St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 13b; Shutting the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 2.  

In this paragraph Christ continues to scold the Scribes and the Pharisees on the wrongs they are committing against the people.  He scolds them not to berate them but to show them the error of their ways and hopefully to heal them.  He wants to give them every opportunity to change, every opportunity to turn from their evil ways, every opportunity to save their souls from the possession of evil within them.

They are the leaders and pillars of the religious community responsible for the souls of the people.  Yet they do not open the doors of heaven.  They do not show how to follow the commandments of God, they are not the examples of faith that the people need to return to God.  Christ calls them hypocrites:  "Because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men."

They knew the consequences of their actions.  But they did not care.  They only believed in their actions to maintain their own status in society.  They were privileged people.  They were honored in the public places.  They were recognized for their positions.  They were believed to be pious and holy followers of the Laws of God.  Yet the truth was exactly the opposite.  For behind closed doors the piety came off, the beliefs were different and they cared not for the people of God.

We see many examples of this same behavior today.  People profess to be one way in public but out of the public eye they are an entirely different person.  God sees what we do and how we think.  He knows our inner most thoughts.  We cannot hide from his gaze, he knows who we are.  Yet for those who are true to his sight, those who make an effort to follow his commandments, even though they may stumble and fall, he still loves and forgives.

Our belief in him opens the door to his heart.  Our faith in his promise transforms us into his children.  Our trust in his glory gives us the guidance needed to walk a path lit by the light of the spirit.  Our knowledge of the things that he has done for us, his protection, his provisions, strengthens us to know the truth of who we are in him.  Our love for him grows daily with each waking hour because we have the proof and the delight of being able to see his light of life within us as we know who we are.

God is our Father.  He is our creator.  Christ Jesus is our Lord and our Redeemer.  Through the love of God and the passion of Christ we have the choice today to choose.  We are not dead.  We can have life and have it more abundantly.  The choice is ours to make.  Open the door and he will come to you.  Seek his love and he will touch you.  Allow your heart to know that you are loved and you will see the truth of who you are in him.  God is love.  Christ is our redeemer.  The Holy Spirit is our guide.  Belief is your key to a new life, eternally. 

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: 13a; The Hypocrites.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 1.   

Christ spoke to the Scribes and the Pharisees in an attempt to get them to understand their plight.  He wants to heal them.  He wants to open their eyes.  He wants to give them the opportunity to turn from their wicked ways.  But they are too far gone.  They are too blind to see.  Their sight, their hearing, and their understanding has been taken away.

So now he scolds them.  He calls them out to the public by a name that all would see.  No one has spoken to them this way.  No one has ridiculed them in the public eye the way that Christ spoke to them.  No one berated them, belittled them, undermined their authority.  Yet Christ did.  He told them:  "But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"  

The Scribes and Pharisees were furious.  They wanted to retaliate.  They were enraged.  For if anyone else called them by this name they would have had them arrested and beaten.  But the people considered Christ a prophet.  They praised him for what he gave to the people.  He brought peace, and joy, and understanding of the true nature of the God who loved them.  They would riot before they allowed anyone to harm him.  But it was not his time to suffer.

What lesson can we learn from the plight of the Scribes and the Pharisees?  Are we hypocrites today, preaching to others the life of piety but living a life of sin?  What is our role today with regards to the responsibility to carry the message of peace and love to others.  

God is our Father.  He created us in his image and likeness, not as physical beings but as spiritual beings.  He is love and his love is for all things that he brought forth to life.  Yet there are other forces in the universe that would turn us away from his love, that would have us do evil.  Our Father gave us the commandments to live by.  He placed them in our hearts and minds to guide our lives.  For those who believe, he gives the spirit of his love to guide us in our daily lives.  He gave us his son to take away our sins that we might be justified.  And he gives us a high priest who sits at his right hand to plead for us in our transgressions.

We are loved.  We are protected.  We are provided for.  We are forgiven.  May our God and Father have mercy on the souls of those who seek his forgiveness.  Amen.  

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: 1-2; The Chair of Moses.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 1.  
Christ spoke to them, No One and Any One, while the Pharisees were gathered together.  Individually and in a small group, he could not speak to them, No One and Any One.  But now that they were all gathered together he could speak to all of them in a language that they could understand.  They were the ones that influenced the Pharisees to continue to harass and taunt Christ.  They were the ones who spoke through the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  They were the ones who wanted to trick him and trap him.   Christ spoke the truth and they did not want the truth to be spoken.  

After speaking to the Pharisees, Christ spoke to the disciples and the people.  He needed to open their eyes as to why he spoke such to the Pharisees.  Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,  saying, "The Scribes and the Pharisees have sat on the chair of Moses."   

Moses was their leader, who led the people out of the land of Egypt.  He was a spokesman for God.  For God commanded that he should go to Egypt, confront the Pharaoh, and lead the Jews out of Egypt.  He led them from Egypt into the dessert and after forty years into the promise land.  He brought food and water for his people and brought them the commandments of God from Mt. Sinai.  And Moses passed judgement from his chair.  So Christ wanted the disciples and the people to know that the Pharisees and the scribes have sat in the same chair as Moses, the sacred chair from which God spoke to Moses where he passed judgement to the people.

We are his sheep and Christ is our shepherd.  He leads us, guides us, loves us, and protects us from all harm.  He has given his life for us which no other man would knowingly and willingly do.  He was the lamb that was led to slaughter for our sins.  He paid the price for us that we may live again in the eyes of our Father.  He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.  He created his church here on earth that his work will continue so that all can have the chance to know the truth of the Father and his love for mankind.

Judgement day will come.  Will you be ready?  

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 21, verses: 38; The Inheritance.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The vine-dressers kill the master's son) Part 1. 

They were greedy and full of themselves.  They had beaten the messengers, killed several of the servants, and injured several more.  They were serious about keeping that which did not belong to them.  They were joyous in thinking that the householder would not come and claim his property.  They believed that they had taken what was not theirs and made it there own.

The householder knew that something was wrong.  He offered an opportunity for the vine-dressers to change.  He sent them several messengers to warn them of what they were doing.  He finally sent his son, his heir to be, to claim his rights.  But the vine-dressers had a different plan.  They figured that they could take the vineyard from both the householder and the heir apparent.    "But the vine-dressers, on seeing the son, said among themselves, ' This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.' " 

So here they were, vine-dressers, filled with greed, thinking that what was not theirs was theirs and willing to go to any means to enforce their claim.  They had killed others before, the servants sent to claim the fruit.  Why not kill the heir since the householder had not come himself?  Maybe he was dead.  Maybe he was ill.  Maybe he was in prison and could not claim his rights.  Or maybe his son was the only other person to have a viable claim to the vineyard.  With him gone there would be no other challenge. 

Greed had taken over.  Lost were they to their passions.  Dead they were to the opportunity to turn around.  Yet they were too far down the road to destruction to turn back.  They were lost.  They were dead.

Today we can think about those who take the same road as the vine-dressers.  Take what is not theirs and die with the consequences.  This is the society that we live in.  Murder, theft, deception, lies, beatings, mutilations, all in the name of greed.  Some may even justify their actions in the name of need.  But what it all boils down to is a turning away from the boundaries given to us by our Father to keep us from harm.

We could say that those laws, those rules favor the privileged people and not the poor.  And yet it is not the laws that we live by in whatever locale we live.  It is the commandments given to us by our God and Father that protect us.  For beyond those commandments lie the influence of the world and the world would turn us away from our Father and toward evil.  The world would have us loose that which was freely given and replace it with eternal damnation.

The Father is patient.  The Father is loving.  The Father is forgiving.  The Father is merciful.  For we do not know what is hidden from us that will influence us to evil.  But the day will come when what is hidden in the darkness will come to light and all will see.  The time is now.  The time is here to know that you are saved, that you are blessed, that you are rich beyond all that earthly desires can fulfill.  For what thing of value could a man give that is more valuable to save his own soul?

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 21, verse:18; The needs of the flesh.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus curses a fig tree) Part 1. 

So he left the temple.  He wanted to get away from the indignance of the chief priests and the scribes.  Christ had become man to walk among the people.  He became man to show the people that there was a God.  He became man out of his love for mankind.  He gave up all that he was, king and lord, son of the Father, to become human.  He was still one with his father and showed that he could perform many miracles.  Yet even those who knew would not accept what they had seen and heard about him.

He was a man like any other man.  Yet he was more than any other man, he was the son of God.  And like any other man he had emotions.  He loved.  He felt pain.  He was compassionate.  He was angry.  He was tired, and he slept.  Now in the morning, on his way back to the city, he felt hungry. 

Christ was just like any other man.  He was a physical being.  He was the spirit of the father in a physical shell.  He came to set mankind free from the judgement that was placed upon it by disobedience.  For we had lost something very precious.  We had lost our souls.  We were dead.  We were the walking dead in the flesh.  But by his passion, Christ came and restored the souls of mankind.  Now anyone who believes in him, repents, and follows his commandments will have eternal life within 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 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 19, verse: 19b, The commandments: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 10.

And now Christ tells the young man to do something that he has not heard before.  He gives him a commandment that is the foundation of all the commandments.  And Jesus said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

Love thy neighbor!  Who was the neighbor of the young man?  Who was he to love, as he loved himself?  He had sought Christ because he knew that he was a man of truth.  He believed him.  He believed in the words he spoke.  He had come a long way to find the truth, to find what he needed to do to obtain the kingdom.  He wanted to make sure that he had the right information that he could follow.  He did not steal.  He did not kill anyone.  He did not commit adultery.  He sought not to bear false witness against anyone, least of all to be false to himself.  And he honored his mother and father, for he was a dutiful son.  And here he was seeking knowledge from Christ as to what else he should do to complete his journey into the kingdom. 

Love thy neighbor as thyself.  This was the last commandment that Christ gave the rich young man who sought to know what he must do.  The rich young man loved himself but how was he to love others as himself?  How was he to treat others as he treated himself?  How was he to love those who hated him, those who sought to do harm to him?  How would he love the poor, the less fortunate, the laborers, the sick, those imprisoned, those that were Gentile and not Jews?  How was he to do this?  This was a hard thing to think of doing since it meant seeing others in a different light.

Christ calls upon all who read or hear these words to love.  He calls upon us to see others as though we were seeing ourselves.  Despite the race, despite the creed, the religion, despite the crime, the wealth or the poverty, we are to see everyone as we see ourselves.  This is the message that Christ spoke of so that we would all hear.  These are the words that he left for every human being.  But how can we know, how can we overcome, how can we practice love  with all the evil, all the hatred, the envy, the jealousy, all the other barriers that prevents us from doing so?

The barriers in the world are there to stop us from being who we are.  The barriers in the world are there to blind us from seeing who we are.  The barriers in the world are there to prevent us from loving one another as we should.  For we are all children of the Father.  We are created in his image and likeness.  We are spiritual and not physical.  And it is that spiritual being that we are, inside, that we should see.  It is that likeness within that we should know.  It is that love from above that we should feel within, that will allow us to be who we are in ourselves and in others.

Christ came that we would know ourselves.  He demonstrated his passion for mankind that we would see the love that the Father has for us.  He gave his life that we would have new life, in him, for eternity.  And he loves with the love of the Father for each and every one of us, no matter what the barriers.  For we are not black, or white, or Hispanic, or Jews, or criminals, or the poor, or democrat or republican or any other barrier that is placed upon us.  But we are spiritual beings created in the likeness of God our Father.  And in this likeness we are the light of the world. 

Within the physical, through the darkness, inside the spiritual eye, lies the truth of who we are.  The world seeks to deny our nature.  The evil wants to blind our sight.  And the darkness wants to cover the light of Christ that is within us.  Yet each and everyone of us has that same light, that same nature, that same likeness; if we could only see it.  For within, lies the joy, the happiness, and the peace that comes with the knowledge and the wisdom of life in Christ.  And the knowledge and wisdom of Christ opens our minds, our eyes, and our hearts to the true vision to see our neighbors as we truly see ourselves.  And the vision of ourselves and others will overwhelm us with the love that is from 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 19, verse: 19a, The commandments: Honor thy Father and Mother.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 9.

The rich young man is there before Christ as Christ tells him what he must do to enter into the kingdom.  He is listening intently.  He is taking in all that is being spoken.  He is absorbing on a conscious and subconscious level all that which is being given him by Christ.  For he has to make sense of it all.  He has to understand it.  He has to remember it and repeat it so that he can accepts it completely.  And Christ has given these commandments to him in simple terms in order that he can accept them.

Just as he was speaking to the rich young man, he was also speaking to all that heard, to all that was in ear shot of his words, and all that would hear these words as they are passed on to others.  For he has given to all the stepping stones, the building blocks, the foundation for salvation.  These are the commandments that have the most meaning and these are the commandments that will open the doors to the kingdom.  And Jesus said, "Honor thy father and mother."

Of all the things that we should not do: kill, steal, commit adultery, etc., this is the one thing that Christ tells us that we should do.  We should give honor to those who gave us life.  We should give honor to those who brought us into this world.  We should pay homage to those who came before us.  We should show respect and recognition to their contribution to our life. 

Why was I born?  Why am I here?  These are two questions that each and every one of us has asked at some point in our lives.  We want meaning.  We want purpose.  We want direction.  We want understanding that we may know what is our purpose, our goal, our destination.  And thus we turn back to those who gave to us the who that we are today.  We turn to them for purpose, for direction, and for knowledge.  Lacking that meaning, that purpose, that direction we must seek it from the world around us.  And we must go in search of knowledge and wisdom that we may have purpose.

In search of that meaning and purpose we may, if we are fortunate, come full circle to those who gave us life.  For the purpose is meaningless.  The direction is full circle.  And the question that we seek the answer to brings us back to our beginning.  We have life.  We have spirit.  We have joy and peace and love and hope and faith and belief that our lives do have meaning and purpose.  And that meaning comes from what has been give to us.  That meaning comes from the life that we have.  We are not talking about the physical but the spiritual life that is given to us.

For the spirit is eternal.  The spirit is everlasting.  The spirit is created from an image and a likeness that is eternal.  And the spirit will be light or it will be dark.  The spirit will know its meaning and purpose or the spirit will turn to the darkness that is within and be influenced by the evil that is in the world.  We all have the choice.  What do we choose?  Do we know who we are or are we asleep in the world, following the norms that it gives us.  The light of life is within all.  This is the gift given us by Christ.  For he came that we would have life again.  He came that we would know.  He came that we would believe in the one true God.  But the choice is ours.  We can believe or not believe.  We can know or we can deny.  We can see or we can be blind.  That is our choice.  But the knowledge or the ignorance that comes from the choice that we make can enlighten us to our destiny or blind us to darkness. 

If we choose life then we can know the truth of who we are in Christ.  We can see the light of life that is within us.  We can know the love that our Father bears for us.  And we can be with the spirit that will come to live with us.  We give homage to those who participated in the creation.  We honor those who came before us.  We remember those who brought us into physical life that we would have choice.  And we honor father and mother for the love and sacrifice that they made for us.  For they gave what they had.  They loved with what they could love.  They gave direction with the direction that was given them.  And they died with the spirit that will transform them to the true nature of their existence.  May God be with them and may be with our Lord Christ Jesus 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.

St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 18e, The commandments: Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 8.

The rich young man had come to Christ with a question on his mind.  He wanted to know what to do to enter into the kingdom.  He was serious.  He had come a long way to hear the truth for he believed that Christ would tell him the truth and not falsehood.  So he found Christ and asked the question of what he must do.  Christ told him in simple terms what he must do.  He must keep the commandments.  The young man knew the commandments as anyone who was a member of Israel knew. 

The commandments were the rules by which the Jews lived and thrived and believed.  Some of the people kept the commandments completely, some partially, some knew them but did not keep them at all.  This was what the young man saw and knew but was puzzled about.  So Christ told him the commandments to keep: Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, and Thou shalt not steal.  And Jesus said:"Thou shalt not bear false witness." 

This is another commandment given to the young man seeking the kingdom.  Why did Christ tell him this commandment?  Why did Christ tell him the any of the commandments that he already knew?  Why did the young man want to know what to do?  Why do we want to know what to do?  Do we believe in what we must do to gain the kingdom?  In our day and time, it seems as if we live in a world where there is no knowledge of the kingdom, no knowledge of a God, no knowledge of the commandments he has given us to live by.  We go to church on Sundays, fulfill our religious obligations, and return to the world and live by the norms of the world and not by those given us by Christ.

We are the sheep that he left behind and they are the shepherds left behind to guide us in our daily lives.  Do we have guidance?  Are we led in the right direction?  There is the world and then there is the church.  There are our jobs, our homes, our children, our rest, our play, our hopes and our dreams.  Then there is our beliefs, our practices, our thoughts, our knowledge, and our beings, which define who we are.  The two are separate.  The two are not one.  Should they be one and the same?  Should we be one person, one being, one love, one knowledge, one spirit, one job, one home, one parent, one rest, one play?  Or should we be true in one area and false in another? 

We are witnesses to our beliefs.  We are spirits in our lives.  We are truth in our thoughts and our beings.  But are we true or are we false?  Do we bear witness truly to who we are or do we bear witness falsely?  To live separately bears witness to who we are.  To live as two contradicts what we believe.  To bear falsely in one area and truly in another shows the split in the person that we claim to be.  The world drives us to be false.  The world reinforces us each and every day to be separate, to not be one.  The world would divide us, create conflict, lead us away from who we are.  The world would have us bear false witness even to ourselves. 

We are children of God our Father who created us in his image.  We are spirits housed in the flesh, eternal beings given new life through the sacrifice of Christ our Lord.  Live true to the nature that is within you and falsely according to the world.  Be the spirit that is within you and seek to know who you are in Christ.  For he came that we would know.  He is that we will see.  He loves that we will love with the love that is given to us.  And he guides us that we will not be lost in the world.  To know is to seek.  To find is to understand.  To understand is to see the truth of who you are.  Be the truth that is within you and the Holy Spirit will come and be with you always.

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: 18d, The commandments: Thou shalt not steal.

Our paragraph topic is:(The rich young man speaks to Jesus ) Part 7. 

The rich young man asked Christ which commandments to follow.  Christ told him which ones to keep: Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery.  The young man knew about the commandments but he wanted to know the truth from the one who had been proclaimed a teacher, a Rabbi, the Messiah.  For the word had come to him that there was one who performed miracles like no other.  The word spread that he was the one who had come to save mankind from the evil of the day.  And he wanted to know what he must do to obtain the kingdom of heaven.

Christ told him simply, keep the commandments.  He told him that these were the essentials to assure that he would obtain the kingdom.  Even though the young man knew of the commandments he was unsure of their importance in helping him open the door to the kingdom of heaven.  Christ wanted him to know all that is required so he gave him another commandment to follow.  And Jesus said, "Thou shalt not steal."

To steal: to take, without permission, that which does not belong to you.  It can take many forms but at its basis it means the same, to take.  We see something that we want, something that we desire, and we take it.  We steal.  We want, we take; we desire, we steal.  Christ tells us that we should not steal.  He tells us that we should not take that which is not ours, without permission.  Yet today we are programmed to want, we are programmed to desire that which we are not able to have.  We see the things, the objects of our desires everyday, every minute of our existence.  Some of those things are within our reach and some are not.  Some are things that we can attain in the future and some are things that we will never be able to have, through our own efforts, unless some fortune of luck passes our way.

Why do we steal?  Why do we have to have all that the world presents to us?  Why are our desires, our passions fed to encourage us to seek, to find ways to have what is not within our reach?  This is the way of the world.  This is what we are given from birth to death, a burning passion of worldly desires that drive us to achieve, to seek success, to have that which others have.  We follow the carrot on the stick, wanting to reach that goal of what has been given to us as a the measure of success.  And yet we are already successful in the eyes of God.  We do not have to take.  We do not have to steal.  We already have all that the world can offer us and more.  We are already given the riches of the kingdom only to give them away for the glitz and glamor that death offers in this world.

If we only knew who we are.  If we only understood the riches that is already ours.  If we could only see the truth of who we are in Christ, we would know the wealth that is ours, a wealth that nothing on this earth could compare.  Christ gave us new life.  He gave us abundance.  He gives us joy and peace, and happiness.  He gives us all, simply for the asking and only for believing in him.  He gives us the light of life that we may know and he gives us the consolation of the spirit to guide us.  And God our Father provides for us, keeps us from harm, protects us.  Yet we turn away from the Father and turn to the world for guidance, for love, for protection.  We turn to the world and away from God that we may have the things that are dying in the world, the things that are of no value.  We are already rich.  We are already kings.  We are already rulers, and priests, and ministers, and lords.  This is the heritage given us from the beginning.  Why throw away all that we already have so that we can steal that which is of no value?  Find your treasure that is within you and you will know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Then you will know that there is nothing in this world that you will want or desire that can compare to what you already have in Christ.  "Thou shalt not steal."  

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: 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.