Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
Jesus is Salvation
Psalm 85
“Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.”  Psalm 85:7
In this Psalm 85, we see God’s people crying out for deliverance from adversity.  They have already experienced the outpouring of God’s wrath and the depth of his mercy in forgiveness. Psalmist is listing all the wonderful things God has done for Israel.  “you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.” Psalm 85:1-2. This Psalm reminds us of God’s unfailing love that leads to salvation.  
God’s unfailing love:
We see God’s unfailing love in creation, fall of men, promise of a Messiah, and the cross. Time and time again, His unfailing love reaches us. God never abandoned David or his Son Jesus, and he will never desert us.  “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).  Whatever our circumstances, he will give us the strength to carry on, because he is the Almighty God who will never stop loving us: “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness’” (Jeremiah 31:3).  This love should have an everlasting effect on our lives and our character.  Only this love can satisfy our longing to our Creator.  We have experienced this love in our lives.  But, when troubles come our way, do we remember God’s love that carried us in the past? 
Jesus is Salvation:
Righteousness and justice became flesh in Jesus and he became sin for us on the cross. We see God the father reaching out to us through His Son on the cross and through the Holy Spirit who is in us convicting of our sins and to turn to the ways of our Lord. Salvation is near to those who fear him. (Psalm 85:9). God offers second chances to those who are willing to accept it.  As David repented and found his way back to God, the same path is there for us also.  God looks for a truly “broken and contrite heart” that seeks a restored relationship (Psalm 51:1-2, 17).  While we certainly need to confess our sins daily and strive more and more to live a life modeled after that of our Savior, the reality is that our sins have already been forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Only Son of Man could provide us Salvation. The choice before us is to either accept Christ as our salvation or to reject God’s plan. What will you choose?      
Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for your unfailing love you show to us through history and your son, Jesus Christ.  Help us to remember your ways and your son’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross.  Help us not to wander from your ways and harden our hearts.  Amen.
Thought for the day: Unfailing love of the creator is plainly visible on the Cross. We must accept his plans for our.

Santhosh George, St. Johns Mar Thoma Church, NY

Popular posts from this blog

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
  Constant, patient and welcoming love of God   St. Luke 15: 11-32  V.21: And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ The parable of the ‘Prodigal son’ is one of the most frequently quoted parables that Jesus told His disciples. The parable contains the rich mine of human virtues and emotions. This parable is lived and re-lived in progressing civilizations from time immemorial and continuing. It brings out in vivid detail the pathetic depth of human sinfulness and the glorious heights of God’s forgiveness.      As a story of human nature, fathers are generally merciful to their children in any circumstance. They are very protective and are eager to provide for and secure the lives of their offspring. Jesus is telling this parable to underscore the superlative love of God to His children. The nature of such love is reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 7:11. Humankind who are evil by nature, give good gifts t
Read more

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
PRIESTHOOD: THE ANOINTED MINISTRY Exodus 40:12-16 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting... wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest (Exodus 40: 12-13). Priesthood among the people of God was a divine command and initiation. God wanted some people to be separated for the special ministry among his people. God appointed Aaron and his descendants to take up this kind of ministry among the people of God. Priests are always separated and appointed as channels that connect God with his people. All throughout the history of Israel, priests played an important role in connecting people with God and to lead and guide them in the statutes of God. But there are incidents in the Bible where the priests failed in their duties and that led the people to go away from God. So the priests have a special and significant ministry to perform in this world among his people. Two important things
Read more

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
Revelation for Liberation Acts 27:18-26 Sherine Thomas Long Island MTC, NY 20  When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. “After winter comes the summer.  After night comes the dawn.  And after every storm, there comes clear open skies” so said a Scottish clergyman from the 1600s. It’s been said, that hope can sometimes be the most dangerous weapon.  However, it’s sometimes the hardest weapon to carry when you’re living with the loss of a loved one, something that almost feels like a terrible nightmare that’ll never go away.  It’s a weapon difficult to carry when day in and day out no one seems to hear or see those tears that are shed or silent cries that are made during a heartfelt prayer. It’s a weapon difficult to carry as you see your loved one lying on that hospital bed.  It’s a weapon difficult to carry as you search and seek out answers to tell a child as to why they’ve been a
Read more