St Matthew, Chapter 17, verses:1-2, The Son of God: Jesus is Transfigured.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus transfigured) Part 1.   

And now Jesus had taught them of the soul of man.  He had given them the knowledge of the value of the soul.  What would a man give to save his own soul?  What is more valuable than the soul of man?  And yet we would believe that we are just flesh and blood, skin and bones, and nothing more.  Christ wanted them to know that they were far more than the eye could see.  He wanted the disciples and the people to know that in this flesh there is something more than just the flesh.  So he had to demonstrate to the disciples the true nature of who he was and who they are.

On the seventh day he led three of his disciples up a mountain to show them his true nature.  They did not know Christ.  They did not know his true nature.  They had not seen him before he gave up his majesty and glory to become man.  They did not see him in his true glory.  But on this day they would see before them the true Son of God.  NOW after six days Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves, and was transfigured before them.  And his face shone as the sun, and his garments became as white as snow.

The Blessed Vision and the Transfiguration are reserved for the few.  Only those who are chosen will see.  Only those who are blessed will know.  Only those who can withstand the experience will understand the reason why.  For one's life will be changed.  No more will one look at the world in the same way, in the same light, with the same desires.  Jesus choose only three to witness his transfiguration.  And those three would know, would see, would experience the truth of the nature of Christ.  Would they believe?  Would they know for certain?  Would they hold on to what had been given them? 

His garments were changed.  His face was changed.  His body became like the sun.  Can we behold the sun in its full magnificence?  Can we look into the full radiance of the sun today without turning away?  What must it have been like for those three to behold the full radiance of Christ?  And what magnificence did they take away with them after witnessing this most beautiful sight.  Was it real to them?  Did they know what they beheld?  Were their hearts able to hold the truth of what they experienced?  What would you do today?  What would you say?  What would you believe if you were so privileged to have such a vision?  Would anyone believe you?  Would they think that you had lost it?  How would you rationalize it into your thinking?  

Christ gave the three disciples a glimpse into his true nature.  He allowed them to see him in his glory.  He shone in their presence and they experienced his glory.  Would that have changed them?  Would that have changed you?  Would that make a difference in your life today? Would you be the same person as you were before?  And yet he gives each and everyone of us, today, the opportunity to experience him, as the disciples did then.  Do you believe that you can?  Would you want to have that experience?  Come!  Open the door.  Seek the presence of the risen Lord.  Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  The opportunity awaits you.  Christ awaits you.  And the Holy Spirit greets you as you seek the truth.

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 16, verse 28, The Cross of Man: The Blessed Vision!

Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 6.    

Christ spoke to his disciples in no uncertain terms.  He wanted them to know the truth.  He wanted them to understand the rules.  He enlightened them on the ultimate value that they possessed and that all men possessed in their souls.  What would it profit a man to gain all there is in the world and then to loose the most valuable thing on earth.  There is nothing more valuable that a man can give other than his soul.  And this is the very thing that Satan wants to posses.  For Satan minds the things of man and the things of this world.  Christ is from the father and minds the things of God.

So Christ came to give man instructions.  Christ came to show man how to live.  Christ came to be an example.  And Christ came to be the sacrifice to satisfy the judgement placed upon man, a judgement made by God before man sinned.  And God told Adam, do not eat of the fruit in the middle of the garden least you shall die. 

And so it was that Christ knew his fate, he knew his destiny, and he knew the hardship of the road that he had taken.  He knew that his father loved him, provided for him, and would keep him in the final hour.  But death had to be overcome.  The price had to be paid before the sentence was removed.  And the disciples feared death.  The disciples knew not what lie beyond death.  So Christ told them that some would see him in his kingdom before they would pass through the doors of death.  He gave them the faith to know that he would be waiting for them on the other side of death.  He said to them: "Amen I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death, till they have seen the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

The blessed vision that some would have.  The blessed experience that some would be able to stand in both realms, heaven and earth, and live by both experiences.  To see Christ coming in his own kingdom, to have the experience of knowing that Christ lives in his glorious majesty and splendor before facing death is an experience to die for.  For who would not want to be with him in heaven?  Who would not want to taste the glory and the majesty and experience the truth of God's love in heaven?  Who, after having that experience, would want to live in this world anymore?

But Christ gave us hope.  He gave us the faith to continue to live in this realm even though we know that our home is in heaven with him.  For those who know, blessed are they in Christ.  For those who do not know, lost are they in this world.  And yet it is the knowledge and the truth of who we are in Christ that allows us to experience this life with love.  For God is love.  He did not demand, or force, or punish us to bring us into compliance with his will.  Instead he gave us free choice to choose if we wanted to live with him or live without him.  He gave man free will to decide if he wanted to have eternal life with Christ or to not have eternal life.  And this is the truth of the battle. 

God loves us so much that he created us in his image and likeness and gave us free choice.  And then Satan wants us to choose him or not to choose our heavenly Father and Christ Jesus.  Some will be blessed enough to experience the touch of God's love.  Some will be blessed enough to experience his mercy.  Some will be blessed enough to experience the truth of his wisdom and the forgiveness of his compassion for us.  And some will have the blessed vision of Christ coming in his kingdom, either in life or before death comes.  The experiences are yours, waiting for you. 

What does it take to know them?  Only your willingness to search for them, only your willingness to believe that they exist, only your desire to know that he is real and his words are truth.  Come!  Seek the treasure that is yours; know the truth of who you are in Christ.  I sought!  I found!  I believed!  And now I know!  Christ has given me a gift to give to you, a path, a trail, a tried and tested method that works.  It is all laid out for you to follow.  And I will walk with you.  Christ loves you and so do I!  The Holy Spirit awaits you and greets 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!         

St Matthew, Chapter 16, verse 27, The Cross of Man: Our Decisions!

Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 5.     
Christ continues to teach his disciples and the crowd about the value of the soul.  He told Peter, who was possessed of Satan, to get behind him.  He told the crowds to take up their crosses and to follow him.  He posed the ultimate question of the value of the soul.  And he reminded them of the day of judgement.  What do we choose?  The decision belongs to us, as humans.  Do we seek the riches of the world and give up the most valuable thing that we possess?  Or do we follow Christ and take up our cross so that we may have life eternal with him?  The choice is ours.

Christ made his choice.  He came that man would have a choice.  He came that man would have the opportunity to have life.  He came that man would no longer have the judgement of death over our heads.  For Satan had tricked Adam and Eve into thinking that they would not die if they disobeyed God and eat the forbidden fruit.  And God pronounced judgement upon man.  But the decision was theirs to make.  And so death entered into the world and mankind lost their souls and with it, eternal life.  But Christ came to satisfy the judgement and pay the penalty for man's transgressions.  Christ came that man would have life if he wanted it.  And Christ came to right the wrong brought by Satan.

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his soul?  What do we gain if we do not have life?  We gain death, eternal death.  For the day will come when all mankind will be judged and all mankind will have their decisions weighed by God.  The truth will come forth and all mankind will know the truth of their decisions.  Christ told his disciples and the crowds that the day of judgement will come.  "For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will render to everyone according to his conduct.

And so we wait.  And so we live.  And so we die, each day, having made the decisions as to how we live in this world.  We are driven by the lusts of this world and the passions that it offers us.  We live on autopilot in a world that does not offer us a choice.  Our daily lives are filled with the choices that help us to loose our souls.  We seek repentance one day of the week in our efforts to put to right all the things that we do the other 6 days of the week.  And we believe that we are happy.  We believe that we have life.  We enjoy the choices that are given to us not knowing or believing that we have a choice.

Seven days a week, 24 hours a day we have the choice to be who we are.  But that choice goes against what the world offers us.  Think what the world would be if we did not have entertainment that thrilled our hearts with sex and violence and action.  Think of what the world would be like if we did not have gossip and scandal.  Think of what the world would be like if we did not have porn and adultery and lust.  Think of what the world would be like if we did not have murder and rape and violence.  But this is not the world we live in.  And those are not the choices that we are offered.  What choices do we have?  We have the choice to be who we are.  We have the choice to become the persons that we were created to be.  We have the choice to live the life that was given us by God.  We have a choice.  The question is will we choose that choice.  

To sleep the sleep of drunkenness.  To sleep the sleep of denial.  To sleep the sleep of the choices we are offered in the world, is not to sleep but to refuse to awake.  We have the choice to know ourselves as we are known by Christ.  We have the choice of living in him daily, knowing the truth of who we are.  We have the choice of seeing ourselves, now, as we will be seen in heaven.  We have the choice of knowing the consolation of the Holy Spirit, that will be our guide, our protector, our provider here in this world.  And we have the choice of knowing that death is no obstacle for us but only a door, opening to our meeting with our Lord Jesus Christ and our father, God, our creator.  Seek the treasure that is yours in heaven and discard the worthless trinkets that are offered in this world.  The door is open.  Walk through and receive the knowledge of who you are in Christ.  The Holy Spirit awaits your coming.  Rejoice!   

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!