Reflections

Children in the Fellowship of the Church Luke. 18:15-17 Rev George Cherian Chicago MTC 15 People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them;   Our children are God’s precious gifts to us. A child born in a Christian home is God’s gift to the parents and to the church. Home is the place where our kids are to be formed spiritually. Church is where they learn to relate with the members of the believing community and learn from each other to build and be built. From Lk 18.15-17, we see our responsibilities in helping our kids become a part of the community in fellowship. Bring each child to Jesus:  This should be the foremost priority of every parent. Introducing and orienting our children in the faith and in the fellowship is also part of the believing community’s responsibility. In Lk 18.15 we see that the parents brought their kids to Jesus with the earnest desire to let the kids experience for themselves who Jesus is and be blessed by ...

Family: Living and Doing for God    Colossians 3:18-25    Sunil & Liju Kurian St. Stephen's MTC, NJ 18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart.   Paul wrote the book of Colossians from a prison around 60 AD, combatting false teachings that had infiltrated the church. In the beginning of chapter 3, Paul discusses the character of a Christian and what the death and resurrection of Jesus should mean to him who believes. Chapter 3: 18-25 talks about the Christian as he lives in his household and the world around him. Paul gives some rules for family relationships: Husbands & Wives:  In today’s world, when there is so much emphasis on the equality between men and women, people would...

Family: The new light in relationship 1 John. 2:7-17   Katherine Philip St. John’s MTC, NY 11 But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.   "Do unto others as others would do unto you” is one of the basic principles of life that we have all learnt as young children in school. As Christians, we are taught to love one another as God has loved us. Family is life’s greatest blessing and as Christians, family is not limited to just the people that are connected to us by our blood but rather, the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. However, many times, we may forget this and become bitter and hateful towards one another. Verse 9 of this passage states, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in darkness”. Jesus is our light. With Him, we are able to overcome any mountain, big or small, that may be in ou...

Jehovah Jireh - Our Almighty Provider Genesis 21:1-21   Jesly Thomas Ajin MTC, Abu Dhabi, UAE       19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.   In Genesis 21:1-7 we read about the birth of Isaac just as God had promised. Sarah becomes insecure because she thought that both Ishmael and Isaac would be heirs for Abraham’s inheritance. For this reason, Sarah drives out Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness of Beersheba. Hagar lands up in a situation, where she finds no way in front of her and was filled with utmost fear, anxiety and grief that she failed to notice the provision of well water right in front of her. In v.17, despite the separation from Abraham's family, an angel of God reaffirms the promise for Hagar constituting a confirmation of the family circle into a bigger nation.   At times in our everyday lives, we face deadlock situations that plague us and we think we are on our own and there se...

What is a prosperous Family? Psalm 128 Sony Cherukara St. Stephens MTC, NJ "Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways."   An oft cited recent study on prosperity by the Legatum Institute indicated that Scandinavian countries are the most prosperous (top 5) whereas the US came in at number 10 ( India was at 102). These studies looked at a number of measures, many of them related to the physical and emotional well-being of individuals. Whereas there is merit to their findings, the case can be made that American society has distilled the holistic approach to prosperity down to the mere satisfaction of physical desires. This bent to satisfy the ‘desires of the flesh’ has resulted in a number of ideas wholly endorsed by a number of Christians who are unwilling to stand counter to the tide of ‘popular religion’. The prosperity gospel is a palpable symptom of this phenomenon, one that elevates material wealth over all else.     On the ...

Family: Kneeling together before God Ephesians 3: 14-21    Bibina Joemon Varughese St. Stephens MTC, NJ 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. . When I saw this Meditation Theme, the first thing that went through my mind is, well, we , my kids and I have not knelt together before God in prayer in a long time, 15 months to be exact.  Every time we tried I’d breakdown and cry. However, we have prayed, individually or with the extended family.  So why did I get assigned with this Theme and passage? What is God, with His awesome sense of humor, trying to tell me? In today’s passage we see, Paul who is wri...

Family: Choice to be with the Lord   Joshua 24:14-22   Dhinker Philip St. Stephen MTC, NJ   14 “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”   Book of Joshua marks the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. In this chapter Joshua summons all the tribes of Israel and delivers the message of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling the promises beyond all odds and makes a strong call to the Israelites to decide who they will serve.     Our life is all about making choices. Throughout our lives we encounter situations that require us to ma...

Family - a place for doing God's will. Mark 3 : 31 - 35   Rev. Aji Varghese Emmanuel MTC, Lubbock 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”   Family is a gift of God to humanity. It is the basic unit of the church and society. In a changing world, all families need to be equipped to face the realities of today. Families are constituted by marriage. We believe that marriage is an institution of divine appointment. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone so He made a suitable life partner for him. It is through this life long covenant between husband and wife that the family exists. It is a real truth that human beings are not created for independent existence but for interdependent living.        Jesus Christ was a member of a family. He had parents and siblings. Jesus' family is known as the Holy Family. This conversation (Mark 3: 31-35) is seen in other synoptic gospels (Mathew 1...

For a Blemishless Life     I Tim. 6:11-14   Philip Manuel and Laila Anie Philip Carmel MTC, Boston 12a.  Fight the good fight of the faith;   Apostle Paul had given Timothy the daunting task of leading the Church in Ephesus. (1Tim.1:3). Although he wrote this pastoral letter to encourage and instruct Timothy, it is a much needed instruction that is applicable in today’s world.   The motivational, encouraging phrase “Man of God” is a remarkable title Paul is bestowing upon young Timothy. It reflects that he is a godly young man, ranked high in Paul’s esteem and one who gained his complete trust.(I Tim.1:2) In the old Testament, this title was used over 70 times to describe eminent men like  Moses(Deu. 33.1), Samuel(1Sam: 9.6), David( Neh. 12:24) and a few  prophets but in the New Testament only Timothy  is addressed in this way. A Blemishless life requires growth in Christ likeness which is attained by habitually taking n...

Sacramental Living Genesis 39: 1-23 Rev. Thomas Kurian Oklahoma MTC Verse 9c..How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?   Sacrament, as we know, depicts  “visible manifestations of Invisible Grace”.  As we live to reveal the true purpose of God, our living has to be sacramental, manifesting the dimensions of Grace, which is an unmerited gift. Sister Mary Core Benedict reveals that, “If we choose to be attentive to God’s love, Grace and presence within us, then we choose to live in a manner that reflects Christ’s presence in our lives.” She says,“The result is, we become sacramental to others. We help others to know God through the visible sign of God in who we are.”   Joseph, the Biblical character, reveals this aspect of Sacramental Living. From his life journey of “No One to Some One” designed by God, he never lead an absurd life but was obedient to living a life in attention to God’s love, Grace and presence. This chapter c...