Day: January 1, 2024

THE LORD WHO SURROUNDS US TO PROTECT US

1 Samuel 23:26,27 “Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them. But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!”.In such a situation God saved David.

When the Israelites came out of Egypt,they encountered a no-way out situation,when they stood right before the Red Sea and behind them was the Egyptian Army. But even In Such a situation,God saved The Israelites.

1) Psalm 18:5 ”The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;The snares of death confronted me.”

2) Psalm 22:12,16”Many bulls have surrounded Me;Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.”16 “For dogs have surrounded Me;The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.”

3)Jonah 2 :3-5 “For You cast me into the deep,Into the heart of the seas,And the floods surrounded me;All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. I will look again toward Your holy temple.’The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;The deep closed around me;Weeds were wrapped around.In the midst of all such dangers and troubled circumstances ,let’s see how David looks at God in the verses quoted below.

1)Psalms 5:12 “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;With favor You will surround him as with a shield.”

2)Psalms 32:7 “You are my hiding place;You shall preserve me from trouble;You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.”

3) Psalms 32:10 “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.”

4)Psalms 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,And delivers them.”Most of the times,during a sense of danger I have always felt in my spirit,my house and my hospital are completely surrounded by angels.When we look at Elisha’s life,when he prayed his request to God,God surrounded him with fiery angels.

5)Psalms 125:2 “As the mountains surround Jerusalem,So the Lord surrounds His people.From this time forth and forever.”

^{God is ever-present,He always surrounds His own.All that we have around us are full of danger.The place we stay,our work place,place of ministry everywhere we experience issues and problems.God at such times tells us,I will protect you like a wall of mountain. Hence,Whether we stay put or walk God surrounds us.He is Protecting us.He covers us under the shadow of His Healing wings.Therefore He is Our God who surrounds us.}

Prayer

God who loves us more,Though the world may be filled with dangers,enemies,bulls,thrills,oceans,devastation ,death traps all around us,This moment open our spiritual eyes Lord.Let us sense the shield of compassion surrounding us Like David.May your Amazing Grace surround us,as we Trust on you.Let your Angels be sent to protect us Oh!Lord. Thankyou Lord for being a wall of mountain ,You surrounding us. Thankyou for that Lord.You are a wall of fire around us. Enlighten our spiritual eyes to see your Glorious presence.Amen.

Sol. Dr. Petricia

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoso ever believeth in him………. have everlasting life “. (John 3:16) we see that all creations were made by his words and the words were with God (John 1.1 -3, Gen 1.3) We see the presence of the Holy spirit also there (Genesis 1.2) His creations ended with a making up of a man with clay and then Eve. By their disobedience, multitude of sins crept in this world. To reconcile with Adam’s seed there arose a need to make his word flesh again (John 1:14) . Again, the presence of Holy Spirit is observed through those words. The power of the highest shadowed Mary. (Luk 1.35)

However for the redemption and reconciliation with mankind, God used his chosen holy people to listen, obey and to react according to his plans.

Mary

She obeyed to Gabriels words, accepted God’s decision, went to see Elisabeth happily, Sang songs and was supportive to till her 9th month of pregnancy.

Joseph

He listened to the messages given by Angel of the Lord through dreams and obeyed without delay, though they were strange, risky, and laborious.

a) “Joseph, fear not to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost”(Math 1: 20 ,24)

b) “Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt, Until I bring thee words”. “He took the young child …… until the death of Herod”. (Math 2:13 ,15)

c) “Arise and go to the Land of Israel for, they are dead”. (Math 2:19,21)

Here we observe that obedience is mandatray for the fulfillment of God’s plan on earth. Besides, he took a long Journey with Mary to Bethlehem (Patience) and accepted the odd place (manger), odd climate and strange environment when Jesus was born. Shepherds, when light shone on themand good news shared, they went in haste to see Mary, Joseph and the new born baby. They made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning the child. (Immediate reaction and witnessing got)

The Wisemen

They took a tedious journey following the star, and arrived at Herod’s palace, He in turn consulted the high priest and scribes and directed, them to Bethlehem where they saw the child with Mary. They fell down, worshipped him,and presented their gifts.(simple faith, perseverance and goal mindedness)

Simon took the child in his arms, and blessed God (waiting to fulfill God’s Prophesy) and so did Anna the prophetess.

Witness

^{We Christians are following the way god showed to us which is narrow in nature and trying to fulfill his plans for us on earth.}

Prayer

Heavenly Father! Help us to fulfill your plans and desire you have in us, So that your mighty name be glorified on earth. Help us to march towards eternal bliss. Amen

Sol. VICTY MITHYLA