Our paragraph topic is: (Tribute to Caesar) Part 10.
And now we come to the meat of the issue. They wanted to know what Christ thought of the tribute to Caesar and he told them. He gave them what they wanted to hear. He knew that they wanted to trap him in his own words so he gave them words that they could not use to trap him and words that would not contradict his teachings.
Caesar was the face on the coin of tribute and the inscription. They wanted to know if it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar as he was the national leader of the Roman Empire. Christ told them: Then he said to them, "Render, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar's."
They wanted to know so he told them what they wanted to know. What they did not know was that Caesar belonged to God and not to Caesar. God created him, raised him, gave him power, allowed him to do the things that he did in order to fulfill his plans. So Caesar was a part of God's long range plan and not the other way around. When the time came for the Son of Man to walk the earth and to submit himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind all would be in place according to the long range plans of God. Everything came to fruition.
There is a saying that God smiles at us each day that we wake up and plan our days and what we want to do with our lives. We believe that we are in charge and that we make things happen according to our own will. He gave us free will and we can make our own decisions as to what we want to do each day. This is what gives him smiles.
We set our course down the road of life not knowing what lies ahead or what paths we take. We are in charge. We have rosy dreams of what we are going to make of our lives and how we are going to make it big in life. We are going to have this happy life ahead of ourselves. And when the roadblocks come and the letdowns and setbacks come we become broken and scared. Our dreams fly out the window and we settle for something much less. And this is the part where our morals and values are compromised and changed.
We are born rich. Our dreams are already fulfilled. We are who we want to be already. That is what is given to us from birth. But we must accept who we are and not compromise with what the world has to offer. Christ came to give back what was loss to us from the beginning. Our treasure awaits us in heaven. We are a humble people, a loving people. We are a forgiving people, a merciful people like our Father. This is our realization. This is our hope, our dream, our love, our desire, to be like him who came to live among us, to show us how to live. There is nothing here on earth that can satisfy the hunger that is within us. Only he can fulfill that need. And the joy and peace that comes from his presences is so overwhelming that once you have had that a tiny experience of it, you will want for nothing else.
Come then and seek that which is yours, freely given at no cost. His love awaits you. The door to his palace is open and the angels are preparing a feast in your honor. Let us celebrate and rejoice to your awakening.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Application of the parable) Part 2.
So now after relating to them all the parables to help them understand their meaning, he tells them outright the applications. The chief priests and the elders have been given authority over the people that they may shepherd them to the Lord. But instead of yielding fruit to the Lord they have produced fruit unto themselves.
Christ tells them about the corner stone upon which the temple is built and how it was rejected by the original builders. Yet a new structure is being erected and he is the corner stone of this new structure. They can not believe what they are hearing because they believe that they are the rulers of the people. And he tells them: 'By the Lord this has been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?
History has been re-written. The foretold is being fulfilled. That which was spoken about long ago is now here today. Time is complete and that which was from the past has now come to past. And we are the ones who stand in the past now future. The past is history. The past is long ago. The past is not new and does not apply to today. Yet there were witnesses who were there in the past. There were witnesses who saw and lived in the past. And there were those who lived the true meaning of the past.
Today is today. We live in today. And yet the past was so long ago that we must make sense of the past today. We must find a way to make sense of the past into today. We must find a way to believe in today and not in the past. But the Lord said that it was good that the past is now the new. He said that the rejected corner stone had become the new corner stone upon which a new structure would be built.
Are we a part of the new structure? Do we rationalize the witnesses of the past that we may believe in today? Are we the vine-dressers who want to hold unto that which is not ours to have. The fruit is plentiful. The wine is rich. The master calls for the fruit of the vineyard. Do we submit to his will or do we reject his claim to what is his property. He paid the price. He gave his life. He suffered and died. He arose again to demonstrate the power of God our Father and creator. The past is now today and the corner stone has been laid. Come, be a part of the new structure in the kingdom of heaven.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (The vine-dressers kill the master's son) Part 4.
They killed the master's son, the most precious gift of all. Greed had turned them into evil men. They sought to steal and kill to get what they wanted. They sought to lie and cheat to take what was not theirs. They sought to influence others to support their evil schemes to enrich themselves to reach their goals.
How often do we see these themes today. They are presented to us as normal and an accepted way of life, what one must do to get ahead. This is true especially in business. You have to be ruthless to get ahead. Destroy the competition. Slander their products. Take over their customers and you will win. And what did Jesus ask will happen to this type of person: They said to him, "He will utterly destroy those evil men."
Who are our idols? What do we look up to as our model in life? What do we desire more than anything else in this world? We want to be like the rich and the famous. We want to have money, and leisure, and yachts and penthouse condominiums and gold chains and diamond rings and fur coats and travel in our own jets. We want all that is shown to us each and every day in the media. They advertise to us. They project to us the way that we should live. They provide the model by which we dream. They are our motivation for all that we desire.
What must we do to get there? What must we forsake, what must we give up to get what we want? We must change. We must turn away from what was freely given us. We must become ruthless and focused on our target. We must not be distracted away by morals and ethics, those boundaries that hold us back from reaching our goals. What would you do given the chance, the opportunity to reach your goals?
How blinded are we? How deceived are we? How innocent are we to accept the vision that is given us on a daily basis. We are the children of the creator of the universe. We are created in his image and likeness. We are children of light and not of darkness. Yet the world would have us become dark, to turn away from ourselves, to give up that which was freely given through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.
He came to give us life. He came that we would know. He came to show us a way to find him in his kingdom. We are his children and he is our savior. It is he who purchased us with his blood. It is he who was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. It is he who seeks to help you find the way into the light and out of the darkness of this world. The shell will be broken but what comes forth will be in your hands. Will it be the child of God or the creation of darkness? The choice is yours and the opportunity is now.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the vine-dressers) Part 3.
The vine-dressers were drunk. They were giddy with the wine from the fruit of the vineyard. And it had been years since they had heard from the householder so they considered him dead. They had convinced themselves that they were the owners and they were not going to let anyone come and claim their prize, even if it was the owner himself. They believed so much in what they had worked for in the fields of the householder that they would give up their lives to keep it.
The vine-dressers believed that if they defended their rights to the vineyard then no one else would come and lay claim to their prize. So convinced that they were the owners of the vineyard that they believed the rightful owner would not send anyone else to take possession.
"Again he sent another party of servants more numerous than the first; and they did the same to these."
What do we want from life? Are our desires so strong that they would lead us to do anything to satisfy them? The vine-dressers had a taste of stewardship of the vineyard and that taste led them to want more. The crop was good. The grapes were pressed and set to be cured into wine. And when the wine was aged, it was a great product that everyone liked. It was the best. It was perfect. It had taste and balance. It had all the right qualities of a great wine and the labor of the vine-dressers made it so.
They were ecstatic. They were happy and elated. But they were not the owners of this great wine. It did not belong to them. But like so many, they were influenced to believe that they had come upon something that all mankind would want and they were not going to give it up. Oh, what a man would not do to discover his own gold mine. He would fight, kill, steal, die, protect it from all who would seek to take it from him. And many would do so.
We are such weak creatures, easily influenced by the dirt that we walk upon. Call it gold, call it money, call it whatever we desire, it still comes down to the same, influence. What we would not do for influence over others. We are given all the precious stones and jewels of many worlds but we happily give it up for dirt because someone or something tells us that we can become more than we are. We are already rich. We are already powerful. We are loved. We are blessed with the light of life given us by Christ Jesus. He died to give us that life. He loved so that we who believe in him would not die in darkness. He knew that all was not lost and that there could be redemption.
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to save it. For it had fallen into darkness and the people who inhabited it were dead. And Christ came as the life and light of the world that we may know the truth of who we are. He ascended into heaven and left the living word for those who would follow. The Holy Spirit will come. He will live among us. He will guide us, protect us, show us the way to the narrow path. Let us not be robbers. Let us not be murderers. Let us not become all that the influencer of the world would have us become. We would loose the life that is freely given us. For the Lord and Savior awaits those who know. The Lord and Savior awaits those who believe. The Lord and Savior of the world awaits you. Open your heart and let him in.
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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the vine-dressers) Part 2.
We continue this parable where Christ is telling the chief priest, the elders, and the scribes a story about a topic that they can relate to. He talks about a householder, a home owner, who remodels his home to accommodate a vineyard. The owner wants to have grapes that grow and pressed into a wine that he can enjoy. He is not able to oversee the entire process of the growth of the grapes and the pressing into wine, so he leases the vineyard out to workers who will be paid to manage it for him.
He goes on a long far away journey for business that keeps him away from his vineyard for some years while the grapes are growing and the wine is being pressed. Christ tells this story because he wants the rulers of the day to understand how it relates to them. They are the vine-dressers who were supposed to manage the vineyard for the householder. But when the fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the vine-dressers to receive his fruits. And the vine-dressers seized his servants, and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
Surely this was wrong on the part of the vine-dressers. They were hired to work the vineyard and to prepare the wine when the grapes were ripe. They were hired to watch over the vineyard and prepare the fruit for the householder's return. They were given the charge to provide and protect the householders property for which they were being paid. Why did they turn on the householder? Why did they beat and torture the householders servants? What motive could they have for doing such?
Did they consider themselves in charge? Did they consider themselves as owners? Did they desire to have the fruits of the vineyard for themselves, knowing that it belonged to another? What motive could have persuaded them to take such heinous actions? We turn around and see some of the same actions today? Crime is rampant in the streets. Burglaries, robberies, theft, break-ins, all sorts of actions that indicate the same behavior taken by the vine-dressers of the past are still here today.
Why do we have to steal? Why do we have to rob? Why do we have to take by force that which does not belong to us but to others? We see, we want, and we take, seems to be the motto, irrespective of who it belongs to. There is the thrill of it all. And the chase to get away from being caught becomes a thrill to be remembered and repeated until caught.
If we only knew who we are. If we only knew what is given to us. If we only believed that we are already rich beyond our wildest imagination then we would know that we do not have to steal or take that which does not belong to us. More than anything of value on this earth, Christ has given us life anew and this is the most precious gift anyone can give to us. The rest is dirt. All the diamonds and jewels, and money and fame cannot compare to the treasures stored in heaven for those who love the Lord. Nothing can satisfy the hunger, the want, the desire that burns within, except he who has given us life. And it is he who has prepared a place for us in his kingdom. Take not! Steal not! Rob not! Be not that one who believes that he has not when he has all. Christ awaits with open arms to provide for you. Christ awaits with open heart to forgive you. Christ awaits with open spirit to love you with a love that no earthly gift can fulfill. Open your heart, open your mind, take the leap of faith and he will come and be with 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.
Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 18.
The last laborers who were first to be hired felt that they were not treated fairly. They felt that they deserved more. They felt that they had worked the whole day and deserved more than what the others received. They saw the others come into the vineyard. They saw how little work that completed. They saw the amount that they received for the work that was completed. And they believed that they did more work than the others. This is why they believed that they deserved more.
Yet they agreed to work for a denarius. They thought that to work for that amount was fair. They believed that a denarius was a fair wage for a days work, so they agreed to do the work. Yet when others came and when others did less work and when others received the same amount, they were dissatisfied, they grumbled, they murmured, they were angry. And when they spoke to the house-holder about this perceived injustice, the house-holder did not agree with their perception. "But answering one of them, he said, 'Friend, I do thee no injustice."
Where did it all start? Where did the concept of injustice begin? Who brought up the thought? Who spoke of the idea? How did it enter the minds of the laborers as they worked in the vineyard? Was there some outside influence that they did not know about? Was there some outside idea that came to them as they worked that made them think that they should receive more than they agreed to?
Here we are today living in the world seeking to be who we are. What are we? Who are we? What do we believe? Our thoughts and ideas come to us from outside ourselves fed by the electronic media that we live by today. Who decides what that media will say? Who decides what that media will do? Who makes the decisions as to what is sent through that media and what is not sent, what we see and what we do not see, what we perceive and what we do not perceive? We accept what is given us. Some is discarded and some is retained. Some is stored for future use and some is used immediately. Do we filter? Do we reject? Do we block out all that comes in? Yet the media continues to come and we continue to perceive.
Even when the media is off we continue to perceive. We continue to think about what is given us as we seek to utilize the functions of our brains to sort through all that is given us. What was given the laborers? They did not have the media of today. They did not have others making decisions and sending out thoughts and ideas and facts, and all kinds of information for them to take in. Where did their thoughts come from that they would consider themselves done an injustice. Did it come from the air? Did it come from space? Did it come from the netherworld?
We are imperfect beings trying to live in a world not our own. How do we live, how do we survive, how do we protect ourselves in such an environment. Christ said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." His saying is contradictory to what we live by today. We are given to be rich. Our every being our every desire is influenced by the thought that we want to be rich and not poor. And yet the riches of this world that we seek do not satisfy, they do not complete, they do not fulfill. What is there that will complete us? What is there that will fulfill us? What is it that our hearts desire that will gives us lasting joy, lasting happiness, lasting peace? Knock and it shall be opened to you, seek and you shall find, ask and it shall be given to you.
These are the words that come from our heavenly Father through Christ Jesus. If you seek peace then ask. If you seek joy then look. If you want happiness then open the door to your heart and it will come to you who want to know eternal happiness in him who completes all. Be satisfied. Be content. Be knowledgeable in who you are through the spirit that is within you. All you have to do is look within. The path has been prepared for you. All you have to do is walk it.
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.
