Reflections

  GROW IN THE DIVINE WISDOM   1 Kings 3: 3-14 V   9: " So   give   your   servant   a   discerning   heart   to govern   your   people   and   to   distinguish  between right   and   wrong.   For   who   is   able   to   govern   this great   people   of   yours?” This passage talks about King Solomon asking God for wisdom to rule over the people of Israel justly. When we look into the passage, God comes to Solomon in a dream, and  “v5:God said,   ‘Ask   for   whatever   you   want   me   to   give you.” In this verse, we see that God in his dream is asking what Solomon wants. Now in verse 9, Solomon states what he wants from God. In this verse, he asks for wisdom to rule over the people of Israel. After looking at this verse I realized that Solomon could have asked for anything he wanted but rather ...

  GROW IN THE DIVINE WISDOM   Job 38:1-11 Job 38:1-11 captures a pivotal moment in the book of Job, this was where God responds to Job's cries for answers in the midst of his suffering. Out of a raging storm, the Lord addresses Job, challenging him and his understanding and reminding him of His divine wisdom and creative power. God asks Job a series of questions that tell Job about God's authority over creation, emphasizing that only He possesses the knowledge to establish the foundations of the earth, set its boundaries, and control the forces of nature. Through these questions, God humbles Job and invites him to trust in His power, acknowledging the greatness of God's wisdom and how little thief human understanding is in comparison. The passage serves as a reminder that, even in the face of suffering and unanswered questions, we can find comfort in the knowledge that our God is in control, holding all things in His hands.   The Limitations of Human Understanding: God be...

  GROW IN THE DIVINE WISDOM   Proverbs 8:1-12 VV. 10-11: "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”   In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is often displayed. Wisdom calls us to seek understanding and invites us toward God’s calling. These verses establish how wisdom is obtained which isn’t through human knowledge but rather through God’s mercy. God holds the truth and through him, we can embrace wisdom. This isn’t something that applies to elite people, but it also is given to the weak and simple. It grants us guidance with all that we may encounter in life. As long as we are available and open our hearts to receive, wisdom will be granted to us.    In a world that often values material wealth and fleeting pleasures, this passage reminds us of the incomparable worth of wisdom. It surpasses the value of silver, gold, and precious jewels. The treasu...

  SING TO THE LORD   Psalm 100 V. 5 :  For the lord is good and his  love endures forever; his faithfullness continues through  all generations.        Psalm 100 can be considered as a literary masterpiece. It is a psalm to praise the Lord, a protocol for worshipping God.  This psalm does not contain a single concept that is not considered elsewhere in the book of psalms. This psalm reminds everyone that it is inappropriate to go into God's presence  without taking proper preparations  with your body, mind, heart and soul that acknowledges the holy presence of the King of Kings.       Is not it interesting that we are ready to wait for hours in line to get a glimpse of some earthly King or a celebrity – yet we think nothing serious when entering the presence of the God the King?        Let me draw few points for our meditation:  ...

  SING TO THE LORD   St. John  14:14-21 V. 21: " Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.  The one who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them."   This passage guides us to remember that God promises and He delivers.  When Christ says we can ask for anything, we have to still remember that we should ask in His name, and by doing so, we are to humbly call to might whatever we ask in Christ's name, it should match with His nature and also His will.  Therefore asking calls us to first completely surrender to Him.  If our walk with God is sincere, whatever we ask would align with God's purpose. God promises that we, as children of God are not left alone to fight and go about life by ourselves.  Holy Spirit is our comforter, counsel, encourager, and advocate.  The Holy Spirit is powerful and is by our side always.  It guides us to remember that although the world may le...

  SING TO THE LORD   Acts 2:1-12 V. 12:  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, what does this mean?              The only, historical data about the first twenty years or so of the early Christian church is found in the book of Acts. We can find the history of the church from its beginning until the good news reached Rome through the apostle Paul. Luke the writer, narrated the events that occurred in the early church in the light of God's grand scheme of salvation for humanity.  Luke divided the history of salvation into three periods. The first one was the time of Law and the prophets. The second one was the time of Jesus when He worked through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The third was the period, at the time of the early church when the actual holy spirit worked through the early Christian community and its leaders.            Luke wrote the day of Pe...

  SING TO THE LORD Galatians 5:22-26 V. 25:  "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep step in with the spirit"   Christian character  is produced by the Holy spirit , not by the mere moral discipline of trying to live by the law. Apostle  Paul makes it clear that  justification by faith  does not result in libertinism. Living by the promptings and power of the  spirit is the key to conquering the sinful desires. When we choose the spirit living with in us rather than the flesh, we get a completely differenct set of behaviors, rather than a set of behaviors centered on “Me” , but we get a set of  behaviors seeking the best of others. The law of God can be summarized as loving God and loving others.  When we choose the spirit over the flesh to power our lives, we get the spirit working out of the law of God. Paul therefore ends this section by clarifying that the spirit is not against the law.  ...

SING TO THE LORD   Joel 2:27-32 V. 28  And afterward,I will pour out my spirit on all people....... …..your young men will see visions.   Chapter two of Joel's book starts with an impending disaster which will occur in the land of zion due to their disobedience  and resultant God's wrath. The phrase “day of the Lord “ occurs 5 times in Joel,which refers to the decisive intervention of God in history, such as through invasion of locusts and  cosmic chaos. It can also refer to Christ's coming to consummate the history. Final day of the Lord has two aspects: 1.God's triumph over and punishment of His enemies. 2. granting security  and blessing to His people. Later part of chapter 2, we see the Lord pitied on His people and sending all the blessings to the land. In v21and v23, Lord  encourages them to be glad and rejoice  while singng to the Lord for he has given them back everything in abundance.     ...

  SING TO THE LORD   Genesis 1:1-15 V. 2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters”   In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was formless and void, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. One thing we learn about God is that God works with that which already exists and seeks to bring life out of it. God takes the chaos and messiness that already is and desires to create out it. God’s Spirit in the Bible is identified with the Hebrew word Ruach, which can also mean breath. Ruach can give life to the lifeless and bring renewed life to those who have no hope. The Spirit of God is at work in creation. In Genesis 1: 1-2, we see it is the Spirit of God as the breath or wind of God, blowing over the waters of the newly created earth. We see the same spirit as the breath/wind of God, blowing life into newly created man. In Acts 2, The a...

  Jesus Christ Who Restores   Colossians  3:12-17 Colossians  3:12-17  is a positive parallel to the negative exhortations that were written in the first eleven verses of this chapter. From admonishing of all earthly desires, St. Paul transitions in the latter half of this chapter to remind the church at Colossae that they are “God’s people, holy and dearly loved” (verse 12). However, having the title alone is not enough; there are certain virtues that every believer is required to have. They are as follows: compassion, knowledge, humility, gentleness, and patience. The five virtues are manifested in the gospel of Christ from His humble birth to His forbearance towards His creation, while being accused and ultimately, nailed on the cross.  How pleasant would it be if, as a community, we were to create harmony among ourselves by adhering to these virtues everywhere we go  24/7 ? Regrettably, our inclination towards sin prevents us from emulating these q...

  Promise of the Holy Spirit   2 Corinthians 12:1-10 How easy is it to proclaim "I put my trust in God"? Our humanity affords us times of ease, happiness, and freedom. When life’s easy, we believe we’re fully sufficient and believe we can rely less on God. Life also succumbs us to hardships, insults, and calamity. During the storms, how easy is it to be content in your time of weakness, knowing that God knew what you would bear?  Paul shared the words in this chapter when false apostles were overwhelming the Corinthian Christians, and undermined Paul’s teachings. He aimed to share the good news of Christ without boasting about himself and the visions of heaven he’s received (though he would’ve been very popular!). As we read further into 2 Cor 12:3, Paul alludes to a man who was blessed with revelations from God, which we deduce to being Paul himself, as evidenced by verse 7, “... in order to keep me from becoming conceited”. Paul never divulges the details of the experie...

  Promise of the Holy Spirit St. John 16:5-13   Dearly beloved, Greetings to you all in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! We are almost halfway through 2023, and the Feast of Pentecost, a beautiful mile marker for our Christian community, is upon us. In this banquet of the Scripture before us, we read about the promise and understand the function of the Holy Spirit as given to the disciples by Jesus. In short, the Great Advocate is, but is not limited to, "...prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness and judgment."  "...guide you into all the truth." "...speak only what he hears." "...tell you what is yet to come." (v.13)   Reflecting on the Holy Spirit will "guide you into all the truth," we must understand that truth is how God sees things. It is more than just fact, which can be interpreted in several ways. The Great Advocate cedes the truth of the Almighty without ulterior motives or spin and guides us to...

  Promise of the Holy Spirit   Ephesians  6:10-20  It seems that Christians have been at war against other religions forever. Why? Battle imagery exists throughout the Bible. Many movies with the theme of a war between good and evil are big hits in the entertainment industry. We share the fascination of people fighting with each other. Currently, a war between Russia and Ukraine is already lasting over fifteen months.  This passage is about a war between an unseen enemy, whose name is Satan. We have unconditional love with God, and Satan wants to destroy it. Paul tells us that we must arm ourselves and go to war against Satan. We need to put on the armor of God (13). God has provided us with all we need to protect ourselves and go to war if needed.  During past wars, soldiers wore protective gear such as helmets and bulletproof vests, carrying shields, guns, swords, and other equipment. This passage provides protective gear to fight Satan: the Belt of Truth...

  Promise of the Holy Spirit Acts  1:12-14   In Acts 1, we see the immediate aftermath of the disciples deciphering what life is like after Jesus had risen from the grave. The disciples had the opportunity to experience Jesus daily in the flesh. With Him, they learned how God envisions humanity to lead a life on this earth to glorify His name. But with Jesus physically gone from this earth, the disciples and followers of Jesus are left to determine how to implement His teachings without His physical presence. Acts  1:14  says, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” While in mourning over the loss of their friend and Savior from this earthly plane, they sought out the presence of the Holy Spirit for guidance through prayer, in full devotion together. They knew God was there with them and needed His strength and guidance to move forward with the mission and minist...

  Promise of the Holy Spirit Isaiah 59:20-60:3   I love superhero movies.  The common element in any of these movies is that the world is a chaotic and evil place. There are wicked people who use their influence to make the life of people miserable. These people hope and pray that one day someone would come and save them from their misery. The hero who is observing all this and has a high sense of moral value and justice decides to fight against evil and eventually make this world a better place. He comes as a symbol of hope, fights against power, and makes the world a better place. Happy Ending.             In today’s passage, we see a similar pattern. (I think all these writers find inspiration from the Bible). Israelites, God’s chosen people, are separated away from the Lord. They have chosen to live their life according to their will and live a life of sin. They have fallen victim to the oppressors and f...

Promise of the Holy Spirit Psalm 42   (v.5)  “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”   It’s hard to believe that the Sun is 93 million miles from the Earth when the summer weather hits. The sweltering heat and the brightness of the glaring sun make it feel like it’s looming right over you. Yet when seasons change and that harsh storm hits, it’s difficult to recall a hint of that warmth and radiance. When facing the storm, the present, punishing reality in front of you sometimes leaves you only focused on trying to stay afloat. Though we don’t feel the overwhelming power of the sun, it doesn’t change the reality or need for the sun to sustain life. In many ways, this can feel like our relationship with God. Psalm 42 highlights the struggle of the believer when hardship comes. Speaking to the condition of a weary soul, the sons of Korah hit on the highs and lows but remember what ma...