St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 9c; For my name's sake.

 Our paragraph topic is: (He tells them of trials and hard times to come) Part 3.  

The Bible is but a short story of what happened some two thousand years ago.  We live our lives today and can imagine the multitude of things that can happen in a day's time.  But to think about all the things that were happening during the life of Christ in a day's time and to have all of that written down would be immense.  Yet there they were, the disciples, walking with the Lord our God, talking and being in his presence.  It must have been the joy of a lifetime.  We only hope for what we desire to have in our future.  They lived in his presence in the past.

One can only imagine the effect he had upon their lives, their being, their souls, during his stay here on earth.  To walk with him, talk with him, touch him, feel him, hear his voice, then to see the torture and sacrifice he made would have been unimaginable.  But even more unbelievable would be to see him again after death and to know that he was alive again, that death had no power over him.  What power and majesty that must have given those who were witnesses to his glory.  And he told them: "And you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake."

We think today of the honor and prestige of working and being in the presence of men and women of power such as presidents and kings, and ceo's, billionaires, etc.  We seek to be like them to attain traits that they have so that we might become like them.  There is but one God and one Lord of all and no other.  There are powers and dominions in heaven and angels and saints but only one God and one Lord of all.  

Christ came and walked among us.  He spent time with mankind.  He loved us so much that he gave up his kingship and became like us.  He took up physical form that he might be with us.  And the disciples and many others had the opportunity to be with him during his stay.  But that was not the end of the story.  

He came that we might all have the opportunity to be with him, to walk with him, talk with him, hear him, see him, feel him, know him.  He came and opened the door for each and everyone of us to have that chance to be with him as the disciples did, if we choose.  The choice is ours.  All we have to do is ask him to come into our lives and believe that he will.  God is our Father.  He gave us life.  He loves us and wants us to be with him.  Come!  The door is open.  Let us go home and be with our Father.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself.  Do not study it in parts reading one passage 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 12, verses: 43 - 44, The Unoccupied House: The Unclean Spirit Leaves.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The sign of Jonas) Part 4. 

The Pharisees have heard the evidence against them.  They have heard of the witnesses that will rise to testify against them.  Their fate is sealed.  Their destiny foretold.  Christ still offers them the opportunity to repent.  He still reaches out a hand and opens a door for them to enter into to escape damnation.  But they refuse.  They cling to their desire for power.  They hold to their roles of authority and they listen to the whisperings of the demons that counsel them to their destruction.

Christ tells a parable, his first.  He says, "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he roams through dry places in search of rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house which I left'; and when he has come to it, he finds the place unoccupied, swept and decorated."    

The unclean spirits have claimed the Pharisees.  They own the house.  They live in them.  They know them.  For they have lived with them for many years.  And with them they have found rest.  Rest, that they can perform the evil that they do.  Rest, that they can recruit others to do evil in their names.  Rest, that they can challenge any who may come against them to cast them out.  For the heart is the resting place for those who do evil.  Darkness is the light that they live by.  Hatred is the doctrine that they practice against those who would believe in Christ. 

And Christ tells the Pharisees this parable of the unclean spirits.  He speaks to them in riddles that they may not understand the truth of what he speaks.  He speaks to the unclean spirits that lie within them that they may know that he is the Messiah.  For the unclean spirits have made their home in the Pharisees.  Even when they leave they return and find the home unoccupied, swept and cleaned as if waiting for a new occupant.  But they are the owners of the home and no others have come in.  The Pharisees had a vacancy.  They were without any other spirits.  And the Holy Spirit does not reside in them.

Is your house unoccupied, swept and clean, waiting for someone to come in?  Will unclean spirits make you their home or will you welcome the Holy Spirit?  Do you have a vacancy sign advertising your house or is it already occupied?  Christ seeks to come in.  He seek to live with you.  He seeks to know you.  He seeks to love you.  But, how can he, if you do not let him in?  How can he, if your house is already occupied?  There are only two occupants.  One does not live with the other.  Which do you prefer in your house?  Which do you prefer to guide your life?  Which do you prefer to counsel with?  Which do you prefer to stand with you on the day of judgment when the witnesses are brought before you?  Will it be the unclean spirits of Satan?  Or will it be the Holy Spirit of Christ?  The choice is yours.  You cannot stay unoccupied for long for you live in an unclean world and it will take hold of you.  Make your choice.  Seek the Holy occupant and open the door to Christ.

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 19, The Prophecy Fulfilled.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The mercy of Jesus) Part 3. 

The battle continues and the prophecy is fulfilled.  It was written of Christ before he came.  It was told of his miracles before he was born.  It was spoken of his meekness before it was known.  For the Spirit of the Lord was upon him and he was the chosen one.  He was the Christ.  They did not know.  The Pharisees plotted against him.  They did not know.  He was the Lord of the Sabbath.  They did not know.  He was greater than the Temple.  But he was meek as a lamb.

Christ continued to preach and heal and perform miracles.  He did not shout from the rooftops.  He did not preach in the streets.  He did not debate with the elders.  For he was meek and mild of manner.  It was written of him by Isaias, "He will not wrangle, nor cry aloud, neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets."   For the Spirit of the Lord was upon him and he preached the good news of the kingdom of heaven.  He declared judgment to the Gentiles who were in need of judgment.  For the Gentiles had seen injustice far too long.  They had been downtrodden.  They had been the recipients of injustice.  They had been without hope for too long. 

Christ came meek and mild.  He came to restore that which was taken away.  He came to give life to the dead that they may have life eternally.  He was a quiet man.  He was a man of easy demeanor.  He was a man without hatred or fear and he demonstrated to his disciples the ways of the kingdom which they were to preach after the completion of his mission here on earth.  The prophecy was fulfilled.  For it was written of the type of man he would be.  It was spoken in the scripture of his actions.  And he came to fulfill the writings of the scripture.

Can we say the same of our spiritual leaders today?  Are they meek?  Are they of mild demeanor?  Do they cry aloud in the streets, in the synagogues, in the churches?  Do they wrangle with their fellow man to prove a point, to win an issue, to be correct?  Do they know the Spirit of the Lord?  For Christ said, "Come, take my yoke for it is light and his burden is easy."  The Spirit will teach all to those who seek Him.  The Spirit knows all and will reveal all to those who want more than this world has to offer.  Come!  Walk in the Spirit! Take up the yoke of Christ and receive his blessings.  

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 9-10, The Battle begins: The traps are set.

Our paragraph topic is:  (A man with a withered hand) Part 1. 

The battle begins with the Pharisees, the enforcers, the power rulers.  Christ has refuted the Pharisees.  He has given them instructions in the face of the public.  He has put them down and told them of their errors.  And now Christ has told them who they are faced with, one greater than the temple and one Lord of the Sabbath.  The gates of hell are thrown open and all the demons turn focus upon Christ.  The battle begins.  

Christ has cast out demons.  He has cured the sick.  He has made the lame walk and raised the dead.  But he now confronts the demons of the rulers.  And the true battle begins.  For they are the ones who are the enforcers.  They are the ones who possess the power.  They are the ones who rule the people.  And they are the ones who are ruled by the biggest demons of all.   Christ spoke to the Pharisees, but in truth he spoke to the demons of the Pharisees.  For he spoke to arrogance.  He spoke to ignorance.  He spoke to pride.  He spoke to vanity.  And he spoke to hatred.  These are the spirits that ruled the land and the people.  They are the ones who sent suggestions in and out of their minds to make them feel what they felt for Christ.

Christ had finished his work with the crowds and moved on to other towns.  As it happened, he was in a synaggogue and there came a man with a withered hand into their midst and one could hear the traps being set.  For the Pharisees asked him a trick question.  They asked him,  "Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?"   They wanted to trap him in his words.  They wanted to have him speak words before the people in the synagogue so that his words would bring him to ruin where they could accuse him and bring him to punishment according to the law.  So they questioned him.

Often times we find ourselves in the same position as Christ, being questioned.  We live in a world that constantly questions us about our beliefs.  It questions us about our actions.  It questions us about our morals.  It questions us about our God.  For the world is not outside of us.  It sits on our shoulders and speaks to us.  It resides in our minds and talks with us.  It lives in our hearts and becomes us, if we do not take action and clean house.  For each action that we seek to do according to the will of God, the world will have a different opinion.  Often times the world will tell us what to do.  The world will direct us and our actions.  The world will tell us to relax when we should be on our guard.  The world will tell us that it is OK when we know that it is not OK.  The world within us will have us believe that we are in the world when we are not.  The world will put us to sleep in the matrix and we will not even know it.

Christ came to wake us up.  Christ came to remove the world from us.  Christ came to cast out the world from our hearts so that the true owner may take up residence.  For we are children of God and it is in our hearts that the light of the world should reside.  It is in our minds that the word should remain.  It is in our words that the truth should be spoken and not those of the world.  For from our hearts come the fire of life.  And through our minds we are freed from the world.  And with the words of the sword , we will slash and destroy the enemy.  The battle has begun.  The enemy is relentless.  Be on your guard and remember that you are not of this world but are of the kingdom of heaven.  There, shall your heart be and there, your treasure you will find.