St. Matthew, Chapter 20, verse:22b, The Cup.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mother of James and John) Part 6. 

Often times when we come to our Father asking for something we do not have a complete  understanding of what we are doing.  We ask with the understanding that we want what we are asking.  We ask with the understanding that we are worthy of asking.  We ask with the understanding that we will get what we are asking for.  And we ask with the understanding that we will get what we are asking for right now or in the near future, according to our timetable.  It is oftentimes that we learn that our timetable does not matter and that can be frustrating or disappointing.  We must learn patience in order to see that our Father has granted us what we asked for.

It is in the misunderstanding that we get confused.  We do not know the consequences of our actions.  Our Father knows all.  He knows when and how we will get what we ask.  He knows the consequences of giving us what we want.  And he knows what is the desire of our hearts instead of desires of our request.  It is in that knowing, and in that seeing that we are lacking.  He is our Father.  It was in that same unknowing and unseeing that the mother of James and John asked for her sons to sit at the right and left hand of Christ.  They did not know what they were asking.  They only desired to be seated with power and recognition.  They did not understand that there were requirements to obtain such a seat.  This is why Christ asked them:  "Can you drink of the cup of which I am about to drink?" 

They wanted power and recognition but did not know the consequences of what they were asking.  They did not understand what was required of them.  They did not know what they would have to suffer, what they would have to endure, what they would have to battle to be with him.  For surely they would have to battle the forces of evil.  Surely they would have to endure the constant pressure of those who were evildoers.  Surely they would have to suffer the torture at the hands of evil to become like Christ.  But did they understand the cup of suffering they would have to endure?  Did they truly know what they were asking?

One does not suffer in vain.  One does not endure the hardships, the pain, the slings and arrows of oppression without a cause to carry them through.  And that cause must be justified enough to transform the person into something better, something more wonderful, more lasting, more beautiful than what they had before.  For without the cause one suffers in vain.  Without the cause one only endures to a point and then gives up.  But with the cause one is transformed in the person that will endure to the end.  Christ was the cause.  He was the be all and end all that allowed the apostles to be transformed into persons that gave all.

Can we drink from the same cup that he did?  Can we become transformed into new beings that are willing to suffer to the end?  Or are we just those persons that will only go so far and give up without enduring all?  Christ gave his all.  Can we give our all?  What cause do we have that will transform us into new persons that will allow us to give our all to him?  We live in a world that is consumed with self.  We are given to be wholly in this world.  Yet we are not from this world.  We are children of our Father and he gave us the life that we have today, true life, eternal life.  And the knowledge and wisdom of the understanding of the life that is given us is the transforming factor that makes us who we are, not of this world but of a heavenly kingdom.  Do you belong?  Are you of the heavenly kingdom?  Are you transformed?  Then yours is the cup to drink along with all your brothers and sisters.

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: 13b, Rebuked by the disciples.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus blesses the children) Part 2.

The children were playing near, where Jesus was resting.  And he watched them play.  The parents and guardians wanted them to meet Jesus.  So they proceeded to bring them to him that he might lay hands and bless them.  The children did not know who he was.  They did not know that he was the chosen one, the Messiah.  They only knew that he was someone special, someone that their parents respected and honored.  So they played as all children do.

But the disciples did not want that he should be troubled.  They did not want to bother him because they knew that he had other things to consider, other things to think about, other serious problems to consider.  For Christ was a mystery.  He was their teacher.  He was their leader.  He was the miracle worker and they did not know what he would do or say next.  So they did not want the children to disturb him.  "But the disciples rebuked them."

The little children were rejected.  They were set aside.  They were of no concern that they should interfere with the master.  How often is this true today?  The children are sent outside.  They are sent to their rooms.  They should not be in the presence of honored guest.  They are silly.  They are immature.  They are childish.  And yet it is this feature that makes them so adorable, so loving, and so much like we ought to be.  For we have a father.  We have a guardian.  We have a protector who watches over us that we should not worry.  But we cannot be children.

We are adults.  We are mature.  We have responsibilities.  We are the protector, the provider, the caretakers of our families.  And we are the ones who must be watchful and not playful.  So we rebuke the children and those that are childlike.  We rebuke their innocence.  We rebuke the playfulness.  We rebuke the unselfish love that they exhibit.  For this is something that we cannot do, something that we cannot afford to have,  something that is beyond our reach.  And yet it is our example.

Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings peace.  Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings joy and happiness.  Knowledge of who you are in Christ brings love.  For with knowledge we are able to see ourselves as we are, not as we want to be.  With his knowledge we become children.  And as children we are able to recognize who is our Father.  Christ gave us life.  He gave us hope.  He gave us love.  He gave us peace.  It is only through him that one is able to know the eternal nature of his being.  And through his eternal spiritual nature our physical life looses all meaning.  It is only through this knowledge that spiritual life comes into focus and the desire to be with the one who completes all our desires, becomes our passion.  His love is all.  His love is complete.  His love is everlasting.  When will you come to know his love?  When will you become a child of God?

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: 11, To whom it has been given.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Continence preferred to marriage) Part 2. 

Why should we marry to simply end up in divorce or separation?  Do we believe in bonding?  Do we have faith that it will work?  Or is this just another modern day interpretation that allows us to do what we want with our partners.  Christ gave his disciples the principles upon which the Father created man and woman.  He created them male and female.  He created them so that they would cleave to one another for a purpose, for a cause.  But that cause, that purpose, was changed due to the hardened hearts of men and the influence of evil in the world.

For evil would seek to change what God created.  Evil seeks to turn man around.  Evil seeks to have man worship it and to have man do its will.  So evil influenced man to change the purpose of God, to have them cleave to one another.  Evil seeks to have man and woman cleave to one another simply for the passion, for the pleasure, and not for a cause.  And when the passion and the pleasure is over, evil seeks to tear them apart, to bring about hatred, fear, distrust, doubt, anger, and all manner of discord that turns man against the God  that created him.  Christ told his disciples:  And he said, "Not all can accept this teaching; but those to whom it has been given. 

To those to whom it has been given!  Are you one?  Are you one of the persons to whom this teaching of marriage has been given?  Do you believe in God's purpose?  Do you believe hat he created us male and female that we should cleave to one another for life?  For he has a purpose.  He has a goal.  He has a reason and he who created the universe has a better reason than any other person on earth.  But more than anything else do you and your partner have the faith to know that your example of togetherness will shine before the eyes of God and the world?

For he told us through the teachings of Christ that separation and remarriage for any other reason other than immorality, is adultery.  And marriage to another that has been put away is also adultery.  So who can accept this teaching?  Who is worthy to receive this teaching?  The acceptance is not one sided but requires the knowledge and belief of both parties, male and female.  Are you the one that it has been given?  Are you and your partner the chosen ones?

Will you follow the will of God and keep his purpose, keep his goal?  It is only through the knowledge of who we are in this world, that we can come to accept the will of God our Father.  For he gave us life through Christ Jesus.  He allowed us to be born again.  His mercy and his love for his children is overwhelming.  He forgives us our trespasses.  He protects us from evil.  He gives us our daily bread.  All this, if we let him.  If we open our hearts to his love he will come and demonstrate miracles before our eyes that will amaze us of his power and majesty.  For He is the power and the glory for ever and ever, amen.  Are you the chosen, the one to whom it has been given?

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: 10, Expediency of Marriage.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Continence preferred to marriage) Part 1.

Christ raised the question of adultery and immorality to his disciples and they were puzzled.  They did not understand this teaching.  According to their backgrounds and their teachings from the community, a man was given to a woman and a woman given to a man.  They were bound together by law.  And the law had allowed for separation, the law had allowed for putting away of a wife or husband.  But Christ told them that this is not the case from the Father.

For the Father created them male and female that they would cleave to one another.  The Father created them that they would leave their fathers and mothers and bind with one another, male and female.  He did not intend that they would separate.  He did not intend that they would divorce.  Christ told his disciples that divorce for any cause and marriage to another is adultery.  He told them that the only way that a divorce could take place is through the
immorality of one of the partners.  And also to marry one who has been put away is committing adultery.  They found this unbelievable.  They questioned that if this is the case then why should one even marry.  His disciples said to him, "If the case of a man with his wife is so, it is not expedient to marry."

They saw this teaching as extreme.  They saw this as harsh.  They did not understand what they were to do if this is the teaching, the commandment, the rule by which they were to live.  Only through immorality is one able to put away his wife or husband.  Otherwise they are bound together as one, not to separate or not to divorce.  One has to ask why then should one marry?  One has to ask why then: "Why then should one fall in love?"  One has to ask why then: "Why should one consider bonding for life, if there is no opening for separation, no relief for mistakes, no escape from the commitment of marriage?"

Why is it that we are compelled to bond, compelled to desire the company of that other person, compelled to want to spend our every waking hour with the person that makes us complete in some way?  We come together with a desire to love.  We are drawn to one another out of a physical and emotional passion.  We have a need to belong, a need to not be alone in the world.  And marriage gives us that bonding opportunity which says that I am committing myself to this one person and no other.  Yet we are different people.  We are different personalities, with different desires, different beliefs, different habits, mannerisms, quirks, patterns, and every sort of unique behavior that distinguishes us from everyone else.   

We have been given that what is unique about ourselves is withheld and not revealed.  For one does not truly know another until one has lived with another.  It is only through the intimate living experience that one comes to know another person.  And it is through that same living experience that the eyes are open to all that is the other person we have chosen to spend our lives with.  So in that transition from the point where we have a complete desire to spend every waking hour with our partners, to that point where we have a complete understanding of our partners, we obtain a conscientious awareness of the truth of our relationship.  And one day we wake up and see the person next to us as they truly are.  It is in that day that we come to understand the true meaning of the commitment we have made.

But is it the commitment we have made to ourselves or the commitment we have made to our Father.  For he made us this way.  He made us to come together.  He made us that we would cleave to one another, becoming one flesh.  And he made us that we would not be the perfect relationship.  Can we find perfection in that imperfect relationship?  Can we find commitment in that imperfect relationship?  Can we find the true meaning of love in that imperfect relationship?  The world does not want us to understand commitment, to understand perfection, to understand love.  The world tells us that all is lost and we should abandon that relationship.  The world tells us that we are hurt and we should strike back.  The world tells us that we cannot stay together, that we should seek another partner, that we should separate.  The world gives us all manner of external relationships that will solve our commitment problems.  And it is the world outside that will tell us what we are on the inside.  It is the world that seeks to define us as physical and not spiritual beings.

If we are committed to the cause, we can succeed.  If we are bound by His love, we can know love.  If we are understanding of His truths, we can know the truth of who we are.  If we seek to know him in His goodness and His mercy then we can come to know true commitment.  If we open our hearts and understand the truth of who we are, both male and female, our commitment can become a blessing and not a burden.  For through Him and with Him and in Him we become one with Him.  And He, who is one with the Father, becomes one with us.  It is through that oneness that we come to know the cause, the purpose and the mission of our physical lives here on earth.  Christ came that we: past, present, and future, would have life.  And it is our cause, in the present, that brings forth the life of the future that is to come.  Let us then, come to know our purpose, our true spiritual passion, and our cause that we may continue to be one with Him who created 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 19, verse: 5, One Flesh

Our paragraph topic is:  (The question of divorce) Part 3. 

The Creator had a plan.  The Creator had a purpose.  The Creator gave them life and called them male and female.  And they were made for each other and not against each other.  So why do we have divorce?  Why do we have separation?  Why do we not live together as The Creator meant for us to be from the beginning?  Have you not read it?  Have you not heard it?  Have you not believed in it?

He was the one who gave marriage to us.  He was the one who first instituted bonding.  He was the one who made us male and female that we should be together for a purpose.  But today we live not for his purpose but for our own purpose.  And if our own purpose does not work then we divorce, we separate, we get a legal and judicial breaking apart contrary to what we were created for.  Yet he created us for one purpose, male and female.  "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?"

One flesh!  One body!  One mind!  Two spirits!  But we do not know who we are.  We do not know the spirit within.  We have no knowledge of what The Creator made.  So we only know the flesh.  We only know what we see, feel, taste, and smell.  And it is in that physical knowledge that we are trapped.  For we reside in the knowing of the mind and not of the spirit.  We believe in the physical and not the spiritual.   

Taught from childhood, reinforced throughout life, we know the physical.  We are given the desires of the flesh, the aspirations of the world, the beliefs, desires, dreams, and passions of the physical with no knowledge of the spiritual being that we are.  We are loosed into the world to struggle with the tricks and traps of evil.  For evil seeks to kill us.  Evil seeks to possess us.  Evil seeks to have us do evil.  We become evildoers and do the bidding of evil. 

Father, hold my hand and don't let go.  Father, Hold the hands of all your children and keep them from evil.  For we are lost.  We are asleep.  We are without the knowledge that opens our minds, our ears, and our hearts that you may heal us.  We are in the world and the world is around us.  We know not.  We hear the Word but it is stolen from us.  It is choked before it can bear fruit.  It is given to us but we have no roots for it to take hold.  And we become lost. 

Help us to know you, Father, that we may know ourselves.  For you are our source, our life, our joy, our happiness, our fulfillment.  We are male and female.  Help us to know your purpose that we may fulfill your will. 

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: 3, Divorce for any cause.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The question of divorce) Part 1.

The son of our Father, God of all creation, came to earth, to the physical realm, to live among us.  He came with a purpose.  He came with a mission, sent by the Father.  Preach the coming of the kingdom of heaven, was his mission.  Be with the people.  Show the compassion of the Father.  Bring hope, encourage faith, help them to believe.  Demonstrate the mercy and bring praise and glory to God Almighty.  And he traveled to Judea, where great crowds followed, and he cured all there.

Even in the majesty of the Father, there were those who conspired in the darkness.  Fearful of the coming of the kingdom, seeking a way to forestall, a way to cancel, they sought to lay tricks and traps for Christ.  So they came to him with all manner of questions.  And there came to him some Pharisees testing him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for any cause?"

Can we do as we please and divorce and remarry whenever we want?  Can we divorce for any cause?  We live in a society that tells us so.  We live in a society where this is allowed.  We live in a world where we see those joined by holy matrimony, breakup, separate, and divorce.  It is so common in our world that it is even the latest talk, the latest scandal, the latest news to follow.  Is it lawful?  Is it legal?  The Pharisees wanted to know or did they?

They came to Christ with this question, seeking an answer.  We live in a world where the answer is given to us daily.  Can we believe?  Can we do the same?  Is it legal?  Is it right?  Is it according to God's law, the law that created the universe with a purpose?  Do we really want to know?  Will this make a difference in our world, in our minds, in our hearts?

Christ came that we may have life.  He came that what was lost would be restored.  He came to be the payment for the penalty that was placed upon mankind.  And he paid the price.  Do we believe in his sacrifice?  Do we believe in his purpose?  Do we know the truth of who we are in him?  Knowledge means an awakening.  Knowledge means a separation.  Knowledge means a change from darkness to light.  Come!  Know the truth and open the eye of the heart that you will see the truth of who you are in him.

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, verses: 1-2, Great crowds followed.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ travels to Judea). 

Christ finished his sermon to his disciples and to the people and moved on.  He left Capharnaum and entered the district of Judea.  He was on a mission, the mission of his father, to preach the coming of the kingdom of heaven.  For the kingdom of heaven was open to all.  It was open to those who heard the word.  It was open to those near and to those far away.  For they heard of the miracles.  They heard of the teachings.  They heard and they came to see for themselves.  They came to know.  They came to believe.

There was a hunger in the land.  There was a yearning.  There was a void that was not being fulfilled in the people.  And Christ came.  He came to save.  He came to take back.  He came to give new life.  He came to be the sacrifice, the propitiation for the sins of man.  And the people came to hear, to see, to know, to believe.  AND it came to pass when Jesus had brought these words to a close, that he departed from Galilee and came to the district of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great crowds followed him, and he cured them there. 

It was a time for new beginnings.  It was an exciting time.  It was a time for joy, a time for happiness, even though there was much pain and torment in the land.  John the Baptist opened the door and spoke of the coming of the Messiah.  Some believed.  Some did not believe.  Some were excited.  Some were fearful.  Many were worried that the change would mean destruction for them.  And yet it was time.  It was the place.  It was the now that took over the land.  And there was news in the air.

Many had read about the coming.  Many believed that it was upon them.  Many saw the miracles.  And many eyes were opened, ears heard, and many believed.  He cured them all.  He made them whole.  He brought forth the light into the darkness and opened a door for those who had waited for so long for his coming.  Christ was the beginning and he was the end of what had taken place in the past.  He was a slice in time that denoted a break.  Will we have the same?  Will we have a break?  Will we be able to see, to hear the word, to know the truth, to believe?

The time is upon us.  The thief is lurking in the dark, surveying your house, to see when he may enter and take.  For he wants your most precious possession.  He wants to take away your light.  He wants to take away your life.  He wants to leave you in darkness and despair.  Be aware.  Awake from your sleep and be on your guard.  Sleep not.  Put on your armor and be on guard.  It is easy to be on the fence, half believing and just going through the motions.  The truth opens the heart and allows one to see, to know without doubt.  And with the truth one can live truly in Christ, without conflict.

Come!  Follow what is in your heart.  Seek the truth of who you are in Christ and you will know.  There will be no doubt.  There will be no fear.  There will be no lust.  There will be no desire to go astray.  For the truth opens the eye and allows one to see the light within, the light of life given by Christ Jesus.  Know your light and let nothing take your life from you.  For your light was given to you by your Father in heaven through Christ Jesus.  He loves you.  He will care for you.  He will protect you.  And he will bring you home to be with him for all eternity.

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, verses: 35: Forgive from the heart!

Our paragraph topic is:  (The servant's fate) Part 4. 

Pay the torturer.  Christ told his disciples the parable of the settlement of accounts to give them a reference in real life they could understand.  He wanted them to have a complete grasp of the principle of forgiveness.  He wanted them to know the good and bad part of forgiving.  For the Father has forgiven them their transgressions because of his compassion.  Why should they not forgive their brothers and sisters their transgressions since they are forgiven?  Or they could exact vengeance and pay the torturer his due for not forgiving.

This was an important principle for his disciples and for us today.  For we are given from birth that no one should wrongs us.  We are given that we should fight back.  We are given and taught that we should exact our vengeance upon those who wrong us.  We see this daily, in the news, on the TV, in the movies, and we live it in our society .  Yet Christ came along and said that we should forgive those who wrong us.  This is not an easy concept to grasp, not an easy principle to put into practice.  We feel wronged.  We feel vengeance.  We feel compelled to exact revenge.  And Christ tells us that we must let go of those feelings and forgive from the heart.  "So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if you do not each forgive your brothers from your hearts."

What shall we do in the heat of the moment?  Shall we retaliate?  Shall we respond as we feel?  Do we stop and think about what happened?  Or do we think about all the transgressions that we are responsible for against our Father.  How did he respond?  Did he retaliate?  Did he exact vengeance?  Or did he forgive us with love?  We are children of God, created in his image and likeness.  We were not born of darkness.  We came from the tree of life, given physical form that we may live in the physical realm.  Our task on this earth is determined by the understanding of who we are.

Are we alive in the world?  Are we fully committed to living life, being successful, having all that this life has to offer.  Or are we partially committed, wanting all that we see and know but not having the opportunity to gain that which is in front of us?  Are we not committed, angry, willing to take all, by any means, to make us feel what we believe is our right to have?  Our physical desires hide the truth of the spiritual being that we are.  Our passions blind us to the love that our Father has for us.  And our intellect locks us out from the knowledge, the simple truth, that our intellect can not grasp the spiritual being, but the heart knows.

We belong to Christ.  He is our fulfillment.  He gave us new life.  He sacrificed that we might have the choice.  Do we choose the world?  Or do we choose the spirit?  What we see today as spiritual turns us away from ourselves.  For who wants to be spiritual?  Who wants to be religious?  Who wants to be a Bible toting, hell damnation condemning, prophesying, religious person.  That image has been given to us through our personal experiences.  Yet we worship what we do not understand.  The time will come when people will worship God in spirit and truth.  For the Father seeks those who know themselves and worship him in spirit.  For the spirit of Christ will come and abide with those who know.  And it is in the knowing that one understands the truth of who they are.

Our Father is love.  And through Christ Jesus we can become love.  For it is through him and with him and for him that we find our completeness.  The world has no hold.  Sin has no corner.  The light of Christ abides within our hearts and guides the way.  And the completeness of his love overwhelms the soul so fully that nothing else will satisfy.  It is with that knowledge of his overwhelming love that we begin to understand the power of forgiveness.  For we are all one family.  We are all children.  And we all belong to our Father, who provides for us and protects us.  Come!  Let us forgive from the heart.  Let us love with the heart.  Let us become brothers and sisters in Christ. 

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:15a, Fraternal Correction: First: Speak, Face to Face.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 1.   

Christ has given his disciples the joy and glory that will be celebrated in heaven over the return of a single little one.  He told them that it is not the will of the Father that a single little one should perish.  For God loves all his children and desires that they, will love him when they know him.  But that is the will of the Father.  Man has his own will.  So Christ has given them the opportunity to understand the happiness and love that awaits them in heaven.  He has set the framework around which they can begin to understand what God has prepared for all in heaven.  And the mystery will be revealed.

Christ goes further in teaching his disciples how to love one another.  If thy brother sins against thee, what does one do?  Accuse him/her!  Speak foul of him/her!  Talk with others about their sin when they are not present?  What should one do?  Christ gives his disciples the answer to what they should do.  "But if thy brother sin against thee, go and show him his fault, between thee and him alone."

Consult thy brother face to face, alone.  Seek his/her understanding of the sin without malice or accusation.  Express love for thy brother that he/she may turn away from sin.  These are the ideas and principles that Christ seeks for his disciples to understand.  He spoke these words that they may know how to approach each other when sin comes into a relationship whether it be a relationship  between men or our relationship with God.  When we sin, God comes to us quietly seeking to have us recognize the sin that is within us.  He does not shout it out.  He does not bash us over the head or punish us immediately because of our sin.  He continues to love us until we can recognize the sin that is within us.  For it is his children that he seeks to save, just as it is our brother that we should seek to save.  It is the sin within us that we should seek to expel through the love that is within us for one another.  Satan seeks to divide.  Satan seeks to separate.  Satan seeks to control.  Satan seeks to turn us away from God our Father and to turn us to himself.  And he will seek to do this in any way that he can.

Does thy brother know that he has sinned against thee?  Does thy brother have any conscience of his error?  Does thy brother understand the consequences of his actions?  Does thy brother know that he has opened the door to Satan?  Has Satan taken control and turned him/her completely away from thee?  Love is the key.  Love thy brother/sister, for they do not know what they do.  And if they do know what they do then they do not understand the consequences of what they do.  For no one desires to jump into the fire.  No one seeks to live eternity in damnation, if they truly understand what they do.  Yet many are blinded.  Many are without understanding.  Many have not been made fully aware of what they do.  And yet we all have the capacity to understand.  We all have the ability to make sense of our world.  Yet, in that sense, we choose what path we walk.  We choose what road we travel.  We choose the outcome of what we are.

God has given us a spirit of love.  For he is love.  He is light.  He is life and he has given us life through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  His love is so fulfilling that it overwhelms the mind, the body and fills the soul.  And we cannot fully comprehend the complete meaning of his love for to do so would be too much for our being.  Yet he loves us.  He completes us.  He provides for us.  He fills us with a peace that nothing on earth can provide.  Our desires, our passions, our wants, cannot begin to compare to that which he can provide.  No amount of gold, diamonds, jewels or paper money can come close to the wealth that the Father has prepared for each of us.  The choice is ours, provided we understand, provided we can make sense of it all, provided we can believe and receive the spirit that he will send to show us his ways. 

Seek thy brother alone and reconcile thy difference.  Love thy brother as God has loved thee.  When we were in sin, he did not let go.  When we were in sin, he did not turn away.  When we were in sin, he walked with us.  When we were wrong, when we were in the darkness, when we were tempted by Satan, he was still there.  He still loved us.  He still cared for us.  He still allowed us to sin.  By his grace we awoke from our worldly sleep and turned away from sin.  By his grace we were forgiven.  By his love we were cleansed.  By his mercy we will be restored.  By his love we will rejoice at his glory and power and majesty.  Seek to express the love of the Father to thy brother that he may understand.  For one does not desire to jump into the fire if one understands.  Christ loves us.  The Father provides for us.  The Holy Spirit will teach us the ways of truth and light.  Come!  Follow the path before 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: 1, The Test: Request for a sign.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The Pharisees and Sadducees ask a sign) Part 1.

And the word spread.  Like wild fire the word spread and people talked about Jesus.  They spoke of his miracles.  They spoke of his teachings.  They spoke of his words.  They spoke of his peace.  They spoke of his love for all man.  And then the Pharisees heard.  They heard and disliked.  They heard and hated.  They heard and plotted how to stop the word from spreading.  For they were filled with evil.  They were consumed with darkness and darkness did not like the teachings of Christ.  Evil did not want to hear of goodness.  Evil did not want peace.  Evil wanted to do away with Christ.  So they plotted with the Pharisees as to how they might do away with him and his teachings.

So the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Christ with a test.  They had planned their strategy and came to Christ to test him with a question.  They had heard of his miracles.  They had seen others who were cured.  They had known those who were blind, crippled, possessed, lame, and filled with leprosy but they still did not believe.  So despite all the signs and wonders, they wanted a special request.  They wanted a special sign for themselves so that they could say that they could believe.  But evil was with them.  Evil could not work on its own but only through a person.  So the evil doers came to Christ and asked for a sign.   And the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him to test him, and they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

Where are we today?  Do we need a sign to believe?  Do we need a cure to understand and believe?  The evil within does not want us to believe.  The evil within would have us blind.  The evil within would have us deaf.  The evil within would keep us as unbelievers or at worst deceive us to think that we believe yet continuing to do the things that indicate we do not believe. 

We live in a world that is not eternal.  Yet we believe that it is forever.  We believe that tomorrow is given, next week is planned for, next year we will be here to enjoy the pleasures of this life.  Do we need a sign?  Do we need death to come and knock on our door to tell us to wake up?  Do we need sickness to come into our lives to open our eyes.  The thief comes in the night when least expected to steal from us.  Thank you Father for not letting go of my hand.  Thank you Father for not giving up on me.  Thank you Father for keeping death away until I came to know you.  For I faced death on many occasions.  I walked the line with evil and was tempted to cross over.  Yet I knew deep down inside that evil was not with me.  I knew from the peace that you gave me when I was a child that this was your peace.  I knew that the love that you showed me was not the hatred and anger that I faced when tempted by evil. 

Thank you Father for touching me with your love and your peace.  Now I know who I am and who you are.  I know that your Holy Spirit is with me each day.  I know that I am your child and you are my loving Father who wants to care for me and provide for me.  To those who do not know or who do not believe, I am a witness for his love and his peace.  Come, seek the truth of who you are and the knowledge of your Father.  Christ wants to heal you.  Christ wants to protect you.  Christ wants to love you.  And the Father will provide for you if you only believe. 

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!