St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 4; Heavy Burdens.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 3.  
Christ now teaches the disciples and the people about the Scribes and the Pharisees.  He tells them to follow the rules and the regulations that proclaimed by the Scribes and the Pharisees because they have taken the Seat of Moses.  He wants them to obey the laws.  He wants them to understand the difference in what it means to be a Scribe or a Pharisee and the actions of leadership they take.

We follow our leaders and look up to them as examples.  We practice their ways and model their speech and actions.  But Christ tells the people:  "And they bind together heavy and oppressive burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders; but not with one finger of their own do they choose to move them."  

We follow those who lead us.  They are the ones we look to, to give us direction and understanding of purpose.  We listen to their speeches.  We believe in their actions.  We obey the rules and laws that they pass down to us because they are our leaders.  We are solders who do without question the commands that are given us.  We do not question their actions even though we may think that the commands we are given are wrong.

Christ wants us to see, to understand that the actions of those who lead us determine who they are.  Their actions speak to the person that we follow.  Their actions show us the contradictions of those that we follow.  Our eyes must see and know the difference in what we hear and what we see.  We should not be blind following those who would lead us to destruction.  

Observe and do but do not act according to their works, he tells the crowd and the disciples.  He came that we would have life and not death.  He lived that we would know of a Father who loves us.  He died that we could be justified as a people from the sins of the world.  He ascended that we would know that he is in heaven waiting for us to come home.  He is the example to follow.  He is the guide.  He is the Lord of all who seek to know his passion for us.  

The Lord is with us in every situation that we encounter.  He is our support and our shoulder in our time of need.  Seek him and you will find your answer to the why of life.  Follow him and he will lead the way.  Trust him and he will give you peace.   

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: 8b, The Call of the Laborers: payment from first to last.

Our paragraph topic is:(Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 11. 

We all can relate to this parable because it speaks of working and labor.  We live in a society where we work to provide for ourselves.  Long past has the time gone where we were farmers.  Long past has the time gone where we lived on the land and grew our own food.  We were simple people then.  We are complex people now.  We have choices.  We have chances.  We can be who we want to be.  

This was the same opportunity that the parable speaks of in ancient times.  They came to the market place to work.  They came to the market place to find work.  They came to the market place to earn wages so that they could provide for themselves.  They came to the market place because the market place provided a better opportunity than work on the farm.  They came to the market place because they wanted to get paid.  And as Christ spoke of the owner who told his steward to pay them all:  "Beginning from the last even to the first." 

So we can conclude that all were paid.  The agreement was to work for a denarius and the payment is for a denarius.  All will receive their payment, from the very first who agreed to work to the very last who agreed to work in the vineyard.  And this is the results that Christ wants his disciples to understand about the parable, you work for the kingdom and you will be compensated by the owner of the kingdom.  He will pay.  He will abide by his agreement.  He is reliable, honest, trustworthy, and true to his promise.  He is unlike others who may cheat you.  He is unlike others who may not be reliable.  He is unlike others who may steal from you or run out on you and not pay.  The owner of the vineyard is true to his agreement.

For the agreement is the contract.  The agreement is the bond.  The agreement is the glue that makes it all work.  If there was no agreement then it would all not work.  But it is that agreement that brings the two parties together and provides some form of exchange that satisfies both.  The question is are we satisfied?  Are we in harmony with what we want from the agreement?  Are we certain that the other party in the agreement is trustworthy?  Will the other party provide all that is agreed to?  Will the other party truthfully complete the agreement?  Will the other party lie to complete the agreement?

We live in a world of untruths.  We live in a world that is filled with many shades of grey.  We live in a world where it is acceptable to change the agreement after it has been made or to offer an agreement that is untrue.  We are children.  We are sheep.  We are innocent people seeking to know the truth of who we are.  We seek to be all that we are, to see all that we can see, to know all that there is to know, to experience all that is given us to perceive.  And we do and accept all that is given us that we may reach those goals.  The world is untrue.  The world is a lie.  The world is a deceit.  How can we see through the tainted lenses?

Christ, our lord and savior, came that we would know the truth.  He came that we would have an example.  He came that we would have an open door to see through.  Yet many would only believe that there is no door, that there is no savior, that there is only what we can see, feel, taste, touch and know through our physical senses.  And that puts us at the crossroads of life.  Which direction do we take?  Do we seek the physical or do we believe in the spiritual?  Some would say that there is no evidence to demonstrate the spiritual.  And yet here we are in the flesh, spiritual beings in a physical body. 

Flesh cannot perceive what is meant to be believed.  Flesh cannot see what is meant to be known from within.  Flesh cannot know what is only open to those who will open the door to their heart and receive the gift of life given us by Christ.  Knowledge will not bring it.  Works will not pay for it.  Gifts cannot buy it.  Only desire to open the door to the heart will bring forth the love that Christ has for those who seek to know him.  Come!  Receive your pay, even from the last to the first.  Christ will rejoice in you and you will have peace 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, verse: 22a, The commandments: When the saying was heard.

Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 15.

And then came the telling of what must be done.  Christ had given the rich young man all that was needed to fulfill the hunger within.  He had given him the commandments to follow.  He had given him the yoke to unburden.  He had given him the treasure to have.  And finally he gave him the opportunity to become a follower.  The ball was the with the young man.  He was now ready to decide which path he would take.  He was now at the cross roads of his life.

He sought out the word.  He traveled in search of that which was within him that he might know the truth.  He came to the cross roads of his innermost desires and now it was time to decide.  Was he ready?  Did he know the direction to take?  Was he hesitant to move forward now that he had the choice?  And this is where the influence of all that had come before, came to bear on his decision.  Which road would he take?  For he knew what was at stake.  He knew the physical consequences of the choice that he would make.  But did he truly know the spiritual opportunity that he was about to give up?  And scripture says: "But when the young man heard the saying," he knew which direction he would take.

We are given a choice in life.  We are born into this world preprogramed.  Our habits, our beliefs, our thoughts, desires, aspirations, our successes are all given to us when we come into this world.  We have little choice but to follow the path that is given to us during the first course of our lives.  But then the word comes to us.  The longing for something more hits us. The desire to know gnaws at us from within sending us on a journey questioning that which is given us from birth.  Is it the truth?  Is it right?  Are we on the right road?  And these questions brings us to the cross roads of life. 

It is at this juncture that we must decide which direction to take.  The choice is ours to make.  We have been given the commandments of life, as passed down to us from our parents and grandparents and those who came before us, be they true or false.  Those beliefs are reinforced in the school of life and in the workplace.  We know what is expected of us from authority.  Yet we search for more, desire more, thirst for that which will quench our parched lips for the sweetness of true drink.  And then we go on that quest that takes us to the cross roads.

What guidance do we have?  What direction shall we take?  How shall we know if we have chosen the correct path?  There is but one guide that will provide direction to our journey.  And that guide comes from within.  If we truly seek the truth then she will come to us.  If we truly desire to know then knowledge will reveal itself.  If we truly want what has been promised to us from birth then our inheritance will be revealed to us through the desire of the heart.  The heart will guide.  The heart will open the door.  The heart will speak to that which is within and let us know the truth of who we are.  Love is the key and the Father loves us more than we can imagine.  And through this love we will come to walk the path that he has given us to walk, witnessing to those in the dark who are seeking to know the light.  Come!  Hear the saying and you will know. 

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.