Reflections

Priesthood of all Believers 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 Stacy Daniel St John's MTC, New York vs 15b: always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else . In a recent church meeting, Achen asked us to think about us fulfilling the will of God and what our personal conviction was.  An accountant in the group immediately pointed to a doctor saying, it's easier for him (the doctor) to fulfill the will of God when compared to himself.  The idea behind the saying was because the doctor is in a “helping profession” and an accountant, is not.   Yet, God reminds us in His Word to, “acknowledge those who work hard amongst you”.  He has blessed us with the jobs we have today or maybe is preparing us for our future careers.  Our conviction comes when we recognize that our jobs are not self picked but are a part of God’s plan. ...

Priesthood of all Believers 1 Corinthians 12:27-31   Binu Daniel St John's MTC, New York. 31 But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. Several gifts of the spirit are listed in this passage such as being an apostle, prophet, teacher, miracle worker, healer, helper, guide and speaking in tongues.  It is made clear that none of us are given all of these gifts, yet some Christians may claim otherwise.  There sometimes is a misconception that the more of these we accomplish or obtain, the better a Christian we are.  Christianity however, cannot be measured by a resume of gifts or accomplishments.   The beauty of the Christian church is in the different God-given abilities and gifts.  Historically and even today we misunderstand the purpose of these gifts.  These gifts, made to bring the church together, has been sinfully used by us to separate the body of Christ.  We are quick to use it as ...

Priesthood of all Believers 1 Peter 2:1-10 Dr. Binu Chacko St. John’s MTC, New York. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.   In this passage, the apostle addressed the difference between Christians and unbelievers. We all have learned and even experienced how believing in God and living righteously has resulted in various blessings and mercy. But living and growing up in our middle-class and affluent lifestyles of western culture, many of us have fallen to greed, envy, hypocrisy, deceit, malice and slander (v1). Our children are facing cyber-bullying, low self-esteem, and loneliness. Our children need to know they are precious to Him (v4). We are stressed with lack of time with family and personal time for spiritual and physical health, faced with work/ various social programs and other distractions in our...

Priesthood of all Believers Isaiah 61: 1-11 Ansu Varghese St. John’s MTC, NY The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted to proclaim liberty to the captives  and release to the prisoners; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;   Chapter 61 of Isaiah is filled with sweeping promises and good news of a restored world in the future when we, His people, will experience the ‘Lord’s favor’ through the coming of the Messiah. The good news is a proclamation that things are going to be different. But it isn’t until we read The Gospel of Luke Chapter 4, Verses 14 to 21 (Jesus’ first sermon at Nazareth) that we realize the completion and fulfillment of these promises through His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus read this exact portion from the Book of Isaiah, to His liste...

Priesthood of all Believers  Psalms 80 Philip Varghese St. John’s MTC, New York O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?   Psalm 80 contains the history and hopes of Israel in nineteen verses. It makes reference to the Israelites release from bondage in Egypt, their golden years as a unified nation, and their demise.  This psalm is one of a series of psalms, starting with Psalm 73, of a similar tone of lament and self-examination. Through these passages, the psalmists, though accepting of Israel’s inherent responsibility for its own state of decay, cry out to God at various times, asking how long his anger against Israel will last. Psalm 80 ends with a somewhat curious promise in the penultimate verse – that “[Israel] will not turn away from you..[and will]…call on your name.”  However, Israel’s history shows a cycle: sinning by Israel, punishment by God directly or indirectly through other nations, re...

Priesthood of all Believers - Voluntary Evangelist's Day John 17:20-23   Teena Mathew St. John’s MTC, NY 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.   "We are one in the spirit", we sing aloud. Do we know what we're singing? Are we really "one"? In John 17:21 Jesus prays “...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." The countless number of  times we have come across this passage should have reminded us how much we are not fulfilling our mission as Christians. Many critics of Christianity say that there are more than  40,000 denominations within Christianity. So how then can one learn to follow the Christian faith when its own believers are so segregated? So the question is, a person who is very quick to defend his/her faith and his/her beliefs, are they being rea...

ONE  GOD  AND  OTHER  RELIGIONS John 12:20-26   Rev. Sony Philip St. Andrews / Ebenezer  MTC, NY 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.   Broken God for the unity of whole world   Brokenness  for more fruitful experience. Brokenness is a process for more maturity and fruitfulness. In this Bible passage Jesus gives a lesson about  His life with the comparison of wheat. God  uses  broken  things                                 Broken soil to produce a crop                              ...

An Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient God. Amos 9:1-12 Alex Abraham MTC of Dallas, Farmers Branch, Texas 11.On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old;12 in order that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name, says the Lord who does this. Amos is sharing his fifth and last prophecy with Israel which is about the judgement of God to those who continue to not repent. Despite recognizing God’s sovereignty and power, the very same Israelites who were brought out of Egypt by God, are turning their hearts from the Lord and living apart from Him. In Amos' prophecy, the Israelites are attempting to hide themselves from God, from the depths below, to the heavens above, from the bottom of the sea, to the top of Mt. Carmel. Many of us are blessed to say that we know and love the Lord. At some...

Faith Beyond Barriers Acts 10:44-48   Benson Babu Long Island MTC, New York 44  While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45  The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,   It is sad to see that regardless of how far we have advanced as a society, we have used our differences to isolate ourselves from each other instead of using our differences to unite ourselves or at least acknowledge and appreciate our diversities. Even in various Christian families and communities, we see our differences in doctrines and beliefs to be catalysts for contention and strife.  What if we stopped to ask ourselves the question: Is this what God intended for us when He made us all unique? In the New Testament, as early Christianity began to take root in various parts of Israel and Asia minor, we see a subtle form of discriminati...