Reflections

  Ambassadors of Reconciliation Bible Reading:    Bible portion:  2 Corinthians  5:16-21 Key Verse Vs 20 Key Verse: V 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.   DEVOTION What is an ambassador? An ambassador is one who is entrusted with a message from a king of government and is faithfully expected to convey the same message in the same tone to officials and nations. Paul reminds us that we are ambassadors of our King Jesus, who is entrusting us to convey this message of reconciliation to the world. Our lives, words, and actions are meant to echo God’s invitation: “Be reconciled to God.” This is not a message of condemnation but of restoration. Not a message of distance but of nearness. Not a message of earning but of receiving.  The portion begins with the reminder that we no longer ought to look through human eyes. Reconciliation begins with God, not with ...

  New Life and spirit through Christ Bible Reading:   Ezekiel 36:24-36 Key Verse Vs 26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.” – Ezekiel 36:26   DEVOTION In Ezekiel 36, God speaks to a people who had failed Him. Israel had turned away, sinned, and faced the consequences of exile. Yet in the middle of their brokenness, God makes an incredible promise of hope—not based on their merit, but on His mercy. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.” (Ezekiel 36:26). This promise reveals the heart of God: He is not merely interested in external reform, but in deep, inward transformation. God makes it clear that restoration will come “for the sake of My holy name” (v. 22). Restoration begins not with our goodness, but with God’s grace. He is the One who gathers, cleanses, removes the heart of stone, and replaces it with a heart of flesh. God does not merely improve behavior; He transforms the heart. A heart of stone is hard, resistan...

  Be Cleansed by the Redeemer Bible Reading:    Psalm 51 Key Verse Vs 10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me”. Vs 10 DEVOTION Psalm 51 is very familiar to all of us. As Sunday school students, most of us learned this psalm by heart and recited it countless times; and even now most of us recite it on a daily basis. This psalm occupies a significant place in our worship. In our liturgy this psalm assumes a prominent role in almost all our sacraments. In fact, Psalm 51 has an important place in the liturgies of most mainline churches. This psalm is referred to as the psalm of Repentance or Penitential psalm. The background of this psalm is detailed in II Samuel chapters 11 and 12. King David committed adultery with Bathsheba who was Uriah’s wife. David then tried to cover up his act by having Uriah killed in the war. He was an adulterer and murderer at the same time. This psalm was written by King David as a confession, a cry for cleansi...

  From brokenness to Hope Bible Reading:     Lamentations  5:15-22 Key verse :   Vs 19    Vs 19  But you  O lord  reign for ever. Your throne endures to all generations. DEVOTION The book of lamentations  is a collection of five laments bewailing the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. Jerusalem’s broken walls mirror the broken spirits of the community.  What was once thought to be strong and stable now looks empty and weak. They have lost hope  But  God does not abandon them fully. He wants them to recognize their loss, their weakness and same and turn to God. Faith always begins with reconciliation and  awareness of truth. Lamentations ends with the plaintive cry for restorations Vs  22 reads “ unless  you have utterly rejected us  and are angry with us beyond measure. Even when they lament they have hope in their God. Vs 19 reads   O Lord reign for ever: your throne endures for gener...

  Living from the New Spirit Within Bible Reading:  Ezekiel 36:25-32 Key verse :   Vs 26 "And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you."  DEVOTION In Ezekiel 36:26, God promises, "And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you." This declaration stands at the center of understanding the profound transformation that God offers His people. God's Response to Israel's Defilement Almighty God, who consistently reconciles and vindicates His people, spoke to Ezekiel about the behavior of the men of Israel. They had defiled His name through their actions and ways, becoming unclean and deserving of His wrath and punishment. Their worship of idols, pursuit of false prophets, and involvement in various sorceries led to their scattering among the nations and dispersion through different countries. Despite their rebellion, God—Jehovah—remained concerned for His Holy Name and declared that He would vindicate His holiness b...

  The Goal of Creation and Redemption Bible Reading:  Hebrews 4:1-11 Key verse :   Vs 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest  so that no one may fail by the same sort of disobedience. DEVOTION Today’s scripture is drawn from Hebrews chapter 4, vs 1-11.  Some of the Jewish Christians who received this letter were close to giving up the chance to rest in Christ. Their situation was like the Israelites in Moses’ time, who turned back instead of entering the promised land. In both cases, present troubles made God’s promise seem far away. When life became hard, they stopped trusting that God would do what God had promised. The same thing can happen to us. When we depend on our own efforts instead of trusting Jesus, we become tired, anxious, and discouraged. Our own strength is never enough. Only Christ can carry us through. This shows us God’s purpose from the beginning. God did not create people just to follow rules. He created them to live in peace with Him....