“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel…………says the Lord God.

Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin”.

Ezekiel 18:30

Jesus received the power and authority from God, the Father because of His obedience. He in turn distributes authority and power to those who follow Him in obedience as He says in  Luke 10:19 “…I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you”.

     We can receive the power and authority if Holy Spirit is in us (Acts1:8) and if we refrain from all sinful activities. Sin takes away  our God given power and authority from us.

Sin whatever variety it is of, have a common nature. It makes you oppressed and make you a slave. A slave to your own body, carnal instincts, a slave to other human beings, to your own family members, your colleagues, your boss, your in laws, your neighbor’s, to the society known to you, slave to some unknown feelings, unidentified compelling forces etc.    

             You feel like you are stripped off your authority over your family, children, workplace, subordinates, yield of land, crops, productivity of animals. Sin results in huge erosion— Erosion of intelligence, memory power,  health, willpower, commanding voice, spontaneity in thinking, innovations, free flow of thought, unity in the family, harmony of your own body, soul and spirit etc. An unsaved soul who has not accepted Jesus Christ and His words in his life is destined to  live in this continuous  war, with himself and with others and with the world. This is hell. By unsaved soul I mean those who have not become a  “Ruler” who have not learnt to govern himself, others and the world. We already saw that ”Administration “  is taking part in the divine work of the Lord. It is a gift to be claimed and developed by every individual who is created in the image of God. Even though all are blessed with this gift, we see this  gift inherent in certain people.

            They are the ones who are delivered and liberated from the tormenting spirits of oppression and suppression. Many individuals, people group (tribes), even nations are not in a position to exercise authority.

The condition is called slavery. It has been handed over to them as a curse from their forefathers. In some cases even if they have been liberated from political slavery, they can be still under mental, spiritual ,emotional slavery. Mental slavery— slavery of the mind. Their mind will not be under their control.  It will be under the control of another human being or even under the control of the evil spirit.

             We have to get out of this slavery by filling us with the Holy Spirit. Jesus  told the adulterous woman in John8:11 “Go and sin no more”. How can we live in this world  without sin? Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh  in regard to its lusts. Ezekiel 18:30 God call out through the Prophet saying “……….Repent, turn away from all your offences; then sin will not be your ruin”

Prayer

          Heavenly Father give us the grace to overcome enemies work in us and fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit. I ask in Jesus name.

Amen

Sr.Angelica

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”.

Colossians 3:16

            John1:1-2 says that” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God”. Again John says, through Him all creation was made and through Him only whole community can be saved to live for ever. The word bring meaning, purpose, power, grace, love and life to all who submit and obey His  Words. So the Word must dwell in our mind. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding of the Word. The Word help us to bless the Lord with our souls always. That is why psalmist sings

”Bless the Lord O my soul, with all that is within me”. (Psalms 103:1). 

We will be able to sing with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. ”Let the Word dwell richly” implies that allowing the Word to enter and grow in our lives. This will generate the fruit of the Holy Spirit love and joy in abundance in our lives. (Galatians 5:22)

              His mercy and grace fills our heart with joy. We must show our gratitude by songs of worship and adoration. The Lord was closest to us in our past trials and troubles. He poured out His anointing of strength and courage on us so that we will be able to endure and hold on to the hope even when bad things happen it will turn out much better than before. The Word gives us great insight and wisdom than any or all of the best books. The worldly leaders lead the people like” the blind  leading the blind”. They learn by trial and error. They keep falling in their lust for power .Their knowledge is inadequate or incomplete and their wisdom is not even initiated. Godly leaders have their inner eyes open and they are guided by the Word and the spirit of God.

              As teachers of the Word, we need to hide the Word in our hearts and bring it out at the apt time. The Word is the book of instruction for the life of a believer. Word gives us discernment of our own thoughts as well as motive behind each thought. The Sermon on the mount teach us about the attitudes we need to cultivate in all our lives in order to be blessed. The miracles of Jesus demonstrate the power of God over nature, our bodies, minds and spirits .

Prayer

            Heavenly Father give us the grace to hide your Word  inside of us  so  we will be blessed and  can bless others also. In Jesus name  we pray.

Amen

Sol.Gigi Jacob

“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God……………… because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God”.

Romans 8:19-21

Because of Adam’s fall sin entered the world.Satan took the authority. So the creation is in bondages and is waiting for the deliverance from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
What Adam lost in his fall was the gift to Administrator or to rule; a gift which was priceless and freely given. The whole earth with its animal kingdom, vegetation,oceanic kingdom,the arena of astronomy was subjected to his authority.In sin he lost control over everything.
Adam’s sin brought loss in two levels.
When Adam lost control over the creation, the creation also suffered without a proper AdministratorCreation is still longing to come
under the ruling of the one whom God has appointed . It’s earnest anguish is expressed in the Bible.

When the earth lost its proper administrator it suffered another evil simultaneously. It was brought under a wrong administrator, satan, enemy of God and man.He made the earth his own kingdom and started ruling the earth according to his own norms.He started implementing his laws in this earthly kingdom. His laws of administration are basically

Three Fold

“stealing,killing and destroying “.(John10:10).

In the following chapters of the Bible clearly portraits how Adam is losing this authority, over the creation one by one. They systematically break away from Adam after the fall .
So there is enemity instead of harmony. The whole creation was in perfect harmony with Adam before fall.

• Lord put enemity between the seed of woman( mankind) and the seed of the serpent.
  Genesis3:15 “ And I will put enmity between you and the women, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
• Adam become enemy to himself, his own body,soul and spirit .He lost harmony between them. He became a slave to war going on within him.
  a. His body become enemy against his soul and spirit (Genesis 5:17)
  b. His mind is not under his control(Romans8:7)
• World become enemy to him(James4:4)

Father God help us to overcome the enemy of our body,soul and spirit.In Jesus name I pray .

AMEN

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Sr.Angelica, AOJ

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Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies”. 

Psalms 27:11

             Lord delights in the one that has a teachable spirit and a humble heart. He rejoices over one that seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mathew 6:33).

     Let us put our trust in the Lord, learning  His ways, seeking  His face and praising His name . If  God is with us, we will be like a flourishing tree planted by the river.(Psalms 1:3).

       The Bible warns us that what seems the right way to us can lead to disaster if it is against God’s will.(Proverbs14:12). If David relied on his own military skill, he would have ended in disaster. But he chose to rely on the Lord to lead him along the correct path. We need to follow David’s example.

             We can learn any subject from the experts of that field. But in order to learn how best to live, one can learn  it only  from the author of life. He does not speak to us but makes us known to His ways through His Son Jesus, through  the Word and by the Holy Spirit. We must humble ourselves and realize how broken and incomplete we are in the absence of Lord.

               The Lord teaches us to live in a blameless way. He teaches us to live fearlessly. He teaches us the secrets of powerful living. He teaches us how to overcome our enemies, our challenges by His grace. He is never done with teaching us. With other teachers, we can reach a point where we can say that we have learnt enough or we have nothing more to learn from them. But with Jesus ,our learning is life long.

                 God says that” For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways”. Isaiah 55:8

We need grace and discernment to understand His ways. Jesus is a patient teacher He waits for us to grasp and do what  He has taught us. . Words of Jesus  penetrate our hearts and transform our lives.

Prayer

           Father God please teach me your ways, and guide me along the best  path for my life; I will give you all the praise  and the glory .In Jesus name I pray.

Amen.

Sol.Gigi Jacob

“ YOU HAVE MADE HIM TO HAVE DOMINION OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET”.
PSALMS 8:6

After creating man in His own image God blessed him(Genesis 1:26-28).In 1:26 God gave him authority over everything and in 1:28 He blessed them and God said to them”Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it”. It is a command and a blessing. So Adam was not only given a command but given all support,stamina,divine help ,wisdom and all that needed in administering and govern the whole earth.All the earth means surface of the earth,mountains,hills,rivers,clouds,trees,vegetation,forest,soil, air, animals, minerals, oceans etc.(Genesis9:2,psalms8:1,3-4,5-8)
Psalmist got the revelation that

God Made Man Ruler

Of Everything That He Created.

It goes even beyond the planet earth(Psalms 8:6).”The works of His hands”.

When Neil Armstrong landed in moon, he exercised the authority given to man over the planets.When Tensing and Hillary climbed Mount Everest , they were obeying God, by fulfilling the command in Genesis 1:28

“SUBDUE The EARTH”.

Those who are working in NASA are obeying the same command of God . Those who are working in Vikram Sara Bhai Center(VSSC) are obeying the commands and fulfilling it.Our late President. Abdul Kalam was obeying the command of God by spending his whole life by making researches on planets and trying to subdue them. He won to a great extend. He spent his whole life in fulfilling this command of God and hence the Lord blessed him with an award”Vision India 2020”.Since he was not able to interpret in the light of the Gospel, the Lord raised people in His church to interpret his book “ Vision of India 2022”. The first vision about the future of India was given to Dr. Abdul Kalam because he proved his competence in rule over the planets thereby obeying the ‘God given command ‘ in Genesis1:28.

All the inventions, discoveries made by man in the world are the best proofs of accomplishment of the commandment to rule over the earth.

Father God, it is Your purpose of us to subdue everything You created and rule over it . Give us the grace to fulfill Your purpose in our lives. In the name of Jesus we ask.

AMEN

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Sr.Angelica, AOJ

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SO HE SAID, “COME.” 

And When Peter Had Come Down Out Of The Boat, He Walked On The Water To Go To Jesus.

Matthew 14:29

Jesus had sent his disciples away in a boat, post the 5 loaves and 2 fish miracle. The boat was in the middle of the sea, it was being hurled by huge waves as the wind was boisterous. Somewhere between 3 am and 6 am Jesus walks towards them, the disciples are petrified for they thought it was an apparition. But Jesus says, relax, it’s Me. Out of the 12 disciples, Peter did something radical and bold, he said, “okay if it’s you then command me to come to You on the water”. We know that Peter is the only disciple who got out of his comfort zone and to walk on water, this ended up being recorded in the bible

Let’s go to Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together,”Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.

Here is a Great invitation from a Great God who says to Israel, that He will explain why Israel is afflicted and then says,” I will make you as white as snow “Usually, people want to avoid sinners but here our God says “I will wipe away your sins”, which only Jesus can, thanks to His willingness to die on the cross for our sins.

The Roman government had a place of banishment for criminals called Patmos, a rocky, barren, desolate island. Apostle John was banished to Patmos by the Emperor Domitian in AD 95 for preaching the gospel, assuming this would be his end. But this was the story of a man who made lemonade when life gave him lemons. 

Jesus showed up. Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” John the Apostle was transported in the Spirit and gets to peak into heaven, he sees the grandeur of the throne and the “One who sat on it”, he sees live worship, the twenty- four elders and the four living creatures. Thanks to him we have the book of Revelation.

The bible shows us, each time God calls anyone, He has something unparalleled, phenomenal awaiting him. On 1st Sept 2001,

Jesus said to me “Come…” and the trajectory of my life changed.

Is He calling you today? He is not like man to call, make fake promises and forget it. If you heed to His call then rest assured that you are about to see some jaw dropping, stunning display of the power of God in your life.

Loving heavenly Father, may we heed Your voice and step out radically to Your call for You have something great in store for us, this we pray in Jesus mighty name. Amen!!!

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Sol. Lalitha Menon, AOJ

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And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles,second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings ,helps, ADMINISTRATIONS, varieties of tongues”

“1 C O R I N T H I A N S 12 : 28

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ADMINISTRATION is a gift of the Holy Spirit .It is the executive part or to manage an area,village, an institution ,a family ,or a set of students , citizens etc.It should be done with God,s grace.Ruling is exercising authority over it. Ruling may be defined in the following words—Government,Management,Direction,Running,Supervision.An administrator manage each.

Adam ‘s sin brought loss in two levels— he lost his control over the creation and creation suffered with out a proper Administrator.

ADMINISTRATION

Is Partaking In God’s Divine Work Of Creating And Ruling .

God created man in His own image to partake in His creative activity and to Rule over the Creations.”created in His image”(Genesis1:27-28) implies that man was invested with the same power of authority and creativity. Ruling tendency is inherent in man.That reflects God’s image in him.

This Tendency Of Ruling Is Manifested In All Stages Of Man’s Growth ,Even From Childhood. In SCHOOL right from kindergarten,children would like to become monitors or leaders in class.Those who are not able to rise up to that level look upon the leader with admiration.

YOUTH OF ADOLESCENT AGE will show symptoms of discontentment when they are not allowed to participate in making decisions in the family.They think they are grown up and are notgiven their due rights in the family.All these are proofs that by birth there is a passion in man to become a leader and to rule.The root cause of mother- in -law and daughter-in-law can also traced back to this,who is to rule the house,mainly handling the kitchen.Mother-in-law will be insecure in losing her control over the family. Daughter-in-law would like to establish her authority over her husband and thereby over the other members of the family.

Coming to the POLITICAL scenario,after the general election in a democratic country, one party gets the authority to rule over the nation. To get power and position man is ready to go any extent, even losing their dignity.

By all kinds of malpractices he comes to power and get the authority .

This is not according to the plan of God. In all spheres of life social or religious, this is a proved fact.Even the undeserved person, once got the power and authority to rule,do not want to exchange the position with others.It shows that man is created to rule.

Proverbs 8:15-16 SAYS THAT”BY ME KINGS REIGN AND RULERS DECREE JUSTICE”.
 Jeremiah 10:23 
SAYS THAT”THE WAY OF MAN IS NOT IN HIMSELF “.

Heavenly Father we want to use the authority and power inherent in us with your grace, not according to our plan. In Jesus name I ask .

AMEN

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SR.ANGELICA, AOJ

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“ Watch And Pray,

“ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” Mathew 26:41

There in the Garden of Gethsemane, just hour before His arrest,Jesus asked His closest friends to stay awake and keep watch.He went a little farther to pray to His Heavenly Father and to prepare Himself for the greatest tribulation of His life on Earth.He had asked them to stay awake for only one hour while He prayed.The disciples also know that His heart was heavy with sorrow. But the disciples slacked off and slept.upon His return Jesus chastises His friends with the above verse

 Here Jesus exhorts us to watch and pray otherwise the enemy who is a roaring lion finds us spiritually dormant or sleeping and devour us.(1 Peter 5:8) 

We are to be watchful to overcome the weakness of our human nature. We are to be watchful to keep the Word and obey His commandments and statutes.

To be watchful means, we must be spiritually awake and aware We know our own weaknesses and stay on guard, otherwise they draw us into temptations and sins.

Weakness is a part of human nature and power to overcome comes from God.

Everyday watch on our own lives to see whether we are faithful or fruitful. WATCH how we use our talents, time and opportunities. We are to be watchful about the things we see, hear and believe. We must be the spiritual watch man for the kingdom of God in this World.We have to report to God about the things burdened us in this World .

We are the spies like Moses sent to Canaan . We are like the watchman Nehemiah appointed to watch as the walls of Jerusalem were being built(Ezekiel3:17,Isaiah21:6).

We have to be watch ourselves and walk in the ways of the Lord. We should produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit and not hatred,bitterness,anger,sadness and frustration. Our words should be kind and act of goodness. Our negative words give the enemy of our souls an opportunity to enter and cause defeat.

The Grace Of God Enable Us To Overcome. .

Holy Spirit empower,equip and enable us for the life of devotion, dedication,determination, diligence and discipline

We have to surrender the members of our body to the Holy Spirit

Heavenly Father give us the grace to watch and pray always . We surrender ourselves to you.

A M E N

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Sol.Gigi Jacob, AOj

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“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall my Word be that goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

In Isaiah 55:10 God compares His Word to the rain and snow. When it rains it drains into the land and helps in the growth of crops thus sustaining life. Rain and snow do not return back without accomplishing their purpose. God has an intention for His Word like rain and snow. God’s words bring forth life and produce good fruits in our lives. “The Words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63.) When He says that it will not return to Him void, we are encouraged to abide in His Word, allowing it to absorb into our lives and soaking in it as the ground soaks up rain and snow. The truth will not return void as our hearts are charged. The Word rebuke us and corrects us (2 Timothy 3:16-17.) It is a light guiding us in this dark world (Psalms119:105.)

 The Word softens the soul of the receiver, the believer. It will cause the spiritual seed of His wisdom and truth to be sown in us, cause it to take root in us to grow and bear fruit. It will accomplish the desires of the Lord in our lives. If we cling to His spoken Word or the Word spoken to us by others or through reading the Bible, it will prosper in our lives.

The Word reveals to us the thoughts and ways of God. If we discipline ourselves to honour these thoughts and ways in our lives, there is nothing in this world to prevent it from fulfilling in our lives. Our lives will be a testimony of His mercy and grace.

Testimony

When I was going through a tough time for nearly 20 years, because of my husband’s heart problem, God gave me the promises that He will uphold me (Isaiah 41:10), and even if I go through waters, it won’t overflow me and even if I go through fire, it won’t burn me (Isaiah 43:2, Psalms 91.) Those verses comforted me and also gave me hope.

We have to abide and obey every word that cometh out of the mouth of God. We need to align our thoughts actions and behaviour with the principles and precepts of the Word. The Word will protect us from the evils in this world and also enables us to inherit and enjoy the blessings of this world.

Prayer

Father God, help us to cling onto your promises and believe that you will fulfil your purpose by sending the Word to us. Thank you for the Word.

Amen

Sol Gigi Jacob, AOJ

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

John 12:24

We all know that a grain of wheat contains the germs of life. Unless it falls to the ground, the germs will remain inside without growth. A single grain, by its death gives rise to a sapling. When it falls to the ground it releases the inner life power, which is held captive inside the husk. And when such grains fall on the ground, together they clothe the whole field with a harvest of much fruit.

Jesus is teaching this law for the moral world. From the scripture we know that “Jesus is Life,” “In Him is life” and “Whosoever believeth in Him has eternal life” (John 3:15, 6:47). Jesus is here saying that while He is still on this earth, this life exists. But this life grows and multiplies itself in the great spiritual harvest of the world, only after His death and resurrection.

Death in nature is an essential precursor to growth, renewal and fruitfulness. Jesus, by embracing death on our behalf caused many, including us, the first fruit of God. John 11:25 says that “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” We too should daily “practice death” in our lives. The seeds of sin, pride, lust of the flesh and lust of the eye, need to fall down into the ground and die so such evil does not multiply in us.

Some good seeds (good things) in our lives need to die in order to reproduce more good seeds. Some desires of our heart may not be a bad thing, but the Lord might impress on our hearts to let it die. This is what is meant when Jesus said, “If any man wants to follow me, he must carry his cross daily and deny himself.” (Matthew 16:24) We need to crucify some parts of us daily, so that the new life, the new nature, the Christ-like nature grows in us. Many of the traditions we love need to be put to an end.

Apostle Paul put to death his past priorities and goals, which were once valuable to him, as he now considered them rubbish (Philippians 3:8).

We need to put to death our doubts and fears. In our relationships, we can put to death certain arguments and quarrels and above all, we have to put to death our egos that stand in the way of our growth and fruitfulness.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give us the grace to put to death all of our sinful activities and grow in you and produce good fruits.

In the name of Jesus I pray,

Amen

Sol. Gigi Jacob