St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 1; Pride of the Temple.

Our paragraph topic is: (Christ foretells the Temple's destruction) Part 1.  
We begin this new chapter with the disciples taking pride in the majesty of Jerusalem and the construction of the Temple.  It has taken many years to be built and they want Jesus to see the awe and majesty of all of the construction of the grounds.  Though they did not have a hand in its construction they contributed funds to the building of the city and all of its structures.  That gives them pride as being Jews as it does all the people belonging to Israel.

Jesus is not impressed.  He knows the future and what will become of Israel and its people.  AND Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came forward to show him the buildings of the temple.

We all live in cities and towns and proclaim them for their charm and beauty, for their greatness and glory over other cities.  I live in New York, the greatest city in the US of A.  I live in California, the city of innovation and Hollywood.  We live in Las Vagas, or Hawaii, or Chicago, Miami, or any one of the many cities, each being known for something of value to those that live there.  We all take pride in where we live.  It is a natural thing.

Yet in the time of Christ, the Jews were known for their God and the power that he exercised for his people.  They were a great people and their city was a great city.  The Temple was a special place for the Jewish people to come and worship their God.  But Christ did not see it that way.  He saw corruption and scandal, the evil and lust, false witness and hatred, lack of charity and hopelessness.  He saw loss of belief in God with no one to lead the people back to faith.

All the beautiful buildings and grounds meant nothing when there was no faith or hope in the one true God.  Worship was without meaning.  Worship was mechanical, lacked soul, something that the people did not believe in, especially those on the streets who were suffering the most.  No one cared.  The priests, the Scribes, the Pharisees, and Sadducces only concerned themselves with maintaining the peace with the Roman rulers so that they would not loose their position of power.  

Where are we today?  Do we take pride in the buildings that we call our homes of worship or do we worship in our homes?  Where are our true temples?  Where are our true places of worship? Where does the spirit of God reside with us, in great churches of worship or in our homes of worship?  Where is your temple?  Is it in you, in your heart or in the building you call your church?  Do you carry your church with you everyday when you wake or do you leave it at the address when you leave church on Sunday?  Make your inner church a great building of glory.  Give glory to God.   

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: 39b; Blessed is He.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Lamentation over Jerusalem) Part 7.  

Christ ends his commentary to the Scribes and the Pharisees with a prophesy.  He wants them to know that he has told them before hand what will happen and how it will happen.  He has given them every opportunity to open their hearts and minds to the truth but they are unwilling to see the light.  They are blind to the wisdom that comes forth from who they see and perceive as being a commoner, a charlatan attempting to mislead the people and disturb the peace.

They live in fear.  They live in doubt.  They live in disbelief of their own religion.  They are the leaders responsible for leading the flock to God and they know him not.  Christ told them that he was leaving, they would not see him any more.  It would not be:  "Until you shall say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' "

This was the prophesy that was to come.  This was the message that was to be spoken by those who would see the coming of the kingdom of heaven on the day of judgment.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord to save the people from damnation.  On that day the people will know the truth of his name.

On that day all knees will bend and heads will bow to the Lord of all creation.  For he will judge all, the living and the dead.  All things hidden will be revealed.  All things unknown will be known.  All that we have feared will be open to understanding, for we all will be able to see the truth that has been hidden since the beginning of time.  

We were not given the knowledge to understand, to comprehend all things.  This is the nature of who we are, the essence of our being.  Yet we have, as human beings, the capability to perceive and do great wonders within our realm of existence.  God has given us the ability to love, to hate, to feel, to know, to see, to understand, to perceive, conceive, to believe beyond ourselves that which we do not know but can imagine.  We are the lowly creations without full knowledge, but we have the ability to understand on a limited basis what we know.  And it is that knowledge that allows us to conceive and believe in our God and his love for us.

We are the children of the Creator.  He has life and has shared his life eternal with us that we may know him in our limited capacity.   To grasp a small portion of his love for us is so powerful that it will fill to capacity every cell in our mind, body and soul.  We can not contain the truth of it.  But it is there for us to receive if we choose to seek it, if we choose to find it, if we choose to know a small portion of the passion of Christ in God.  Seek him and ask to know his love. 

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: 39a; You shall not see me.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Lamentation over Jerusalem) Part 6.  

Christ felt a great passion for his city, for his people.  He loved them in all their glory and in all their sin.  His heart went out to them for he foresaw what he knew would happen to them without his protection, without his love.  Evil was waiting in the wings to take over completely.  Yet he was there to fulfill his destiny to pay for the sins of mankind and put a stop to evil.

Still he lamented over Jerusalem.  All the years of work and pain and toil put into making the city as it was, would come to ruin.  This was the city based on the kingdom of heaven, on the measurements of the city of God.  Evil was coming.  You could hear it in the hills.  You could understand what was happening in the courtyards of the rich.  They were selling their souls and Satan was coming to collect.  

Christ knew.  He came to put a stop to it.  He came to end it all.  His new covenant would provide protection and provisions for all mankind who chose to believe and follow him.  So he wept for the city of Jerusalem.  He lamented for the people therein.  He knew that there would be some who would believe and some who disbelieve.  He said: "For I say to you, you shall not see me henceforth."

The time was coming near for his sacrifice, for the payment to be made for the sins of the many.  He would not be available to aid the people in their struggles to come.  He would not heal the sick, cure the lame, open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead, perform all types of miracles as before.  His time was coming to an end.  Yet the people did not know or understand his meaning.

It is hard to believe that such a person walked the earth some two thousand years ago.  Yet we have writings of witnesses of his life and history.  Much is told of Christ over the years.  We have much to read and study of his life, his works, his words, his miracles, interpretations of all that he said and did.  Despite all this, in all that we know ourselves, in all we are taught from early childhood, it comes down to believing what we are given.  We are not scholars.  We have not spent a lifetime studying the books of old to gain the wisdom and knowledge of Christ's life and works.  So we take what is given us in our schools and churches and from our Bibles and Christian readings to help us believe in him.  And yet of this little knowledge the most basic understanding that we can come away with is belief.

Do you believe?  Do I believe?  Do I know?  Yes!  I know within myself, that I live within Christ.  I know within myself that I have life within him.  I know that he lives and therefore I have life because he has given me new life.  Before I was lost in the world, seeking the treasures of the world, not knowing who I am.  But now I seek the treasures of the kingdom of heaven because it is there that I want to be.  It is there that I am from.  It is there that my life originates and not from this world.  

When I seek the treasures of this world I seek darkness.  But when I seek the treasures of the kingdom I seek the light of life that comes from Christ because he has awaken me as to who I am and where I am from.  I am spiritual and not physical and within this flesh lives me, the spiritual being that Christ has awaken and given new life.  My flesh is but dust, but my spirit is alive in him.  Open your heart and seek that which only he can give and you too will know the truth of who 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 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.