Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

-

 

Sabbath leads to the fullness of creation

Bible Reading: Mark 3:1-6

Key verse:  Vs 5 b

He stretched it out  and his hand was restored .

DEVOTION

Our scripture portion for today focuses on Mark 3:1-6 where Jesus heals  the man  with the shriveled hand on sabbath. The Pharisees accost him to accuse him of ignoring God’s commandment given to Moses. The Pharisees were meticulous about religious rites and ceremonies. They believed their careful observance of the ancient Mosaic law  was the truest  expression of faith. Yet their religion often became little more than an outward display -precise ,impressive and empty of compassion.
Nowhere was this more evident than in our understanding of Sabbath. According to their rules a person could be helped on a sabbath day  if  their life was in immediate danger. When Jesus healed on the Sabbath it was not in moments of emergency. He could have waited for another day. But to do so would have meant submitting to the Pharisees authority and allowing their narrow interpretations to stand alongside God’s own law.
By healing on the Sabbath Jesus exposed the pettiness and absurdity of their rules. If  He healed ,they claimed his power could not be from God because he had broken  the law. Yet Jesus made something unmistakably clear. God is a God of people not rules. The right time to reach out in love is always when someone is in need.
The Pharisees believed that even essential human needs should be set aside to prove obedience. Jesus taught the opposite. God’s true law is written in to human nature itself-into our capacity for mercy ,compassion and care. Ceremonial observances have value only when they express a heart aligned with God. Faith is not found in outward compliance but in the inward posture of love that gives those actions meaning.
Again and again Jesus reminded those around him that there is one greater than the temple, greater than sabbath regulations and greater than the rigid codes the Pharisees defended. This truth was not  new, Throughout the old testament we same the heartbeat of God.Heis delight in  mercy ,his tenderness towards the   weak and his longing for the fullness and perfection of life as He intended it to be. The new testament does not reject this version – it brings it to completion, revealing the perfection of creation as God first intended to be.
It is essential to remember this.: the God who redeems us is the same God who created us.He spoke all things into being for his joy and his purpose. Is it the ever possible that He will contradict his original design and undo what caused him so much thought and care. ? surely not . He will never undo what He lovingly designed. Instead He works to heal what has been broken ,o remove the evil that was wounded His creation and to restore us to the life He always intended.
ys intended.

PRAYER


.Lord help us to remember that you are a God of creation and life. You are a God who always takes pity on pain and disease and your heart is always set towards healing and restoration. Let this truth enable us to always bring to you all our requests for healing without procrastination. Let no circumstance or situation ever stop us from approaching your seat of mercy for healing, Amen.
 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Healing the soul first leads to the healing of the body and mind. -unknown

Mrs. Bindu Mary George, Melbourne Mar Thoma Church , Melbourne, Australia .
 

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 wh...
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 tel...
Read more