Reflections

Overcoming hard times Genesis 41:28-40 Vs 29-30  -  Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. In this bible passage God shows Pharaoh a dream about what he is about to do. Pharaoh heeds the dream and prepares ahead for the famine. Pharaoh appoints commissioners to gather a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance and store them as reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine. However not everyone can be prepared ahead for hard times like Pharaoh. There may be times when we go through hardships that we may forget the years of joy that God has given us. This passage teaches us to always trust God no matter how severe the struggle may be. Just as Pharaoh trusted God and was prepared to face the famine ahead, God reminds us in the same way to be always prepared f...

Christian Participation in nation building Titus 3:1-11 Vs 4,5 -  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,  5  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.. In Paul’s letter to Titus, he advises him to teach the people how to treat figures of authority. He tells that that God did not save us because of our own merits or good deeds but because of His love and mercy towards us. Christ has ignited in us the spirit of hope so that through our lives we can be examples to other of God’s grace. Over the past couple of years, it has been hard to ignore the changes we have gone through as a nation not only at home but abroad as well. We see a dynamic shift where the love we once shared as a country has started to diminish over time and we wonder as Christians what can we do? We as Christians have been given...

Inspiration that lasts Psalms 45:1-17 Vs 1  “My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.”  The book of Psalms is written as poems and songs. Inspiration for the poetry or songs can often come from many places such as one’s own life and personal experience. The beauty of poems and song lyrics are that many times we internalize them and connect with them in such a way that every time we hear that song or read that poem, it elicits a memory or feeling. The lyrics that meant so much to the author because of what inspired them to write it, now has been co-opted in our own lives and experiences. Their inspiration can in turn inspire us. C.S. Lewis, the famed English author and theologian, believed that this Psalm had two meanings. Psalm 45 meant one thing before and after Jesus came to earth. The Psalm refers to a King and Queen, the ideal pairing of two anointed rulers. Lewis believed that before Jesus ...

Respect, love and serve all 1 Peter  2:13-17 Vs 17 -  Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king   Sometimes when I want to start a fire, the wind puts it out. But when I try to keep the fire burning, wind keeps it going. So in the first situation, I label the wind “bad” because it thwarts my plans; in the other, I label it “good” because it helps me accomplish what I want to get done. This illustrates how we judge things by the way they affect us. We declare circumstances or people “bad” if they thwarts our plans or “good” if we agree with them and they support our cause. But God is the one who determines what is good or bad, and He does not go by how it affects our plans but by whether or not it accomplishes His. His plan is that we could be “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.” And His purpose for us is to “ proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)...

Christian Participation in Nation Building Revelations 21:1-8 Vs 5 -  “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Church is called to be holy and set apart for God’s Kingdom. As a result, every Christian is called to be different in the world. Not just on Sunday, but every day of our lives. The book of Revelation reminds early Christians to lead holy lives as they await their final participation in God’s kingdom in the midst of suffering and persecution. Every Christian must live as if we are a new creation in Christ every day. Church needs to model God’s Kingdom values : When we look around locally and globally, we can see that patterns of the world have crept into the Church overtime. We need to model Kingdom values in the Church to be prepared “as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband”. God is not looking for external beauty or success, but consistency in character, ...

Building up of God's Kingdom Nehemiah  2:11-18 Vs 17 - " Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace."   Ever wondered what keeps us awake at night? Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam described a dream as not something that one sees and enjoys while sleeping, but it is something that does not let you sleep. Even though Nehemiah was in the city for three days, he ventured out to inspect the wall at night, as his desire to fulfill God's purpose was above his daily needs.  How often are we burdened with personal pain of others or the needs of our church or of God's kingdom? Our fellowship with God is more than a one-to-one relation with Him alone and is expected to include His people. Realization of what my God has put in my heart to do for his kingdom shall be our ultimate purpose in life. In our passage we see Nehemiah was burdened over the plight of Jerusalem's wall. Damage to the wall was a personal pain and disgrace for him. ...

Christian Participation in Nation Building  St. Luke 3:7-14 Bear fruits worthy of repentance .   Today we are meditating on the theme: "Christian participation in Nation Building". The selected passage is the message of John the Baptist to the people.  John the Baptist was trying to get the people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He clearly knows that he was the forerunner and he states that without repentance there will be no transformation. According to him, repentance is not simply a change of the mind; but it is the transformation of the total self into a fruit bearing life. He warns them about the 'wrath to come.  He speaks of "the ax" of God's judgments, and of unfruitful trees being cast into "the fire. When the crowd, tax collectors and soldiers asked about what they should do in their life, he very clearly stated three things. When we think about our participation in  Nation building, we need to consider these three elements as v...

Ecumenical Sunday Mark 9: 38-41 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace  V- 38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop , because he was not one of us.” John, the disciple, was not happy to cast out the demons by the ministry of others.  There is a note of frustration in John’s comment, apart from their frustration in their own earlier failure to perform an exorcism.  (Mark 9: 18) John reports to Jesus that the other people are not in their inner circle and John believed that the man should be forbidden from performing the miracle in the name of Jesus because he does not follow "us." The apostles were being territorial and trying to protect their greatness in their ministry. The man they saw was not one of the twelve and he was not a part of their company and he must not be allowed to work in Jesus name. 1. Jesus calls the disciples to an inclusive ministry and vision  J...

Ecumenical Sunday Psalms 133: 1-3 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! ( Verse 1) According to  The  Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Ecumenical means promoting or tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation. On this Ecumenical Sunday we read about unity in Psalms 133 and the blessings that we shall encounter if we live in such unity with our fellow brothers and sisters.   Verse 1 speaks about how good and pleasant it is when people live in brotherly love. We all quarrel and have disagreements but we need to overcome those and live in peace. We live in a world where there is war and conflict due to differences in race, religion and opinions. As Christians, we are to bridge any gaps and live in peace with one another. It brings great joy to parents when they see their children loving and friendly with one another. How much greater joy will it bring our Father in Heaven to see all His children on earth live in tha...

" Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path".  Psalm 119:105 United in Christ- God our partner in life.      Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 Verse 12- Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.    Ecclesiastes   4: 7-12 speaks about the advantages of companionship. A true friend or life partner can strengthen each other in any circumstance of life. But it is very important to have spiritual companionship. Solomon says “Again I saw something meaningless under the son – friendlessness. “ Verse 9 says, ‘Two better than one, because they have a good return for their work.  As we are the runners in the spiritual journey, we need spiritual companions to make a team. There will be moments when we fall and need someone to pick us up or help us to turn back to the Lord.  At other times, someone may need encouragement through our prayers or presence. Verse 12 – A...

Ecumenical Sunday Ephesians 4: 1-6 Vs  3. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.   The term "ecumenism" refers to efforts by Christians of different Church traditions to develop closer relationships and better understandings. The term is also often used to refer to efforts towards the visible and organic unity of different Christian denominations in some form. We are all parts of the same body of Christ and no one church takes precedence over the other. But lately many churches have not been dwelling in peace with each other. There is a sense of discomfort, rivalry and tension between the beliefs of the different churches and a battle to prove whose doctrine is right? Many a times in the culture of our church, we are more immersed in the differences between the beliefs of different churches that we tend to lose the true essence of Christianity, that we are all one in Christ and our mission is to serve and encourage each othe...

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Exodus 6:1-8 Vs 7  I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.  The third Monday of January is observed in USA as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Christian minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. In his final years, he expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty and the Vietnam War. On October 14, 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. Martin Luther King Jr. has been seen as a prophet of his age. As a minster in the Church he recognized the God-given call to confront the society for the inj...

Ecumenical Sunday Ezekiel 37:15-23 Vs 23  “They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” In today’s world, sometimes our busy lives can prevent us from stepping into someone else’s shoes and understanding how our actions affect them. In fact, when things don’t go our way or something inconveniences us, we may even go as far as fighting with others and starting issues that ruin relationships and hurt someone’s feelings. Our focus to make things go the way we want them to can prevent us from working with others and compromising in order to come together. Scottish philosopher David Hume said, “It's when we start working together that the real healing takes place. It's when we start spilling our sweat, and not our blood.” By sacrificing our pride and comfort, we can finally step into someon...