Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-

 Annunciation to Zachariah

  Psalms 145:13

 “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” 

Psalm 145 is the last of the 73 psalms David wrote.  The psalm starts and ends with “Praise the Lord”. Some Bible commentators call it ‘An Alphabet of Praise’. It is an acrostic psalm, each verse starting with verse 3 begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  In this psalm, David magnifies the greatness and goodness of God.  The psalmist portrays our creator who displays every quality perfectly. He is beyond our comprehension.
“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom” (Vs.3)  is the theme of the psalm.  This is a psalm of 5 ‘G’s that describes God’s characters.1. God’s Greatness (vs.1-6).2. God’s Goodness. (vs.7-10). 3. God’s Glory (vs.11-13).4. God’s Guarantee (vs.13).  5. God’s Grace (vs.14-21). David says that there is no end to God’s greatness being searched. (vs3) Our God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.  David praises God for his glorious splendor and mighty acts(vs4-12). He praises God’s kingdom acts. He commends God’s administration of his kingdom. It is accomplished with justice and compassion.  God is always available to those who are in need and who call on him.  He will hear the cry and will save and preserve all those who love him.  He also talks about God’s judgment of the wicked. About psalm 145, Martin Luther said” Christ is the king of the poor, afflicted and fallen.” The psalmist invites all the flesh to bless God’s Holy name forever and ever.
We are in the advent season. This week the church is meditating on the annunciation to Zachariah. Luke is the only one who gives an account of this. (Luke 1: 5-25). Both Zachariah the priest and Elizabeth his wife were upright in the sight of God. They were old and had no children. In Malachi 3:1we read about God’s prophecy of sending a messenger who will prepare the way for the Lord. The annunciation includes the birth announcement, the naming of the child, the instructions for the upbringing of the child, and the career of the child when he grew up. Psalm 145 Vs.13 read “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made”. David continues to declare (vs 18 &19) “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him, he hears their cry and saves them”. The Annunciation to Zachariah is the story of the answered prayer. Our God is a promise keeper. David praises God for that.
Our God will not abandon his covenant with his people.  The Annunciation to Zachariah is evidence of God’s covenant relationship with his people.  Often, we do not understand God’s ways or God’s timing.  There are times in our lives when problems mount and it is difficult to see a way forward. Sometimes it seems as though all hope for the future has reached a dead end.  But God always proves faithful till the end. He turns our despair to hope, doubt into faith, sorrow into laughter and rejoicing. For God, there are no dead ends. The faithful of Israel were made ready for the coming of the Messiah. John the Baptist was sent as a forerunner of our Lord to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.  We have a mission to prepare the way, a mission to carry what God desires of us. God chooses unlikely candidates and unexpected ways to accomplish His purpose. Let us join David and praise God for What He is.

Prayer
Almighty God our heavenly father we humble ourselves, praise and exalt your mighty and glorious name. Amen.

Thought of the Day
When we consistently do the ordinary, God does the extra ordinary in His perfect timing.

M.C.Varughese,   Epiphany Mar Thoma Church, New York

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