St. Mary, the Virgin

Who was the first disciple of Jesus other than Andrew? Is it Peter or is it John? In the book of Luke, which most people refer in gospels, it’s written as Peter. But in the book of John, it is mentioned as John himself along with Andrew. A true disciple of Jesus Christ is the one who accepts Jesus as his/her Lord and Master. In the New Testament, the first person to accept Christ as the savior of the world was a virgin teenage girl who was betrothed to a man called Joseph (Luke 1: 27). Her name was Mary, and she accepted the birth of Saviour in her womb (Luke 1: 38). So you can consider Virgin Mary as the first true disciple of Jesus Christ.

Mary, a Jew, was from the little town of Nazareth. In her teenage she got betrothed to Joseph. She lived according to the word of God and His commandments and God choose her to be the mother of the saviour. We can understand how she was close to the scriptures when she sang praise to The Lord in Luke 1: 46-55. It can be compared to Isaiah 61: 10-11 or Psalms 34. It shows how her life was attached with the scriptures. No wonder why the Angel of God appeared to her in the midst of all women and called her blessed.

Even though she was blessed, she understood her son is going to suffer when Simeon took the child and blessed him (Luke 2: 35). When Jesus was in his peak of earthly ministry, he fulfilled the wish of Father God and considered everyone as his mothers and brothers (Mathew 12: 48). But when he was on the cross, he cared for Mary and called his beloved disciple John to take care of her (John 19: 25-29).

Even though Mary had other sons through Joseph (Mark 6:3; Mathew 13: 55-56; Galatians 1: 19), she was taken care and protected by the disciple of Jesus, John. Tradition tells John took Mary to Ephesus in Turkey. She might have spent her last days there. After the council of Ephesus, in 431, she became popular to everyone as with her portrait with Jesus.

Though Mary was a woman like everybody, because of her faith and belief in God, she was chosen to fulfil Old Testament prophecy of giving birth to the saviour. In this day, 15^th of August, as the world remember St. Mary, think about yourself, an ordinary person like any others, following Christ and have faith in Him. Definitely God will choose you as he called Mary and through you the world around you will get saved by Jesus who is inside you.

To have Jesus inside you, repent your sins, believe Christ came to the world to take away all your sins and believe in faith that through Christ’s blood you are saved and is sin free. Walk with Jesus and be blessed like St Mary.

Faith in Christ

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith … There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” – (Galatians 3: 26-29).

A great example of faith is the life of Abraham. When he was living as a childless man, God came to Abram through a vision and promised blessings. He told Abram to look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed he can count them, so shall be his children. Even though Abram was very old, he believed the Lord. “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” – (Genesis 15: 1-6).

Since Abraham was faithful to God, his offspring were chosen by God as his own children, His chosen ones. When God blesses a nation, no one can come against that nation. Even now the chosen one Israel, the nation is powerful because The God of Abraham is with them (Psalms 33: 12-15).

Now, the followers of Christ are being chosen as New Israel, when the Lord is pleased with you, there is no need to be worried about your future, your wealth and food. The scripture tells us that you should be always careful and be watchful and be ready to receive Jesus if He comes now. Your main aim in life should be Jesus and then he will watch over you (Luke 12).

As Abraham’s faith in the Old Testament, the believers of Christ should believe Christ in faith that he is your rock. “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11: 1). By faith Abraham received inheritance and Promised Land (Hebrews 11: 8-16). Abraham’s powerful faith is seen when God asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Abraham knew God will make a way and believed that in faith and went with his child for the sacrifice (Hebrews 11: 17). Abraham believed in God so much that he knew God can raise the dead and if his son dies, God is able to bring him back from death (Hebrews 11: 19).

As new Israel we have a promised land and we need to believe in faith and receive it like Abraham. Who is New Israel? They are the people who believe in Christ Jesus and believe in faith that he died for your sins, and you are free from sin in His name that you won’t repeat that sins. “Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2: 17).

May the Lord enable you to understand more about faith in him and guide you to walk with Christ Jesus and receive the Promised Land in faith.

Transfiguration

When the chosen leader of Israel, Moses went up to Mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments in two tablets, he was in the powerful presence of Almighty God. So when he came back from the mountain, because of God’s holiness Moses’s face was radiant since he spoke with The Lord. Everyone who saw Moses got afraid because his face was so bright and shining. So he put a veil over his face and covered it. Whenever he went to talk to God, he removed the veil and when he was with the people he covered his face with the veil (Exodus 34: 29 – 35).

The Lord, The creator is Holy and is great. Because of his holiness and glory, he spoke with Moses and Aaron through a pillar of cloud. As God is Holy and a bright light, His light shines through out where his presence is (Psalms 99).

In the New Testament we see Jesus calling three of his disciples John, Peter and James to go to the mountain and pray. Before some days, Jesus himself told them about his death. Now as Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Moses whom God buried and Elijah whom God took alive appeared in the same way and talked with Jesus about the future events. When Peter woke up he understood the men with Jesus and he became worldly and told them that he will make shelters for everyone and suddenly a cloud came and covered them (Luke 9: 29-35). Then they heard a voice from Heaven “This is my son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” (Luke 9: 35).

Your body in this world is just a covering or a tent for your spirit to be dwelled in (2 Peter 1: 13). There is going to be a day when you need to leave this body. When you believe in Jesus Christ, after your Spirit departs from your body, you are also going to be transfigured into the splendour of holiness. The Transfiguration of Jesus proves that he is the son of God. It also shows us that when Christ comes for the second time, the believers of Christ who are dead are going to enter into His kingdom with glorified bodies.

To be a part of it, you need to repent your sins and accept Christ as your saviour. Pray to God for forgiving your sins and ask Christ Jesus to cleanse you with the precious blood he shed for you on the cross (Hebrews 9: 22) and be a part of transfiguration. May The Lord be with you.

See Things Above

In the Holy Bible, Old Testament, God is telling about how he loved Israel as His child. He tells it was He who taught them to walk taking them by the arms, but they are not realizing any of that, even the healing provided by Him. God is telling how he cannot leave them even if they don’t listen to him. These is written in the book of Hosea whom God told to marry a prostitute, search for her every night and bring her back to him and love her, to make us know - this is the way God loves us. God tells he will not destroy them and He is waiting for them to call upon His name when enemy comes against them, so that he can destroy the enemies and save His children (Hosea 11).

Yes, when the children of God is hungry and thirsty and when they call upon Him in their trouble, he will deliver them and settle them and so let us give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love (Psalms 107: 5-8).

People’s knowledge and hard work can help them make a tower of Babel, but the real meaning and wealth comes from the creator. Bad and evil days will definitely come to a child of God. But he will have the faith and hope in God that the Lord will deliver him from the evil days and from the wicked deceivers surrounding him (Psalms 49: 5).

Jesus Christ told a parable about a rich fool (Luke 12: 13-21). This rich man had plenty of corps and he was planning to build bigger place to store his corps. He was planning to take life easy, eat drink and be merry. He was not bothered about God who provides, but was proud about his hard work and knowledge. In Luke 12: 20, “But God said to him, you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” Jesus Christ is telling about the one who is not eager towards God through this parable.

When you are in Christ, you will never think about the worldly riches and be proud of it. It does not mean that you live a life of poverty, but you will not live a life to enjoy the worldly riches, even God provide it to you, but your hearts will be set above to the sacrifice Christ has done for you and will be always thinking about the glory of heaves where Christ is seated (Colossians 3: 1-4).

God wants everyone to put to death the earthly nature where people go behind lust, sexual immorality, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language and lie. God wants you to leave that old self and put a new self which is to be same as that of the image of your creator (Colossians 3: 5-11).

A worldly person cannot change his life to a new self with his power or through some meditation. It is only through repenting your sins and accepting Christ Jesus that you will be able to change yourself.

“If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raise him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10: 9)

When you receive Christ Jesus, Spirit of God will help you to walk in truth and see the glory of God in your life. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16: 13).

May The Lord be with you and guide you to see things above, put to death all evil within you and help you to walk in truth and be an example to others in Jesus name