St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 19b; Those with infants.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The destruction of Jerusalem) Part 6.  

Infants and children, those we are, by nature, given to protect, we will do all to save from harm.  We will give our own lives that they might live.  For they are our hearts and souls and to see them suffer or endure harm tears at the very fabric of our humanity.  Yet Christ made his prediction that those with infants would suffer most because of the destruction of Jerusalem.

He spared no one the horror of the coming evil.  He wanted all to know, to become aware.  He, the gentle man of compassion, told the world that Jerusalem would suffer and see destruction.  Imagine the horror and the despair that spread throughout the populace when the people heard of his prediction.  Woe to those with child:  "Or have infants at the breast in those days!"

 Attack the defenseless and the innocent children.  Make them the basis, the foundation of the coming destruction and everyone will understand.  Everyone will believe and know the effect of what was to come.  Prepare now or suffer the little children.  Hear the words of peril; listen and learn or disbelieve and know the truth of the prediction of the words of God.

These were the words of Christ to the people and his disciples that they should know what was coming to their precious city of Jerusalem.  They were proud of their city.  They were proud of what their religion had given them.  The Jews were a proud race of people guided by the hand of God throughout the centuries.  He watched over them, protected them, guided them for many years.  So how could this man, this Christ, say that their city would be destroyed.  They did not know.  They did not believe.  They did not see the writing on the wall that was before them.  The Messiah had come down from heaven just as it had been written by the prophets of old and they did not believe.  It was all there for them to see.  It was there for them to know if they only looked.  But they were a proud people who did not want to give up what they had.  They did not want to change.  And Christ came to bring about change.

Even today we need change, change in our hearts and minds, change in our thoughts and how we live, change in what we believe.  We believe there is a heaven and a hell but we don't know it.  We do not live it.  We do not feel it in our hearts.  We are but shells that carry the true self of who we are but our shells control us and not that which is within us.  

Christ came to give us life, a new life, a more abundant life.  He came that we might not die if we only believe.  And what we believe is life that is within us that is eternal, not physical, not flesh and blood, but created in the image of God the Father.  The light of life is within us if we only believe.  The light of life is within us if we only see.  The light of Christ is given us if we only know that he is with us always.  This is the truth that is with us today, tomorrow and always if we believe. Let nothing or no one change your belief from the life that is within 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 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 24, verse: 6d; The end is not yet.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ warns them not to be led astray) Part 7.  

It was like a horror story they were hearing.  Destruction upon destruction, evil events coming to pass in the near future that would tear the world apart and the end of the world would come.  They wanted to know.  But Christ had to prepare them before telling all that would happen.  The disciples must be prepared.  Their minds, their curiosity, their anxiety were raised to the point of high expectation, but it had to be brought back to reality in order that they would not be led astray by fear.

Christ was coming to the end of his journey.  His time here on earth was almost finished.  It was now up to the disciples to take over and continue the tasks he started.  They were his followers.  They were his students.  They were the witnesses of all that was said and done by the master.  They will be the ones who would receive the spirit of Christ to carry on the message of hope and love.  But as he told them:  "But the end is not yet."

More was yet to come.  More was yet to be revealed.  More destruction, more evil, more hardship, more sorrow, more pain, more suffering, more death.  More was yet to come before the end would come and Christ would return triumphant.  The disciples needed to know some of what would happen but not all.  They had not received the spirit and their souls were not ready to accept what was to come.

Are we ready?  Are we prepared to accept what is to come today, tomorrow, anytime.  Have we made our peace with our Father, repented of our sins, asked of his forgiveness?  Or is that something that we will do later at the last minute when the world comes crashing in?  

I thought so myself.  I was so busy chasing after the golden ring that I did not have the time to stop and repent of my sins.  The things that I did were necessary to survive and thrive in this world.  I did not do enough, I thought, to get ahead.  I needed to do more.  I needed to cheat more, lie more, play the game more, be more aggressive, steal more, do anything and everything I could to get ahead like others.  

And when I crashed from my failures he picked me up and showed me that I was not a failure.  He showed me that I was his precious child that he loved from the beginning.  He told me that the things that I sought here on earth were nothing compared to the things that he had prepared for me in heaven.  I am already rich beyond my wildest imagination.  I am loved beyond any love that I can find.  The peace that I might find here is nothing compared to the peace that I know through him.  I have new life, now and nothing can take that from me.  I am ready, today, tomorrow, forever.  My soul is at rest.  May your soul know peace and be at rest.

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: 28; Outwardly appear.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their hypocritical purity) Part 8.  

Christ came down from heaven to walk among mankind that he might experience the depth of life we live as humans.  He came with a purpose to do his father's will and save mankind from the sin committed by Adam and Eve from the beginning.  No one else was able to do so.  Yet his choice was made at a cost of his life on the cross, a horrible cost of pain and suffering for our sins.  He did not have to pay such a cost but because of his love, his passion for mankind, he wanted to give us a second chance to have life eternal.  

He came and he saw the horror and the iniquity that existed from the evil that had come forth upon the people.  They cried out for his help, begged for his assistance, had assurance in his power to heal, believed in his words of faith.  Yet there was still darkness in the shadows that hid from his brightness.  He saw what men could not see.  He looked beyond the outwardly appearance into the inner heart and soul of those who were full of evil and sin.  He heard the inner thoughts of the influence that evil worked upon those of power and prestige and knew their deepest thoughts and feelings.  He told the Scribes and the Pharisees:  "So you also outwardly appear just to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

You could say he had x-ray vision because he saw what men could not see.  He saw the true filth of who they really were on the inside.  Outwardly they appeared like great men, but inwardly they were filled with dead men's bones and all sorts of ugliness.  Yet these were the men that the people honored and praised.  These were the Scribes and the Pharisees they saw everyday in the market place and the synagogue and places of worship.  These were the men that they idolized and wanted to imitate.  Yet Christ saw the other side, the inside and he called them out.  He told the people who they were.  He let the people know that they were not all they were held up to be.

Faith goes deep within the soul.  It is either there or not there.  It is either believed or not believed.  It is either a part of you or not a part of you.  Sure it can be faked.  It can be put upon like a mask and taken off like makeup.  But real faith, real belief is in the skin, in the bones, in the marrow, in the heart and soul of a person.  They know who they are because they are real.  It does not need to be preached on the corners to have substance.  It does not demand that it is shared with others from a door to door campaign to be real.  It just needs to be lived that others may see the light from which it shines within.  

Let your light shine.  Open your heart to the love that Christ has for you and you will know the truth of the living faith within.

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:13a; It is Written.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Cleansing of the Temple) Part 3. 

Christ entered the temple with anger, horror, and frustration at what he saw.  They were selling and buying of gifts for sacrifice.  They were changing of monies and lying and deceiving the purchasers of their money, money that is meant for the purchase of gifts for the praise of God.  The thieves and the robbers had entered the holy place used for prayer and thanksgiving and Christ was horrified at what he saw.

He saw evil.  He saw those who were influenced by evil practicing greed and deceit.  Their only goal was to make money and revel in the praise of mammon for the wealth that it brought to them.  They were not concerned that it was a house of prayer.  They were not concerned that it was a house of worship to the creator.  They were only concerned with greed and deceit, how much could they cheat the customer out of their money meant for God the Father.  And he said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'." 

The word is written for all to see.  The word is patient for the time for completion.  The word is fulfilled for all to know that the time had come.  And it came to pass that evil was overturned in the temple.  It came to pass that evil would not take by force the house of God.  It came to pass that the time for redemption was at hand and no longer would evil be allowed to rule the day.

He came to walk among us.  He came to show us his love.  He came that we would have a witness as to the truth.  He came that we would have forgiveness and a new life.  He came and he is our Lord and Savior.  The word is written.  The word is truth.  The word awaits for completion.  The word will be fulfilled.  The choice is ours to believe.  The choice is ours to accept.  The choice is ours to know the truth of who we are in Christ.

Let not the world deceive you as it did me.  Let not the world turn you away from the truth of who you are.  Let not the world turn you away from the life that is freely given you by the sacrifice of his love.  It is written for you to believe.  It is written for you to accept freely.  It is written for you to see and know him in truth and honesty.  The word will be fulfilled.  The word will be completed.  The word will return to the Father having finished it's purpose.  Will you receive the word and be renewed?  I do, I have, I am, I know.  Do 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 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.