Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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The Saviour that lived among us
Mark 1:1-11
Sherin K. Abraham
St. Andrews MTC, NY
11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

On Jan 6th the western churches celebrate the epiphany, the manifestation of  our Lord commemorating the visitation of the wise men. The eastern churches celebrates this day as Danaha meaning ‘dawn’  remembering the baptism of Jesus and the manifestation of the Holy Trinity.  In this passage, Mark establishes the identity of Jesus as “Christ” and “Son of God” in the first verse. He asserts that Jesus is the one who is anointed by God as “The King”. He is the one, that people were waiting for centuries, to save them from their tribulations and sufferings. He is the one who will fulfil all the prophets' longings and visions. He is the manifestation of God’s glory in the form of human.
    When Jesus, who is the King of Kings, arrived, He definitely should have been given the greatest welcome of all with fanfare and trumpets. However, it was only John the Baptist, who lived in the wilderness, ate locusts, and dressed in camel’s hair, came and prepared the way for the Lord’s arrival. Many people came to John because they were waiting in anticipation for the arrival of their Saviour. He preached the message of forgiveness and baptized them in order to have a new relationship with God. He spoke to them about the impending arrival of Jesus Christ.
    Jesus also came to receive baptism to fulfil all righteousness. When Jesus received baptism from John, the Heavens opened and the Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. God affirms Jesus as the Son with whom He is delighted. What used to appear like an awkward announcement turned out to be an extraordinary announcement by the Father! The Trinitarian scene shows how Jesus was the one that people were waiting for all their life.

     From the beginning, we have believed in the lies of this world. We left the intimate relationship of the True King to lead foolish lives. We defied the good authority of God and also rejected Jesus as our Saviour. We erred in our ways and have started to worship other things rather than worshipping the one who created us. Jesus came to pay ransom for our sins because He first loved us. He has made us righteous when He went on the cross in our place. He changed everything and has given us a new life. We don’t need to do anything extraordinary but believe, with all our heart, that Jesus is Christ. The moment we accept Jesus as our Saviour, our lives will change and we will become a new creation in Him.

PRAYER

Jesus, we have broken our relationship with You so many times. Let us accept You as our Saviour with all our hearts. Help us to realize that we need You more everyday. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
 
Jesus is the true Saviour of those who are in need of one, which is all of us, all of the time.





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