Reflections

  Call to be liberative Bible Reading:  Luke 13:10–17  Key Verse Vs 12-13 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Luke  13: 12-13 DEVOTION In Luke 13:10–17, we see Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath when He notices a woman who had been bent over for eighteen years. She could not straighten herself. While others may have seen only her condition, but Jesus saw her pain. He called her forward and said, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity .” Instantly, she stood upright and began praising God. The synagogue leader was annoyed because the healing took place on the Sabbath. But Jesus responded by exposing their hypocrisy. If they would untie an ox or donkey to give water on the Sabbath, how much more should this “daughter of Abraham” be set free from her bondage? This passage reminds us that Jesu...

  Comfort that lifts us out of Affliction Bible Reading:  2 Cori. 1: 3-11 Key Verse Vs 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.        2 Cori. 1: 5 DEVOTION In 2 Corinthians 1:3–11, the Apostle Paul begins with a beautiful declaration: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” These words were not written from a place of affliction rather than a place affluence. Paul had endured suffering, persecution, and despair, where he was awaiting the death sentence. Yet, in the midst of hardship, he discovered something profound: God’s comfort is most real when our strength is gone. Paul teaches us that our trials are not meaningless. The comfort we receive from God becomes the comfort we extend to others. Our pain becomes a ministry. Our tears become a testimony. When we depend on ourselves, we are limited; but when we rely on God who ...

  Worship that sets the Oppressed free Bible Reading: Isaiah 1:12–17 Key Verse Vs 17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Isa  1: 17 DEVOTION In Isaiah 1:12–17, the Lord speaks with striking honesty to His people. Through the prophet Isaiah, God declares that He is weary of their sacrifices, their festivals, and even their prayers. This is a shocking message. The people were doing everything religiously correct, bringing offerings, observing holy days, gathering for worship. Yet God says, “I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.” Why would God reject worship that He Himself commanded? Because their worship had become empty. Their hands were lifted in prayer, but they were also “full of blood.” Their rituals were active, but their hearts were distant. God was not looking for mere sacrifices, but He was looking for repentance. The Lord says, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; ...

  The readiness to face the cross Bible Reading: Mark 10:32–34 Key Verse Vs 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles. Mark 10:33 DEVOTION In Gospel of Mark 10:32–34, we find a deeply moving moment in the journey of Jesus. The Scripture says they were “on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them.” There is something powerful in that picture. Jesus walked in front, fully aware of what awaited Him. Jerusalem was not just another destination. It was the place of betrayal, suffering, rejection, and crucifixion. Yet our Lord did not hesitate. He did not slow His steps. He did not turn aside. He walked ahead. The disciples, we are told, were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. They sensed the weight of the moment, even if they did not fully understand it. Jesus then took the Twelve asi...

  Healing that breaks the power of Despair Bible Reading: Numbers 21: 1-9 Key Verse Vs 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. Numb. 21: 8 DEVOTION In Book of Numbers 21:1–9, we encounter one of the most profound prophetic symbols in the Old Testament. The people of Israel, journeying through the wilderness, grew impatient and spoke against God and against Moses. Their complaint was merely their rebellion and ingratitude rather than shortage of food or hardship.  In response, fiery serpents came among them, and many were bitten and died. Realizing their sin, the people repented and asked Moses to intercede for them. God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it upon a pole. Whoever looked upon the bronze serpent after being bitten would live. This strange and powerful event was not only a moment of deliverance in the wilderness; it was a divine foreshadowing of salvation ...

  The God who announces Freedom Bible Reading: Leviticus 25:8–13 Key verse  Vs 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty through the land to all its inhabitants.   DEVOTION Today we live in an era where the humanity wishes to exercise their inalienable rights. Of course these exercises linked with political freedom, self-determination or self-rule, democracy etc.  It is believed that the book of Leviticus was written by Moses while he was at Mount Sinai, in one month somewhere between BC 1450 and 1410. In Leviticus, liberty was proclaimed by the sounding of a trumpet. It was a declaration authorized by God Himself. Slaves did not free themselves; the freedom was announced over them. Similarly, in the New Testament, freedom from sin is not something we achieve by our deed. It is proclaimed through the Gospel. At the cross, Jesus did not suggest freedom. He accomplished it. His blood became the price of redemption. Freedom is accomplished. The ...