Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Joyful Expectation of Christ’s Coming
Acts 1:6-11
v11 “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” 

We have once again celebrated what we refer to as the Advent season culminating in the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Many observed lent during this period to prepare their hearts for the arrival of the Christ. It is indeed an important feast for us to celebrate the manifestation of the Eternal Son in the flesh. (He emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself… (Phil2:7-8)) We should be very grateful for God who was willing to stoop down and limit Himself to the constraints of time and space. He ultimately allowed himself to be subject to the unjust rulers of this earth to “redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14).
At the same time uur prime concern should be about what is yet to come, what we can refer to as the “Second Advent”. The epistle of Titus refers to this as the “Blessed Hope”, (waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ – Titus 2:13) This is what Jesus teaches us to do. He promises he will come again and warns and encourages us to remain steadfast and be ready for that arrival. We should be diligent in good works as we live a life in anticipation for the Lord’s arrival. Just as Simeon and Anna lived in expectation of the arrival of the Messiah, we should all live our lives with the hope of the Second Coming. We recite the words during every Holy Qurbana service, “We await your second coming.”  Do we really mean these words when we say it? Are we actually anticipating the second coming? Are we even ready if He were to come today or are we so caught up in the goalposts the world has laid out for us that we don’t even have time to think about these matters?
The truth about Jesus’ second coming is that is joyful only for those who are ready. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. We should be ever prepared like the 10 wise virgins. The thought of his second coming should be a joyful one for the believers. When we look around and see the injustices in this world, we know that true justice and peace will be our inheritance at the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us put our faith and hope in the promise of his return.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your coming to this world to save us from our sins. We thank you rose again to defeat death. We thank you for your promise that you will return to join us to you forever. Help us to live a life worthy of your Name and in preparation for your second coming. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.

Thought for the day
Lord let us prepare for second coming  which is our blessed hope.

Mr Vivin Varughese
The Mar Thoma Church Staten Island.
 
Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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