St Matthew, Chapter 18, verse: 9, Occasions of sin for the Eye .

Our paragraph topic is:  (Avoiding scandal) Part 6.   

Drastic as it may sound, Christ continues to warn his disciples of the dangers of occasions to sin through the parts of the body.  The eye is the key to the soul and if it leads to sin then Christ says that it should be plucked out and cast away.  The vision to plucking an eye out is very hard to imagine.  Plucking an eye out compared to being cast into the hell-fire is not imaginable since we have no real comparison to the hell-fire.  But Christ knows and he warns his disciples so.  He warns the people of the same.

And the occasions of sin of the eye are the causes of scandal.  The people heard his words.  The disciples heard his words and how drastic or bad, or unbelievable they did sound.  Yet they were spoken from the mouth of Christ, the mouth of the Messiah.  For one must imagine the loss of an eye as compared to the hell-fire.  And if the plucking of an eye is bad then the hell-fire must be ten times worse.  Control the eyes.  Let them not lead to sin.  Let them not stray.  Let them not be controlled by evil such that one commits sin as a result of what one sees.  For the words were spoken.  And the words were written.  And Christ told us:  And if thy eye is an occasion of sin to thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee!  It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell-fire.    

It all starts with what we see.  For through the eyes and into the mind and settling in the heart begins the passion of our desires.  For we desire earthly things.  We desire cars and houses and clothes and women and money and power and all manner of earthly things that become ingrained in our minds and desirous of our hearts.  We are fed these desires on a daily basis.  And it is through these desires that we make plans.  It is through these desires we scheme.  It is through these desires that we take actions that lead us down the road to the commission of sins.  And through the commission of those sins, our hearts turn black and we become instruments of evil.

Guard what the eye sees.  Reject the desires of the mind.  Fill the heart not with the desires of the world but with the love that Christ has given us.  For it is through his love, through his passion, through his desire for man to live eternity with him and the father that we find our freedom from sin.  We are heavenly beings created in the image and likeness of our father.  Creatures of light and not of darkness.  But evil would have us live in ignorance.  Evil would have us destroy our likeness and assume its likeness.  We are not evil.  We are not of the darkness.  We are children of light.  

Come!  See the light that is within you.  Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Seek the knowledge that will provide freedom from the desires of the world and your father will provide for you.  Your father will protect you.  Your father will strengthen you to walk in his goodness.  For Christ came that we may have life.  He restored us to new life.  He provides us with the opportunity to live a life of eternity in heaven, if we choose.  But without choosing we live in darkness.  Without the knowledge of who we are we are asleep.  Without the truth of the light of the Holy Spirit we live in darkness.  Open the door and let him in.  Seek the light that Christ has given you and you too will know the true self that is within you.  Christ loves you.  God the Father adores you.  The Holy Spirit awaits you.  Let him in.

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 18, verse: 8, Occasions to Sin for the hand or foot.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Avoiding scandal) Part 5.

Christ continues to instruct his disciples about scandal and sin in the world.  He has given them the truth concerning the misleading of the little ones and the punishment that one will suffer.  He has instructed them on the causes of scandal and the wrath that will come upon one who brings forth scandal.  Now he tells them about occasions to sin.  He tells them about the eyes and the hands and the feet, if they lead one to sin.

It is far better to cut off those parts if they are occasions to sin.  If the feet lead one in the direction that causes one to sin then cut them off.  If the hands lead one to pick up sin then cut it off.  If the eye is the sight of sin then pluck it out.  For it is far better to not have these parts of the body that will lead us to sin than to enter into the fire of hell with them.  He tells them:  And if thy hand or thy foot is an occasion of sin to thee, cut it off and cast it from thee!  It is better for thee to enter life maimed or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.

How drastic these statements seem.  Who would dream of cutting off their hands or their feet?  Who would consider self mutilation?  How destructive is the occasion to sin that it could compare to such drastic measures?  What Christ is telling us is that the everlasting fires of hell are even more destructive than the actions that he suggests.  If thy hand or thy foot is an occasion of sin to thee then it is better to separate oneself from them in life.  Can one imagine such an occasion where the hand or the foot is totally out of the control of the rest of the body? Can one imagine where the hand or the foot does not yield to the control of the mind?  Can one imagine such an occasion where the hand or the foot leads one to sin despite all efforts to not sin?  Such is the possession of evil.  Evil in the would have us kill or steal or be controlled by parts of the body to commit sin.

Cast it from thee!  Throw it away!  Get rid of it if it causes you to sin continuously.  Compulsions!, Passions!, Strong desires!, drive us to do things that we otherwise would not do.  Lust clouds the mind.  Anger blinds the judgment.  Jealousy, revenge, rage causes us to see red and drives to the final conclusion of those desires without consideration of the consequences.  All these are the keys that open the door to evil that will posses us and lead us to sin.  Patience, love, repentance, forgiveness, all allow us to close the door to sin and return to the knowledge of who we are in Christ.  

We are the children of a loving God.  Our father does not want us to perish in the everlasting fire.  So he gives us these warnings to help us understand the seriousness of the sins we commit.  And he provides us a way out that we may find forgiveness and repent against the actions that we committed.  But far greater than all this is the opportunity to share in the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit so that we may fully understand who we are. 

For Christ gave us life.  He restored the life that is within us.  And he has given us an opportunity to understand who we are, to understand ourselves as we will be known in heaven, outside of the flesh that we occupy.  We are spiritual beings in a physical shell.  And it is through the spirit that we can come to know our true nature. 

Come!  See the light that is within you and know the spirit that you are.  Shake off the shackles of the flesh.  When you know the truth of who you are in Christ you began a journey of discovery that comes from and through the Holy Spirit.  Open the door!  Let him in!  Seek his presence and you will know the truth.  Christ sacrificed his life that you may have yours.  See the true light that is yours.  Follow the path that is before you and discover the other side of the physical realm.  Christ awaits you.  The Holy Spirit is welcomes you.  The Father adores you because you are his own.

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 18, verse: 7b, Woe to the originator of Scandals.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Avoiding scandal) Part 4. 

Scandals, are an evil in the fabric of mankind.  Scandals, are an opening into the heart and soul of man.  Scandals, are a thing that once spoken and breathed, takes on its own life.  Christ warns of these things.  He speaks to his disciples telling them to beware.  For Scandal will come.  Scandal will take on its own life.   Scandals will spread like a plague, a disease in the minds and hearts of men.  It is spread by word of mouth.  It will consume.  It will destroy.  And when it has fulfilled it's purpose it will die.

Christ tells his disciples that the world will suffer because of scandals.  He warns them of the impending doom brought on by it.  And he tells them that it is a necessary evil.  Scandals must needs be.  But scandals only come through men.  They only have life and take form through the thoughts and minds of the men and women that allow it to be created, allow it to have life in their minds and hearts.  Christ warns his disciples against scandals.  He tells them:  "For it must needs be that scandals come, but woe to the man through whom scandal does come!"

Woe to the man or woman through which it comes.  Beware, Christ tells us, that we are not the messengers of scandal.  For the punishment is great, the wrath is everlasting, and the justice of God will come to those who open the door to scandals.  Pride, envy, revenge, self-interest are all the causes that open the door to scandal.  For it is these evils that invade the heart and pollute the mind to bring forth scandals that destroy mankind.  For scandal is now commonplace in our society.  We have engines of scandal, tools that we can use to promote scandals, TV shows, news broadcasts that excite and tell us about the latest scandals, and talk show hosts that help us to laugh and joke about the scandals that are in our daily lives.  All these opportunities allow us to practice the basest of behaviors easily and readily without even leaving our homes or bedside. 

We are children of God created in his image and likeness, children of light.  Christ gave up his majesty and royalty to become man that we could be redeemed from death and given new life.  It is with gladness and hope and joy that we should be rejoicing in the new life that is available to us and the gifts that our father has prepared for us in heaven.  Why then, do we need to pride ourselves in the meaningless travails that the world has to offer.  Why then, do we need to be jealous and envious of what others have?   Why then do we need to spread lies and rumors and gossip about the affairs of others that we may profit ourselves through the pain and suffering of others.  The creator of the universe has already given us far greater gifts that fulfill our deepest desires and passions?  We seek to fill the holes within us when we practice such behaviors without realizing that evil has crept into our hearts and polluted our minds.  Christ has given us the keys to fulfilled our lives for eternity. 

It is with those keys that we can open the door to eternal life and welcome the truth of life into our hearts.  The Holy Spirit is given to us freely if we only believe and seek it.  The light of life will come to us if we only desire to know the truth of who we are.  The love of God will overwhelm us if we only ask to know his boundless love.  Our father is alive and wants his children to know who he is.  He wants to protect us.  He wants to provide for us.  He wants to love us, if we let him.  The choice is yours.  Awake from the sleep of the world and become alive with the truth of who you are in Christ.  Follow the path before you.  Open the door to the Holy Spirit.  Live the life that you are meant to live for eternity, both here on earth and in heaven. 

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.