St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 9b; Put to Death.

 Our paragraph topic is: (He tells them of trials and hard times to come) Part 2.  

The disciples are all sitting around listening to the things that Christ is recounting to them of the events to come as though he was telling them a bedtime story.  Their minds intently absorbing all that is said without understand fully the meaning of how it will impact their lives.  It is almost as if they are in a dream listening to him speak not knowing what he is saying but taking it in for later reference.

Christ spoke to their souls.  He spoke to things that would happen in the future.  He spoke of things that they did not completely understand.  Yet they listened, they heard, they remembered, they recalled all that was said and put to written word what they witnessed, saw, and what was said.  The spirit works in ways that they did not understand yet it was within them and came forth from them for us today.  He told them they will deliver you:  "And will put you to death."

And death was the word that brought them back to reality because it was something that they all understood.  They lived it daily.  They saw it regularly.  They knew it at the hands of the Romans frequently.  It was something that brought both anger and fear.  Anger because it came at the hands of an outside invader and fear because no one wanted to suffer the brutal consequences of death by Roman torture.

This was the way of life during the life of Christ.  The people did not know or believe in life after death.  They did not completely believe in heaven and the God of their ancestors.  They read the Torah on Sundays as part of their ritual and heard from their elders but mostly were forced to follow the Law by the scribes, the elders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  Christ came to change all that.  He came to bear witness to the truth, to open the gates of heaven, to allow all the waiting souls to enter, to pay the price for the sins of the world.  He was the sacrificial lamb, the innocent one, the one born without sin.

Today we live our lives in pursuit of happiness.  We seek to have those things and those ones in our lives that will give us pleasure and joy and make us feel good about ourselves.  We care not about others as long as we are satisfied in our own world.  We seek to surround ourselves with like individuals of the same mindset to create a circle of friends that make up our world.  And as long as our world is complete we are happy.  Death is the final goal in life and time is the gate keeper.  And when that time comes the door opens and we must enter whether we are ready or not. 

So life ultimately is about a choice.  We have so many years to come to a knowledge and to make a decision based on that knowledge of who we are.  Christ came that we would have the truth of that knowledge.  He came that we could have life and have it more abundantly.  For life is temporary here and permanent, eternal, there.  Which we choose is up to us.  Death is only the doorway to the truth.  Christ awaits our choice.  He has open arms for those who love him and want to be with him for eternity.  The choice is ours to make.  Make the choice to accept his open arms of love.   

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 nd 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 23, verses: 30; In the days of our Fathers.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 3.  

What was religion in those times?  God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and Moses gave them to the people, the Israelites.  They traveled through the desert with the Arch of the Covenant until they reached the promise land God gave them.  Their religion was then the Ten Commandments and the writings of Moses and the leaders that followed.  There were many situations that came up requiring resolution.  Those resolutions required new rulings to be handed down.  Thus as time pasted many more rulings were added to the commandments which became the Law for the Jewish religion.

Often times leaders went astray and prophets were sent by God to give warnings and guidance to the leadership to get back on the right path.  Many did not listen.  Many prophets were killed for the message they brought.  Yet God continued to send those messengers to his people that those who would listen would heed his warnings and return to their true God.

Centuries went by without any messengers and now Christ comes to save mankind from sin.  The Scribes and the Pharisees have spent years persecuting the people, keeping them in line for the Romans, fearing they would loose their positions of power and prestige.  They cared not for the religion of the people, only for their personal glory.  Christ called them hypocrites, they build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the just: "And say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices in the blood of the prophets.' "  

Blood, is the essence of life.  It flows within and through every human being on this planet.  We are different on the outside, but our lifeforce is the same on the inside, blood.  The precious blood of the innocent children was shed for the Christ child that he might avoid the swords of Herod.  The precious blood of the prophets was shed to bring the message to the people of Israel to repent and change their ways.  The innocent blood of the lamb of Christ was shed for all mankind for the sins we have committed.  His blood cleansed the earth giving everyone new life, the opportunity to eternal life.

The Scribes and the Pharisees persecuted their religion, seeking to control the people.  Christ came to release the people from death that they might have new life.  For those who believe it is there for the seeking.  For those who want it is there for the asking.  For those who know it is there for the seeing.  The path is there for those who want to find it.  He has given us the way, the truth and the light.  All we need to do is reach out and grab it.  

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 nd 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 20, verse:22c, We Can.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mother of James and John) Part 7. 

Wherever the Gospel is written this paragraph shall be included, the paragraph of the mother of James and John.  What must have been her faith?  What must have been her trust?  What must have been her belief in Christ that he was the one who would change all things?  She came to him.  She worshipped him.  She spoke to him about her beloved sons.  They were all she had. They were her future and her past and her present.  And they were the ones who would become his disciples for all eternity.

Little did she know what would happen.  Little did she know what they would become.  Little did she know what they would suffer.  For they were to drink of the same cup of suffering with Christ.  They were to be teachers the same as Christ.  They were to be miracle workers the same as Christ.  And they would be the twelve disciples, apostles, for all eternity.  Did they believe?  Did they know?  Did they understand what would happen.  Did they know the battle that they would face with evil?  Could they stand with Christ and become the sacrificial lambs?  Could they drink of the same cup?  They said to him, "We can." 

Can we drink of the same cup?  Can we follow in the footsteps as Christ and become sacrificial lambs?  Or are we more about ourselves and our own desires?  It is a tall question to ask and an even greater one to answer.  Just to think of the ramifications of that answer brings shudders to the mind and the body.  Just to reflect on the pain and the suffering that he endured makes one think of turning away.  Yet he willingly entered into the sacrifice, he willingly became the innocent lamb, he willingly accepted the pain and suffering, the humiliation and mockery, the beatings and the hatred of those who would do him harm.  He allowed himself to be brutally beaten and crucified by the doers of evil.

Can we do the same?  Can we accept such punishment today?  Because he suffered for us then, we do not have to suffer that today.  Christ became the sacrifice for all.  He accepted the sins for all; past, present, and future.  And because of his sacrifice we are redeemed, we are saved, we are born anew.  Because he could endure, because he accepted, because he was the lamb, we are reborn anew.  Once again we have life.  Once again we are acceptable to God.  Once again we are his children. 

James and John believed that they could.  James and John knew that they could.  James and John walked in his presence and trusted that they would do the same as he did.  What was their prize?  What was their motivation?  What did they see, what did they know, what did they believe that allowed them to drink of that cup?  There must have been something greatly motivating that gave them the courage to continue.  There must have been something more than we know that allowed them to be who they were.  Can we discover what that something else was?  Can we know what motivated them, that it might motivate us today?  What will strengthen us to do the same?  What will give us the power to accept?  What force will guide us to be like Christ, to follow in his footsteps, to know his love?  What must we do to discover that which is ours to know?  He has given us the key.  He has opened the door.  He awaits our footsteps that he might guide us to his presence.  The choice is ours to make.  All we have to do is ask. 

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: 15, The Rock: What do the Disciples say?

Our Paragraph topic is:  (Peter's confession) Part 3.  

And now it came down to the disciples.  They had heard what the people were saying about Christ.  Who was this man?  Was he the Messiah?  Was he a Prophet?  Was he John the Baptist come back to life?  Was he Elias?  Who was Christ?  There were questions on the minds of the people and even questions on the minds of the disciples.  They did not truly know.  They had no answer, even though they walked with him and talked with him everyday.  He had called them to be his disciples and they followed.  They wanted to be disciples because something in them wanted to change their lives from the ordinary.

But they did not know who he was.  They did not have an idea whose footsteps they walked in.  They did not know the light that they followed was that of Christ and the God the father.  They wanted to know.  They wanted to believe.  They wanted to see.  But they did not know.  He was a good man.  Christ was a gentle man.  Christ was a man different from any other man.  For he made miracles.  He walked on water.  He made the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf here and cured the lepers.  He was like no other man.  Yet they still did not know who he was.  So he asked them:   He said to them, "But who do you say that I am? "

The moment of truth had arrived.  What did the disciples think.  What did the disciples believe.  What did the disciples know.  Who do you say that I am, Christ asked them?  Who do we say that he is today, is his question to each and everyone of us?  What do we believe?  Do these words come from a relic, old book?  Are these words relevant today?  Why is it important what I believe or what I say that he is today?  If asked, if a poll were taken on the streets, what would people say.  Most church going people would say that Christ was the Son of God the father.  Most others would say that he is the Savior.  Some would even say that he was a prophet.  And even others would say that he was a great man.  But what do you say, I would ask, to those who are reading this post? 

Does he have any meaning to you, today?  What would you say?  What do you believe?  We live in a world that demands all of who we are, yet we do not know ourselves.  Are we all flesh?  Are we body and soul?  Are we spirit.  How do we know?  Is this something that we are taught in church?  But do we believe it?  Do we know it?  Or are we just who we are in this world?  Christ wants to know who you say he is?  For within that knowledge, within that awareness of him is the awareness of ourselves.  We did not live and walk this earth when Christ came to this earth, to this planet, to this physical realm.  We did not walk in his footsteps,  hear his spoken words, see his miracles, touch him in his physical body.  All we have today is his words passed down through the writings of the disciples with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Yet who do we say that he is?

Is he the Messiah?  Is he the Savior?  Is he the Son of the Father?  Is he the Anointed One?  Is he the Lamb?  Is he the Light of the World?  Is he our spirit and life, our body and blood?  Is he the life within us?  Christ came that may have life; for before him there was death.  God decreed that if Adam eat of the forbidden fruit that he would surely die.  And mankind died on that day.  Christ came to give life to those who believed in him and the Father who sent him.  Do you have life within you?  Is he the life within you?  Then, you are more than you know.  You are spirit.  You are life.  You are love.  Come know the truth of who you are.  Follow the path before you and know the life that is within you.  Christ awaits you.  God the Father loves 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!