Reflections

Fall & Forgiveness Psalm. 32 “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven whose sins are covered.”(V.1) David, the man after God’s own heart knew the danger of fall & guilt and the need for forgiveness &  Grace. Today many people suffer from guilt feeling. It is the dread of the past; a pain that dwells within our heart  and it  haunt the person each and every moment. Just like others, King David also had good reasons for feeling guilty. Scholars believe that David wrote Psalm.32 after he cried to God for forgiveness for his double sin of murder and adultery (2 Samuel.11 &12). But David accepted his guilt and sin through his faithful and open confession that we see in this psalm. The first step on the road to recovery and relief from sin is admitting that something is wrong in our life . V.5 says, David acknowledged his sin. Then he said “I did not conceal my iniquity”.  He stopped trying to hide his sin that is the second step. He also...

Death through Adam, Life Through Christ Romans 5:12-21 “ For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” We all know the story of Adam, Eve, and the Serpent and the great betrayal of Adam to God. Adam’s disobedience not only broke his relationship with God, but also allowed sin to enter into the world. We tend to blame Adam and Eve for the troubles, hard work, and toils we have to endure now, but they just allowed sin to enter this world, we sustain it. For example think back to when we were children, we were provided with everything we wanted and more, but when our parents said “don’t eat cookies before dinner” we were tempted to eat them all. Is that the fault of Adam or our own? We are all sinners. This passage was written by Paul, who on many occasions teaches us important lessons through his writing. This is no different as Paul points out something so obvious in a not so obvious way. ...

Fall & Forgiveness Genesis 3.1-13 “Who told you that you were naked?” the  Lord  G-d asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” – v.11 Life is filled with various relationships.  Some we allow (friends) while some God allows (family).  There was one relationship, in the beginning. It was between a Father & His children.  Adam was the son’s name, Eve was the daughter’s.  They were a loving family.  Grateful for the world which was created for them, the children enjoyed their Father’s relationship.  The Father entrusted them to a bountiful land, in which every need was taken care of, wherein it could be truly said “I SHALL NOT WANT.”  They were satisfied in direct communion with their Father.  So what happened? God’s Word questioned.   The devil is one of the most cunning and convincing fallen angels in God’s Kingdom.  He paid attention to the relationship between Adam ...

Fall & its consequence 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13 “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”(V.12) This section is titled Warnings from Israel’s History, but it need not be seen as purely something applied only to the Israelite s.  This passage could be applied to all believers, or be re-titled warning to the church.  Paul begins by describing the Israelite history from when they left Egypt and how God provided for them and how the Israelite s time after time doubted and complained and time after time God provided a way for them to overcome issues they face.   The interesting point of verses 1-4 is that they experienced God’s providence first hand but they continued to reject him, and most importantly, they had fellowship with God ,  “They all ate the same spiritual food  4  and drank the same spiritual drink”, and then verse 5 says “Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of the...

Fall and its consequence Genesis 6:1-13 The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth and His heart was filled with pain.(V.6) In the beginning God created the universe and it was perfect. He looked upon all that he had made and was glad because it was “very good” (Gen 1:31). But in Genesis 3 we see the rebellion of man, and the consequence of his sin was that creation was no longer prefect and good. Hundreds of years pass till the days of Noah and little has changed with the human heart. The Bible records how God feels about the people He created: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” Gen 6:5-6 The consequence of Adam’s sin is that all people after him have the same moral condition of Adam. We are all inward-focused, we aim to pursue our hearts desire rather than to ...

 Word for the Day  February - 23 - 2014 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fall/Sin- a violation of the purpose of creation Romans 7: 15-23 “When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” (v.21) In Romans 7:15-20 we see Apostle Paul being very bold about not being able to carry out his desire to do good.  Paul also confronts the fact that we are slaves to sin and evil is right beside us even when we want to do good. As per Apostle Paul, “it is the sin living within him that makes him do what he does not want to do.”  This passage is a story of our everyday life; torn between right and wrong, the battle of mind and body, the wanting to do the right thing but constantly failing.  Also in verse 23, Paul talked about the war within ourselves that makes us the prisoner of the law of sin; constantly making us guilty of wrong doings. The inner conflict; the desire to do what is good and the inability to car...

Fall as the violation of the purpose of creation Mat. 7:15-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (21) Why did Jesus talk about false prophets and false disciples immediately after talking about two gates (Wide and narrow) and choosing between two paths (one that leads to destruction and the other that leads to life), because He wants us to be aware of the danger of being led astray and to guard against it. The biggest sign that a person is a false prophet is by the fruit (deeds) or righteousness of his life. The primary sign that a person is a false disciple is that he does not do the will of the father. He may do a lot of good things, but obedience is what is required. We do have some tools to identify true prophets and true disciples. 1, Spend time in prayer and God’s word : We need to study god’s word. Pray that God might enlighten our minds to understand it. There are t...

Goodness of creation Psalms.19 “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”( 19:1) Imagine a pile of large sand grains about as high as your waist. How many sand grains do you suppose there were? Now what if this pile of sand covered every square inch of planet Earth? If you were to count each one of them, the total would approximate the number of stars in the known universe! The number of stars is but one of the multitude of marvels that we encounter in God’s good universe. As we read Psalm 19, we can imagine the days and nights that David spent as a shepherd. God used these times of solitude to speak to David through his magnificent creation. David’s metaphor of the heavens as a “ tent for the sun” reflect the pastoral leanings of his life three millennium ago. However his response to what the Author of Creation revealed to him is as relevant to us today as it was to him then. This Psalm shows us that not only does God spe...

THE GOODNESS OF CREATION    Proverbs 8 :21-31  “And how happy i was with the world he created and how i rejoiced with the human family “.  King Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs to teach people how to attain wisdom, discipline and a prudent life, how to do what is right and to give the knowledge to distinguish between the good and the evil. Our meditation today is focusing on a hymn describing this wisdom and the role of it in creation. God created everything and finally man in the image of the creator as the climax of His works. New Testament refers Christ as the wisdom from God and is  personified as an attribute.        Scripture says that wisdom is the primary and fundamental foundation on which our lives are built. To receive this wisdom which is God’s guidance, Solomon says  we must seek God’s will in all what we do. Jesus also emphasized this theme later in His ministry. Wisdom was there from the beginnin...

The Goodness of Creation Hebrews 4:2-13 Therefore God again, set a certain day, calling it ‘Today’, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."(Hebrews 4:7)   Hebrews 4 talks about a rest, which in turn refers to the incident in Numbers.The Israelites had travelled from Egypt to Kadesh-Barnea. They were on the verge of entering Canaan. After they left Egypt, followed by the crossing of the Red Sea, they finally arrived at the entrance of the Promised Land. There should have been a sense of excitement and anticipation as they were prompted by God: “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan which I am giving to the Israelites”. Twelve spies were sent to survey and spy on the land. After 40 days, they returned from their mission with both encouraging reports and worrying signs. On one hand, the land was indeed fruitful and flowed with milk and honey as the Lord promised. On the other hand ...

THE GOODNESS OF CREATION Psalms 8:1-9 "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place—What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" (Psalms 8: 3-4) With over 7 billion people in this world, why would I matter to God?  From our comprehension, it doesn't make sense on why the creator of the universe would want anything to do with us.  King David also asked this question in his writing of Psalms 8.  The result of this question provides us more insight on who God is and who we are to Him. David glorifies God by the way he begins the hymn of praise.  "Oh Lord, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth!"  The first use of "Oh Lord" refers to Yahweh (YHWH) which means “to exist, be" that God is self-existent.  The second use of "Our Lord" emphasizes on His sovereignty.  The first and last verse of Psalms 8 mi...

The goodness of Creation Gen.1:31-2:3 “God saw all that he had made ,and it was very good” The creation story is something we are all very familiar with. We are taught in Sunday School about the creation of the world, and what was created each day is something we are asked to memorize.  However, how many of us have truly absorbed how amazing God’s works are?  Each day, there are numerous “scientific” advances. We learn more and more about the earth, its creatures, and especially us humans.  Yet, in 34 verses, the Bible describes this whole amazing creation that, more than 2000 years later, we haven’t even figured out even 5% of. As the Psalmist reminds us in Psalms 104:24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  So, what can we gain from the ending of the creation story? Two things: We are made very good- . Body image and self-esteem are the two greatest issues facing men and women of all age...

Sabbath - Culmination of Creation Colossians 1:15-23 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities –all things were created through him and in him.” Are humans created in the image of God or can God be created in the imagination of human? In the Colossian Church, many believers were tempted to believe a Christ different from the reality, influenced by some Gnostic teachers. The Christ which the Gnostics preached was a cultural and philosophical creation of that time.  In this context Paul writes to them a letter from the prison. In this letter Paul makes some important theological statements on the person of Christ. Jesus Christ – fullness of God, revealed in human body.  Jesus Christ is preeminent .All creations are created by him for him and in him (V.16). So Jesus was not an angel or not only the god of the world or flesh as some Gnostics teach. He is the prime cause of eve...

Sabbath is for Man, Not Man for the Sabbath Mark 2:23–28 God gave the people of Israel the Sabbath after they came out of Egypt. In Exodus it is written: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work.”  (Ex.20.8-10) And in the book of Nehemiah it is written: “Your Holy Sabbath you made known to them.” (Neh .9.14). So the Sabbath was cherished by the Jews as a sacred institution. The Sabbath was a special sign between Israel and God. (Ex.31:12-17) When Jesus began openly to violate the Sabbath traditions, it was like declaring war against the religious establishment.   So, the objections of the Pharisees seem well grounded.  But, then again, so does the argument put forth by Jesus.  Jesus’ response was: if a hungry king and his men were permitted to eat the holy bread from the tabernacle (1 Sam. 21:1–6), then it wa...

Word for the Day  February - 14 - 2014 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Master Weaver’s Plan Philippans.1:9-18 “Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” Philippians 1:14 Joy is the fruit of a spirit-filled life (Galatians 5) and the measure of a believer’s spiritual maturity is what it takes to rock their joy. Paul in Philippians 4 exhorts us to “Always be full of joy in the Lord” regardless of circumstances. God has a divine purpose for our trials which we will understand when we yield to His will. Paul is a role model for us in how to handle difficulties. He was a man whose joy knew no breaking point. In fact, the greater his troubles, the louder his joyful praise. Paul used the presence of suffering in his life to demonstrate his trust in the Lord and encourage others around him. He refused to be overcome by his circumstan...

Compassionate Love and Healing Psalm 6 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayers (V.9) This  psalm   composed by King David, describing a time in his life when he was under some strain - either some mental strain or a chronic illness. It does not say so, but one could imagine that this was from the time when he was on run from Saul. After being anointed as the King, David was on the run for many years, and had to remain in hiding for a long time before he could assume his place as the King of Israel. Before that, he was being hunted by both his former friends and his foes, and he had no place to hide. He could only keep his strength because he had strong faith in the Lord, and he knew that he could depend on him. However, David did not see any relief for a long time, and he was beginning to lose faith when he sang this psalm. He beseeched God to come to his rescue as he was most steadfast servant. He asks of God, how long would He stay awa...