Reflections

  THANK GOD  FOR THE INDESCRIBABLE GIFT  Luke 13:6-9 Verses of Focus: 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” I don’t know about you, but one of the most difficult parts of life for me is patience. I ran track in high school and college, and for me going fast is the only way I know. 20 years ago we weren’t using internet and landline phones at the same time, yet now if a massive document or program isn’t downloaded in 30 seconds or less, I am annoyed. Time is short and we cannot afford to waste it, so I would be quick to find another option or method if it meant better results. As we dive into today’s devotion we see how God’s patience with us is both an incredible gift of grace, but also a warning.     The passage for today is part of Jesus’ time speaking with a large crowd and the disciples. Jesus has shared many parables in this...

  THANK GOD  FOR THE INDESCRIBABLE GIFT  (2 Corinthians  2: 12-17 ) “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in a triumphant procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from  knowing him.”(2 Corinthians 2:14) In his second letter to Corinthians, St. Paul defends his life and ministry, pointing to the way that God has honored the call upon his life with great success and fruitfulness.  He also says that he is thankful to God, who helped him to overcome the great sufferings and persecutions he faced as a missionary.  Today’s meditation passage tells us why we should be thankful to God?  Be thankful to God, as God  leads us to triumph in Christ:  The reason for thankfulness is that God is always leading us to triumph in Christ because we are in Him and  He in us.  In this reality, we own Christ’s triumph over sin.  The Roman military would hold a parade after a triumph on a foreign b...

  Thank God for the indescribable gift 2 Corinthians 9:15   In the late 40s A.D., a famine swept across Judea, and the leaders of the Jerusalem church- James, Cephas, and John were concerned about the Christians in Jerusalem, and so they requested Paul “to remember the poor he went about preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. And so Paul who was zealous in providing for the poor encouraged the Corinthian Christians to give generously to their poor brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Paul prays that God might bless these Corinthian Christians with seed - not for eating but for sowing. They could be sure that, if they sow the seed generously, God will provide a generous harvest for the needy Christians in Jerusalem. Paul also prays that God might “increase the fruits of your righteousness.” If Corinthians would act righteously by giving generously, then they could anticipate that God will bless their generosity by multiplying its effect. Paul states that the person who measures se...

     Thank God for the indescribable gift  Duet 8:1-20 Vs 11. : Be aware that you don’t forget the Lord your God, failing to obey His commandments, His laws, and His decrees that I am giving you this day “. We are in a Christmas season celebrating the birth of our Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ. This is an event that turned and divided history into two before and after Christ. The season is the actual advent of life, light, and hope into our world of darkness. We were immersed in sin, lostness, pain, hopelessness, and God sent His son out of His love. When Christ took the flesh and was born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago “Immanuel” God with us became a reality. God became human and made His entry into this world and identified with the problems and situations of life He wrapped His glory up in the tenderness of a child and offered himself to be crucified. Simeon cried out after receiving the baby Jesus “My eyes have seen the salvation “. Christmas offers us et...

    GLORIOUS COMING OF OUR LORD Mathew 24:40- 51 The entire chapter 24 in the Gospel according to Mathew illustrates the coming of the Son of Man. The parables in this passage are the teachings about the events leading up to the return and the revelation of the second coming of Jesus.  Our calling is to be the faithful Servants of the Kingdom of God. As children of such a faithful Creator, we also have our responsibilities towards the creation. We have to live up to our calling in Christ. Our forefathers lead a faithful life. God reveals our calling to us in our lives, just like God called Joseph and Samuel. But we fail to recognize it due to our worldliness. We can identify our calling by identifying the gifts, passion, and vision which are the seeds sown in us to grow in our calling. The purpose of our life is to glorify God. Pray and give thanks to God for the opportunity to grow in Christ and ask Him to shed light in our lives. The Lord is faithful to those who are fa...

  Glorious coming of our Lord Mathew 24:42-51 Three major themes are emphasised in the parables that conclude Chapter 24 of the Gospel of Mathew: watchfulness (parable of the fig tree [24:32–34]); preparedness (comparison of Christ’s return to the days of Noah [24:36–41]); and the return of Jesus (coming of the kingdom in its fullness [24:42-52]). The Parable of the Faithful Servant (or Parable of the Door Keeper) found in Mathew 24:42-51, Mark 13:34-37, and Luke 12:35-48 shows the importance of keeping watch. The metaphor of a thief breaking into a house at night is used to describe the return of Jesus. Since we don’t know the day or the hour of Jesus's Second Coming, we always have to be “ready”. In the Gospel of Mathew, being prepared means carrying out deeds of mercy, forgiveness, and peace that characterise people of the kingdom of God. The Importance of Staying Alert The parable opens with the injunction: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lo...

  GLORIOUS COMING OF OUR LORD 1 Thessalonians  4:13- 18   Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians was written to encourage and reassure the Christians in Thessalonica. Thessalonica is the capital city of the Roman Province of Macedonia. Paul had established a church in Thessalonica and preached Christian messages among the non-Jews who were interested in Judaism.  However, there were serious oppositions from the Jews who had promoted Judaism. Under this circumstance, Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica. Later, through his fellow – worker Timothy, Paul got appraised of the situation in the Church at Thessalonica. The bible passage reveals the second coming of Jesus. The echoes of the gospel continue with Paul’s assertion that Jesus will return with the sound of trumpets (Matthew 24:31) and descend from heaven (Acts  1:11 ). It is important to note that here Paul asserts that believers will meet the Lord in the air. Those who are alive will be caught up togethe...

  Glorious coming of our Lord Acts 1:6-11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” – Acts  1:11 Book of Acts is all about design and purpose. When God intends something, it is fully realized. God intended to perform great things when He sent the Holy Spirit. His creation serves a purpose. The church's accountability is implied by the purpose. This is His purpose, and this is our mission. Acts 1:6-11 becomes a place where God combines these two elements: design and plan. God sends us the Holy Spirit for us to attain goals in our life. When we combine these two elements, power and plan, as we see in the early church as recorded in the Book of Acts, we see a tremendous development of God's kingdom both locally and worldwide. In verse 6, The disciples ask Jesus a final question before His ascension. Lord, will You at this time...

  Glorious coming of our Lord Jeremiah 3: 6-22 “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God.”------- Jeremiah 3: 22 The above-mentioned scripture gives us an insight into the unfaithful days of Israel and Judah that results in the glorious coming of the lord.  God reminded Jeremiah that the northern kingdom of Israel was deeply idolatrous, yet God still called to them saying,” Return to me.”  Sadly, she did not return. The kingdom of Judah should have learned from Israel’s idolatry, refusal to repent, and fall. Instead, her treacherous sister Judah did not fear but followed in the footsteps of her sister because adultery mattered so much to her. It seemed that Judah had learned nothing from the sin and consequences that came upon the northern kingdom of Israel. Whatever repentance they did offer was not from the whole heart, but only in pretense. God knows when repentance is insincere and only for show. There are several reasons as to why Judah’s sin was e...

  The Mar Thoma Church Day St. John 14: 1-7 In St John Chapters 14-17 we see Jesus addressing eleven of his disciples through his Farewell Discourse, the night before his crucifixion. While chapter 13 of the Gospel of John is dramatic with Judas Iscariot walking away into the darkness of the night, Chapter 14 is mellow and philosophic. While Chapter 13 describes the last supper and the anticipation of the departure of the Messiah,  Chapter 14 provides the ultimate assurance for the salvation of believers in Christ.  Jesus tells the disciples that he will go to the Father and the message makes the disciples nervous about his departure. But Jesus encourages them to hold fast in the face of hardship and not have troubled hearts. He assures them that he will "go to prepare a place" for them in his Father's house, he would then come back and take them also to be with him. In verse 4, we read Jesus telling the disciples, “You know the way to the place where I am going”, to whic...

  Glorious coming of our lord Zechariah 13:1-9 “This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'” – Zechariah 13:2 The focus of today's scripture is on the "Glorious Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." In Zechariah 12, we witness the world's nations united in their attack against Israel, and God's miraculous deliverance of His people. When the people of Judah and Jerusalem see Jesus, there will be a great period of grief for this pierced only Son, Who is God Himself, and chapter 13 begins in the same time period, with the phrase "In that day..." This chapter should not have been divided from the previous one because it is a continuation of it.  A Fountain for Sin and Impurity is mentioned in verse one. It signifies that when the time when Jesus returns to earth to protect t...

  The Art Reconciliation 2 Corinthians 7: 1-11  Postures of faith  For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret but worldly grief produces death. 2 Corin  7:10  Paul during his second missionary journey sows the seed of the gospel in the life of the people of Corinth. The letter to Corinthians is known as the letter of tears or severe letter.  Paul wrote the 1st letter to the people of Corinth from Ephesus to respond to the news that he received from Chloe’s people. There was some heretic teaching among people and also they questioned Paul’s apostleship. Paul wrote the letter to counter these issues. Also, he sent Timothy to check over the issue. Not much is known about timothy’s visit to Corinth. But by the time Paul began writing 2 Corinthians Timothy had already returned (1.1). When Timothy arrived back he brought disturbing news to Paul about the situation in Corinth. This made Paul change his travel plan. Instead o...

  *DISPLAY THE SIGNATURE OF GOD* John 1:1-14*   This text, known as the prologue of John's gospel is a beautiful poetical but philosophical description of the event of Christ's birth as a human. John makes use of the philosophical concept of logos for this purpose. In Greek philosophy, logos is the universal principle that could not be comprehended by the human mind. But, John tries to communicate that this principle has been made comprehensible to the human mind through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The God who is the creator, as well as the sustainer of its order, has been revealed through Jesus Christ. That's why the event of Christmas has got eternal relevance. 1. The entire creation manifests the authenticity of God. The phrase 'in the beginning' means before anything had come to existence. God was there even before everything. The logos was that God created everything. That logos have come into the historic time as Christ. The purpose of that incarnation wa...

  Our Lord is Coming Hebrews 1:1-12   Some Jews in the first century believed in Jesus as the Messiah yet desired all of Judaism’s ceremonies. The distinctions between Christianity and Judaism were blurry, and many individuals were unsure of their primary identity. Some of these may have been addressed in the book of Hebrews. It appears to have been composed for those who already believed in Jesus as the Messiah. The book claims that Jesus is superior to Judaism because he brings truth to the table that Jewish rites can only hint at. The readers should perceive Jesus as the embodiment of their religious identity. There is a contrast between ancient and modern in the first statement. God spoke with the patriarchs in various ways: certain things to one person, some to another, a different piece to someone else many years later, and so on. God would communicate in a thunderous voice at times, a whisper at others, and a vision. That is in stark contrast to how God has communicated...

  Worship God Alone  Revelations 19: 1-10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the  testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ The book of revelation is written in the Roman imperial context as a resistance against the Empire,  which is dominating and persecuting the ‘vulnerable’ Christians. The text is rich with metaphors and imageries with immense inherent meanings.   Verses 1-8 describe the fall of Babylon. Babylon is a metaphor used in Revelation to denote Rome,  then the reigning Empire that persecuted Christians. We can listen to many voices from Heaven in the book of Revelation. In this chapter, we see the fourth one of such a kind. In verses 1-5, the full range of voices in heaven praise God for his judgment of Babylon and exhort God’s servants on earth to do so. Verse 3 is a clear mocking of Rome’s...

  Our Lord is Coming  Isaiah 11:1-10 ‘’There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.’’ (Isaiah 11:1-2) Isaiah lived 700 years before Christ, but this passage talks about the prophecy about Christ. Isaiah says that the Messiah will be both the shoot and root of Jesse and that he will bear abundant fruit. And this fruit will be the kingdom of life and peace for people all over the world and for all creation. Do you know who is this Jesse mentioned here? Jesse is David’s father who was a simple farmer and sheep owner who is remembered today as the father of the great King David. Jesse’s son became king not because of Jesse’s strength or brilliance, but by the grace of God. Isaiah is prophesying here with regard to the stump of Jesse. The ‘dead stump’ mentio...

  THE BEAUTY OF ONENESS  Ephesians  2: 11-22 Postures of Faith  “you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone”- Ephesians 2:19,20. It is believed that the letter to Ephesians is written by Paul. But most scholars agree that this letter is pseudonymous. This is because this letter lacks the common style (like personal greetings, the relationship between paul and to whom he writes) which is seen in all other Pauline letters. In chapter 2 Paul shifts from the Gentile past of his audience “you”, to the experience of salvation shared by all Christians, “we”.  The central foci of today’s portion are unity in Christ. The “you” are now identified as gentiles, while the “we” belong to the commonwealth of Israel. The ‘once but now’ pattern applies to the prior division of two groups which are now bro...