Reflections

  With Christ into the New Year Bible portion: Romans 8: 31-39 V 39 “No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (New Living Translation)  Wouldn’t it be a joy to know that you are not alone as you prepare to welcome the year 2024? The text for meditation which is an extract from the letter by Paul to the Christians at Rome reiterates the truth of the unfailing companionship and strength in Christ promised to everyone who brings these things to mind. When Paul encourages the believers, he is aware that multiple fears can stall their determination and dampen their desire to travel the way of the cross. Aware of the fact that this earth is just our temporal place of residence, Paul urges his readers through God’s divine spirit to be cognizant of the following facts that would spur us for action: We are not our own but are owned by God . This is a comforting rev

  COMING OF THE SAVIOR   Acts 3: 19-26 Verse: 19    Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. . Chapter 3 of the book of Acts, is the second exhortation of Peter to the Jews, to repent and turn to God, so that they can also be part of the Kingdom. Greek word translated as refreshing in  3:19  , means a revival. cooling, renewing through the blessings that the spirit of God will provide.  This involved salvation and renewing of their minds via the truth of the gospel that  holy spirit would reveal and confirm.                 Although the refreshing had begun in some,  lot many had not begun refreshed, because they had not allowed the spirit  to work in them through the word of God.  In v:21, we see that for the last 2000 years  the great Physician ,Lord Jesus has been trying to restore  man back to a righteous state of spiritual health, reconciling man to God.  God wants things to go back  to the way before man f

  MAR THOMA CHURCH DAY ( SABHA DINAM)  John 20:  24-29 Verse: 28:   Thomas said to him,”   MY Lord and My God”  .   On  December 21 st  every year, we remember to  commemorate the landing of  Apostle  Thomas,   who came to Kerala   around  2000 years ago, in AD 52. It is believed that he came to Kodungalloor, and   was instrumental in the formation of Christianity in India. Mar Thoma  Church  believes  in our  St.Thomas tradition of the Malankara Church that dates back to AD 52.  The motto of the church is “Lighted to Lighten” and the church believes in mission  witness, and evangelism  in the world, to continue the redemption. Love and justice exemplified by the forefathers,  church fathers and apostles,  through the new life and salvation  in Jesus Christ our Lord and  savior.    Being rooted in the Bible, the church maintains its episcopal heritage  and value oriented  democratic form administration. Church believes also in Holy Trinity where Jesus Christ is one among the Trinity.  

  COMING OF THE SAVIOR    Bible portion: I John 4: 7-16 Verse: 15   whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in Him and he in God.   Today's passage is all about Love. The text today explores the scope of God's love and the implications of it, how that love was presented to us, how it was displaced in Jesus Christ, and how that love transforms  and changes us.            How  is God's love presented to us?      It is not that we loved God, but he loved us and sent his son as an atonic sacrifice for  our sins. We love because he first loved us.  In whole bible , we see the God's intiative that was evident at all times, and He never was passive, not just sitting back and leave us alone to figure out our sin its consequences but  His redemptive intervention   was intiated.  Even when look back into the first few books of the bible, it was God who intiated, Noah and the ark,  Abraham and  his covenant,  Moses and the burning bush, and the parting of the re

  Joseph - A man of Higher Justice  St.  Matthew  1: 18-23 Annunciation to Joseph   In the Gospel according to Matthew, Christ’s birth begins with Joseph, unlike Luke’s.  Joseph is a silent character in the Bible who never said a word but always did the right thing.  As we say, a man of few words, Joseph was a perfect example of the saying that actions speak louder than words.  It is significant that Joseph was already in the canvas of God.  God did not view Joseph as an inconvenience. Christ is given not only to Mary, but to Joseph also.   Joseph becomes part of history. *Joseph one who teaches  the beauty of silence, listening, obedience, and true righteousness.* Joseph was afraid and confused when he learned that Mary, to whom he had been betrothed, was pregnant before marriage.  Joseph faced a difficult dilemma.  But he did not divorce Mary.  Joseph behaves with calmness and self-control in the midst of men who see such a situation as a heavy blow to their masculinity.  The angel a

  Joseph - A man of Higher Justice 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Theme verse: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. Love bears all things, believe all things, hope all things, endures all things.”                    (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) . God chose Joseph to be the earthly father of Jesus, a descendant of King David and pledged to be married to Mary. During that time, Mary became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of Matthew 1:19 states, “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” The Bible doesn't provide many details about Joseph, and there's no record of his conversation. However, his actions speak louder than words. Let's explore how Joseph's life relates to today's Bible portion, taken from 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. In this chapter, Apostle Paul discusses love and its various attributes. When we examine Joseph’s life, we see that he demonstrated dif

  Joseph - A man of Higher Justice  Zeph  3:14-20 Theme verse: ….At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord. . The story of Joseph is a fascinating one. One minute, Joseph was the most beloved son of his father and in the next moment he was betrayed by own brothers and sold off as a slave to the Ishmaelites who were on their way to Egypt. His brothers, the very people who were supposed to protect him, were bitter towards him and sold him to foreigners who would take him away to a far away land. Anyone in Joseph's situation would have been heartbroken but the Lord was with Joseph. As we follow Joseph's story, we see Joseph was bought by Potiphar and it is from there that we see Joseph's rise through the ranks to eventually become the Governor of the land.   Many years pass and it is amazing to see the turn of events w

   Joseph : A man of Higher Justice Psalms 37:27-29 Theme verse: “Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.  For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.” Psalms 37  was written by King David, this Psalms highlights the peace and rest available to one who places their trust in God compared to those who “choose” to not follow God’s ways. They choose the way which leads to destruction. Walking in His ways allows God's people to call upon Him, with confidence. In the New Testament Jesus says "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it”.  To live a life on the straight and narrow is  challenging but the Psalmist reminds us of the benefits.  Yes, sin is pleasurable but we must remind ourselves it can be destructive.  We may struggl

  John the Baptist: Greatest Among Those Born of Women      Malachi 3:1-4  Malachi 3:1 I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty John the Baptist is one of the greatest individuals in biblical history. After all, how many men are prophesized hundreds of years beforehand? Foretold in Malachi 3 and Isaiah 40, he was chosen to “prepare the way of the LORD” (Is 40:3). The angel said to Zachariah and Elizabeth that he would go before the Lord “in the Spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk  1:17 ), even Jesus said there was no one born of woman greater than John the Baptist (Matt  11: 11 ). But what made him so great? John’s first recorded words were “repent for the kingdom of God is near” (Matt 3:2), he urged the people to turn away from their sins, but recognized he was not the one to save them. Prophets spoke of the Messiah that wo

  Meeting of virgin Mary and Elizabeth: The meeting that shares the good news of salvation Luke 1: 39 – 45 Today we ponder upon the good news of the historical meeting of two women who are revered by the whole world in the Advent days. Their meeting is highly significant as there are many experiences and feelings shared by them in common. Both of them were greeted and encountered by God’s angel and foretold about their offsprings yet to be born. Both of them had pregnancy at an unexpected time in their lives and both were susceptible to ridicule by the world around them. However, the divine meeting of Mary and Elizabeth became a time of sharing good news and their joy was doubled and apprehensions halved. The households of Zechariah and Joseph were Godly, where there was dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Moreover we read when Mary met Elizabeth in her own house, Elizabeth became filled with Holy Spirit. (V. 41). We become filled with the Holy Spirit only when we, along with our households a

  BEGINNING OF THE  25 day LENT  Lent a time of self-analysis.   John 1 : 1-15                                             Vs12. Some however did receive him and believed in  him.so  he gave them the right become God’s children: Lent is a time of reflection, repentance and preparation for purification of ourselves and self-cleaning. Looking back to the inventory of life we can estimate what good things have accumulated in our life style and what evil habits have crept in and taken control of our  day today activities over the years  and then how-to remove them  or get rid of them and become a new creation . Today’s devotion based on the passage from John 1 1;1-15 shows the timeless truth that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word was God and it existed even before the creation. As we are in the advent season ready to greet the birth of our savior and in preparation for that we start observing the 25 days lent the following points look relevant for meditation. 1.Word became