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 18, verse:17b, Fraternal Correction: Appeal to the church to save him.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 5.   

The battle is against sin and the weapon is love.  Christ spoke to his disciples on the battle to win souls.  He spoke with them about how to keep the souls that may be lost to sin.  For sin will come.  And sin will enter.  And sin will corrupt.  So the disciples had to learn the ways to fight sin.  They had to learn the process, the steps, the means to combat sin once it had taken hold.  For they loved each other.  The disciples loved their brothers and sisters and did not want to loose them to the ways of sin.  

Christ told them to meet with their brother face to face.  Speak with them about their transgressions.  Speak to them with love.  For the battle is to win back thy brother.  The battle is to win back thy sister.  And if this did not work then take one or two more and speak with thy brother.  For they will be witnesses as to the ways and the nature of sin.  Once sin has taken hold it will not want to let go.  And if this does not work then Christ told his disciples to appeal to the church.  Appeal to the body of the church.  For all must be made aware of the transgression that sin may not have a way into the church.  But if thy brother still does not hear, then Christ told his disciples:  "But if he refuse to hear even the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican."

Release them and treat them as though they are heathens.  Treat them as though they are possessed of sin.  Treat them as though they are lost.  And let the church prey that they may be saved by the grace of God.  For we are the children of God.  We are created in his image and likeness.  And our Father will continue to hold us in his hands until, we let go.  For he loves us as his children.  He provides for us as he is our father.  He protects us as he is our protector.  And he gave us free will as he is gracious.  For the decision is ours.  The choice belongs to us.  The will of the father will not be imposed upon the children, but they must choose of their own free will.

So we stand at the crossroads.  We walk the fence of life knowing, but not knowing, according to the flesh.  For the flesh tells us that we do not know.  The flesh tells us that we do not have proof.  The flesh tells us that we belong to the world.  The flesh blind us.  The flesh weakens us.  The flesh destroys the memory of who we are in Christ.  And the flesh leads us to death.  For Christ came that we would have life anew.  Christ came to pay the sacrifice.  Christ came that the light of his life would shine forth in us.  He came that we would know the truth of who we are in him.

We are the aliens.  We are spiritual.  We are not of the flesh and not of this world.  For death is only a door that opens to the spiritual that is within us.  Death is the portal to eternity.  Death is the beginning of life, as we have never known here in the flesh.  And for those who can see, death is the transition from flesh to spirit, from worldly to heavenly, from the known to the light of life that is within.  Come!  See the light that Christ has given you.  Know the truth of who you are.  Open the eye to the soul and awaken the spirit that is you.  The Holy Spirit will come and abide.  The Holy Spirit will reveal.  The Holy Spirit will bring light that will shine forth in your life and be your counsel.  For the Father has sent him to abide with you.  Follow the path before you and you will know the truth.  Christ loves you and wants you to be with him in 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 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:17a, Fraternal Correction: Appeal to the church to save him.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 4.  

The battle is with sin and the weapon is love.  We love our brothers and sisters.  We would have them saved.  We would have them share in the riches of heaven.  We would have them experience the love of Christ and the protection of God the Father.  But the ways of sin are deceiving.  The ways of sin will blind.  The ways of sin will overpower and contaminate the mind and the soul.  And the soul will lose the light of life when it turns away from light into darkness.

Christ tells his disciples if the face to face talk fails, and the meeting with two or more fails, then appeal to the church.  For we are at war with sin.  We need reinforcements to overcome the black grip of sin.  Sin will enter the soul.  Sin will take hold.  And sin will overpower the mind and the soul until one is unable to recognize the deep dark hole that sin has taken us to.  Light become darkness.  Good becomes evil and our sister or brother may be lost to the ways of sin.  Christ tells his disciples:  "And if he refuse to hear them, appeal to the Church."

Seek the counsel of the church.  Seek the wisdom of the elders.  Seek the prayers and supplications of the body of Christ that thy brother or sister may be saved from sin.  For if there is any hope, if there is any good left in them, if there is any spark of life left within, then every effort must be made to save them.  Who would want to see thy brother condemned?  Who would want to see thy brother or sister cast into the fire of eternal damnation?  They know not what they do.  They have no understanding of the consequences of their actions.  They are blinded by the appeal of sin.  They are asleep in the world of sin and do not know that they are asleep. 

Try to awaken them and they resist.  Try to appeal to them and they deny.  Try to show them and they refuse to see.  For they see the world in a different light than we do.  They see the world through rose colored glasses and everything is fine to them.  Yet to take off the glasses is unwanted in their eyes.  The battle is with sin and the weapon is love.  For God's love fulfills all.  God's love completes all.  God's love is all that our life and our light needs for fulfillment.  And without his love we are nothing.  Without his love we are void.  Without his love we wither and die and become darkness. 

So take the light of love with thee and shine it into the darkness that they may see the truth.  Love thy brother.  Love thy sister.  Not with a physical love but with a spiritual love that comes from the heart, should we love one another.  For we are spirits.  We are aliens.  We are the light that Christ gave us when he became our sacrifice.  Through him we have been given life anew.  And with this new life one can find the peace and love and charity that comes from God.  

With the realization of the truth of who we are comes the separation of the mind and the spirit.  And with this separation comes the open door that brings forth the light of the Holy Spirit.  For he will provide.  He will protect.  He will counsel.  He will show forth the love that God our Father has for each and every man, woman, and child.  Come!  Follow the path that leads to understanding.  Follow the path that will enlighten.  Follow the path that will open the door to the light of life that is within you.  Christ awaits you.  The Holy Spirit seeks to know you.  And the Father seeks to love you as his child.

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:16, Fraternal Correction: Second: Take thy witnesses.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Fraternal correction) Part 3.  

And if thy brother listens then you have won him back.  For it is the battle with sin that we wage.  It is the temptations that sin brings that causes us to stray.  It is the sway of those who have accepted sin in their lives that causes us to run with the crowd.  But Christ says to his disciples, win thy brother back.  Speak to him face to face.  Love him face to face.  Offer to him the love and protection that the father gives that he may know the truth.  For sin will blind.  Sin will corrupt.  Sin will turn the soul away from the father and bring judgment.

And if he does not listen to thee, bring others to confirm.  Bring others to persuade.  Bring others with thee that they may be witnesses to thy brother's/sister's sin.  Bring others that they may assist in the fight against sin.  The goal is to win back.  The fight is with the sin that has taken our brothers and sisters.  The battle is not to defame,  not to belittle, not to cast out the baby and the bath water.  For we love our brothers and our sisters just as we love ourselves.  And Christ and the Father loves them more.  This is why he spoke to his disciples instructing them to take one or two others with them to speak with thy brother that they may help in the fight against sin.  He told them:  "But if he do not listen to thee, take with thee one or two more so that on the word of two or three witnesses every word may be confirmed.    

Sin corrupts the mind and the body.  Sin takes hold like an octopus and will not let go.  And yet it is the love of Christ that we seek to pass to our beloved brothers and sisters that they may know the truth of who they are in Christ.  If they only knew what they do.  If they only knew what they for sake.  If they only knew what they will receive.  It is this knowledge that we seek to give, seek to convey to those that have turned away.  For without it we are easily persuaded by sin.  Without the truth of who we are in Christ we do not see the light of life that is within us.  Without it we do not know the truth of who we are in Christ and we then are easily persuaded by the tricks of sin and the traps of evil.

Evil seeks to turn us away from the light of life.  Evil seeks to kill the light of life that is within us and turn us into darkness.  For darkness can live within us just as the light of life is who we are.  God created us in his image and likeness and gave us the light of life that we may know who we are.  The Holy Spirit will come and reside with those who seek him.  The Holy Spirit  will come and protect those who want to know him.  The Holy Spirit will come and provide for those who love him.  For Christ has told us that he will not leave us as orphans but will send the Advocate to be with us. 

Fight the good fight.  Seek the truth of who you are in Christ and you will know the light of life.  For you are an alien in this world.  You are a resident of heaven and are only here to carry the message that Christ lives and Christ loves and Christ provides.  Be the light that shines upon the hill that everyone can see.  Turn away from the temptations of sin and turn to the light of life that is within you.  Seek to know the truth that is within your heart.  God loves you.  Christ sacrificed for you.  The Holy Spirit will come to you and then you will know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Come!  Follow the path before you.  Life has been given to me and I seek to show you the path that has been given me to follow.  Great is the way of the Lord. 

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 12, verse: 30, Choose your side: Gatherer or Scatterer.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 5. 

The lines are being drawn.  The battle continues.  The sides are chosen and the players know the stakes at hand.  Christ has given the Pharisees the run down on his prophecy of what is about to happen.  They listen and are astonished that such a man, a man in their eyes and not the Messiah as they see it, would give such a statement to them, the men of authority, the men of power.  Christ told them that the kingdom of God was upon them and they did not see it.  He told them that there will be plundering because the strong man had been bound and all his treasures would be taken from him.  

Christ was speaking to the Pharisees and he was speaking to their counsels , the devil.  He was giving notice that he came to plunder.  He was giving notice that he came to take back the treasures that were stolen from the kingdom.  He came to separate the good from the evil, the just from the unjust, the damned from those who would be saved by his actions.  let nothing or no one get in his way.  For he brought the sword of God with him.  He brought the sword that would cut, the sword that would slash, the sword that would slice to the bone.  Christ came to bring victory to the house of God and to restore what was taken by force.

He told the Pharisees,  "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.   So the Pharisees knew without a shadow of a doubt where they stood.  They knew that they did not follow Christ.  They knew that they were against him, for he sought to take away their power over the people and spoke directly against their teachings.  So they knew that they were against him and being such, they knew that they were there to scatter.  For they wanted to divide the people.  They wanted to turn them away from Christ.  They wanted to be the leaders of the people.  They wanted the people to follow them and not Christ.

Give God the glory for he is worthy of the glory.  Give God the praise for he is worthy of the praise.  Unity in Christ is our desire and our future.  We desire to be one in Him and being in Him we are one with each other.  Yet we have those who would scatter, in our churches, in our towns, in our villages, in our homes, in our markets, at work, at school, wherever we are.  We have those who would seek their own praise and their own glory instead of giving it to God.  Do we go to church to scatter or to gather?  Do you go to church to be with Christ or to be against Him?  For in our churches, in our synagogues, in our chapels, we are one in union with Christ. 

There are many Pharisees in the midst of the believers.  There are those who would scatter for their own glory.  There are those who would scatter for their own gain.  There are those who would scatter for their own praise and yet they are not worthy.  And praise be to God that there are those who gather.  There are those who, through their efforts, others are brought into the church.  There are those who, through their sacrifice and their devotion, work to build up the church.  And they are the ones who are with Christ.  They are the ones who love Christ.  They are the ones who have the spirit of Christ within their hearts and know him.  Be not deceived.  There are workers in the church who work to build up the kingdom but they do not know Christ.  He does not live within them, for they work for their own glory and edification.  Give God the praise that all things work for the good.  Be not a scatterer but a gatherer with Christ.  Be with Him and not against Him.  The battle continues, even within you.  Come, join the army.  Which side do you choose? 

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 29, Christ's promise to plunder.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 4. 

So the Pharisees wanted to do battle and they brought their fight to Christ.  They accused him of having the power of Satan to cast out demons.  This was their way of casting doubt.  This was their way of bringing fear.  This was their way of dividing the people so that they could regain the control that they were loosing to the teachings and miracles of Christ.  In their crooked minds they thought that by making this statement they would bring a shadow over Christ and cause the people to wonder.  But Christ brought the fight to them.  He told them a house divided would not stand.  He told them that by their fear and doubt their children would be their judges on the day of judgment.  He told them that because of their blindness that the kingdom of God had come upon them and they did not even know it.  The battle continued.

And as the final blows took place, Christ brings the TKO to the Pharisees with these words: "How can anyone enter the strong man's house, and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  Then he will plunder his house."   So Christ gave them a forewarning of things to come.  He would plunder their house of authority over the people.  He would bind their power and release the people, loosing them from the authority of the Pharisees.  This was a prophecy to the Pharisees who then had to stand back and take heed of these words.  For they were warnings that they could not overlook.  They were signs of the times that they had to address.  These words were a slap in their face of their coming demise.  They did not know.  They did not understand the one that they came before.  They only saw him as a man and not the Messiah.

Not only did Christ speak to the Pharisees but he also spoke to the demons that possessed the Pharisees that led them to come against Christ.  He spoke to the demons of the coming downfall of their authority.  He spoke to the demons of their house being plundered and all of their treasures being taken away.  For what did the demons treasure most, the capture of the righteous 
souls of men, for Christ had not yet completed his mission.  What did they seek to accomplish day in and day out, except to bring mankind to turn against God and to live in hell with them for the rest of eternity.  But Christ spoke to them through the Pharisees.  The strong man is being bound and the house of hell will be plundered.  And the righteous souls of hell would be released and brought to the kingdom of God for all eternity.

Which side will you belong, in the coming battle?  Which side will you lend your support?  Judge wisely or judge not.  The decision is made, with or without your consent, for the judge will decide for those who wait.  Be not dead to the kingdom of God, for it is upon you.  Judgment will come when you least expect it, whether you are prepared or not.  The dead of the world are dead.  They do not know.  They do not believe.  They will discover the truth.  Open your eyes, now.  Open your minds, now.  Open your hearts, now, to the wisdom of God and he will bring you to salvation.  Be not the fence dweller.  Be not the changeling, part in the world and part in the spirit.  The two do not coexist together in you.  You are either of the world completely or of the spirit completely.  Otherwise you choose to walk the fence.  And those who walk the fence can be snatched off by evil. 

The battle continues even today.  Where does your soul belong?  Does it belong to Christ or to the devil?  You do not know!  Christ calls to you to come to him, not partially but totally.  Give to him totally and he will give to you completely.  Most people fear giving themselves to Christ because they still belong to the world.  Deep down they believe that total commitment to Christ is for those religious fanatics and not for them. So they continue to do the repetitious behaviors only giving on the surface and not giving deeply, down to the heart.  Christ wants 100% and not 50%.  Christ wants all of you and not half to him and half to the devil.  Release your soul from evil.  Come to Christ.  If you only knew the riches of his rewards you would run into his arms.  Christ awaits you!  The Holy Spirit desires to be with you!  God the Father loves you!

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 28, The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 3. 

So the Pharisees wanted to fight.  They wanted to cast doubt upon Christ.  They wanted to create suspicion upon his name.  Consulting with their partners, the devil, they came up with the thought that Christ was a partner with Beelzebub.  And they spoke it to him.  But Christ refuted them and schooled them on what they were doing.  He told them that a house divided will not stand.  He told them that if he was under the power of Satan then how is it that their children were able to cast out demons calling upon the same power that he did.  He told them that because their children believed in that same power, they would be the judges of the Pharisees at the day of judgment.

Christ was meek.  Christ was mild.  But the Pharisees wanted to battle so Christ brought them to the battle.  He spoke to them the words that ran ice chills down their backs.  He told them, "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."   This was a chilling thought.  The kingdom of God had come upon them.  They then had to understand what this meant.  They had to know that they then were fighting with God.  They then had to understand the consequences of their actions, the consequences of their words. 

The thought came and the next thought was that of the demons pulling them back into the pit of their reality, telling them that this could not be.  The demons had them to think that the Spirit of God was not upon this man and the kingdom was not upon them.  The demons told them that these were the ramblings of a possessed man and that they should find some way to get rid of him.  For the people did not see as they saw.  The people did not understand as they understood.  The people did not know as they knew.  So they continued to battle, blinded by the reality that stood before them, Christ Jesus, the Messiah.

Are you blinded by the reality of the world and unable to see the reality of the kingdom?  Are you in the world, unable to let go because of the fear spoken to you by the devil?  Christ wants you to let go.  Christ wants you to let God.  Christ wants to demonstrate to you the awesome power of his love for you.  But you can not experience it until you let go, until you let God direct your life.  When you express you release of the world and speak your dependence on God, the miracle begins.  Once the miracle begins your life will not be the same again. 

The demons will try to pull you back.  They will bring you doubt.  They will try to bring you fear.  They will try to turn you back.  But those who persevere will begin to see the change.  They will begin to know in little ways that God provides.  They will see the miracles taking place before their eyes and the kingdom of God will be upon them.  Patience is required.  Perfect patience is needed.  For a ocean liner is not turned around on a dime and your destiny will not be changed over night.  Walk the path with Christ and he will provide.  Seek the knowledge of the Holy Spirit and he will guide.  Know the words given by Christ and God will protect and provide.  God loves you!

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 26 - 27, They sought Division: Satan vs Satan.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 2. 

And they came to him seeking to divide.  They came to him seeking to cast doubt.  They came to him seeking to destroy the power of the kingdom of heaven.  The battle continues, for they did not know to whom they came.  And Christ was meek.  Christ was mild.  Christ was gentle in his response to the accusations of the Pharisees.  For they accused him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub.  They accused him of being evil.  They accused him of having the power of the devil, and they did not know.

Christ refutes them simply by saying,  "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?"   For he had told them that a house divided will not stand.  He had shown them the simple truth of their misstatement.  Yet, from their own mouths, they spoke these words of evil, thereby condemning themselves.  For they said that Christ, the Son of Man, was evil, that he had the power of evil, that he belonged to the house of evil.  For they were fearful.  They feared for their positions and their authority.  They saw Christ as a threat and wanted to eliminate him and separate him from the people.  So they sought to bring division into the minds of the people by making the Messiah look evil to the people.

But Christ had mercy.  Christ forgave them.  Christ opened the door to let them come in.  But they refused to come.  Christ told them,  And if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out?   For the children of the Pharisees called upon the same power that Christ himself called, the one true God, Jehovah.  He called upon his father to give him the power to cast out demons, heal the sick, make the lame walk, and the blind see.  And this is the one and same God that the children of the Pharisees called upon also.  For they believed in God.  They followed his commandments.  They knew of his power.  And they, the children of the Pharisees, loved him.  But the Pharisees did not understand.  They were fearful and followed the counsel of evil. 

Christ, therefore, told them that because they did not believe, their children, "Therefore they shall be your judges."   On the day of judgment, their children would be present.  On the day of judgment, their children would give witness.  On the day of judgment their children will be their judges, condemning them to hell.  Christ wanted them to see.  He wanted them to understand.  He wanted them to change their ways and turn from evil that he might love them.  But they would not.  They could not.  They were lost and captured by evil and kept imprisoned by their own wills, their own desires, their own fears.

Will your children judge you or will you have to give judgment for them on the day of judgment?  Do not be captured by evil, for it will imprison you and not let go.  It will drag you to the deepest darkest corner of despair and offer to end your life as an option.   Christ will come for you, if you only ask him.  He will help you, if you become open to him.  He will guide you, if you will only follow him.  Be not trapped with evil.  Turn to Christ for salvation.  For salvation is not something that is shunned because it signifies the church.  Salvation is in the world, with you.  Salvation is with you at all times, in daylight and darkness.  Salvation is ever present even outside of the church in your time of need.  Seek not the four walls of the church but seek first the salvation of Christ and the church will welcome you.  The church will accept you.  The church will know you.  For through Christ is your salvation.  Through Christ is your deliverance from evil.  And through Christ is your life eternal in heaven.  Come, take his hand and he will lead you to salvation!

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 24, The Battle continues: The Possessed Pharisees

Our paragraph topic is:  (Pharisees ascribe a miracle to the devil) Part 2. 

And then the Pharisees heard the sayings of the crowd and they became possessed.  They became possessed with anger.  They became possessed with jealousy.  They became possessed with envy.  They became possessed with hatred and the devil had them.  For they did not know how to understand the power of Christ.  They did not know how to understand how such a man could do the things that he did.  And then they had an idea.  And then they thought that they knew.  And then they were given the thoughts that were given to them by evil, "Say that Christ performed miracles by the power of evil, Beelzebub."

They were possessed.  They did not understand.  They were filled by the spirits of evil for they said,  "This man does not cast out devils except by Beelzebub, the prince of devils."   For you see, they said "This Man."  They did not know that this man was the Messiah.  They did not see, that this man was the Messiah.  They did not hear his words, and they did not understand his miracles.  For he spoke the words of the Father and they fulfilled the prophecy of Isaias.  And the battle continues.

Christ was meek.  Christ was mild.  He did not raise his voice in the streets.  He did not wrangle with the Pharisees.  For his actions were written of in the scriptures.  He was foretold of before his time.  And they did not know Him.  So they gathered together and took counsel and plotted and planned how to trap him, how to trick him, how to destroy him.  For they could not stop him from teaching.  They could not stop him from preaching.  They could not stop him from healing the sick, making the lame walk, opening the eyes of the blind, casting out demons, and raising the dead.  So they had to kill Him.  They had to get rid of Him.  They had to destroy Him.  For he was the Son of God.

Are you a meek person?  Are you a mild person?  Do you speak softly and carry the will of God with you?  Will you be a witness for His glory today, wherever you go?  The battle continues.  The demons gather to plot against you.  The demons lay tricks and traps to destroy you.  They seek you out at home, at work, in the streets, in your car, while you are driving, at the mall, in the grocery store, wherever you are, they will seek to work against you.  Seek your refuge in Christ.  Carry him with you, in the mall, at home, in the stores, at work, wherever.  Where you go, so also must He go with you.  He is your protection.  He is your provider.  He is your daily food.  For in Him and Through Him, and by Him, you will find your reward.  Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all else is provided.  Be a soldier for Christ.  The battle continues!

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verses: 22 - 23, The Battle continues: The Possessed Man.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Pharisees ascribe a miracle to the devil) Part 1. 

They mistake his meekness.  They mistake his mildness.  They underestimate his authority.  They do not understand who he is.  The prophets have spoken of Him.  Isaias has written of Him.  They have read of Him in their synagogues.  They have known of Him for ages.  But they do not know Him when he came.  They did not see Him when he was before them.  They did not hear the words that were spoken to them.  They were blind.  They were deaf.  They were dumb.  And the battle continues.

St Matthew tells us,  "Then there was brought to him a possessed man who was blind and dumb."   The lost souls continue to come and Christ continues to take back what was stolen.  He continues to bring souls to God through his miracles.  He continues to win the battles with the demons who had taken possession of the hearts and minds and souls of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  They brought them from all over.  They brought them from far away  towns and villages.  They brought them from nearby cities.  They brought them from across the Jordan because the word had spread of the kingdom.  And the demons gathered together to stop it.  

"And he cured him so that he spoke and saw," St Matthew tells us.  He opened his eyes and cleared his tongue and the man spoke again.  After years of oppression, after years of dominion, after years of pain and suffering, he spoke.  He saw.  And the sight that he saw was glorious.  He saw his redeemer.  He saw his salvation.  He saw with his first sight the Savior of the world.  And the crowd rejoiced with him.  The crowd stood in awe.  The crowd gave glory to God that such a one had come among them.  But the Pharisees gathered in counsel to plot against.  The Pharisees gathered in counsel with evil to determine how they would bring him down.  The Pharisees gathered in counsel to sacrifice the lamb and fulfill the prophecy.   "And all the crowds were amazed, and they said, "Can this be the Son of David?"  

He lives today and we do not see Him.  He speaks today and we do not hear Him.   He loves today and we do not love Him.  What is it going to take for our eyes to be opened, for our ears to be cleansed, for our hearts to be receiving, for Him to come to us?  Will it take disaster?  Will it take loss?  Will it take pain and suffering for us to know Him?  Will we not know Him willfully?  Will we not seek Him knowingly?  Will we not love Him fully?  For he calls to us daily.  He seeks us always.  He loves us continually.  He protects us forever.  He is our God.  He is our Father.  He is our brother and sister and mother.  He is Christ Jesus.  Come know Him, today!  Seek Him, now!  Love Him, forever and he will love you.  The battle continues.  On which side will you be?