Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-
Entry of our Lord in the Temple
Luke 2:21-32  
                 

Thomas Philip
Christos MTC, PA
30." for my eyes have seen your salvation,"
Simeon was a righteous and devout man from Jerusalem waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Moved by the Holy Spirit he went into the temple to see child Jesus. He took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God saying, “… my eyes have seen your salvation …” Have you seen the salvation of God?
We all need a Savior. We need to be saved not only from the penalty of our past sins, but also from the power of sins that pulls us down in our spiritual journey. We need to be saved daily from pride, un-forgiveness, jealousy, lust, fear, anxiety, worries etc. Also, we all know that Jesus is our salvation. We have read many passages about salvation in  the scripture. We hear the good news of salvation almost weekly, if not daily. But there is a world of difference between reading and hearing versus seeing (with our spiritual eyes) and experiencing the joy of our own salvation in our lives. We need to trust the Lord with all our hearts and surrender to His Lordship to be saved from this wicked and evil world. Once we grow to the level of seeing and experiencing this salvation daily, we can experience joy and peace from the Lord.
As believers, we too are blessed like Simeon. Luke 17:21 says the Kingdom of God is within us. The same Lord, who was brought into the temple as a baby, years later told His disciples: I will not leave you as orphans. The Holy Spirit is living inside of every believer (John 14:17). The blessedness of a believer is that the third person of the Holy Trinity has come to dwell inside his or her heart. Where there is God, there we can experience a taste of heaven. Therefore, we should be rejoicing in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4) regardless of the situations around us.
1 Cor. 6:19 states that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes a believer holy day by day and we become gradually free of the conscious sins of our lives. We begin to conform to His nature. As baby Jesus was brought into the temple to fulfill the Law, we need to accept Jesus into the temple of our hearts to fulfill the promise of salvation. The Spirit of Christ longs to dwell in our hearts. Are we willing to surrender our lives to the Lord to experience the salvation and the kingdom of God in our daily lives?

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, as Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit, help us to open our hearts for Your Spirit to come in and dwell within us. Lord, as we surrender our lives to You, lead us and liberate us from the sinful passions of our lives. Help us to rejoice in You always! In Jesus name, Amen!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
  Will you allow the Spirit of Christ to come into the temple of your heart to experience salvation? 

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 wh...
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 tel...
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