St. Matthew, Chapter 21, verses: 33-34; The Householder.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the vine-dressers) Part 1. 

Christ is still speaking to the chief priest, the elders and the scribes.  They came to him seeking to know of his authority to teach the people.  They were indignant.  They were angry.  They were unbelieving.  He wanted to heal them.  He wanted to open their eyes.  He wanted to bring them from the darkness into the light.  He spoke to them directly but they could not and would not open themselves up to understanding.  So now he tells them of a parable. 

"Hear another parable. There was a man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge about it, and dug a wine vat in it, and built a tower; then he let it out to vine-dressers,
and went abroad.  But when the fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the vine-dressers to receive his fruits."

Now this is a simple parable that tells of a home owner, a land owner who built a vineyard on his property.  He traveled abroad and while away he leased his property to workers who were supposed to take care of it while he was away.  Think of it this way, you own a house and decide to fix it up to rent out to a tenant.  You do a great job of repairs on your property so that the new tenant will enjoy it.  You spend a good sum of money to complete the repairs so that the house will have a good market value when finished.  You have taken every precaution to select a good tenant who will pay on time and will take care of that which you value so much.

This is how the parable begins.  It wants to tell itself so that the chief priest, the elders, and the scribes can completely understand its meaning.  They have heretofore declined to be opened, to hear the words, to let the light come in.  But Christ continues to provide opportunities for them to see, to understand, to be healed.

The same is true today.  We are given opportunity after opportunity to be open, to understand, to have the truth come to us that we may be healed.  It took some time for me to understand, to be open.  I had to be beaten down to the point of depression, to the point of despair.  In my state of submission, evil came to me and whispered to me to end it all.  It wanted me to give up, to believe that there was no redemption for me, no forgiveness for the sin that I had continually committed. 

Through all this Christ held my hand.  He did not let go of me.  He continued to walk with me no matter where I went.  And it came the time for me to listen to his voice, to be open, to follow his words that I might be healed.  And so it was.  I came to understand.  I came to know.  I asked for forgiveness.  I begged to repent.  I wept for all the sins in my life that I had committed.  And I turned away from the abyss and turned back to him. 

You can too.  This is my gift to all who will listen, to all who will hear, to all who will be open to understand who they are in the eyes of Christ who died that we may have life again.  We are precious in his eyes and he will not let go of his precious children.  Come!  Speak to your heavenly Father.  Tell him your pain.  Open up to him with your sorrows and he will fill you with the joy of heaven.  You are his creation, his love.  He will hear you.  Patience is the key.

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: 32c; Seeing is Believing.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the two sons) Part 7. 

I remember when I attended college we had to take a required philosophy course.  One of the main questions in that course dealt with the idea of our senses.  Do I exist in this world; what proof do I have?  Can I believe what I see?  What I touch is it real?  How do I know?  Can I believe what I smell?  What is this that I taste, is it real?

We are rational beings.  We order our world so that it makes sense to us.  Those things that do not make sense to us causes confusion and disbelief.  The chief priest and the scribes did not believe that Jesus was the Christ.  They thought he was a charlatan.  Christ gave them the opportunity to believe but they were not open, even after they saw that others were seeing and believing.  He told them:  "Whereas you, seeing it, did not even repent afterwards, that you might believe him." 

They saw the miracles.  They heard the word.  They witnessed the cures of others and yet still did not, could not believe.  What held them back?  What prevented them from believing what they were seeing so that they could repent?  Could they not make sense of what they were seeing?  Could they not understand the reality of what was happening to the world around them?  Or were they so far down the road of disbelief that they could not turn around?

Christ told his disciples that many prophets and kings have desired to see what they were seeing and hear what they were hearing.  They were blessed to be in the presence of the Living God, a privilege that others had only dreamed about.  Yet those who had this privilege did not or could not understand how blessed they were.  Blessed are those who have not seen yet still believe.

Why do I write what I write?  Who will read such?  Who will believe such?  How many will understand?  How many will believe?  At a younger age in high school, I found peace in my life through the church.  I was happy and full of joy.  Yet as I grew older and ventured into the world, peace was something that I could not find.  So distraught and depressed was I that I was  without hope, even to the point of ending the life that was given to me.

Yet a still voice within me encouraged me to seek my answer in the Bible, the New Testament, the words of Christ Jesus.  I had heard those words many times before but not to the extent of the complete reading of it.  And reading the whole Bible, all the words of Christ, I was able to find peace.  I wept.  I cried.  I asked for forgiveness.  For I was lost in the world without a foundation, a rock to stand upon.  Now I have a foundation of grace, forgiveness, and love.  And this foundation gives me peace in the world.  I believe.  I see.  I know.  I am 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 21, verse: 32b; Believing.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the two sons) Part 6. 

Where would we be without the law.  For the law sets boundaries that we live and breathe by.  The law gives justice to the people who are aggrieved and oppressed.  The law is the standard by which we live.  One cannot say that the punishment is not just if it has not been spelled out for all to see and believe.  For the law sets those standards by which justice is given.  It is a warning to all that these are the boundaries by which you will be judged and by which justice will be dispensed.

John came in the way of justice.  He came to announce the coming of the kingdom of heaven here on earth.  He came as a precursor to announce the law and give notice to all to repent to avoid the punishment of justice.  Many heard his words and believed.  Many heard and did not believe.  And justice came to those who did not believe for they were given the warning and the opportunity to repent.  Christ told the chief priest and the elders:  "But the publicans
and the harlots believed him." 

What was the difference between the priests, the elders, and the publicans and the harlots?  What allowed one group to believe and another to disbelieve?  What stands in the way of those today who believe and those that do not?  Is it just human nature that separates the two?  Is it complete and utter doubt that prevents one from seeing through the inner being who they are?  One has the choice.  One can believe.  One can decide.  But one does and one does not.  Why is the question?

We are in a world that ultimately makes us question our being, our self-worth, our purpose in life.  This world gives us all the opportunity to achieve the desires of the heart through what it has to offer.  The young see a world of opportunity that allows them to be all that they desire.  The old see either those desires fulfilled or those desires fade.  And it depends from which perspective that we view the desires of the heart that tell us who and what we are in this world. 

We judge our self-worth by what we have achieved in this world.  Yet our Lord and Savior judges us by who we are, who he created in his image and likeness.  Even those who have fulfilled the desires of their heart find themselves still wanting more of what this world has to offer but time runs to completion and death awaits.  God is life.  He is the great I Am!  In him is no death.  And in the life he has given us there is no death, only transition. 

We believe or we do not.  We know or we do not.  We seek the truth or we do not.  We are more than what this world has to offer and the life within us is everlasting.  Believing is the key to open the door to that which is within us.  Believing is the path which will lead us to the truth of the kingdom of heaven.  Believing is a leap from the physical to the spiritual that allows us to know the truth of who we are and that truth is in him.  The desires of the heart are in him.  The desires of peace are in him.  The desires of complete love are with him and no other.  Believe and you will 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.