would we do?  How would we react?  How would we feel?  Would we be afraid?  Would we fear what we heard and panic about tomorrow or the next day not knowing what was to come?  Who would we turn to for help, for comfort, for support, for protection?

This is where the disciples found themselves.  In the mist of their fears and anxieties, they knew not what to do.  Yet in the mist of all their emotions, they could find calm because they were with him, they were with the Christ, and with him they found peace.  They knew that nothing would happen to them.  They believed in him because they knew who he was.  They had no doubts as to who he was.  They had spent all this time with him, walked with him, talked with him, watched him do the things that he did with others, saw his compassion for the people, come to know that through his miracles he was the Son of God.  He was the one and only one person that gave them peace of mind, knowledge, hope, faith, and a solid foundation to stand upon for the future, whatever would come.  Let us also have a solid foundation upon which to stand in times of troubles that our Savior will bring us through.

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: 6a, Standing Idle.

Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 6. 

We were listening to Christ telling his disciples the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.  He had previously told them how riches would hinder one from entering the kingdom.  He is teaching his disciples about a new place.  He wants them to understand that the kingdom is different from anything that they know.  It is not like what they know here on earth.  One cannot think about heaven in the same light as one would think of a place here on earth.  Heaven is a spiritual place.  It is a place of peace.  It is a place of glory, and majesty, and love.  And the human imagination has no reference to compare with.

There are rules to entering.  We entered the earth through our parents.  They brought us into the physical world.  Yet we are given spiritual life through God our Father.  He gave us life for a purpose.  He loved us enough that he wanted to share his love.  And he is merciful enough that he forgave our trespasses.  Christ tells his disciples of this parable of the laborers because he wants us to understand our part.  He wants us to know what we have to do to participate in the kingdom of heaven.  As he told his disciples:  "But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing about." 

Are we standing about with nothing to do?  Are we idle workers seeking work?  Have we been called to work in the vineyard?  What is your purpose?  What is your job?  What has the spirit given you to do in the vineyard?  Are you collecting the grapes?  Are you picking the grapes?  Are you the one that carries the grapes to the wine press?  Or are you the one that works the press to tamp out the wine?  We all have a purpose.  We all have an assignment.  We all are workers in the vineyard if we are believers.

If you believe in your heart that Christ is the son of God our Father and that he came down from heaven to sacrifice for our sins, then you are a worker.  The question is, are you working or are you idle.  Do you only work on Sundays or are you a 24/7 worker?  Do you feed the hungry when the opportunity arises or do you pass them over?  Do you lend a helping hand or do you turn the other way when a hand is needed?  Do you have the love of Christ within you or is that something that comes out only with church members?  Do you share the love that is within you with those who are down and out without hope? 

Being a worker in the vineyard only means that it is in your heart.  Being a worker in the vineyard means that the love and the spirit of Christ is within you.  Being a worker in the vineyard means that the passion that Christ has for each and every one of us, is seen in the drunk on the street, to the dope addict, to the beggar, to the thief, to the ones who has lost their way, to the prostitute.  We are all children of our Father in heaven.  He gave us life from nothing.  We did not exist.  We had no form or shape or life or purpose until that moment when he commanded that we have life. 

And here we are today, living in this physical form that we may experience the physical realm and choose who we are.  Are we the children of God our Father or are we just the physical embodiment of ourselves?  The spirit lives within.  But the physical is what we experience.  In that spirit lives the life that is given us by our Father.  In that physical body lives the spirit of who we are.  And in that body lives that light of the life that we are, waiting for that time when we transition into the glorious beings that our Father has given life to. 

The work of the spirit is within us.  The acknowledgement of the spirit is upon each of us.  The knowledge of who we are is open to each of us.  And that knowledge will open our eyes to the beings we are, transforming us to workers in the vineyard of Christ.  When the truth of who you are in Christ comes upon you, the light of life shines within you.  And your light glows from the love that comes from God our Father.  For from him, and through him, and with him we are transformed into more than just the physical.  We become the lights of the world that shine for others to see in the darkness.  Open your heart to the truth!  You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine for all to see. 

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.