Reflections

   TITHE GIVING SUNDAY Isaiah 52:7-12 V7 “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news…” I could not help but sing the first verse of today’s passage, as it is the first stanza of the meaningful song, “Our God Reigns”.   It speaks of a messenger on the mountains, carrying the good news of salvation to the Israelites who are being released from Babylonian captivity.   It initially seemed that the God of Israel had been defeated when the Israelites were exiled, but this passage shows how this was all part of God’s sovereign plan.  We often look at things from our perspective, without considering that this is God’s world, and we are living in it.   And when that great day comes, all of Jerusalem is called to sing in joy for it is the Lord who redeemed them.  They had been a people who were removed from their land and whose future was unclear.  But through the mighty hand of God, they had been restored.  God fulfilled His promises to His people.  This is a time

  End of the Feast of the Apostles,  TITHE GIVING SUNDAY  Mathew:20:25-28 Verse: 28 Just  as the son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.   This whole week, lectionary portions remind everyone of the importance of tithe giving and its role in the life of a faithful  Christian. Tithe giving is obligatory to faithful Christians, as we read in  Philippians 4: 19, that when we are obedient to give back to the Lord, He is faithful to supply our needs.                         When we go back to the bible portion for devotion, it shows that the disciples were angry because James and John wanted special privileges from Jesus when he will be in heaven. Earlier in the chapter, we saw they argued which of them was the greatest. It was not surprising why they did so.  They undoubtedly expected Jesus, as the promised Christ to become the earthly King, who may overthrow the Romans and liberate Israel. As faithful followers of Him, they wanted to rise wit

  TITHE GIVING SUNDAY 1 Thessalonians 1: 2-9 Verse: You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 1 Thessalonians 1: 6,7 The apostle Paul's second missionary journey included a visit to the prominent Greek city of Thessalonica, and established groups of new believers there (Acts 17:1–4). That success was not without hardship, as Paul experienced significant backlash from the people of that region, most especially from Jewish critics (Acts 17:5–9). Despite suffering persecution and trials, it seems that the church in Thessalonica flourished. In this, his first letter to the Christians of Thessalonica, Paul seems thrilled to hear good news about their growth. These believers are not only thriving, spiritually, but they are also working hard to spread the gospel to the rest of the world. The new church made such an i

  People of God: Ministry and Model Psalm 119:33-40 “Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. ” - v. 33 As we meditate on this Psalm, it is a portion of the longest Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 119.  This portion reminds us that we need to focus on our lives.  In the world that we live in, we are distracted in many ways.  One great way is financial desires.  In v. 36, it says ‘not toward selfish gain’.  In today’s time we see covetousness all over, even in our own personal life.  Money became an idol to many of us, but this passage reminds us that obedience to God is much more valuable than wealth.  We should focus our lives on the Heavenly treasures rather than the earthly one.  It is hard for many of us to do so because we are not sure or confident in many things.  In other words, we do not have strong faith.  We should understand by trusting God that our life focused on God is far better than having our lives focused on this world.  It may seem attracti

  People of God: Ministry and Model St. Matthew 28:16-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ” - v. 19 This passage is very well known to all of us, it is known as the Great Commission.  There are three important things to remember through reading this passage, they are Christ’s authority, His Assignment, and His assurance.  The Father gave The Son authority over Heaven and Earth and based on that authority Christ told the disciples to make more disciples.  This is the same authority that is given to all of us believers.  Christ gives us authority to make disciples; we are on this earth for a divine purpose: to enlighten the world we are placed in.  God only gives us what we can handle, sometimes it can seem overwhelming, but we need to ask ourselves if we have the passion to live out our lives for God’s purpose.  If we are available for Him, God can use us in extraordinary ways.   Whatever Chri

  People of God: Ministry and Model Titus 2:1-11 “In everything, set them an example by doing what is good. Your teaching shows integrity,  seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose  you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” - Titus 2: 7-8 Imagine when you were in high school. Your parents bought you new clothes for your first day  of high school and you were so happy to impress everyone. When you walked in through those  doors, everyone came up to you. You begin to smile ear to ear and begin telling them where you  got your clothes from and how much it costs.  In life, we feel as if we have to impress everyone we meet. From our clothes to our cars, we  have a deep desire not embarrass ourselves and look perfect. But how much time do we spend  to impress God? The feeling when we have talking about our new clothes or cars should be the  same proud feeling when we preach the Gospel to others. God wants us to have that

  People of God: Ministry and Model 1 Peter 2:1-10 Peter is writing a letter to Christians in modern Turkey, who were being persecuted for their faith. Peter encourages them to stay strong during their time of suffering. Through these letters, Peter is showing us how to live so that others will want to know Jesus, reminding us that we are a billboard for Jesus.    Peter reminds us to do three things: to clean up, fill up and follow Jesus.    First, clean up: rid yourself of the bad- all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. Cleansing up our old thoughts, words, actions, and habits. The image of cleaning up is also mentioned in two other areas in the New Testament: James 1:21- Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you and Ephesians 4:22-24- you are taught, with regards to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new i

  People of God: Ministry and Model Isaiah 6:1-8 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” V. 3   Think of sight, like a waterfall, beach/ocean, mountain or beautiful sunset, and it inspired awe or amazement. I want you to take a moment and think about it, close your eyes and remember that moment.  Now if you tried to take a picture of that sight, were you satisfied with the picture.  Did you feel like the picture couldn’t really capture the sight as well as the experience of seeing it in person.  Recently we went to Sedona in Arizona, and the mountain landscapes were just so amazing.  No matter how many pictures I took, I couldn’t capture it all.  It’s just too beautiful to describe on a picture and it doesn’t matter what model camera or phone you might be using.  The experience of being there to see the sight and hearing the sound and feeling the atmosphere, the sun, the shadows are all part of what gives you th

  Accessing Our Superpowers 2 Peter 1:5-11 “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and productive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Peter 1:8   My family and I recently watched the 2012 version of Spiderman. You must know the premise – a regular, smart, genuinely nice and slightly awkward high-school teen gets bitten by a mutant spider and suddenly has all sorts of powers. He can shoot webs from his wrists, climb the side of buildings with his sticky fingers, and can swing from building to building.  He still has to practice and experiment to figure out his new powers, but pretty soon, he combines his genuinely nice nature with his new powers and becomes a HERO – saving thousands! These movies leave you wondering what you would do if you suddenly had superhuman powers – would you keep living a regular life? Or embrace your powers and become a HERO?  Our passage 2 Peter 1: 1-5 talks about just that.  If we have a r

  The Israelites Confess Their Sins Nehemiah 9:1-5   Nehemiah Chapter Nine covers the national confession of sin. The Israelites had recently completed work on the wall, which indeed was a victory for them. However, even then, the Israelites took on a posture of humility, and they spent six hours reading from the book of the law, and six hours in confession and worship – That’s literally 12 consecutive hours of spending time with God. For most of us, it’s hard for us to spend even 5 minutes in prayer/meditation with our Father in this fast-paced world. The following verses that follow communicate not only how Israel sinned, but who also God is and what He did for the Israelites. Even though the Israelites rebelled, their bad behavior did not change God’s character.  God is kind, and He was kind to them more than once. His Kindness won’t ever run out on us either, He keeps His promises no matter what our actions are. Though the Israelites suffered consequences from sin, God continued to

  Discipleship: Calling for Christ Experience 2 Kings 2: 1-5 “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” Let me wish you all a blessed Father's Day. It is an honor and privilege to be a father and a responsibility that Lord has entrusted us. You have probably heard the real-life Olympic incident with Derek Anthony Redmond, the British sprinter. During his career, Derek held many British, World, and European Championship records in the 400 meters sprint. At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Redmond tore his hamstring in the 400 meters semi-final but continued the race limping and, with assistance from his father, managed to complete a full lap of the track as the 65,000 strong crowd gave him a standing ovation. Although Redmond was disqualified and listed as "Did Not Finish" due to the outside assistance finishing the race, the incident has become a well-remembered moment in Olympic history. Derek will be greatly remembered and taught as a high

  Discipleship: Calling for Christ Experience St. Mark  3:13-19 “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer.   According to today’s scripture portion, Jesus chose and appointed twelve apostles to preach the gospel and cast out demons. Jesus’ choice of twelve disciples may have been in keeping continuity with the twelve tribes of Israel. Discipleship is a way of life in which disciples must maintain a close relationship with Jesus. As disciples, we are also called to spend quality time with Jesus and develop a personal connection with him. When contemplating the concept of discipleship, there are a few things to keep in mind. Attributes or Attitudes We do not choose Jesus; rather, Jesus has chosen us for a special task. Because Jesus took the initiative, he will have his own criteria for picking people for his work. We could be curious about the attributes of these chosen disciples. We may be startled to see the selected people with us,

  Discipleship: Calling for Christ Experience Galatians  1:11-17 Vs 11-12:  “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”   In today’s bible portion from the book of Galatians  1: 11-17 , Paul refutes the false teachers that have crept into the church and defends his apostleship, focusing on the truth of the gospel and the transformation of his own life. Galatians is about being Fooled. Being Misled. Misled into thinking Jesus is not enough, and that you need the law too. As we navigate through this book we see that the church had heard the gospel message of Jesus and was saved, through faith, but later pressure sets in from the religious elites, and Paul is addressing it. It’s no different today. We go to church, we heard the gospel, we believe and get saved just as we are by faith, and then religion kicks in as people start

  Beginning of the Feast of the Apostle Calling and Selection of Apostles Luke  6:12-19   Decisions. Decisions. When was the last time we took an important decision in our life? In Luke chapter 6, we find Jesus taking an important decision during His public ministry. He came to the world to teach and reveal God to mankind so that they can have an everlasting relationship with Him. He chose a few as Apostles to follow Him and to proclaim His teachings/salvation so that His ministry on earth is continued even after He went back to heaven. When we face a difficult situation or a rough road ahead, we think that the most important thing is to get a good night of sleep. Jesus, on the other hand, realized that prayer was the most important way for Him to be in constant touch with God. In today’s devotion portion, we can observe the following three important actions of Jesus:- 1. Praying:  Luke 6:12. “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to Go

  Discipleship: Calling for Christ Experience Psalms 139   You, your body, soul, and spirit were “formed” and “skillfully wrought” by God with each day of your life fashioned in detail like the pages in a book. You, your existence, your features, your experience, and your abilities are not a mistake. It is when we deeply understand and acknowledge this verse that we accomplish, achieve, or overcome and the once thought impossible items in our life become possible. We all are skillfully made. Whether we are teachers, farmers, carpenters, or fishermen, it does not matter we are all skillfully made. Once that’s acknowledged, the meekest is capable of becoming the best. 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 verses 27-28 states "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues”. We are all part o

  Discipleship: Calling for Christ Experience Amos  7: 12-15 Vs 15 : But the Lord took me from my work as a shepherd and ordered me to come and prophesy to his people Israel.   The term Disciple originated from the root word known as discipline which comes from the Latin word discipulus meaning “student, learner, or follower." According to the holy scriptures, the word disciple means a follower of Jesus or one of the twelve Apostles. The term 'Disciple' was used most frequently during Jesus' earthly ministry and during the days of the early church in order to designate one of Jesus' followers. Comparing the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, the word disciple is used for 262 times in the Bible. Discipleship is not the same as a disciple. It was a deliberate apprenticeship that made the fully formed disciple a living copy of the master. Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and are equipped by the Holy Spirit that resi

  Discipleship: Calling for Christ Experience 2 Kings  2:1-5 Being a disciple is forgetting something and going after another virtue   Our story takes place in Israel during the reign of Ahab around 900 BC. Elijah was asked to anoint and appoint Elisha as his successor.  Elisha had developed biblical values, priorities and eternal perspectives that had captured his heart which then controlled what he did with his life. As a result, he acted on his faith by following God’s call. He was willing to be uprooted from his quiet, peaceful, and rural life with its financial security to follow the Lord. Obviously, he knew what his nation needed was the Lord. Let us think of three aspects of discipleship.  1. There is a Calling:  “Then the LORD told Elijah, "Go back the way you came and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to repla

  The Lord, My Stronghold Psalm 27 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    David expressed great confidence in the Lord: because the Lord was his light, salvation and stronghold. With what a lively faith David triumphs in God, glories in his Holy name, and in the interest, He had in him. “The Lord is my light”. He is our source of light. That is, He guides and leads us. Darkness is the emblem of distress, trouble, perplexity, and sorrow; light is the emblem of the opposite of these. God furnished us with such light that these troubles disappeared and make our ways bright and happy. "The Lord is my light and my salvation." Here is personal interest, "my light," "my salvation"; the soul is assured of it, and therefore declares it boldly. “Whom shall I fear?” Here he speaks with triumphant confidence. Compare Rom  8:31 . If God is on our side, or is for us, we c

  Trinity Sunday and Environment Sunday. John 1:18-36 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John1:1)   Let me start today's meditation with a short story about Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson going camping. After dinner, they go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend and said, “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replied, “I see millions of stars. I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant.” I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Holmes was silent for a minute, then said: “Watson, you fool. Someone has stolen our tent!” This story gives us a picture of today’s generation living carelessly, enjoying life without any thought of the future and without realizing it, even when we have lost our roof. The God-given ecosystem is a roof over our lives and the earth. We are least bothered today about the God-given environment being de