St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 35a; All the Just Blood.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 11.  

And now comes the pronouncement of judgment against the Scribes and the Pharisees and all their kind who have persecuted religion throughout the ages.  They have massacred the prophets, slain the messengers, crucified the holy ones sent by God, and scourged those who spoke against them in the temples of the synagogues.  The evil within them has taken over and used them to commit sins against God to prevent the people from believing in the one true God.

Anger, pride, lust, slander, false witness, greed, all the sins of man have come upon the leaders of the religious sect to prevent them from seeing or feeling the sorrows of their people.  And God speaks through Christ Jesus to pronounce judgment upon them saying:  "That upon you may come all the just blood that has been shed on the earth."

They were offered the opportunity.  They were given the chance to change.  The door was opened for them many times but they refused to believe, they refused to see, they refused to go through.  Their anger, their pride, their desires, their blind ambition, led them to follow that which was given them from their lust from within, their desire for power.  They thought that they knew.  They thought that they understood.  Little did they know that they were being led down the path of destruction.  Little did they see that they would be required to do more and more evil to demonstrate their loyalty, until there was no turning back, until they had reached the point of no return and their souls were fully committed to evil.  The slippery slope of evil.  If there is no internal compass to guide one then all hope is lost and deceit will eventually play a part in the downfall.

God help us.  God guide us.  God protect those who fear him and those who love him.  Fear not for the events of the day for he has a plan that will always work to his advantage even if evil seems to win the day.  Our Father watches over us and provides and protects us.  We are in his hands and no one or nothing can take us away.  Today is our day to rejoice and be glad.  For we are protected by our Father in heaven and it is his love that will watch over us day in and day out.  Sleep well and be at 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 23, verses: 14a; Woe to you.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 5.  

Christ continues to scold the Scribes and the Pharisees about their behavior.  He calls them hypocrites in public for all to hear which is not good.  The Scribes and the Pharisees are respected and honored and to call them hypocrites in public is bad.  

Christ did not do this out of hate.  He did not do this out of jealousy.  He loved his people.  He did this because he wanted to save the Scribes and the Pharisees.  He wanted to open their eyes.  He wanted them to see the truth of what they were doing to themselves and to the people.  But they were so blinded that they could not see, they could not hear his love for them, they could not understand the truth of what he was doing for them.  Therefore, he said to them:  " Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"

What would you do for someone that you loved that you knew was going in the wrong direction?  Would you try to help them see what they were doing?  Would you do everything in you means to open their eyes to the truth?  What methods would you take to help them understand?  God our father tried to make us understand but we were wayward children driven by the lust of our flesh.  So he almost destroyed the human race.  But he decided to start over with a chosen few.

He gave us free will to choose.  And Christ gave us the choice of new life or death.  His passion and love for the good that he saw in us allowed him to withstand the test of pain and suffering for all mankind.  Not for one or two or three but for all men, all women, all children on this earth.  

We live and die that we might show that we are worthy to have the choice of life with him in heaven.  This is our entire purpose in life.  Recognize the choice.  Remember the choice.  Live the choice in 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 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: 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: 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. 

St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 9a, Thou shalt not commit Adultery.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The question of divorce) Part 8. 

From the beginning it was given to Moses and the Jews, handed down from God: "Thou shalt not commit adultery."  Two persons, male or female, either one, bonded in marriage, shall not have intercourse outside of their marriage with another partner.  This was the law, handed down to the Jews from ancient times.  Yet Moses allowed them to put away their wives or husbands by written notice for any cause.  This was allowed because of the hardness of their hearts, because of the determination in their minds, because of the passion of their desires.

The practice still continues today, the putting away of the wives or husbands by written consent.  Christ had something different to say to his disciples about this practice. He wanted them to know the truth of this practice.  He wanted them to understand that even though Moses allowed it to happen, it was not permitted.  For God created them male and female that they would bond together for a purpose, for a cause.  He told them:  "And I say to you, that whoever puts away his wife, except for immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."

Thou shalt not commit adultery.  Why was it written?  Why was it given to us?  Why do we need to obey this law?  Does it apply to us, today?  These are some of the questions that we may ask ourselves about this commandment.  God, our father, gave us guidelines to follow.  He gave to man helpful instructions that would help to keep us from sin.  For he is not demanding.  He is not overbearing.  He is not standing ready to exact punishment at our every infraction.  God, our father, is a loving God and he wants that we do not cause ourselves harm.  He wants the same thing that we want for our own children, to warn them, that they do not cause themselves harm through the dangers of life.  He wants to give us knowledge, the same way we want to give our own children our knowledge of life that they may avoid the pain and suffering we experienced in life.

Yet we live in a world that downplays the spiritual dangers to ourselves and our children.  We exist in a world that does not want us to know of the those dangers, a world that encourages us to practice the same things that would cause us spiritual harm.  We are lulled to sleep about immorality, lust, deceit, anger, greed, and all the things in this world that would destroy our spiritual truths.  For we are spiritual beings living in a physical body.  And it is that spirit within us that is the prize of the world.  We sleep walk through life not knowing the truth of who we are.  We seek the trinkets that life offers in exchange for the most valuable prize of all, our spiritual soul.

Be not immoral.  Seek the repentance that Christ has given to us and come to know the truth of who you are in him.  Refrain from the world and seek the protection and provision that your heavenly father will provide.  For he is the creator of the universe and all that exists.  If he has done these things then surely he can provide for and protect us.  Practice the perfect patience spoken of by the apostles that you may know and see the miracles that your father will create in your life.  For he loves you more than you know.  He wants to provide for you more than you know.  He has a purpose for you.  And when you see what he offers, and know what he gives, you will understand that there is nothing on this earth that can compare with what your father has in store for you. 

Christ came that you would have life.  Christ gave of himself that you would have the freedom of choice.  Christ arose from death that you will know he lives and that he sits at the right hand of God.  Christ awaits you to receive him into your life, for the choice is yours.  Christ loves you and wants to demonstrate to you the passion of his love that you may see the truth of who you are in him.  We were created in his image and likeness.  Come and see the truth of who you are.

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 Mathew, Chapter 18, verse: 19, The Power of Agreement.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The power of united prayer) Part 1.  

Christ has given his disciples specific instructions on how to win the battle with sin.  For the battle is with sin and the weapon is love.  So, he tells them to bind sin on earth.  Bind sin, that it will not enter into thy brother or sister.  Bind evil, from thy brother or sister.  Bind lust, bind false witness, bind hatred, bind anger, bind greed, bind wantonness, bind all evil that would possess thy brother or sister and take them away from thee.  For sin will come.  Sin will tempt.  And sin will seek to take away thy brother or sister.  But Christ has given them the tools that they need to do battle with sin. 

With all these tools he gives them even further instructions as to what they may do to combat sin.  Loose sin from thy brother.  For once sin takes hold it will not let go.  So Christ told his disciples that whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Whatever evil they separate from thy brother or sister on earth will be carried out in heaven.  Evil will be separated by the powers in heaven.  And then he gives them another tool to use against sin.  He provides them with the ultimate tool that they can use against evil, the power of agreement.  "I say to you further, that if two of you shall agree on earth about anything at all for which they ask, it shall be done for them by my Father in heaven."

They will ask for help.  They will ask for forgiveness.  They will ask for mercy.  They who are in need, they who believe in the truth, they who awaken from the darkness, will seek thy help.  They will seek the help of thy brother.  They will seek the help of thy sister.  They will seek the help of the church to break the grip of sin from all the brothers and sisters .  And it is the duty and responsibility of the church to use all the powers given it by Christ to combat sin.  For sin will come.  Sin will tempt.  Sin will take hold.  And sin will not let go.

But Christ told his disciples that they must agree.  He told them that they must recognize that they have the power to combat sin.  For within them and through them sin will be defeated.  But it will take the combined efforts of the spirit of two or more.  It will call for the agreement of two or more spirits.  It will require the agreement of the life force, of the light within, of the spiritual soul, to break the hold of sin.  They will ask for thy help.  They will need thy assistance.  They who believe in the love of Christ, will look to the light of Christ from the depths of their darkness and ask for forgiveness to overcome the grip of sin.  And it is up to two or more of you to reach into their hearts and see the call of the light of Christ that pleads for help.

Christ has given us a new life.  He has restored us to the life that our Father in heaven gave to man before the fall.  And with this new life we are the light that shine forth into the darkness.  For the Advocate is with us.  The light of Christ is with us.  The spirit of awareness in the truth resides in us.  And it is with that truth that we go forth into the world to carry the message that Christ has given us of the new life that is within each of our brothers and sisters.  If two or more agree in the light of life within Christ then whatever they ask for will be done by the Father in heaven.  This is the tool that Christ gave to his disciples and to us today. 

Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  See the light of new life that is within you.  Welcome the light of the Holy Spirit that will come to you and you shall know the truth of who you are.  For the Advocate will come.  The Advocate will reside.  The Advocate will protect.  The Advocate will provide.  And the Advocate will counsel in all things.  For it is with the Advocate that we walk in the faith and truth of who we are.  All things are given to us on earth.  Yet we are not of the earth but are citizens of heaven, created by our heavenly Father in his image and likeness.

Come!  Seek the knowledge and truth of your salvation.  For in it and with it and through it you will see a new light.  You will know a new truth.  You will open a new door to path of your life.  And you will know a new peace that surpasses any fleeting peace held here on earth.  For the Father loves you.  And Christ is with you.  And the Holy Spirit will come to you.  And you will be set free.

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 18, verse:18b, Fraternal Correction: Unbinding on earth and in heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 7.  

The battle is against sin and the weapon is love.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that man would be saved from sin.  Man had sinned against the command of God.  But God was so loving that he was merciful.  God was so loving that he, through his mercy, allowed man to be saved.  He did not have to.  He was not compelled to.  But he wanted that mankind, his precious creation, would not be lost to condemnation. 

Christ came to take back.  Christ came to win back.  Christ came that man would have a chance to be born again in new life.  Man disobeyed the command of God and sin entered the world.  And sin ruled the world until Christ came.  And Christ restored what was lost.  Christ gave man life by paying the penalty for disobedience, the judgment for transgressing, the restitution needed to make whole again.  But sin does not give up.  Sin does not let go.  Sin does not release its captive until forced to do so. 

And Christ told his disciples that he gave them the power to separate.  He gave them the power to remove sin.  He gave them the power to loose sin from the soul of man by force.  He told them:  "And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven."

Be gone sin!  Be gone lust!  Be gone addiction!  Be gone evil!  By the power of Christ Jesus I loose thee.  By the power of Christ Jesus I loose thee from me, from my brother, from my sister!  Be gone!  Separate thyself from this person and enter in no more.  I bind thee by the name of Christ Jesus to enter no more into this person.  These are the powers that Christ told his disciples.  Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Whatever you cast out on earth shall, by the power of heaven, be carried out by the angels in heaven. 

The battle is against sin and the weapon is love.  The weapon is the love of God the Father for his children here on earth.  Sin will come.  Sin will tempt.  Sin will enter.  And sin will seek to take over, to control, to occupy, to drown the light of life completely until there is nothing but darkness within.  But Christ came.  Christ conquered.  Christ rose again.  And Christ lives forever seated at the right hand of the father.  And he gave us the power to bind and loose that will be a command executed by the angels in heaven. 

Christ came.  But he did not leave us alone and lonely.  For he watches over us in heaven.  He sends us the Advocate for those who seek him.  He protects us for those who want protection.  He provides for us for those who want provision.  He is our fulfillment for those who want to be fulfilled.  For his love overwhelms.  His love is complete.  His love is all.  And the his counsel is our guide.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in him.  Seek to find the light of life that is within you that you may know the Advocate.  For with him, and through him, and by him all will be revealed. 

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 18, verse:18a, Fraternal Correction: Binding on earth and in heaven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 6. 

If he refuses to listen, even to the church, then let him be.  This is what Christ told his disciples.  Let him/her be.  They have become to thee as heathens.  They have refused to hear.  They have refused to be open.  They are closed to the love of Christ that you have presented to them.  They have become consumed with sin and sin has taken complete control.  Sin has come.  Sin has infected.  Sin has possessed the mind and body and soul of thy brother/sister.  Even the appeal of the church has not opened the door to thy brother or sister.  They are lost.

But if he/she should listen.  But if he/she should be opened.  But if he or she should have some small desire to return to thee, then the church must battle with sin to open the door.  The church must battle with sin to expel it completely.  The church, the witnesses, and you must work to free thy brother/sister from the grip of sin.  For sin will not let go.  Sin will not give up.  Sin will fight to hold onto thy brother/sister.  But Christ told his disciples that they have a gift from heaven.  They have a promise from the Father.  He told them:  "Amen I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven."

The battle is against sin and the weapon is love.  And Christ gave to the disciples another weapon, to bind sin on earth.  He gave them a weapon that will be accepted and carried out in heaven also.  For whatever they bound on earth would be bound in heaven.  Bind the demons.  Bind sin.  Bind Lust.  Bind fear.  Bind false witness.  Bind anger.  Cast out the evil and bind it from returning.  Bind all types of spirits that come from sin.  Save thy brother.  Save thy sister.  For the battle is against sin and we have a weapon given to us by Christ.

Sin will come.  Sin will tempt.  Sin will enter those that do not have a defense.  Sin will occupy.  And sin will take over those that do not use the tools that have been given us.  But Christ has told us to win our brothers and sisters back.  He has given us the formula.  He has told us how to fight.  But the door belongs to each of us and it is our own responsibility to keep it closed to sin.  Yet we live in a world possessed of sin.  We live in a world where sin is all around us.  And it is up to each of us to walk by faith.  It is up to each of us to walk by the light that Christ has given us.

For the light of life will lead us.  The light of life will guide us.  The light of life will protect us and counsel us.  And the light of life will abide with us, to assist in the fight against sin.  But when sin comes, fight.  When sin comes, cast it out.  When sin comes, bind it that it may come no more.  These are the weapons that Christ has given us to defend and protect.  For he knows of sin.  He sees that sin will come.  And he has given to us the Advocate to help us, to strengthen us, to counsel us, to show us the way.  The choice is ours.  The decision is ours.  Do not be swayed by the tricks and traps of evil.  For evil will deceive.  Evil will dazzle.  Evil will seek to pull you in.  But if the eye is sound the body will be full of light and the light of life will endure.

Come!  Open thy heart to the love that Christ has given us from the Father.  Seek the love that is yours to know.  Know the truth of who you are in Christ and welcome the Holy Spirit into your life.  He waits for you.  He seeks you.  He is open to you.  He brings the love of the Father to you.  Follow the path before you and become the spirit that you are.

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 16, verse 17, The Rock: The Revelation.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Peter's confession) Part 5.    

Simon says that he is the Son of the Living God.  Simon said that he was the Christ.  Simon said that he was the Messiah.  Everyone else said different.  Everyone else called him a prophet.  Everyone else called him Elias.  Everyone else called him Jeremias or John the Baptist.  But no one else would speak what they knew in their hearts but feared to speak.  The law of the Pharisees was upon them.  The punishment of the law would follow them.  The fear of death would walk in their footsteps if they spoke the words that all thought.  

They knew that he was the Messiah.  They knew that he was the Son of the Living God.  They knew that he was the Christ.  But none would speak for fear of death.  None would proclaim for fear of punishment.  None would acknowledge for fear of the law of blasphemy.  Blasphemy had their tongue tied.  Blasphemy had their hearts locked.  Blasphemy had their lips sealed.  But all knew.  And then there was Simon who said.  Simon spoke the words.  Simon opened his heart.  Simon allowed the love of the Father to enter in and the truth came upon him.  Then Jesus answered and said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to thee, but my Father in heaven.   

The truth was revealed.  The truth was spoken.  The truth came forth into the heart of Simon and he put to words that which fear had compelled not to be spoken.  And Christ revealed to all the source of the truth.  Not from his own flesh did the truth come forth, but from the Father himself was the truth revealed.  

What is truth?  If we know the truth will it matter today?  Will we accept the truth if it came to us?  For truth to us is money.  Truth to us today is wealth.  Truth to us today is pleasure, lust, desire, passion, power, prestige.  Truth to us today is what we seek in the world.  We seek to know the things that we believe will make us free.  And yet the things that we believe will make us free will only enslave us, bind us, engulf and overwhelm us into the desires of the world.  Evil awaits us at every turn, every corner, every awaking moment to capture us in its addictive ways and bring us to damnation.

The truth comes to free us.  The truth comes to give us life.  The truth comes to open our hearts to the love that is in Christ Jesus and God our Father.  For it is his love that completes us.  It is his love that provides for us.  It is his love that protects us and guides us in our daily lives.  Be not betrayed by the desires of the world.  Be not misled by what you see and hear in the world.  For you are children of the light.  And light overcomes darkness.  You are not of this world.  You are a spiritual being in a physical body.  Learn the truth of who you are.  Open your heart and let the light of Christ come to you.  Flesh and blood will not reveal this to you but only the father in heaven.  This is how I have come to know that which is truth within me.  Here is my invitation to you from Christ to come follow the path that is set before you and know the truth of who you are. 

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: 3, The Commandments of God vs Worldly Traditions.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ refutes the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 2 

The Pharisees questioned Christ about the practices of his disciples.  They did not wash before eating as the Pharisees had practiced and preached to the people.  For it was the Law that the people should wash before eating and it was the authority of the Pharisees to enforce the law.  So they witnessed this transgression and questioned Christ about why he did not enforce this tradition.

But Christ saw their plan.  Christ knew their intentions.  Christ understood the hearts of the Pharisees as they came forth to question him.  For the Pharisees were men of education.  The Pharisees were men of influence.  The Pharisees were the authority on the Law.  They were the enforcers of the authority for the people of Israel.  They were the final source of what should and should not be, the ultimate authority.  And in their arrogance and their power they opened their hearts to the evil one.  The Pharisees changed the commandment of God.

Christ did not address the question of the Pharisees.  He did not speak to the traditions that they sought to enforce.  Christ saw them for who they were.  He saw their hearts and knew that they were not followers of the laws of God.   But he answered and said to them "And why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"

The influence of power and the suggestions of the evil one had infected the hearts of the Pharisees.  For they had held the seat of power for many years.  They had ruled over the tribes of Israel for decades.  Their minds and their hearts were filled with the intoxication of power that they knew no wrong.  And the arrogance of power opened the door for Satan to come in and turn them.  For through his influence the laws were changed.  Through his influence men placed themselves above the commandments of God and made their own decisions.  How would it hurt if we lusted just a little?  How would it hurt if we lied just a little?  How would it hurt if we stole a little?  How would it hurt if we committed adultery just a little?  And how would it hurt if we influenced the people to do the same things just a little?

And so it is today.  We are entertained.  But through our entertainment we are influenced.  We see, through our entertainment, stories of lies, deceit, lust, adultery, murder, false witness, and all manner of evil.  And it is accepted as entertainment, entertainment that influences the mind and the heart.  For what we see, we practice.  For what will it hurt to lie a little?  What will it hurt to steal a little?  What will it hurt to commit adultery a little, to deceive a little, disrespect our parents a little, to worship idols a little?  And the world draws us into its web, we fall asleep, and we become the lost sheep not knowing or wanting to know that we are children of light and children of love. 

God is our father and he gives to us things that will keep us away from the evil that is in the world.  His love is our protection and our provision.  To know him is to love him.  To love him is to want to do the things that he has given us that will protect us.  Be not conformed to the world but be transformed out of the world.  Though we live in the world we do not belong to the world.  Our treasure is in heaven,  Your peace is in heaven. our eternal joy awaits us in heaven.  Do not fall asleep with the temporary fixes of this world.  Satan wants you to loose your treasure.  He wants you to forget about your eternal joy.  He wants to steal your everlasting peace.  Awake!  And know the true love of Christ.  Open your heart to his spirit and you will know the truth of who you are.  Experience the abundant life of Christ , here and now and awaken from the sleep of death offered by the world.