St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 25a, The hearing of the disciples.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The danger of riches) Part 3.  

The rich young man was saddened by what Christ told him.  And now Christ speaks the words of truth about the kingdom of heaven.  There is a transition.  There are requirements that must be met.  Each person entering the kingdom must meet the standards.  Death starts the process.  How one lived his physical life determines the criteria.  And the examination at the entrance will set the stage for life everlasting in the kingdom or.

These are the truths that Christ wants his disciples to understand about the kingdom of heaven.  The spiritual kingdom is not like the physical kingdom.  You cannot buy your way in.  You cannot force your way in.  No amount of power or influence will guarantee your entrance.  For what we do on earth will determine if we are eligible to enter.  And Christ gave his disciples a simple example to demonstrate what criteria is used.  He told them that it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  The disciples, hearing this, were exceedingly astonished.

Just as the rich young man was saddened when he heard Christ's words about selling his possessions, the disciples were astonished when they heard these words.  For it was in the hearing that they did not understand.  It was in the hearing that the meaning was lost.  It was in the hearing that the mind transformed and transposed those words to resonate to heartfelt doom.  All want to be rich.  All want to enjoy the pleasures that come with wealth and riches.  This is what we are given to believe and know from birth.

We see everyday those with wealth and how they are able to live.  We hear everyday of those with riches and how they are able to do the things that everyday people dream about.  Everyday we are told about the lives of the rich and famous, the movie stars, the sports stars, and those of wealthy origins.  And our minds are transformed from where we are into where we would like to be.  So the disciples were exceedingly astonished as we are today with these words.  Yet it is these words that are meant to astonish.  It is these words that are meant to shock.  It is these words that are meant to open our hearts to provide us with the opportunity to see the truth of who we are and what we are given to believe. 

What do we believe?  Do we believe that there is a heaven?  Or do we believe that we are in heaven now, on this earth, and we should live forever here?  Do we fear what comes after death?  Are we afraid of that which we have not been given, that which is foreign to us?  We have been given the here and now.  The world gives us this each day.  We are not given what comes after today, what comes after death, what comes after the physical life.  That information is not published.  That information is not talked about on the talk shows in the lives of the rich and famous.  For that has not been given to us to know as we know the world.  It has been given for us to believe. 

Christ came that we would have life everlasting.  He came to teach us of his Father and our Father, the Creator.  He came to demonstrate his love for us.  And he came to pay the penalty for our punishment.  All this and yet we do not know who we are.  All this he gave to us and we cannot see who we are.  All this and we are blinded by the glitz and glamour that the world offers to us if we only go to sleep in the world and do not seek the spiritual.  Each of has the key to reignite the life that Christ has given us.  All it takes is an open mind and an open heart.  All it takes is a desire to know him who has loved us from the beginning.  Seek that which is within you.  Knock on the door of your heart and open it to the love of Christ and he will come to you to let you know of his love and the love of the Father .  For no one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a measure, but puts it on a lampstand so that all who enter may see.  Christ wants to light your lamp so that you may see the truth of who you are in him.  Come!  Light your lamp and you will be astonished at who you are in him!

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you.  Open the door and let him in.  

St Matthew, Chapter 15, verse: 14, The Lesson: Blind Guides

Our paragraph topic is:  (Disciples warned to shun the Pharisees) Part 4.  
    

Christ had spoken and the Pharisees heard and took offense.  Christ called the people to himself.  He called their attention to what he was to say.  He told them to hear and understand, and his words opened the eyes and the hearts of the people.  For he told them that what goes into the mouth does not defile a man as had been preached by the Pharisees.  He told the people that it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a man.  It is what is spoken that indicates that a man is defiled and unclean.  And the Pharisees had taken offense for this was against their teachings.

And the disciples heard the murmurings of the Pharisees.  The disciples listened to the Pharisees and they were upset that the Pharisees were upset.  The disciples were concerned that the Pharisees had taken offense to the words of Christ for they did not know the evil that possessed the Pharisees.  And Christ calmed their minds.  Christ spoke to his disciples and reminded them of the power and majesty of his father who did not plant seeds in the Pharisees.  He reminded them of outcome of those seeds that were planted by evil and what will happen to them in the final days.  They would be rooted up and thrown into the fire to burn.  And finally he spoke to his disciples in a way to let them know that the Pharisees were blind.   Let them alone; they are blind guides of blind men.  But if a blind man guide a blind man, both fall into a pit."

And so it was spoken that the disciples could understand.  And so it is written that we, today, may understand.  Who is blind and who is sighted?  How do we know who we follow?  Are we being led by blind men, the blind guide?  Or are we being lead by the teacher, the Advocate, that Christ promised?  We go to church, we perform our religious duties, we pray, we fast, we do all the things that we are taught to do.  But who is teaching?  Who is leading?  Who is our guide?  Christ has given us instructions.  He has left us his words.  He has provided us a path to follow that we may not be misled.  Hear and understand, he commanded us, that we may know.  Every plant that the heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

Will you continue to follow an uprooted plant?  Will you continue to believe in the words that come from the seed not planted by the Father?  Will you continue to follow the blind guide that will lead you into the pit?  Seek and you shall find the true guide that leads to the Father.  Knock and it shall be opened to you that you may have sight beyond your earthly vision.  Ask and it shall be given to you that you may have the wisdom of heaven to understand that which is given you.   For those who seek will find, those who knock will have doors opened to them.  And those who ask the Father, it will be given to them that they may see.  The true teacher seeks to teach you.  The true guide seeks to lead you.  The true spirit of Christ seeks to dwell within you that you may know your Father in heaven and yield fruit a hundred fold.