St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 23; Behold, here's Christ!

 Our paragraph topic is: (The sign of the last day) Part 1.  

We don't think about the last day.  Why?  Probably because we don't believe that we will be around on that day.  We will be dead and gone before it comes around, or so we think.  Who knows when it will happen?  Christ is telling his disciples that it will happen and what to look for.  He is warning them of all the wrong things that will happen that may lead them astray.

This is the paragraph of signs.  It is the paragraph to his disciples then and to believers today of what to know when the last day comes.  It is important to know for all.  We do not know when that day will come.  It may be tomorrow, or the next, or next week, or next year.  In our minds, in our consciousness, we do not consider it happening, but Christ has given us the prediction of the coming of the last day.  And this is what he tells us: "Then if anyone say to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'There he is,' do not believe it."

Don't believe what you hear others say to you, Christ tells us.  Don't believe the rumors and the lies and the scandals that will come from the fear and anxiety of the coming of the last day.  There will be many false prophets and false rumors floating about to lead many astray.  Do not believe.  Do not follow.  Do not be led astray by those who would use you for their own selfish desires of power and glory.

Two thousand years ago Christ warns those who believe in him and the Father who sent him, of the end days.  He told his disciples so that they would know.  He told those who would listen and those who believed.  He laid the foundation for his church that his work would continue into the future for those who did not know him, those who did not see him, those who did not hear his voice but who would believe in his words.  These are the elect, the chosen ones who believe in him and know the truth of his teachings.

He came to give life and to give it more abundantly.  Anyone who believes in him and repents of their sins will be saved.  He gave his life that we might have life, if we choose it.  The choice is ours if we want it.  The life is ours if we know it.  Today, tomorrow, next week, we can have it if we know it.  It is within us.  The light of life comes from Christ.  He is the Savior from which we receive life from the Father, the source of life.  Ask and you shall receive.  God is rich in love and forgiveness for each of us who believe.  

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 22, verses: 42b-43a; Whose son is the Christ?

Our paragraph topic is:  (The son of David) Part 3.  

They knew the answer to the question.  They knew their history and their ancestry, for Jesus was from the tribe of David and this was written for all to know.  But they did not know the meaning of this answer.  They were the scholars of the scriptures.  They had studied the books all their lives, but they had not made the connections.  Or maybe they had made the connections but refused to see the truth in them.

Christ was the son of David but he was also the son of God and that was also written.  They, the scholars, did not want to believe that this man was the Messiah.  They did not want to believe that the Christ would come from such a lowly means, that God would send his son in the place of a man with such low standing.  So when they answered: They said to him, "David’s."   Christ responded:  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord."  

Here was the mind twister, the rattler, the thought that could give them the opportunity to see the truth and be opened.  Christ wanted them to see.  He wanted the Pharisees to understand the truth and be healed.  He had the opportunity to have them all together before him in a group so he posed the question that would make them all think at once.  It would give them the chance to think together, on the same level, to resolve a problem among themselves in his presence.

We are like the Pharisees.  God presents us with problems, issues, that will make us think about the consequences of our actions, of our lives.  He allows things to happen, either to us or for us that we may open our eyes and see who we are.  We are fragile.  We are human.  We are flesh and blood that can easily be destroyed, or injured, where our life is taken away in an instant.  Yet it is not that which is flesh and blood that is of value that we should treasure but that which is of the spirit that is permanent.  We live most of our lives not knowing it and yet it exist within us.  Most times it is not until we come close to loosing it that we realize that it is there.

We are given a choice how to live.  Christ gave us that choice through his love, through his passion.  Thank you Lord for your fulfilling love, for your overwhelming passion.  Thank you for your the sacrifice that you made for me and for mankind.  May we come to understand and know the truth of what you have given us.  Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

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.