St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 8; Beginning of Sorrows.

 Our paragraph topic is: (Christ warns them not to be led astray) Part 12.  

We can read between the lines.  We can understand the sign of the times.  There was much more being said than what was written in these short few lines of text.  It all started out with the pride of the disciples with the beauty and grandeur of the Temple grounds of Jerusalem.  They wanted to show Christ all the wonderful majesty of what Israel had built.  They were proud to be Jews, proud to be a part of what their religion had built.  But Christ saw beyond the surface, underneath the beauty.  He saw the true nature of the foundation of what the nation of Israel was built upon and how it was falling in decay.

They could not see what was happening right before their very eyes.  The disciples could not understand how the joy and majesty of their beloved nation would fall into decay.  So Christ had to open their eyes and show them what was happening, show them what was to come and what would be the ultimate outcome of the beauty they saw.  He wanted them to know so they would not be led astray like so many by the forth coming fear that would take hold of the people.  So he told them all the things that would take place.  And he said:  "But all these things are the beginnings of sorrows."

There was more to come.  More pain, more suffering, more unnatural events, more deaths to come that would cause the people of Israel to run from their belief in the one true God.  They would search for reasons, meaning, answers, search for causes that would satisfy their beliefs only for a moment until the next disaster occurred.  They would follow this leader or that one, anyone that had an explanation to the why and wherefore of what was happening.  

Was the end coming?  Can we stop it from coming?  What do we do?  Do we offer gifts to a god or sacrifice to appease it?  What can we do?  Does the government have a solution to all that is happening?  Can they stop the problems?  The people will be in a panic and will not know what to do or where to go, who to believe or who to follow.  Leadership will be in a panic also without any viable solutions.  It will be doomsday for all.

Do not be led astray by all this.  Hold fast to that which has kept you safe.  Believe in the Lord and he will protect and provide.  We are his children.  Christ has already given us his words to guide us during those times of sorrows.  We know what will happen.  We know what will come.  We know not to panic and not to be led astray by the fear that will sweep over the land.  He is our rock and our salvation.  He is our place of refuge in the midst of the storm and there we will find peace.  Be strong.  Be safe.  Keep your faith.  Trust in what has been given you.  Know that he is with you always and he will see you through. 

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: 8; One Master.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees) Part 6.  
These were the times in which the people lived.  The Scribes and the Pharisees were the caretakers of the people of Israel and the Jews.  It was their job to see that the law was taught and understood by the people.  They were the teachers.  They were the learned.  They were the authority for the people.  And the Romans were the authority over them.  

The Scribes and the Pharisees considered their job description to include binding heavy and oppressive burdens for the people.  They had to make sure that the people suffered so that they would follow the Law and not rise up against the ruling class.  They loved the front seats in the synagogues, the first places at suppers, and to be called Rabbi.  But Christ told the people:  "But do not you be called 'Rabbi'; for one is your Master, and all you are brothers."

It was important that the people understood the significance of Master.  God created all men equal in his image and likeness.  We are all children of light, one not more or less than another.  We live in a world that makes distinctions of who we are.  We are subconsciously given to categorize each other.  One has more money than another.  One is prettier than another, one is more athletic than another, more intelligent, more witty, more loving, more etc...  This is how and where we live.  But we all are the same, children of our Father in heaven, who sees us all as the same.

Christ came to teach us how to live, how to love, and how to see who we are.  He is our example in life.  He brings peace to those who understand who they are in him.  We have life.  We have love.  We have protection and guidance and provision for everything that we need in life.  And we have joy and fulfillment in the transformation of this life to that which we are in heaven.

Our life is simple.  Carry the message.  Live the life of peace.  Show the love that is freely given you to your brothers and sisters.  And for those who are of darkness, fear not what they may do.  For you are a child of the most high and life is yours.  They are lost souls who are blinded and deceived by evil.  However, they were once also created in his image and need love to awaken from the darkness.

Love is the key to open the doors of heaven.  Love is the life that is given us from our Father.  For his love fills completely and satisfies all desires.  He is our be all and end all.    

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: 8; They were not worthy.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The king's anger) Part 3.  


Christ continues to compare the kingdom of heaven to the king and his wedding feast.  The king had made all the preparations to have a great feast in honor of his son.  Yet the people that were invited did not come.  They did not show up.  And further, in order to stop the talk by king's messengers, they beat and killed them.  They did not want to hear about this wedding feast any more.  They did not care what would happen.  They just wanted to stop the message from being spread throughout the kingdom.

This angered the king so much that he sent his soldiers out to those villages and towns and burnt them to the ground and killed all the inhabitants.  Then the king set another date, after all this had happened, and prepared to celebrate a great event.  "Then he said to his servants, 'The marriage feast indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.' "  

What meaning, what understanding can we gather from this today?  Did we get the invitation to come to the party?  Did we ignore the message and beat the messengers?  Are we worthy to attend this great celebration?  The call is out.  The tables are set.  What is our hesitation?  Why do we tarry?  What holds us, what prevents us, what turns us away from the event of a life time?  Are we on the fence of life considering the possibilities, or are we walking on the green grass that's on the other side having second thoughts about what we may miss?

We are given a choice.  We have the opportunity to decide what we want to do with our lives.  But there is also the influence of the world that weighs upon our everyday decisions.  We can think about it for a minute and then  forget it because we are back in the realm of the world going about our daily lives.  And our daily lives are governed and guided by the world.  For it is the world that we live in.  And it is the world that decides for us who and what we are going to do each and every day.  

The struggle is ours.  We can go along with the rest and do as the world dictates.  Or we can make a choice and go against the flow, swimming up stream.  What does it benefit us?  What do we profit going against the flow?  Will we get tired and allow the current of the world to carry us in whatever way the stream flows?  We need help.  We need guidance.  We need protection.  It would be easier if we had a boat to take us upstream.  It would be easier if we had a motor to drive the boat that would take us upstream.  If we had to row of our own energy we would eventually tire and be swept away by the current.

Everything is prepared and the feast is about to begin.  Are you worthy of the invitation?  Are you thankful of the invitation?  Are you grateful that you were invited?  Do not be angry that you continue to hear the message.  Do not turn away when you hear the calling.  For the king wants all to come.  He wants all to be invited.  He wants all to enjoy the happiness that he affords.  He is a happy king.  He is a joyous king.  He is a loving king and he will provide all with the means to make the journey for those who want to come .  All we need to do is to decide to come!

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: 8, The humble and the lowly paid him homage .

Our paragraph topic is:  (Triumphal entry into Jerusalem) Part 3. 

They heard that he was coming.  And the word spread of his arrival.  They came to see, they came to hear, they came that they could be a part of his arrival.  They were simple folks.  They were poor, they were humble, they were the downtrodden and the suffering.  But they believed in him.  They had faith in him that he would change their world, change their suffering, change their pain into joy.  They believed.

So they came out to meet him.  They had no horns or drums to announce his coming.  They had no confetti to welcome him, but they had their cloaks.  And they found a way to honor him, a way to praise him, a way to give him the glory that he deserved.  And most of the crowd spread their cloaks upon the road, while others were cutting branches from trees, and strewing them on the road. 

This was their time to celebrate.  This was their time to rejoice.  This was their time to show to the world the coming of the Messiah and their belief in him.  They were not the governors, or the priests, or the men of power, or the merchants of the day.  These were the common folk, the people who had heard the word, the people who were poor and downtrodden, the everyday common people who were trying to eek out a living in those trying times.

And Christ came onto the scene.  He heals the sick and the word travels.  He cast out demons and the word goes forth.  He cures the lepers and open the eyes of the blind, and makes the lame walk, and forgives the sins of those who are sinners.  He raises the dead to demonstrate to those who believe that he is the Messiah, the Son of God.  And the word becomes wildfire and spreads throughout the land.  And now he comes to the annual celebration of the Passover and all want to see, all want to know, all want to be a part of the new beginning that he brings.

Only a hand full know what is about to happen.  Only the few have been warned of the sacrifice.  Only a few follow in horror of the greatest suffering that is about to take place for one so innocent and unblemished as Christ.  They did not know what was happening.  They did not understand why this was taking place.  They thought that he came to take over the kingdom, to be ruler of the world, to transform all the evil that was taking place.  They did not know or fully believe that he came to be the sacrifice, the propitiation for our sins.  They did not know that he would rise again, triumphant over death, never to die again.  They only knew that they could see what was in front of them and what they saw was horror.

Two thousand years later we know why he came.  It has been given to us to see the church that he created through the disciples.  It has been given to us to know of his sacrifice, of his suffering, of his pain, of his death, of his resurrection, and of his ascension into heaven to sit at the right hand of his Father.  We who believe know the why and the wherefore.  That has been given to us.  What we do not know is when he will return, when the words will be fulfilled.  Will you be ready?  Do you believe?  Do you know who you are in 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 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 20, verse: 8a, The Call of the Laborers.

Our paragraph topic is:(Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 10.

Evening approaches and it's time for the labor to end.  Christ continues to tell this parable of the laborers.  He wants his disciples to understand the parallel to real life that this story follows.  There are laborers.  There was work.  There is time to work and time to stop working.  And then there is pay for the labor that is expended.  This is the parallel that this story follows so far.  We have been talking about work and pay, entering into the kingdom and what needs to be done to enter in.

The message of the kingdom is the work.  The labor is getting the message out to the people.  How should that be accomplished?  There are many who need to hear the message.  There are many who are in want of the message.  There are many who can use the message to help them enter into the kingdom.  Who will carry it?  Who will be the messenger?  Who will show how to use the message and lead the way?  The work is waiting and the time for payment is near.  "But when evening had come , the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers, and pay them their wages.' "  

The time for payment is near.  The laborers have worked all day.  Some from the beginning, some from the middle of the day, some from the last quarter of the day, and some from the last hour of the day.  They all worked.  Some worked more, some worked less but they all worked.  Are we working?  Are we carrying the message?  Are we playing the part of the messenger assuring that the word gets out to those in need?  Are we lending a hand?  Are we feeding the poor when we see them?  Are we clothing the naked, helping the sick and dying?  Are we the vessel through which our Father is able to reach his children?

We were all created in his image and likeness.  We are all his children.  We are all spiritual beings not physical.  Can you see your brother/sister in a different way?  Can you accept them as you accept yourself even though they may not look like you on the outside, or smell like you?  Can you transform your vision to see the physical?  Can you transform your feelings to feel the presence of your spiritual brother or sister in another person?  Can you look deeper into the soul to see the light of life given you through the sacrifice of Christ? 

Our vision is tainted through the glasses of the world.  We see what the world wants us to see.  We see what we have been programed to see.  And yet it takes an inner knowledge of oneself to see beyond the physical.  It takes an inner acceptance and peace to know what is within ourselves and everyone else.  It takes an inner spark to be what Christ came to give us.  See the light of life that is within you and you will be able to see in others what is within 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.