Reflections

Proclamation of Joy Philippians 4:4-9    Titus Mathew St. Johns MTC NY 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.   We often start our days with negative thoughts of what we lack, or what we wish we had? In this Bible passage Paul is emphasizing the importance of finding joy in the Lord. Rather than being unhappy with our lives, we should find joy in all the blessings the Lord has showered upon us. Joy is a sign of happiness and contentment  from within. We can start by being comfortable with our own self and being glad for each and every  blessing God has provided for us.  The first step to finding joy is to change our attitude.    Often times our attitude is what defines us. How others view us and the input we provide to our relationships is very important. Many times at work, school or even at home we find that arguments or situations arise in...

Proclamation of Deliverance from Sin Hebrews 9:23-28 Anil Chacko Long Island MTC, NY 26....But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. We have been granted grace by God in that He would allow His one and only Son to be a sacrifice for our sins—once and for all. Simply, there is nothing that we have, can call upon, or work towards that can provide us deliverance from sin aside from the personal belief that Jesus Christ died for our sins. This is simply amazing grace, through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, to be received as a gift from God. However, what, beyond the cross, did sacrifice mean and look like for Jesus and what does this teach us about sacrifice in our own lives and our response to and proclamation of deliverance from sin? It is easy to consider Jesus’ sacrifice simply as just the act on the cross- but that would diminish the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. In contemplating the life of Jesus, be...

Proclamation of the New Covenant - A Deal with no strings   Hebrews 9:11-22   John C Thomas St. Thomas MTC, NY 15 For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant. Every day, especially during this Christmas season, we are offered deals.  Whether it be black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas deals, New Year deals, we are bombarded over social media, emails, television and radio that we must act immediately to make sure we don’t regret missing out on these “once in a lifetime” deals.   We are also always cautioned that many of these deals are “too good to be true.”  You never get something for nothing.  If it’s a great sale price, usually that means that the item was overpriced originally or a newer version is coming out soon.  If it’s those shopping websi...

Proclamation Through Suffering Acts 20:17-25 Nobin Vaidian    St. Thomas MTC, NY 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. 20 I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house.   Many times when we hear suffering, we tend to run the other way or far from suffering. Suffering isn’t pleasing nor is it enjoyable. We are blessed to be living in a country where we don’t face persecution for our faith as those in other parts of the world. There are many characteristics for serving the Lord, but a few that stand out would be humbleness, suffering, and trials.              The first characteristic that you ought to have when you’re serving someone is humbleness. You are humbling and lowering yourself before the Lord in order to serve Him. When we c...

Comfort for God’s People   Isaiah 40:1-11   Moncy Mathews   Baltimore MTC, MD 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever…10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm…11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart…” Recently, it seems not a day passes by without the mention of terror in the headlines. How do Christians respond when our days are plagued with terror, fear, and injustice? When helplessness is coupled with hopelessness, will peace or overall despair prevail?     Hope prevails in the believer’s life. The passage in Isaiah 40: 1-11 is the guarantee of comfort. In this passage we see three interesting aspects. First, verse 8 reminds us our mortal lives have an expiration date but the Word of God does not. Second, verse 10 suggests the Sovereign Lord is powerful and He rules. Third, verse 1...

Participation in the Divine Plan Matthew 1:18-23 Rev Denny Philip Carmel MTC, Boston, MA 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. The teachers were assigning roles for the nativity play in a school. When a boy was given the role of Joseph he refused to take it saying that “He doesn’t have any dialogue to say” Yes, in all the nativity plays we find Joseph standing behind Mary and the child, calm and silent. The passage vividly portrays the struggle that Joseph goes through, the assurance by God and the final submission. Joseph finding his space:  Joseph is trying to figure out where he fits in the Christmas story. His prayer is, as Michael Card sings, “Father show me where I fit into this plan of yours?” He is trying to step out of the plan by secretly dismissing Mary. But on the o...

Preparing for the Omnipotent God Psalms 139 Stacy Mathew St. John’s MTC, NY 14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; that I know very well."   Three words that are often used to describe God all start with “Omni”, a Latin word  which means “all”: “Omniscient  – God is all knowing “Omnipresent” – God is present everywhere “Omnipotent” – God is all powerful  All these attributes of God are found in Psalm 139. The title of Psalm 139 is God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man. There is absolutely no limit to the power of God. God has created us in His image yet we are distinct from each other. God did this for a specific reason. He created us and everything perfectly in His own hands. God’s works are marvellous. He designed and created us intricately, with passion and drive, therefore, we can’t disguise ourselves or hide from God. He knows our desires, thoughts, dreams and ambitions. He created each...