St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 4; Led astray.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ warns them not to be led astray) Part 1.  

So they wanted to know.  Their hearts and minds were curious as to the how and the wherefore of the coming doom.  It was burning inside of them to know.  But they could not know.  They were not ready to know.  It was not the time or the place for them to know.  The panic would have taken hold and led them astray.

They were like little children who had to be protected if they were told of the boogie man without no one to keep them from harm, no father or mother, or sister or brother.  They were not ready to hear the truth of what was coming.  Christ had to prepare them for the truth.  He had to first fill their minds and hearts and spirits with the truth of who they were in him so that nothing could harm them before they could receive the message.  And in answer Jesus said to them, "Take care that no one leads you astray."

Our message today also is to take care not to be led astray.  It is easy in this world of hype, glamour, and glitz to be led astray, to be hypnotized, to be mesmerize by all that we see, hear and come to believe.  We are raised in a protected environment that our parents and guardians try to give us to put us on the right path to life.  But as we grow older we examine that path and want to change it believing that it needs to be changed to fit what we see as our wants, needs and desires.  And as we enter the world on our own we have to make our own decisions as to what is right and wrong for us, as a path to take in life which will lead us in the direction that we want to go.

Many times we find ourselves, later on in life, along a path that we want to change or that we wish we had not taken, a path that led us astray.  And in every attempt we make an effort to turn our lives around  to go in a different direction.  Christ directed his disciples not to be led astray.  He wanted them to stay on the path that he had given them, the path that makes them his disciples, his preachers and teachers of the gospel.  The church must be built and must spread throughout the land after he leaves.  It will be up to the disciples to complete his work.  They must not be led astray.

We have a purpose also, not to be led astray.  Our purpose is to choose to live or to die in Christ, to accept him as our savior, to be born again into a new life or to die into the darkness of death.  And with that choice comes the joy of living a life that he has shown us how to live, sharing the love of the new life he has given us with others that they too may know the truth of new life in Christ.  It is a joyous life, a happy life, a life of peace and love, a life of fulfillment in him who fulfills all.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in him!

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 23, verses: 4; Heavy Burdens.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 3.  
Christ now teaches the disciples and the people about the Scribes and the Pharisees.  He tells them to follow the rules and the regulations that proclaimed by the Scribes and the Pharisees because they have taken the Seat of Moses.  He wants them to obey the laws.  He wants them to understand the difference in what it means to be a Scribe or a Pharisee and the actions of leadership they take.

We follow our leaders and look up to them as examples.  We practice their ways and model their speech and actions.  But Christ tells the people:  "And they bind together heavy and oppressive burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders; but not with one finger of their own do they choose to move them."  

We follow those who lead us.  They are the ones we look to, to give us direction and understanding of purpose.  We listen to their speeches.  We believe in their actions.  We obey the rules and laws that they pass down to us because they are our leaders.  We are solders who do without question the commands that are given us.  We do not question their actions even though we may think that the commands we are given are wrong.

Christ wants us to see, to understand that the actions of those who lead us determine who they are.  Their actions speak to the person that we follow.  Their actions show us the contradictions of those that we follow.  Our eyes must see and know the difference in what we hear and what we see.  We should not be blind following those who would lead us to destruction.  

Observe and do but do not act according to their works, he tells the crowd and the disciples.  He came that we would have life and not death.  He lived that we would know of a Father who loves us.  He died that we could be justified as a people from the sins of the world.  He ascended that we would know that he is in heaven waiting for us to come home.  He is the example to follow.  He is the guide.  He is the Lord of all who seek to know his passion for us.  

The Lord is with us in every situation that we encounter.  He is our support and our shoulder in our time of need.  Seek him and you will find your answer to the why of life.  Follow him and he will lead the way.  Trust him and he will give you peace.   

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: 5; And they laughed at the invitation.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The marriage feast) Part 4.  

You see, Jesus is comparing the kingdom of heaven to a king preparing a wedding feast for his son.  He wants to have fun and merriment during the celebration and he wants all those invited to have a good time.  So he has made all these elaborate preparations so that there will be music and wine and food enough for all.  He has sent out invitations to all those that he would like to attend but they refused to come.

Those that were invited talked about coming.  They thought about making preparations to come.  They did not show.  "But they made light of it, and went off, one to his farm, and another to his business."  

We are party people.  Why would one turn down an invitation to a party?  In this day and time a well planned party is a welcomed opportunity.  It is like a vacation away from the ordinary dull drums of the work-a-day world we live in.  But Christ was making a comparison for those to hear who could understand his meanings and his message.  One has to question himself as to why would one not go to a celebration.

We can think of reasons why: "It's going to be a bad party.", "No one is going to be there.", "The celebration will be dull and boring, the same as before.", "It will not be a fun time that one will remember because one cannot have fun with the king present."  There are many reasons that they did not want to go to the wedding celebration.  

What are our reasons today?  Do we not want to be at the celebration?  Do we not want to go to the wedding feast of the king's son?  Do we not want to praise and honor to the one so blessed as to unite with a bride to begin a new life?  What do we have to say about the feast?  There are things that we have to do to prepare ourselves.  We must have the proper clothing to wear.  We must have the right attitude when attending so that we might enjoy ourselves.  Are we preparing to go to the feast?

Christ wants us to understand the kingdom of heaven.  He provides us with examples that we can understand and relate to so that our minds are open to the message he wants to give us.  Just as those who laughed at the invitation and made light of it, we do the same today.  We say that we want to go but we make no plans.  We say that we want to be there but we do not want to make the preparations to be there.  We say that we will be there but we go about doing the same things that lead us in a different direction.  What do we want?  What are we doing?

The path that leads to the celebration is like a path of enlightenment.  For this celebration the whole path is filled with wonderful joys and happiness that we can not even imagine.  Our eyes are opened.  Our hearts are filled along the way.  And that which is within us is awakened to the truth of who we are.  We become more alive because we realize who we are becoming and where the path is taking us.  The celebration is a wonderful place to be and the path that leads to it is filled with prizes of enlightenment.

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: 4; A second invitation.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The marriage feast) Part 3.  

No one had come to the feast.  The king had sent out invitations to all the nobles and the important guest but no one came.  He wanted to have the great hall filled with guest and party goers so that there would be merriment and laughter.  He wanted all those who were of importance to be there to see his son and new wife celebrate their vows, but no one came.   

So he sent out a second invitation.  "Again he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatlings are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast." 

You see, they were invited.  They were the ones who were sent invitations to come to the party.  They were the ones who were favored to come.  They were the ones who from the beginning knew about the great celebration and the marriage feast of the son but they did not come, they refused to come and celebrate with the king.  There was something in the air, something was amiss with the celebration and the people who were invited knew and refused to participate.

Are we the same today?  Do we refuse to come to the party, to the wedding feast?  We are invited.  We were sent the invitations. But there is something amiss that prevents us from going from wanting to go to participate.  

Are there requirements to participate?  Do we have to jump through hoops to go, or pay a fee to get in?  What do we have to do to be invited, or even to go.  We believe that this is going to be a great celebration.  We have been told that it will be the party of a lifetime, like no other.  So what will it take for us to go.  Will it cost too much?  Will it take up too much of our time and energy to prepare?  Will it be worth the energy going?  Is there another party that is better that we would like to go to that is being held at the same time?  What do we decide, what do we do?  Do we plan to go or not?

Faced with this decision what will you decide?  What will you do?  Will you continue along the road you travel or will you make the turn to the right that leads back to the wedding feast?  You know that you have heard about it.  You know that you want to go.  Yet there is something that holds you here, something that causes you to hesitate in your decision.  Do not waver in your decision.  Be straight forward and decisive in your answer.  Everyone is waiting for you to come.  They want to see you there.  Come join the party, come to the wedding feast!  It will be a blast.

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 21, verse: 4, The Word Fulfilled.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Jesus sends two disciples into Jerusalem) Part 4. 

What was his purpose?  What was his goal that he sent the two disciples into Jerusalem?  They didn't ask.  They didn't know.  They only followed the instructions they were given.  They were even given words to say if they were questioned as to what they were doing with the ass and the colt.  And all went as they were told without any changes.

Many times throughout the Bible we find instructions that were given by God.  Those instructions were meant to be followed without question.  Yet we as humans have to make meaning of what we do.  We have to try and understand, to rationalize, to make things fit into our world.  Where it pertains to God we cannot understand his ways.  Only in retrospect do we come to understanding.  The disciples were given instructions and they followed them.  They only understood later the purpose of what they were doing.  Now this was done that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled.

The whys and wherefores of his actions had already been foretold.  The words of what he would do were already written so that all would know and have knowledge of what would happen.  Even to the ends of the world the words are written for those who seek to know, for those who look to see, for those who want to understand.  The word was fulfilled and will be fulfilled.  Christ came as it was written.  He spoke to us.  He walked with us.  He led us to his sacrifice and redemption that we would know who we are.  He gave us new life.

All this is being done so that what was spoken will be fulfilled.  The God of mercy, the God of love calls us to his name.  He calls us to come home to him where we belong.  We are not of this world.  We are not of this realm.  We are not physical beings even though we live and breathe in a physical realm.  We are his children.  We are created in his image and his likeness, waiting for the day that we will be transformed and become new beings.  We are like the caterpillar that lives as a worm crawling the earth.  And then one day it crawls into its cocoon and is transformed into a beautiful butterfly.

Happy are those who know.  Peaceful are those who understand.  Fulfilled are those who see that which they are.  Knowledgeable are those who know and trust in him.  Wise are they who worry not the trials and tribulations of their daily lives.  They are the ones who have been given purpose, who have been touched by his love, who know the reality of his presences in their lives.

He awaits your calling.  He awaits your belief.  He awaits your needs that he might come and sit with you and show you his love.  The words have been spoken through the prophets.  They await fulfillment.  They await your awakening from darkness into the light.

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 20, verse: 4, The Just payment.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 4.  

The house-holder has need of workers in his vineyard and he goes to the market place and finds workers standing idle.  He tells them to go to work in his vineyard so that they will have something to do to earn their wages and provide for their families.  He had need of work and they had need of someone to hire them to work.  This is the parable that Christ tells his disciples that relates to the kingdom of heaven.  

The laborers were standing idle without any work to do.  The house-holder was looking for laborers to work.  The kingdom of heaven is seeking workers.  The believers on earth are seeking work to do but are standing idle with no one to hire them.  God is seeking workers so Christ tells his disciples that the house-holder told the workers:  "And he said to them, 'Go you also into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is just.' "

So the laborers are sent to work in the vineyard with the promise that they will be paid whatever is just.  What is just for a days labor?  What is just for the work that they will do?  What is just for the skill that is required for the work they are required to do?  We live in a world where we are in the same situation of determining what is just for us.  Is it fair and just that we work honestly and fairly and others do not?  Is it fair and honest that we follow the rules and others cut corners and get by?  Is it honest and fair that we are slighted and passed over for promotions and perks and others get the all benefits?

What is just?  What is fair?  What is right?  And what is wrong?  In this day and time it seems that it does not pay to be honest and to be fair.  It seems that it does not pay to be upright and straightforward.  It seems that we are the ones who get the unfair and unjust treatment.  Can we not stand by and accept this?  Can we not allow this to happen to us?  Are we compelled to  change our position and do what is necessary to advance our own cause?  Are we driven to bring about a change for ourselves?  What is just for us?

We compare what is just to what is before us.  We feel what is unjust by what others are doing.  We see the results of what others are doing and how they are rewarded.  We hurt for what is right and what is wrong, what is just and what is unjust, what we want and what we do not have.  These are our passions.  These are our motivations.  These are the things that tempt us to turn from who we are in Christ.  For God is our Father.  He is right and he is just.  He is patient and he is forgiving.  He is the final judge and we must trust in his wisdom and glorify his justice even when it seems that it is unjust.  The just payment is what we should seek.  The just payment is what we should believe.  The just payment is what we should know because God is our Father and he will provide for us.  He will care for us.  And he will be the ultimate judge of what is just.  Seek not the ways of the world but seek the kingdom of heaven and all else will be provided to 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.