The Lord is Risen!

If there is one message that is central to the Gospel that is so vital that it simply cannot be ignored, it is the good news of the resurrection of Christ. Indeed, Jesus is risen! We celebrate the resurrection every Sunday, for that is the reason why Christians from the earliest times switched to meet on Sundays rather than Saturdays like the Jews. The early church would gather every Sunday before the dawn because Christ rose early on a Sunday morning! Jesus had died for our sins, and now He was being raised up for our justification (Romans 4:25). What does it mean for you and me? It means that our sins have been dealt with and that we are made morally clean before God as if we have never sinned. The resurrection is the one thing that gives us hope. For if Christ has bee...

The Cross

Good Friday is the day when we remember the crucifixion of Jesus, but there's more to it than just remembrance. We want to embrace the resurrection, but there is no resurrection without the Cross. The Cross is the road to Easter. There is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. For different people, the Cross means different things. For some, it is an ornament. For some, it is a good-luck charm. For some, it is a tool to fight the devil! As Christians, we use the symbol of the Cross for everything. In fact, there is no ceremony without the Cross. But the question that is facing us today is, what does the Cross mean to you and me personally.

For Jesus, Cross meant ‘Action.' The Bible says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His...

The Lord needs it…

Just before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when Jesus was close to Bethphage and Bethany, He sent two of His disciples into a village that was opposite to them with clear instructions to get a donkey's colt. The two disciples may have been Peter and John, for they were the ones whom Jesus later instructed to make the needed preparations for the Passover observance. (Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13.) When the two disciples arrived in the village, everything proved to be just as Jesus had said. On one of the streets in the village, they found the colt tied near a door. When they untied the colt, bystanders (the "owners," according to Luke 19:33) asked why they were unleashing it. Then just as Jesus had instructed them, the disciples replied...

Standing in the Gap…

Intercessory prayers are prayers offered on behalf of other people - our friends, family, co-workers, and so on. The Bible says in Job 42:10 that, "… the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends." Intercessory prayers are mighty potent. Abraham pleaded with God for the well-being of the people of Sodom (Gen 18). Moses is also known for interceding on behalf of others throughout his life. Moses prayed with urgency and boldness. Several of Paul's prayers of intercession are recorded in the New Testament. The church prayed fervently for Peter while he was imprisoned (Acts 12:5). Jesus is the greatest intercessor of all time, and still, He is interceding for us before the Father (Rom 8:34). The Bible says in Rom 8:26, "...

Building up the wall…

In the good old days of castles, fortresses, and strongholds, when an enemy threatened, people took shelter inside the walls of the forts, and they felt secure! If there ever was a breach in the wall, then everyone rallied around the breach, fighting the invading forces and building up the wall, all at the same time. If they are not able to stop the enemy at that point, then the safety and security of their city will be lost entirely. The breach may be small, but it will cost them their very lives! The Bible talks about the Lord as our rock and fortress again and again. Psalm 18:2 says, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 91:2 sa...

When we pray…

Two friends who lived in different parts of the same city went to a nursery and bought the same kind of tree for their backyards. Both of them took care to plant them in their garden. One friend took great care of it. Whenever he looked out if it too sunny, he would earnestly pray for rain. If the sky was overcast, he would immediately pray for sunshine! So, day by day, he prayed for what he thought the tree needed! But the other man after planting his tree said this small prayer! "Lord, I have planted this tree. You know all that this tree will ever need and when it will need them. Please take care of it." After a few months, the first friend had an opportunity to meet the second one at his home. When he went there, he found his tree standing tall, all lush...

When Towers Fall!

When catastrophes like nine-eleven happen in our world, or when suddenly a young person is called to glory, people always seem to question how a good God could allow such terrible things to happen. The same question came up in Jesus' time too, as we see from an incident recorded in Luke's Gospel 13:1-5. No wonder the book ‘When Bad Things Happen to Good People' by Harold S. Kushner was New York's #1 bestselling book!

Some worshippers were massacred by Pilate's soldiers. The people who came to Jesus were troubled about this and asked Him how God could have allowed such things to happen to His chosen people who had come to worship at the Temple. Jesus answered their question with another question: "Do you think that these Galileans we...

What is our Mandate?

After Zadok the priest anointed King Solomon, Solomon went to Gibeon to offer burnt offerings. The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" We read about this incident in 1 Kings 3:3-14. For a king to be successful, he needs many things; he has to subdue his foes; he has to have loyal subjects; he has to have silver and gold; he has to have great harvests, and of course, the King has to have good health and long life. But Solomon did not ask God for any of these. Primarily a King's mandate is to rule his subjects wisely. Solomon also understood that he was young and needed help. So, he asked God for an understanding heart to judge God's people (3:9). Solomon had understood his mandate, and th...

Living for Christ!

Sometime back, I heard a sermon on Peter based on Matthew 26: 33-35 & 69-75. Peter was one of the twelve disciples closely associated with Jesus. In Matthew 16: 18, we see Jesus saying, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church…." But during the last supper with His disciples, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny, and disown him before the rooster crowed the next morning. When Jesus was brought into the high priest's house where He was held in prison, Peter had followed at a distance. In this account, it very surprising to note how the people who saw Peter perceived him. The first servant girl told Peter, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee(Mt 26:69)." Then another girl saw him and...

Count it all Joy!

Our dog Bruno was a German shepherd with a double coat. He was huge and furry. He loved many things. He loved doughnuts, his daily walks, and car rides. But he hated somethings too. He hated it when we carried the small children who visited us. He hated it when the neighborhood exploded with crackers. And of course, he hated taking a bath! Giving Bruno his weekly bath was my responsibility and as soon as I called out, "Bruno, bath time," he would disappear under my mother's bed! She was his refuge at such critical times. He will finally walk to the terrace ears drooping, like a lamb being lead to the slaughter! He never troubled us during the actual bath. Once it was over, he will be thrilled and frisky, running around and enjoying the post-bath cooln...