St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 33a; It is Near.

 Our paragraph topic is:  (Jerusalem's impending destruction) Part 4.  

Look around you!  Christ was telling the people of his time.  Be mindful of your surroundings!  Do not be caught up in the day to day happenings of your life, forgetting who you are.  These are the words that he gave to them to make them aware of what they should know, what they should see, what they should expect other then what was in their day to day lives.  

They must open their minds and their hearts to more than what they see and do on a daily basis so that when the end is near they will be able to perceive its coming.  Each member of their community should be able to make themselves aware of what is happening and support others with their knowledge.  It will not be easy because there will be disbelievers that will want to discredit them.  There will be nay sayers who will want to make them out as fools.  Christ gave them the words to support ehir belief, to strenghten them in their actions.

He told them:  "When its branch is now tender, and the leaves break forth, you know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see all these things, know that it is near."   

What message is this for us today?  Can we learn from what was spoken some two thousand years in the past?  Can we pay attention to these words today and make some meaning of them?  We are about pleasure, about living for today, about having fun and enjoying life as we know it.  Everything that we see tells us to be happy and to want what life has to offer.  Pay attention to today or be left behind in the fast pase changing world.  Here today and gone tomorrow.  We have to keep up to know what is going on and we don't have time to be aware of the trees and the branches.

And yet that is precisely what is in our nature, part of our being.  Our being, our spirit, our life itself requires that we stop and take note of the trees, of the birds, of the growing grass.  It requires that we commune with nature and bring ourselves back to the singular person that we are, less we loose ourselves in the quiremire of the world.  And that is the message of Christ.  If we do not listen.  If we do not pay attention, the impending destruction will overtake us.

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 24, verse: 32b; The leaves of the fig tree.

 Our paragraph topic is:  (Jerusalem's impending destruction) Part 3. 

In those times people lived in small villages and farming was the main economic way of life.  They raised cattle, sheep, goats, chicken.  They grew grops and farmed grapes, olives, dates, and figs.  So Christ spoke to them through terms that they were familiar: fig trees.  He gave them a message that they could understand and heed its meaning.  That was two tousdand years ago.  What can we take from his words today.

Today most people do not live on farms but in large cities.  They do not raise cattle and grow crops for a living.  Today people have a total different way of living.  We have busses and cars and trains and plains for transportation.  We buy food at the local food store.  We go out to eat at restaurants to entertain ourselves to enjoy a meal away from home.  And we entertain ourselves with various forms of pleasure from digital to live shows and group events like baseball or basketball or some other form of group event.  Life is completely different today from the time of Christ.  How then can we take meaning from his words:  "When the leaves break forth you know that summer is near."  

The leaves fall from the trees and we know that winter and cold weather is coming.  The leaves return on trees and that tells us that soon warm weather is coming.  These two things we can relate.  But Christ in this paragraph was saying more than just speaking of  trees and leaves.  He was giving the people a sign, information to beware.  He had told them of the last days and the signs to look for.  Now he is saying beware, if you see any of those signs then you know what is about to happen.

The signs are a message for us also, that we need to look for in our daily lives.  As he said before if the owner knew that he would be robbed he would have made preparations to defend himself against attack.  We also must be prepared to protect ourselves and stay on guard against the coming of the end days for we know not when they may come.  Stay vigilent, stay prayerful, continue in the faith of Christ Jesus and the grace of God our Father.

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 24, verse: 32b; When the branch is now tender.

Our paragraph topic is:(Jerusalem's impending destruction) Part 2. 

And now comes the parable of the fig tree, the one that Christ wants us to learn for our safety, for our protection, before the impending doom.  He has given the signs to look for,  all the destruction that will happen during the last days.  Now he tells us what we can look for as a precurser.  Learn this sign.  Let the fig tree be your example of what to look for in the coming future.

He says: "When its branch is now tender."  This is a sign of the coming spring for the fig tree.  Even so when you see all the signs of the coming rapture know that the end days are near.  Do not be fooled.  Do not be ignorant of what is forthcoming.  For the signs are real and tells the truth of the impending doom, no matter what others may say or believe.  The media may proclaim a different theory.  Science may show another belief.  But Christ  has given us the truth of what is to be and what is to come.

We are children of his creation, bought by his sacrifice on the cross.  Given new life from death, by our faith and belief in him and the Father who sent him.  The Holy Spirit proclaims us and marks us with its light of life.  We are saved.  Thanks be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit that we exist today and forever.

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.