Reflections

Feast of Pentecost: Holy Spirit, Renew the Creation Ezekiel 36:24-36 v27  “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”    The restoration of the people of Israel is the main element of the Lord’s divine plan. When God redeems His people through Christ, it leads to our salvation and ultimately to the glory of God. The sin and iniquities of the people leads to defilement of the land. It alienates God’s people from the God, which leads to an uncomfortable relationship with the God. God is great and his name is great and His holiness makes Him the greatest of all in the earth and heaven. He always listens to our prayers and forgives our sins and iniquities. When King Solomon finished the Jerusalem temple, God appeared to him and said: “I have heard your prayers and have chosen the temple as a place for sacrifices. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain or command locusts to devou...

Boldly Forward! John  20:19-23 v21 - Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”   I once heard that a young man came to John Wesley and told him that he was tremendously burdened with fear and anxiety.  As they were walking and talking, Wesley told him to look at the cow in the field.  It was looking over a stone wall.  Wesley asked the young man, “Why do you think the cow is looking over the stone wall?”  The young man said, “I’m not sure”.  Then Wesley replied, “Because he can not look through the stone fence”.  In the midst of our current pandemic it can be very easy to look at the stone walls of fear, anxiety and stress that surround us.  However, the Risen Jesus Christ invites us “look beyond the wall”.  That is, we must look beyond our sufferings and pain and that is only possible in the experience of faith.  In Christ, we are more than conquerors and it is in Hi...

Promise of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:1-8 V5 “…for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”   The Bible shows that our God is a God who keeps his promises to His people (Numbers 23:19). Perhaps this is something that we would have experience in our life too. The Bible shows how God fulfilled His promise to send a Savior to redeem the world. And in the above verse we see Jesus reminding the apostles that God would send the Holy Spirit on them. That Holy Spirit would be God’s presence with them after Jesus is ascended to heaven (John 14:16,18). It would comfort them in their tribulations. It would give them the words to speak (Luke 12:12). It would bring conviction about sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit would be the driving force for the gospel. It would be the constant companion as the disciples fulfil their God-given duty as witness for Christ (Acts 1:8). In Acts 2, we see the Holy Spirit coming on t...

ACKNOWLEDGING CHRIST BEFORE MEN . ST. LUKE 12: 8-12 V12  “ For the Holy Spirit will   teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. The chapter begins with Jesus cautioning his disciples to be on their guard against the yeast of the Pharisees that is hypocrisy. Even as his popularity grew, so did the fierce opposition of the Pharisees and Scribes who were now more determined than ever to trap Jesus in his words and later accuse him. Jesus could sense the growing fear in the minds of his disciples and he speaks words of comfort, conviction and hope to them. CONFESSING CHRIST : So that they are not dominated by fear, Christ exhorts people to acknowledge him (by their word and their works) before the world. We need to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. (Romans 10:9). Christ could then acknowledge us as his own (Mat.10:31) when we stand, helpless and ashamed of every sin we committed, before God and ...

THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 v9 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  The heart of the passage is in verse 9, “My Grace is sufficient for you”. The word ‘Grace’ is a magnificent word and comes from the Greek word ’Charis’. This spiritual word refers to divine favor, divine blessing and divine benefit. It refers to which God has given to us in Christ, not because we earned or deserved it but because of His will. Gospel of St John 1:14 says, “He was full of Grace”. And out of this fullness we received Grace.   Suffering humbles you. (vs:7) St. Paul says the reason for his suffering is to keep him from exalting himself. God gives him a Thorn in his flesh to kill his proud tendencies. So embrace the suffering that humbles you. Suffering draws us to God (Vs: 8) S...

Promise of the Holy Spirit Psalm 42: 1-11 v5-6,” Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” The current pandemic has tested our nation’s resiliency in several ways: testing capacity, contact tracing, and the catastrophic impact to the economy as unemployment rises. Our entire world halted by a plague smaller than the human eye can see. Many of us know affected family members and friends, neighbors who have succumbed to death, and those who have been furloughed indefinitely. In these trying moments, our first response is to question “ Why”  and  “How long ?” The concept of suffering has troubled the human mind for centuries, and that is what the songwriter in Psalm 42 feels and explains. The entire passage is metaphorical and poetic. The songwriter portrays his distress figuratively in verse   7,  “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and br...

Promise of the Holy Spirit Acts 1: 1- 8 v8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. God’s greatest love to mankind is radiated through the promise of the Holy Spirit given through Jesus Christ.  Jesus, with love and compassion, promised his disciples, just before his ascension, the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Only thing they were asked to do was to wait patiently and prayerfully for the appropriate day to receive that priceless gift.  Jesus had been training them all these years to become deserving recipients of the Holy Spirit, and thereby to become His true witnesses in the world. In today’s world when the human race is confronted with the fatal problem of corona virus, the need of the believer for acquiring the gift of the Holy Spirit is extremely immense.  For this, one must equip himself or herself with certain qualities.  We are ...

Promise of the Holy Spirit Joel 2: 28-32 v32 “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”    The concept of the “Day of the Lord” can be confusing for many people. We see in the book of Joel, written sometime around the period of Israel’s exile, that the “Day of the Lord” can have many contexts. One version of the “Day of the Lord” occurred early in Israel’s past, God brought a devastating swarm of locusts to Egypt, and presently as there is a current attack of locusts on Israel’s land as mentioned in chapter 1,. Chapter 1 also states a future “Day of the Lord” that will also lead to destruction. Joel then describes the role that repentance can have, and how there is a need for us to “cry out to the Lord” ( 1:14 ), and thus turn this future destruction to a future hope.        ...

View this email in your browser CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FORUM Word for the Day " Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path".  Psalm 119:105 THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVEN FOR FRUITFUL CHRISTIAN LIFE St. John.  14: 15 – 21 Vs.  14: 16-17  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. Chapters  14 – 16 of the gospel of St.  John are known as the Upper Room Discourse or the Farewell discourse of Jesus Christ. After the last Supper at Upper Room, probably of Mark, Jesus disclosed to the disciples his going away to glorify Father ( 13:33 ; 36). Disciples calculated, expected and invested their whole future in following Jesus. The sharing of the glory of Jesus’ coming reign was their great expectation (...

Mission as sharing Christ Psalms 85:1-13 Vs 1 You, Lord, showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. In the Bible passage, we see the greatness of God. God has shown the utmost forgiveness and compassion towards us. He brought back the captive people and forgave the sins. God took away his wrath and delivered us from the judgement. In the Psalms there is a prayer for restoration and revival by God . It’s asking for God's salvation and mercy. We have confidence in God's response and trust in the good righteousness of God. God's righteousness is so rich that he makes a path for his people. His salvation will come to those that fear him. As God moves his people, glory will follow for all the days to come. God will speak peace unto those who have surrendered to his name. 1 John 5:4-5 says “4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that ov...

Mission as sharing Christ Genesis 33:1-11 Vs 4  But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.     In this passage we see the power of God work through Jacob and Esau after they meet from Jacob stealing Esau’s birthright. Before Jacob made his journey to see Esau, he pleaded to the Lord and went on his way. This passage shows us a heart that trusts in the Lord will not be amiss. Jacob approached his brother Esau with the submissive gesture of bowing several times to not imply any behavior of hatred. Esau does not harden his heart and embraces his brother, sharing affection and peace with him. Jacob came bearing gifts and servants to give Esau as peace but Esau denies telling Jacob to keep it for himself. Jacob insisted Esau to take his gifts because Jacobs’ eyes are directed toward how gracious God was to him. Esau accepts his gifts and it is seen as security of Jacob and Esau’s peace with each...

Mission as Sharing Christ   Philippians 4: 4-9 v5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.   Teaching younger boy scouts, I have had to be very patient and gentle to connect, teach various skills, and earn their respect. Reading Philippians 4:4-9, it reminded me that the attitude I needed to reach the younger scouts is the same attitude we need as Christians. Paul's final exhortation to the Philippians is to be gentle, calm, and faithful. I believe that if we as a community develop these qualities, sharing Christ with others will become easier because we can connect and communicate better. The scripture states, “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” We should treat others as we would like to be treated. Paul explains that we should show our gentleness to everyone because we follow in His footsteps as Jesus has modeled for us in serving the multitudes. He wants us to pay attention to how we behave and assist others in doing the right...