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Never be worried about Persecution
Today, churches all around the world commemorate the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that He spent his last moments in anguish. The hardest part was that He knew everything beforehand. It is not fair comparing our problems with that of the Son of God. However, let us contemplate our stance in our hard situations as such. The Calvary teaches us about the states of mind of an unbeliever and a believer. The Bible talks about two thieves were punished according to the law along with Jesus. Both were hanging near Him but each one’s thinking was completely different. Though both were found guilty, only one among them…
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Developing Patience this New Year
We live in a world where we have no time to wait for anything. From fast food restaurants to Express trains, we want everything to happen immediately. The term patience has lost its place in our lives when things don’t happen as we expect. The definition of patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.” Sometimes we do wait for things to happen but without being truly patient. We fail to realise that when we don’t have the patience to wait, we won’t get the best God wants to offer us. There are incidents in the Bible that tell us how…
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The Nativity Trail
The very essence of celebrating Christmas has its true meaning summed up in the Holy Scripture which states ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). Christmas is henceforth a manifestation and celebration of God’s love for our salvation and eternal life. The humanity that had plunged into the darkness of sin had seen a great light of redemption in the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The exaltation of womanhood, the manifestation of God in human form in the very person of Jesus Christ, the prioritization of the…
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Nothing Can Keep Him Away From You
‘He is not here: He is risen’ is the crux of the first Easter message… A careful reading of the passages from the four Gospels – Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and John 20 brings out a clear message for the one who would dare to hope! A closed, sealed, guarded tomb where Jesus’ body was laid could not keep my Saviour in! (Matthew 27:62-28:6) The women on Friday had gone to see the tomb and how His body was laid. They prepared the spices and early in the morning on the first day of the week, they were on their way to the tomb. One could hear their…
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God’s Own Love
Good Friday is a time we remember the sacrificial death of Christ for the sins of the world. The angel of the Lord told Mary to name the child that God is going to give her through Holy Spirit as “Jesus” as he will save His people from their sins. John the Baptist identified the same and so He proclaimed, “Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29). And Jesus finally affirmed His saving act by laying down His life on the cross. The cross becomes central to our faith in Christ. It is the place from where Jesus chose to give an…
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Be loved and be loving
What else can be greater than receiving the greatest of gifts this new year? Love, the greatest of all gifts! (1 Corinthians 13:13). Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God… Love your neighbor as yourself. there is no commandment greater than these”. (Mark 12:30,31). Thus He summarized the whole of commandments with the most powerful yet unconventional tool named love. These two commands are often referred to as the vertical and horizontal components of love. Vertical – the relationship with God and horizontal – the relationship with fellow beings. Is love that important? By nature, we all seek to be recognized, respected, cared etc. In short, we expect to be…
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The Christmas Calling
Christmas time is undoubtedly a season with almost a month long preparation for celebrations, carol rounds, shopping, gifts. Many have forgotten the real reason behind all these and few do it meaningfully. Whatever be the reason, the joy, happiness, enjoyment and laughter behind it cannot be denied. It is also true that despite our motives God uses these efforts of ours to transform lives. With such similar excitement we had planned our Christmas programme last year with the practices in place, invitations printed, venues booked, money paid, rounds and rounds of shopping to carefully choose the gifts that would be meaningful. But on the day of the programme, the city…
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Arise and Shine
The Resurrection of Christ is the central theme of Christianity and also more importantly sets apart Christ above all other self-proclaimed gods!! All those who claimed to be an incarnation of God or something likewise are all buried and their graves are collecting dust. But we serve the One who has an open tomb and is Alive!! Glory to Him for He has risen!! The Life after death story is a mystery to the World, but is an eager expectation for the Saved. The Holy communion we take part in not only reminds us of the Passion of Christ, but also our imminent reunion with Him!! (Matthew 26:29) We all…
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Thank God For Good Friday
TGIF – ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ is a popular slogan in many parts of the world today. People raise it to remind each other of the fast approaching weekend and look forward to the break from their routine, the fun, the rest and relaxation it brings with it. On the eve of Good Friday as I sit pondering, trying to take a walk to Golgotha to linger at the foot of the Cross, I have a million reasons (and by the way, I am still counting) to say TGFGF – Thank God For Good Friday! This day is not something I wish to reminisce for pleasant memories or happy times……
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Grant me a discerning heart
Well, everyone has a choice to make especially while entering into a New year. It’s our choice that defines the course of our walk with the Lord. In order to make a choice, we need an discerning heart. Job 32:8 says, “But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand” The Bible makes it clear that the spirit of a man is what makes him understand things. It’s more like a compass that directs our way towards God. Let’s see why we need this discerning/understanding heart that God loves to bestow on us: To Differentiate Between Good and Evil: “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”…
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