St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verse: 22; They Marveled.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Tribute to Caesar) Part 12.  

So finally they heard the words from Christ as to whether one should give tribute to Caesar.  You see they thought that if Christ said that Christians should give tribute to Caesar then that meant that they should worship Caesar as their god.  They believed that Caesar was a god and that there was no other god except him.  But Christ was teaching that there was one and only one God above all including Caesar.  So they wanted to hear his words on this matter so that they would have ammunition for their case against him.

They did not know the truth of who he was.  They were indeed learned.  They were indeed learned in the scriptures, in the Jewish Laws, and text handed down from the time of Moses.  But they did not have the wisdom of God within them.  They did not have the insight of the Holy Spirit upon them that they could interpret the truth in the scriptures.  They only had the words before them and the directions of those who wanted to destroy the living word of God.  Christ spoke his words to them.  And hearing this they marveled, and leaving him went off.

He set them on a different course.  They wanted him to be on one course with Caesar at the head as one god.  But he separated the course and gave them two to follow: Caesar or the living God.  The Jews knew the living God.  He had walked with Abraham, guided Moses, lead them through the desert and into the promised land.  He had protected them and fed them through the forty years, fought the Egyptians to protect them from slaughter.  So they knew their God and what he could do.  Yet they lived under the rule of the Roman Empire and they knew what the Emperor Caesar could do.

They were fearful.  Their rulers sought not to know but only to maintain the status quo, to go along with what was being handed to them through the rulers of the Roman Empire.  The Son of Man came to walk among them and the everyday people felt his presence.  They saw his miracles.  They heard his words.  They walked with him, touched him, lived with him, breathed the same air that he did.  His presence was upon them and they knew.  But the rulers did not.

Each day we live is our trial.  We wake to carry our cross, to be tested as to if we will or will not give way to the temptations that we face.  Will we waver,  will we doubt,  will we give up hope?  The light within flickers and shines less bright.  Yet we must carry on.  We must not falter.  We must find the strength, the courage, to believe, to know, to trust that we are not alone.  We must know that the sacrifice of love and passion was not for naught.  One light shining from a distance can barely be seen, but many shining together light up the universe.  Remember, we are not alone.  He is with us each day, each hour, each and every minute of the day.  We must seek him out and hear his voice within us.  Christ is with us.

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: 12a, Who can accept His teachings?

Our paragraph topic is:  (Continence preferred to marriage) Part 3.

His teachings were given that day that he told his disciples about marriage and adultery.  Through Christ the Father told the world of his plans, his purpose for man and woman.  For they were created with a purpose, a plan.  They were designed physically to bond together.  They were given from birth to cleave to one another and to become one flesh.  For through one flesh they would create.  Through one flesh they would provide the physical beings for the future.  Through one flesh they would open the door to all the others that would come after them.

The disciples did not understand.  They did not see the plan, the purpose.  They were still in the physical and not in the spirit.  They had not yet been reborn in the spirit of Christ and the justice the he would bring to the whole of mankind.  Through temptation man was disobedient.  Through deceit mankind died.  Through death mankind was doomed.  But Christ came and redeemed all.  He came and brought the teachings of his Father that all would know his will.  And he left with us the living words to open our hearts and give life to our souls that we could know the truth of who we are in him.  Who can accept his teachings on bonding and adultery? "For there are eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb."

There are those who were born eunuchs from their mother's womb.  These are those who can accept his teaching.  They have no issue with bonding.  They have no issue with marriage.  They have no issue with becoming one flesh.  They are without the means to bond.  Yet they were created in the image and likeness of God our Father.  They are physical and spiritual.  They have a purpose.  They belong to the plan.  They are children of the father just as you and I are also.

He created us all.  He gives us life.  He protects and provides.  He guides us if we allow.  For the decision is ours to make.  The path is ours to walk.  The life is ours to lead if we choose.  Be not deceived.  Be not led astray.  Be not an evil doer.  For those are the unknowing.  Those are the ones who are of the flesh and not of the spirit.  Those are the ones that are led by the inclinations of evil.  Where are you?  What do you believe?  What do you know about who you are?  Or do you know who you are?

Many would think that they are physical in the body.  Many would believe that they are flesh and bone and nothing else.  Yet within the flesh is a spirit.  Within the flesh is the life.  Within the flesh is the likeness given us by the Father.  Can you believe?  Can you accept?  Can you truly know the spirit within?  Christ gave us the truth.  He told us who we are.  He spoke on many occasions of the life that is within.  Yet we do not believe.  We do not accept.  We do not know.  The world has not taught us so.  So we walk through life without the knowledge of who we are in Him. 

Come!  Seek the truth in who you are.  Search and find the knowledge that will awaken the flame of your spirit and you will see.  Do not be afraid.  For the world will tell you not.  The world will whisper to you falsely.  The world would have you ignorant.  Christ came to give life.  He died that we would be awaken.  He arose that there would be witnesses to the truth.  And he sits at the right hand of the Father that we may see his majesty and glory.  His advocate awaits your awakening.  His advocate calls to your heart.  The Holy Spirit sits at your door waiting to be invited in.  Open the door to your heart and you will know the peace and joy that this world cannot offer.  Come!  Know 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 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: 11, The Lost Sheep: Why the Son of Man came.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The lost sheep) Part 2.    

The little ones have angels in heaven.  The little ones have a direct connection to God our Father.  The little ones are protected.  The little ones are provided for.  The little ones are special in the eyes of God.  But the little ones were lost.  The little ones were divided.  The little ones were without a shepherd.  And then Christ came. 

Christ came to take back what was lost.  Christ came to redeem.  Christ came that all was not lost and all the little ones would not face the justice of God.  For man had sinned.  Man had disobeyed the command of God.  And man must face the justice of God, for God is the ultimate judge and justice must be served.  There was a contest.  There was a battle.  There was a test between man and Satan, between physical and spiritual, between the lowly flesh and the spiritual cunning of a fallen angel.  Man lost.  The punishment was pronounced.  The sin was committed and the judgment was enacted.  And Christ came.  He came to renew.  He came to take back.  He came to be tested.  He came to pay the price.  He came to be the sacrifice.  He came to save.  And Christ told his disciples:  "For the Son of Man came to save what was lost."

What was lost?  Where can it be found?  Is it something that is worth finding, something of value, something that we should waste time thinking about finding?  Christ thought so.  God thought that it was worth getting back.  He gave a precious gift to have it returned.  He wanted it returned.  He did not want to loose it. 

Our Father is a loving father, so much so that he forgives, he loves deeply, he has mercy, he understands, he is compassionate.  The Son of Man came to save what was lost.  He came to be tested.  Adam was tested and he failed the test.  Christ came and he passed the test.  He came and he was tried.  He came and he would not bend, he would not relent, he would not give up, he would not yield to the temptations, and they killed him because he could not be broken.  He paid the price.  He was the sacrifice.  He was the restitution for the injustice.

I was lost.  I was asleep in the world.  I was committed to the world, even though I had been given the truth as a child.  I was raised in the church.  I was committed to the church and yet I left the church and went out into the world.  I wanted to be a part of the world.  I wanted to be accepted in the world.  I wanted to be successful in the world.  And I committed myself to it.  The world used me.  The world abused me.  The world tore me down.  And the world took me to the crossroads of temptation. 

The world said to me, in order to be successful you must be ruthless.  It said to me, in order to be successful you must be cunning.  It said to me that in order to be successful you must be vengeful, you must be murderous.  I was lost.  I was on the verge of stepping off that cliff.  And then, out of desperation, I sought help.  I called out to my father for help.  I cried for relief. And he reached out and held my hand.  He reached out and lifted me up.  He reached out and pulled me from the brink of destruction. 

He gave me hope.  He gave me faith.  He showed me compassion.  He opened my eyes and allowed me to see the truth of who I am.  I am no longer lost.  I am no longer wandering.  I am no longer asleep.  I am here and I am now.  I am in him and he is in me.  I am a light in the darkness because I know who I am.  Christ came to save me.  Christ came to save you.  Christ came to save all that want to be saved.  Do you want to be saved?  Do you want to know the truth of who you are?  Ask him to save you.  Ask to know him.  Ask to believe in him.  Ask to seek him and he will seek you.  He saved me and gave me a new life.  He will save 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 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.