Reflections

  Jesus Christ who forgives our sins . Isaiah 33: 13-34   Sometimes we need to step back and re-examine what it is that we believe. Many things can cloud our eyes to understand our real need for Jesus Christ and salvation. We often hear the statement, “All people are basically good.”  Those who say all people are basically good have never read the Bible to see what God has to say on the subject. The fact is, according to the scripture, mankind is sick with sin and all need a Savior! Mankind needs saving. Man, left on his own is prone to evil. Have you seen the news lately? The fact is that; everyone needs to be saved. Saved from penalty of sin, saved from the world, saved from flesh and saved from devil. The holy Bible teaches us about the need for salvation. Romans 3:9–18; Romans 3:23, Romans 7:14–8:2 We all need salvation, because we all transgressed the commands of God. None of us are free from penalty of sin. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory...

  Jesus Christ - the Living Water- who forgive sins .  John 4:6-11. Verse10. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water”.   In the Public ministry of Jesus, we can see three dimensional work of Jesus; they are, teaching, preaching and healing. In this Bible portion we can see all three dimensions of his ministry.     The story of the Samaritan woman begins as Jesus is in the Judean country side with His disciples. During the time of Jesus, the Samaria considered as a strange half-breed place. This passage tells us that Jesus had to pass through Samaria as He was going to Galilee from Judea. Jesus decided to pass through the placeSamaria, where we think is off limit. 1.  Passing of Jesus through the Samaria. Jesus decided to cross the barriers built between the Jews and the Samaritans for years. On the way Jesus and his disciples came to the...

   Jesus Christ Who Sanctifies  Psalm 130: 1-8 V4 ”But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you”.   This psalm is sixth of seven “penitential psalms” where the people of God cry out to Him for confession and forgiveness - or to plead for His mercy and blessing.  A prayer for mercy and assurance: In this psalm, we can see a testimony of trust in the Lord who knows that even though he is a sinner, the Lord hears his cry out of the depths. Verse 1-2 is a desperate cry for help from the depths of despair, and pleads to hear the voice and be attentive to the cry of mercy. During hard times, we too cry to God “out of the depths” for help and also we cry "LORD, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord could ever survive?" (v.3).This verse implies that our sins are so numerous and we deserve to die because of them. Verse 4 continues: "But you offer forgiveness that we might learn to fear you." No matter how much we have sinned, we ha...

   Jesus Christ who sanctifies St. Mark 1: 40-45   The Gospel of Mark is considered as the most translated book in the world and also usually the first portion of the bible to be translated since it’s a very short gospel but contains the most essential truth of Jesus’s life and ministry. The Gospel of Mark is comparatively less of the “sayings” of Jesus and more on His “doings”.  In the passage that we are meditating today, we see an encounter of Jesus Christ with a leper, who is an outcast from society and considered a cursed and unclean person. The interaction in itself was something radically challenging the standards of religiosity of the day both by the leper and Jesus who listens and intervenes with compassion.  For the Leper who was ostracized from his family and who by law had to stay away from human dwellings and always required to keep his distance from other people, crying out “unclean, unclean” everywhere he went, the courage to approach Jesus was eq...

  "Jesus Christ who sanctifies". James 4: 7-10.    To live a permanent victorious life, a believer has to order his/her steps according to James 4:7-10. Only a person who is truly submitted to God can overcome the devil. A truly submitted person will draw near to God, will allow God to purify their hearts, and walk in humility.  James 4:10 emphasizes humility which is the hallmark of a Christ-like believer. There are benefits for those who walk in humility provided we meet the conditions God has prescribed. God is a God of conditions. How do we meet the conditions? Through humility and meekness, if we humble ourselves under His mighty hands, He will lift us up in due season. Humility is a heart attitude; it is the nature of the heart. To get what God has for us, we have to exercise humility. Humility is coming into agreement with God and doing what He says. God opposes the arrogant. The arrogant disagrees with God's word. Jesus humbled Himself when He left heaven and...

  Jesus Christ who sanctifies 1 John 1: 5-10 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”  Vs.7   “I am the God who sanctifies you”. (Ex. 31:13, Lev. 20:8,21:8,22:32). God revealed Himself as “Yahweh Mekkodishkem”, the sanctifier of His people, consecrating them to walk in His will and purpose. In the old covenant, God gave ordinances to His people for purification through the blood of sacrificial animals which cleansed them outwardly. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that promise and those ordinances, accomplishing perfect sanctification by His unblemished blood for all who believe in Him, cleansing their consciences and making them holy to serve the living God (Heb.  9:14 ). Apostle John wrote this epistle when many false doctrines and philosophies which denied sin were spreading. Regardless of the time, it is human tendency to lighten the seriousness of sin a...

  Jesus Christ who sanctifies Jeremiah 33: 6-11 Vs.11: "For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD”. I’m sure we’ve all heard the expression “It’s too good to be true.” Collins dictionary elaborates that we may be suspicious of it because it seems better than we had expected, and we think there may be something wrong with it that we have not noticed. Let’s look at what the Word of God tells us in Jeremiah chapter 33 verses 6 to 11. In the verses around this passage, we see that Jeremiah was imprisoned and God gives him guidance through prayer. The first five verses of the chapter are all about judgment and then the following verses paint a picture of restoration and joy. I like to put myself in the shoes of the people in Biblical times as I try to understand their situations and responses to those situations. The kind of destruction they have witnessed is unthinkable. But then again, did we not too see Life’s unimaginable turns in the past ...

  Jesus Christ Who Sanctifies  Exodus 12: 21-28 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down (Exodus 12:23)   The Israelites, God's chosen people, were in exile for 400 years before God fulfilled the covenant He made with Abraham that He “will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions” (Gen  15: 14 ). God’s plan of redemption from slavery involved sacrifice of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12). The blood of lamb protected them from the wrath of death, freed them from the bondage of slavery, redeemed from the defilement of sin, and sanctified to dwell in the Holy presence with God.    As a fulfillment of the Passover lamb, Jesus Christ came to this world and secured deliverance from eternal death for each one of us throu...

   Ministry of reconciliation St. Mathew 5: 21-26 When we turn on the news, look at our social media feeds, read the newspaper, listen to the radio, or even look at some entertainment media today, there are some themes in common: confusion, chaos, violence, disasters, and injustice, among many other issues and complexities. This statement is not meant to paint a dismal picture of the world, but to invite us into a deeper reflection on the contemporary world, and to ask ourselves what we can do to contribute to peace and reconciliation in a world where such terms have become more of an esoteric sound.  The selected passage is part of the Sermon on the Mount, whereby Jesus teaches the values of the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ reminder regarding reconciliation with one another coincides with the divine experience of peace. Without reconciliation, one cannot truly experience the peace Christ offers us. Without reconciliation, we are not able to meaningfully participate in the life...

  Great Lent -An Invitation for Transformation Title: Appointed to his Service 1st Timothy   1:12-17   Theme Verse:  "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans  10:14-15 )     Dearly beloved, Do you remember? Do you remember when you were called into his service? I remember when God called me and appointed me to his service at a church retreat. I heard the invitation from the preacher. “My Son, crucify the flesh and follow Christ”. At the time I was 14 years old, weighed down by the troubles of this life, didn’t see any hope and steeped in sin, an enemy of God. Oh but blessed are the feet that bring good news , That day I called upon the name of the Lord and was saved !  He will...

   Great Lent -An Invitation for Transformation John 2:1–11 Theme Verse:   Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. (Jn  2:11 ) The Great Lent  begins 20th February , with the service of reconciliation known as Shub’kono (Syriac for ‘reconciliation’). The Sunday before is commemorated as Kothine (Syriac name for town of Cana) Sunday. In Lent, we meditate on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, leading to His crucifixion. Fasting and prayer are practices that turn our physical life and spiritual eyes toward the mysteries of God. Jesus’ public ministry began with the wedding at Cana. The purpose of Lent is to understand the healing and salvation offered to us by Jesus Christ, the Great Physician. The healing is part of reconciliation with God. The Sunday meditations leading to Palm Sunday are on the miraculous healings of Jesus. For what purpose did Jesus choose to heal or perform mirac...

  Great Lent -An Invitation for Transformation Romans 12:1-21   “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. ”  Romans 1:2   Just a few years ago, if you were a parent with young kids, one of the big fads was a product called Slime.  Someone took Glue and mixed it with flour, and suddenly this product was something kids wanted to play with.  You can add glitter and other things to it and make it different colors. There were Slime Parties, and the whole purpose is to make this blob that your kids would then play with.   This blob had no particular shape, and it would be slightly sticky to the touch, but you can put it in anything or put it on anything and it just takes the shape of wherever you place it.  It conformed to any shape or surface you placed it on.  As a parent you would look on with disgust and apprehen...

  Great Lent -An Invitation for Transformation Forgive and Forget, not Revenge and Regret Hosea 14:1-9   Hosea 14:1-9 is a beautiful invitation from God to His people to return to Him and find healing and restoration. In this passage, God urges His people to repent and turn away from their sins, promising to heal their waywardness and love them freely.   The opening verse of the passage sets the tone for the entire message, as God says, "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity." Here, we see God's heart for His people, desiring that they come back to Him and find healing and wholeness. The subsequent verses continue this theme of repentance and restoration, with God promising to heal His people's waywardness and love them freely. He declares that if they turn away from their sin and trust in Him, He will be like dew to them, causing them to flourish like a tree. The passage concludes with a beautiful promise from God, say...

  Great Lent -An Invitation for Transformation 2 Peter: 1:1-11   Peter begins his second letter addressing all the believers of Christ. As we read we see that Peter introduces himself as a “servant and apostle.” He had grown into his faith through his doubts and by investing his life to share the good news of  Christ/ He made himself a disciple of god by spreading his word. Peter acknowledged his presence in this world as a servant of God and thus  demonstrated that he knew what he was taught to do and his role as a disciple. But he identified himself as an apostle which showed his authority in the church as a leader who was appointed by the lord our god. However, even with the appointed authority, he demonstrated humility throughout the passage. He emphasizes that “his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life.” “His” in this verse is god, he explains that with our knowledge of god, we are fulfilled. He closes the first part of the chapter o...

  Great Lent -An Invitation for Transformation Ezekiel 18: 25-32   Verse 25, starts off with a quoting stated by the people saying “The way of the Lord is unfair.” God gives Ezekiel the message to tell the people and ask “Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?” God was telling the people of Israel that they were being unfair. The people of Israel who were being punished and were exiled were not happy because they believed it was unfair that the lord punished them for what the previous generations had done. But the Lord is basically saying that they themselves have also committed the same sins, and are receiving punishment for it. God in his justice will punish those who sin, though it gives him no pleasure. God states that those who have committed sins when they turn away from righteousness will be punished. But those who come back and repent will be saved. He prefers that they repent of their sin and be forgiven; and to each person who repents, God will give e...

  Theme: Great Lent - An Invitation for Transformation Assigned Verse: Psalm 6: 1-10 During the Lenten period it is important for us to understand to be sorry to the Lord for all your wrongdoings. Here in this passage we can hear David expressing sorrow for his sin. David is completely overwhelmed with terror and asks the Lord how long this is going to last. He realizes soon enough that he is going through the consequence of his own sin. He cries aloud to the Lord and asks for forgiveness. David knows that God has an abundance of love and will forgive him and heal him from his distress. He felt distant from God which is why he felt weak.      Lent calls us to be closer with God which first comes from repentance. We should be able to say “I'm sorry” to the Lord in order for us to get closer to him. We should understand that the Lord’s steadfast love is what forgives us and allows us to stand today. Although it may be very difficult for us to do so, without humbli...

   Sabbath leads to fullness of  Creation Bible portion: 1 Samuel 21:1-9 Verse: “So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.” 1 Samuel 21-9   In 1 Samuel 21, David is on the run from Saul. David comes to the town of Nob, where the tabernacle was, and meets with Ahimelech the priest. Although he didn’t tell the priest there the truth about his situation, he was running for his life. David asks for food, but Ahimelech has nothing but the showbread, which was consecrated for use in the tabernacle. Despite the law that reserved the showbread exclusively for the sons of Aaron (Leviticus 24:9), “the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away” (1 Samuel 21:...