Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Prepare for Sanctification

Bible Reading:    Luke 2:22-39

Key verse:  Vs 34

 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "Listen carefully: This child is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected. Luke 2:34   (New Living Translation) 


DEVOTION

Our Scripture Reading today is about very familiar passage in the Gospel of St. Luke , about the prophecy of Simeon.
We begin by understanding the  Jewish custom prevalent among the community  whereby  the dedication of the first born,  as instructed by Moses to the children of Isreal. This purification ritual was applicable to Jesus as He was the first born of Joseph and Mary. As Jesus was in the temple, they  met Simeon who the Bible says ‘ was righteous, devout , and looking for the restoration of Israel and the Holy Spirt was upon him ‘ .  Additionally what is very important for us to understand is the key verse I have chosen from the devotion and that is Simeon ‘s prophecy that Jesus will be destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Isreal that will also cause Jesus to be rejected among the Jewish community. 
We need to understand two terms that is important to our discussion today from the  Scripture Reading today.  The terms are  ‘ Purification ‘ and  ‘ Sanctification’. 
Every Christian believer , once they are baptized in faith in Lord Jesus Christ , experience the  process of becoming more Christ Like in his or her daily walk in life. This means their thoughts, words and deeds changes because as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5.17  and I paraphrase, New Born Believers are new born creation whereby the past is completely  obliterated and he or she becomes new creation. Now, this does not mean this new person will not sin or fall into temptation.  No that is not the case. We understand from the Bible that new born believers will undergo transformation and gradually become a new person. This process is what is termed  sanctification and it happens to the believer on a daily basis.  As we look at the theme today, are we preparing our minds our minds , our thoughts and deeds to be more Christ like and hence sanctified on daily basis during our stay here on Earth.
The Question that is before us  : How do I achieve this  ?. There are few fundamental tasks before new believers. The  first and foremost task before us to pray each day that God renews us to be Christ like . Secondly we spend time in the Word of God , Reading , Understanding and Applying the Word of God into our lives.  Thirdly we spend time and fellowship with like minded believers who can mentor , coach and assist us in staying close to Jesus .  Fourth and the most important we are part of Bible Believing Church and if there are opportunities to worship in the  Marthoma Churches , close to our proximity , we need to  be in fellowship with like minded believers. There are other aspects like  Participating in the Eucharist, Tithing, Fulfilling the Great Commission which all comes together as we focus on the fundamentals. 

PRAYER

Almighty and Gracious Lord, enable us  to be more Christ Like on daily basis , in our words , thoughts and deeds, so that we are being sanctified to be followers of Christ during our brief stay here on Earth , this we  pray in name of Our Savior who redeemed us  – AMEN.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 “Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me , Sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me “  – Oswald Chambers ( 1874-1917)


Abraham Kurien, Immanuel Marthoma Church, Houston, Texas.

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