St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 18c, The commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 6. 

Which commandments to follow, is the question the young man asked Christ.  He wanted to know.  He wanted to have the truth from the one who was claimed to be the Messiah.  For the word had traveled throughout the land that Christ was the one.  The word spread like the plague that Christ performed miracles like no other.  The word spread that the time was come for the kingdom of heaven to appear.  And this young man wanted to know what he must do to enter into the kingdom.

The commandments were already known.  The commandments were handed to the people hundreds of years before the coming of Christ.  But were they known?  Were they accepted?  Were they upheld by the people who professed to believe in God?  Christ came that they would know.  He came that they would believe.  He came that they would see the truth of the words that were written in the testaments.  His miracles were a testament to the power of the one true God.  And his life was the sacrifice for the life of mankind.  So he told the young man to keep the commandments.  And Jesus said , "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

What is adultery?  Adultery is the sexual intercourse of persons when either is married to a third.  So Christ is telling this young man to not have sex with a married woman.  And this message carries down to each of us today.  The bond of marriage is sacred and should not be disregarded.  To break that bond by committing this act allows a third party to enter into the flesh of the marriage bond.  For two people cling to one another, male and female, and become one flesh in marriage.  To allow another to enter into that bond creates an unholy union of male, female, male union or a female, female, male union. 

Today we are given examples and reasons to create such unholy unions, fed by what we see in our entertainment, what we read, and what happens in our society.  The passion and pleasure of sex is like an addiction.  It will drive our every behavior and our every thought to find and to create the next high.  It has no limits.  It demands satisfaction.  It is a demon unto itself.  Once it is awaken with the first hit, the excitement and pleasure of an unholy union will seek to repeat itself.  And at the root of the passion is lust, the demon that draws us into its web of entanglement.  "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

Our Father has given us the pleasure of union with our partners in marriage.  Close the door of entrapment that is fed by unholy unions.  Close the door to what we see, read, and know from the world that is given to us on a daily basis.  Laugh not at the trespass of others who cross the line of passion and seek to entice us to cross over.  See not the acts of others through the entertainment of the media, for it seeks to lead us down the road of destruction through the enticements of lust and passion.  Pay not the price of disillusionment that comes from ignoring the warning signs of trespass that we see along the road of seduction. 

God is our Father.  He is our passion.  He is the pleasure beyond any pleasure that we can seek or know in the flesh.  For the knowledge of Him will fulfill all passion, overcome all lust, and transform us into the light of the spirit that is within us.  For the knowledge of who we are in Christ will open our eyes to the spirit that is within us.  And the wisdom of the spirit will enlighten us to the true path that is before us.  And the God of all creation will provide us with the love that is like no other love we have ever known.  Seek the truth of who you are!  Know the light of life within you!  Be the spirit that is within you and lust and passion and pleasure will have no hold over you!  For your passion will be in Christ and your love will be from the Father.  And your knowledge will come from the Holy Spirit that will guide you all the days of your life here on earth.

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 19, verse: 18b, The commandments: Thou shalt not kill.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 5.

The young rich man sought Christ for direction, for truth, for honesty.  He had heard the word.  He was touched by the miracles.  He felt that there was something in this man that was not in any other man.  So he traveled, he asked directions, he followed the signs until he came to the place where he was in the presence of Jesus Christ.  Looking back, how wonderful must that moment have been.  Looking back, how exciting must that time have been.  Looking back how joyous and enlightening must that moment have been to be in the presence of the Son of God.

Christ came down from heaven to be with us.  He came down from heaven to walk with us, to talk with us, to see us in the flesh.  He gave up his majesty, his glory, his crown, to take on a lowly position in the form of a man.  He came down from heaven to teach us, to show us, to give to us, to die for us that we might regain the life that was given to us from the beginning.  And the rich young man asked him what must he do to attain heaven.  Christ told him to keep the commandments.  But this was not the answer that the young man wanted to hear.  He asked which ones to keep.  And Jesus said, "Thou shalt not kill."

Which ones shall we keep today?  Shall we kill or shall we keep the commandment?  Shall we walk down that path that will lead us to kill?  Shall we face the anger and the rage that swells up within us when we feel wronged.  Shall we allow this anger and rage to lead us down this path?  Shall we face the anger and resentment that may cause us to consider this action?  Or shall we, in the fit of rage and passion, act without thought to commit such a deed?  We live in a world of passion.  We breathe the desires and wants of what the world has to offer and it is with those passions and desires and wants that we are guided.  Are we beings of passion, beings without thought or direction, beings without a soul?  Or are we led by the spirit of the one who created us, the one who gave us life.  Shall we follow the commandments he has given us?

What would lead us to kill?  What would guide us down the road of allowing ourselves to consider the thoughts of committing such an act?  Are we open to the suggestions of ourselves or are we influenced by other means.  Passions are strong.  Passions will lead, pull, drag us in a direction that we may not want to go, or they may speed us in the direction that we want.  It depends on the influence.  Do we have an influence of darkness or do we have an influence of the light of life given us by the sacrifice of Christ through God our Father.  Death is but a door.  The door swings in two directions.  One direction leads us to the glory of God our Father.  The other direction leads us to the death and destruction of the life that is within us and away from the joy of the Father.  Which path will you take?  Keep the commandments.  "Thou shalt not kill."

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 19, verse: 18a, Which commnadments to keep.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 4.

The rich young man approached Christ and asked the question that we all ask.  What must I do to attain heaven?  Christ told him to keep the commandments.  Is it just that simple?  Is it just that easy to attain heaven?  Keep the commandments.  So as we review the commandments handed down to Moses and the Jews of Israel, what must we do today.

Today is different from the time when Moses lived.  Today is different when the Jews lived.  Today people live in cities, drive cars, watch TV, work in office buildings, go to schools, and do all sorts of things that are completely different from the time when Christ walked the earth.  How do we apply them today?  How do we keep the commandments today when times are so different?  The rich young man was puzzled by Christ's reply.  He did not know what commandments to keep.  So, He said to him, “Which?”

Of all ten commandments the young man asked, which ones should he keep.  And our question today is the same.  Do we keep all the commandments or do we observe some of them? Our society has rules.  Our families have rules.  Our jobs have rules and regulations that we follow in our daily routines.  Do we follow these rules or do we seek to find shortcuts around those rules that will benefit us more than they will benefit others?  Do we lie?  Do we cheat?  Do we lust?  Do we bear false witness?  Do we honor our fathers and mothers?  Do we hate or do we love our brothers and sisters?  Do we love all mankind or are we selective in who we care about and love?  These are some of the problems that present themselves to us on a daily basis.  It is how we respond to them that speak to what is in our hearts and minds.

We are born and breed in a society that teaches us how to survive.  That survival may mean stealing or taking what we want and desire or it may mean that we are given the tools needed to provide for ourselves adequately.  But as we look around in our environment we are faced with all that the world has to offer.  And if we do not conform to the way of the world then we do not have the opportunities to experience what the world offers.  We are left out.  We are denied.  We become outsiders looking in on what others have that we do not.  Is this what we want?  Do we want what the world offers?  Or does our Father in heaven offer more?  

Our desires and passions motivates us to conform.  Our desires and passions tell us that we must find a way to have all that our hearts desire.  And as we follow that path of our passions we toss out the guidelines given us by our heavenly Father as to how we should live.  We throughout the love that is a part of our spiritual nature and replace it with the desires of the world.  And we forget.  We compromise.  We adapt.  We change and rationalize that which is in our hearts for that which is in the world.  Slowly we move along the path of the world and get farther from the path of that which is of the spirit.  And finally we are so far down the road of the world that we forget who we are and fall asleep in the realm of the desires and passions of the world.

Which commandments do we keep?  Christ came that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  He gave of his own life to pay the price so that we could have our life.  And we give our lives to the world.  We turn away from the spirit that is within us and turn to the darkness that is in the world.  Keeping the commandments is keeping the life that is within us.  Keeping the commandments is maintaining the love that Christ has for us.  Keeping the commandments is holding onto the love that our Father has for us and the protection that he provides.  If we only knew.  If we only understood.  If we only allow ourselves to see the truth of who we are then we would not decide to fill our hearts with the passions and desires of the world. 

Our Father loves us.  We are his children and he is our Father who will provide and protect us.  And death is but a door that opens to the joys and happiness that is ours through Christ.  Or, it can open to the pain and sorrow of what life offers without our Father.  The choice is ours to make.  Seek to know the truth before making the decision.  Seek to find out who you are in Christ before traveling down the road of passion and desire for the world.  For great are the treasures that are sacrificed.  Great are the joys that are lost.  Great is the happiness that is forsaken without him that is the source of all happiness.  Come!  Seek to know the truth of who you are in Christ and you too will find peace, joy, and happiness that is everlasting.

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.