St. Matthew, Chapter 23, verses: 34a; Behold, I send you.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Their persecution of religion) Part 9.  

It is amazing and chilling these next sentences in this paragraph because they pose a unique perspective from which we can view the nature of our God.  Christ speaks for God the Father because he is one with the Father.  Everything that he does comes from the Father.  Many times he tells the disciples that a cripple has not sinned as they might believe nor has someone in their family done so.  But it is the will of God that the cripple is there before them that he may be cured so that they might believe in him.

God has allowed those things to happen so that they will serve his purpose in showing the disciples who he is and who his son is, that they may believe in him.  And it is through his son that he works and performs his miracles.  And yet he does not speak.  But in this one sentence the voice of God comes forth after offering the Scribes and the Pharisees opportunity to escape hell.  God tells them:  "Therefore, behold, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them you will put to death, and crucify."

It is the "I" that testifies to the speaker.  For Christ does not speak but it is God the Father that speaks through him telling the Scribes and the Pharisees what they have done and will do to those that God sends to help his people.  They persecute religion and it is the evil within them that has taken over completely and will not let go of their souls.

They are possessed and ignorant of the fact.  They are workers of evil and see no wrong in what they do.  They are doomed to the judgment of hell as those before them and do not understand the punishment before them.  How can they escape?  How can they not reap the rewards of hell?  

How thankful are we to have the knowledge and the understanding we have today.  It has been given us the way and the truth of who we are.  It has been given us the word of God that we may know his will for us that keeps us from harms way.  It has been given us the path to follow that leads us to the kingdom of heaven.  It has been given us a guide to help us along the way that we may not go astray or be led astray.  All this is ours for the asking if we believe in him who came to save us and the one who sent him, our loving Father.  God is real, God is ever living, God is loving and forgiving.  He is merciful and full of joy and hope and peace for those who love him.  God your Father loves you as much as you love him.  Open your heart to him and see.


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 22, verse: 7a; The King's anger.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The king's anger) Part 1.  

We continue the parable of the kingdom of heaven that Christ is relaying to the people so that they can have some understanding.  He tells the story in terms that the people can relate to because they have a king.  And often their king has celebrations that the entire population of that town knows about because he sends out messengers throughout the town to proclaim to the people the news of the celebration.  In this parable the king sends out messengers a second time because no one came when he sent the first message to those invited. 

The king was happy.  He wanted to celebrate with his subjects the marriage of his son and the new bride.  But no one came upon sending out the second messengers.  In fact he learned that his messengers had been beaten and killed.  "But when the king heard of it, he was angry." 

The people of the town can relate to an angry king because they have seen and lived through times when their own king is angry.  They know the consequences of his anger.  And this is an idea that Christ wants the people to know about when they think of the kingdom of heaven.  They killed and destroyed the king's messengers which is something that you did not do in those times. 

Can we relate today to this parable in the same way as the people in the time of Christ?  What would happen today if the word of God was destroyed?  What would God do?  Christ came that we would know of the Father.  He left us with the Church that we would have places to go, places of sanctuary.  And he proclaimed that the kingdom of hell shall not prevail against it. 

So we see today that even though there are instances of evil taking over portions of the church, in total the church still prevails and God watches over that which is his.  For if the church would fall God would become very angry and would seek his vengeance upon those who would seek to destroy that which Christ built.  We have a loving God, a God of peace.  But we also have a God that will anger against those that would seek to destroy that which is his.  Be happy.  Be thankful that wrongs committed against those who seek the righteousness of his word will rouse the anger of our God .  For he is judge and jury, and vengeance is his alone.

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 17, verse: 10, The Vision: The coming of Elias.

Our paragraph topic is:  (On the coming of Elias) Part 2.  

They had witnessed the vision of Christ.  They had seen the vision of Moses and Elias.  They were puzzled by what they had seen and what they had heard.   And yet the disciples knew that they had witnessed a great miracle.  God the Father had spoken to them.  He had  instructed the disciples to listen and hear his son.  He had given them the proof that they needed to believe in Christ through the visions they had witnessed.  So they pondered within their minds the answers as to what they had seen and heard.  But Christ warned them not to speak of it.  He told them not to say what they had seen and heard until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

The sacrifice had to be completed.  The mission had to be finished.  The debt had to be paid so that mankind would be redeemed.  And what they had witnessed must be kept secret until that time.  The disciples were puzzled.  There were questions in their minds.  There were burning answers that needed solutions.  And they did not know how to proceed without answers to those questions.  For they had been taught from childhood by the Pharisees the scriptures of their religion.  They had been drilled as to the passages and the words that were passed down from old.  So they questioned Christ as to the correctness of what they had learned.   And the disciples asked him, saying, " Why then do the Scribes say that Elias must come first? "

Christ had taken three of his disciples up to the mountain that they may experience for themselves the truth of who he was.  He wanted them to know with all certainty that he was the Messiah, the Son of the Father.  So they were there to witness for themselves what they would hold within until the sacrifice had been made and the mission completed.  They asked for understanding.  They sought to know the truth of what they were taught and what they believed.  Christ spoke to them about the raising from the dead, an expression that they did not understand.  And today we ask that same question.

Will we die at the end our last days on earth?  Will we sleep for an eternity when our time comes, only to be awakened at the final call?  What will happen in the end?  Do we go to heaven now and wait for the final judgment to come?  Many have gone beyond death and returned to tell of what lies beyond.  Many have experienced the horrors of hell and come back to warn us of what we will face if we continue in our evil ways.  Does that deter us?  Does that turn us around?  There are many lost souls in the world that do not know the truth.  The message is out there.  We hear it being proclaimed in the background but do not listen.  We have some knowledge of what we are to do to avoid judgment but fail to do it.  We are weak.  We are misled.  We are influenced by the temptations of the world, born into a world destined to lead us away from the truth.

Looking back  on my life, I was lost.  I was misled.  I was caught up in the whirlwind of the world thinking that I had to compete, I had to succeed, I had to win the prize.  Little did I know that I was on the road to destruction.  And if I continued on that road, I would loose my soul and the life that had been given me by the sacrifice made by Christ.  I am grateful that he held on to me.  I am thankful that he gave me life.  I am blessed that he did not give up on me.  Now I know who I am.  Now I have found my treasure.  Now I know with certainty that I am a child of God and my father loves me.  And now I can see me through the veil of the physical and know me for who I am. 

If you are reading this message, come follow the path that is laid before you.  You will find peace.  You will find joy.  You will find happiness.  And you will find the truth of who you are in Christ, here and now.  Be certain.  Be knowing.  Be loved.  Christ loves you, the Holy Spirit will lead you, and God the Father will protect you.  May the gift of God be in your heart.

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!