Reflections

  Faith that leads to healing 2 Kings 4:16-37 v30 “But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.”                How often do we make plans of our own and get disappointed when things don’t work out our way? Sometimes we forget that God has a plan for our lives, and we try to control things that we clearly have no control over. American Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas has said, "You know, God has a plan for me, and I'm going to follow in His footsteps and just rejoice and be happy." As a college student, I constantly ask myself where I see myself going in the future. I try to picture where I think I will be five years from now. Although it’s good to set goals and work towards those goals, ultimately it is up to God as to where I will go and what I will do since His plans for me are greater than I could ever imagine. Especially considering what...

  FAITH THAT LEADS TO HEALING LUKE 5: 17– 26 v24 You may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the one who was paralyzed “I say to you , stand up and take your bed  and go to your home”. Context As Jesus continued to travel and teach, he reached at a place and continued teaching in a house. According to Mark this is a house at Capernaum (2: 1-2). The news about him was well spread. That house too crowded to approach him. Some men brought a paralytic to him. In Jewish culture and religion, paralysis was believed as the judgment of God due to serious sin. Such people were banned from the priesthood and excluded from full participation in the community. Thus this man was viewed as an outcast and judged by God. Because of the crowd he could not be brought before Jesus. On seeing the faith of the people who brought the paralytic, Jesus healed him (Mark. 2:5 and Luke 5:20). Not only physical healing but forgiving of sin were also given to him. F...

  Christian Approach to the Untouchables Hebrews 13:8-16 v8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  When thinking of untouchables, in an Indian context, our mind goes to those in a lower caste who were considered untouchables by people of higher caste. But in a Biblical context when we think of untouchables, we think of lepers who were quarantined from the Jewish society and forced to live in camps outside the city walls. Yet we see that Jesus healed the leper not by word of mouth but by touching him and thereby breaking the barriers that humans had created to separate this child of God. In the Bible, we see many instances of Jesus healing by His compassionate touch. He heals the blind, the deaf, the woman who could not stand up straight, and Peter’s mother-in law by touching them which goes to prove that a touch gives healing to the body, mind and spirit. So, should we look at another child of God as untouchable? Herein lies our approach to people who the w...

  CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO UNTOUCHABLES JOB 2           Vs 13 So, they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights and no one spoke a word to him for they saw that his grief was very great. Mathew 7 1-2 says Do not judge or you will be judged. For the way you judge others you will be judged and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. To be a good Christian it requires more than personal devotions, a warm loving feeling inside for others. God wants us to show the outside world how God works in us and what is expected of us in the troubled world where there are evils of racism, untouchability and injustice. Let the light of Jesus glow in the darkness of the world and god wants us to be the beacon of guidance in troubled waters and darkness. We live in a world of untouchability that rules in many parts of the third world  and developing nations including India and racism emerges at an alarming pace in many parts of...

  CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO THE UNTOUCHABLES Acts 10 :34-43 Vs 43. To Him all the prophets witness that through His name whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. Ethnic divides were deeply ingrained in the culture of the first century Israel. Even Jewish Christians such as Peter himself thought as being God’s favorites. What is the distinguishing mark of a Christian? Is it just the cross hung around the neck or one’s external false eye wash manifestations that are outstanding and mark him above others? New Testament is clear about what is expected of a follower of Christ. If one has the love of God and the love of neighbors which are the cardinal commandments Jesus taught his followers to follow and abide by, one will not be able to discriminate God’s creation in the society based on race, culture, color of the skin, disease state or economic levels. Love shall be the badge of a Christian. Love has a cost attached to it and all the actions expressed by it contrary to lov...

  Christian approach to the untouchables Romans 3:21-31 v22-24 “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,   and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”                  In the chapters and verses leading up to today’s portion, the people are given a dark and bleak picture of the consequences of sins and disobeying the scriptures. But when we arrive to Romans 3:21 Paul gives the people words of hope and salvation. All humankind were subject to the punishment of sin and the damage it does to the soul, but through Jesus Christ we are given hope anew. God gave is one and only son so that through his sacrifice humanity becomes reconciled with Him. Paul states clearly here that this gift was not a treasure to be seclud...

  Christian Approach to the Untouchables 2 Kings 5:1-14   v13, 14 The  servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”   So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.   The story of Naaman and how the Prophet Elisha healed him is one of the most popular stories of the bible, one of the first ones that kids in Sunday Schools learn as well. While it depicts the fact that the healing touch of God is available to all mankind, a closer look at this passage reveals deeper truths that we need to understand: God can use the lowest of people to provider pointers in out life. It was the servant girl that pointed Naaman to the Prophet Elisha. We let pride take control of our lives, and that very often cre...

  Christian approach to untouchables Matthew 8:1-4 V3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean.” St. Matthew places this healing miracle of Jesus immediately after Jesus’s sermon on the mount. As the sermon on the mount shows his authoritative teaching, the accounts in Matthew 8 show his authoritative healing. But rather than just being a miraculous act that evoked wonder, Jesus’s miracles served to restore wholeness, not only to the sick but also to the society around the sick person. Here, Jesus’s healing of the leper teaches us a lesson on how our approach should be towards people who are considered outcasts by the society.   Jesus saw the obstacles the leper had crossed to come to Jesus. The leper could have been driven away or stoned by the crowd following Jesus. The leper knew that he was carrying a disease dreaded by the world around him. He knew that other people gave up on him as having a hopeless condition. He had no one who woul...

  Lent: Transformation of Creation Romans: 8. 16-25     Verse. 23. b “the first fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adaptation of our body”.            One of the most profound New Testament expressions of God’s plan for the natural world is in Romans  8:19-23 . It powerfully depicts the apocalyptic expectation that at the end of history, God will reverse the damage from the fall, not only to humanity, but even to nature itself. There is a popular misperception that apocalypses are world-denying and pessimistic about nature. For the average person, the word “apoca­lypse” brings to mind the end of the world. It is true that most early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature have a dualistic or two-age view of history. Apocalypses view the present age or world as corrupted by sin and in sharp contrast with the future perfect world or age of glory and righteousn...

  LENT- TRANSFORMATION OF CREATION ISAIAH 40:26-31 Vs 31.    … but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be fainted. Lent shall be a time of personal transformation. God created the world and sin crept in to the world from the beginning. The transformation work of God also started from the beginning and can be seen all through the bible from the beginning to today. John 3:16 says He loved the world so much that He sent His only son to the world to transform the perished, the ungodly, the ones who were immersed in sins, the wicked and the unholy. He came to the world to give everyone eternal life and he puts only one condition and that is to trust Him and believe Him. He wants us to have a sin free life and follow the glorious path that will lead us to eternity. Throughout history we can see God sending godly men and prophets to talk to people, make them aware...

Lent- Transformation of Creation 2 Corinthians  5:11-21 V21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   Lent is a purposeful call or an invitation of transformation of the creation. Being available for Christ is primary in the process of transformation which happens through the "In- Christ " experience.   Coming to the context of this text we can see that Paul was the founder of the church at Corinth. We can see the significance of his words as follows: “Therefore, we know no one after the flesh from now on “ (v. 16a). Paul no longer regards others “after the flesh” or “according to the flesh” (v. 16). To view someone (according to the flesh) means to view them by worldly standards—by their wealth or physical beauty or political influence or power. Those are the concerns of the natural person. Paul now regards people from a different perspective—a spiritual perspective. “ Therefore, if anyone is in Chr...

  Beginning of the great lent: Transformation of Creation Ephesians  2:11-22 v22 "And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." There was once a Scottish painter called Jack, who was very interested in making money where he could. So he often would thin down his paint to make it go a bit further. He got away with this for some time. Eventually, the Presbyterian Church decided to do a big restoration job on one of their biggest churches. Jack put in a painting bid and because his price was so competitive, he got the job. One day while Jack was up on the scaffolding- the job almost done, there was a great clap of thunder. The sky opened and the rain poured down, washing the thin paint from all over the church and knocking Jack off the scaffold. Knowing this was a warning from the Almighty, he fell on his knees and cried, "Oh, God! Forgive me! What should I do?" And from the thunder, a mighty Voice spoke, "REPA...

  Matthew 18:18-27 Lent: Service of reconciliation   Vs 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.   Lent is a period of reconciliation with others. Fasting is an act of worship presented to God, and God does not accept the offering and worship of a person who quarrels with others. Instead, He asks him to go and make peace with his brother before coming to worship and present offerings in front of God’s altar. Fasting is an appropriate time to evaluate our relationship with others. As we ask God to forgive us our sins, we must also forgive those who have sinned against us . Great Lent is a time for the nourishment of our inner being. Abstinence during Lent indicates the shift of focus and we give extra care to the nourishment of our spirit. During Lent, we give more time for Bible reading, meditation, and prayer so that our spirit is purified and enriched by God. Then the Holy Spirit who resides in our spirit can stea...

  Lent: Transformation of Creation Genesis 1:1-28 v27-28 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”                   In the hustle and bustle of today I think it very easy to constantly think and prepare our way towards the next step and forget where we started. As we begin this Lenten season its important for us to reflect on how we get to the glorious story of resurrection- the beginning of the world and the power and majesty of God. There is a joke that has always brought a laugh for me as a kid. There’s a scientist and God. And the scientist chal...