Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-

          Jesus Christ the Way, Truth and Life

                                1 John 1-10

                                 Beena John

                           St. James MTC, NY


 "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true"

John chooses this word 'light' because it promises the truth of God as a truth full of joy and hope. It means that if we draw near to God, we will not find a dark and forbidding truth. We find freedom, hope and Joy. We can see this if we reflect for a moment on the value of light. In other words, God is light means the God is the source and measure of all that is true. He is the source of all that is true and whatever is true is true because it conforms to Him. The main value of light is it helps us reach our destination. Darkness is full of threat and it frustrates our ability to attain our goal. But light changes all of that. It exposes dangers and frees us from the lurking power of evil. It opens the way to our goals. Through God, darkness is exposed and we are made safe from all the dangers. Our goal of ultimate and eternal joy is secured in God because there is no darkness in God. That is, there are no lurking shadows in God.

    As a Christian, our job is to enable others to discern the presence of God, and to enable them to live their lives in God's light. We must know what is light, and John has already told us by turning our eyes upon Jesus. When we look at Him, we see the anonymous carpenter in Nazareth and Capernaum, the wedding guest in Cana, the protector of fallen women, the benefactor of hungry thousands, the friend of fishermen, the disrupter of funerals, the risen crucified one, the one who is the Word is life. Indeed the resurrection of the crucified one tells us that He is the logos from whom all things come.

We must continue to pray, as our Lord taught us to do, that God's will be done on earth as in heaven. We must differentiate the divine will from our will. We must align our agendas and actions with the divine will because God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

                               PRAYER

God, our Father, hear our prayer and let the radiance of Your love scatter the gloom out of our hearts. Let the light of heaven's love restore us to life and free us from the desires that belong to darkness. We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, AMEN.

                THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

“The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” - Psalm 27:1

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