Short Reflection from Matthew 11-28

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (KD) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙𝟙:𝟚𝟜

"Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."

There are degrees of judgment! However, even the tiniest sin is vile enough to condemn us! And even all the sins of all the earth put together are not weightier than the grace of Jesus Christ!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙𝟚:𝟝𝟘

“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Indeed, family relations and blood ties are insignificant in comparison to a spiritual relationship that lasts forever!

Gospel is thicker than blood!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙𝟛:𝟝𝟠

"And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief."

What's the point to go on when people are set to close their ears?

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 14:20

"And they all ate and were 𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕕. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets."

Everyone is happy and even satisfied when we received blessings from God, but like these crowds, many people love the blessings and not the blesser; the gifts and not the giver.

Actually, Christ is both the greatest giver and the greatest gift, Himself!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙𝟝:𝟚𝟟

"But she said, ‘Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.’"

The cry of the heart. The faith in Jesus's Compassion. Oh! To be like this woman!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙𝟞:𝟚𝟞

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Take care of your soul!

Obey those who watch over your soul!

Remember, your soul is more important than the whole world put together!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙𝟟:𝟞

"When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified."

Naturally, we are intimidated by things or people greater than us. God is absolutely greater than us. And so, fear is appropriate before Him!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙𝟠:𝟙𝟛

"If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray."

Nothing seems to bring more joy to the Father than the repentant soul.

Oh! Conversion

Oh! Evangelism

Oh! Mission

Oh! My soul, arise! Be arrested with this truth!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙𝟡:𝟚𝟞

"And looking at them Jesus said to them, ‘With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’"

Indeed, anyone's and everyone's conversion is the supernatural work of God, not ours. It's impossible, even our own!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟘:𝟛𝟛-𝟛𝟜

"They *said to Him, ‘Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him."

A desperate request and a compassionate answer! God is near to those who call upon Him!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟙:𝟜𝟞

"When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet."

It looks good that Jesus was not killed now, but actually what a tragedy! They feared people (mere creatures) more than Jesus (the Creator). Isn't that kind of sin present in our hearts?

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟚:𝟜𝟝-𝟜𝟞

"‘If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his son?’ No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question."

It was Jesus's turn to question them and made them all the more bewildered!

Indeed, this one is greater than the ancestors, even David, Abraham, and Moses!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟛:𝟛𝟛

"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?"

I know one congregation that tried to remove its pastor because one of them was rebuked as "stupid." People often expect pastors to behave "better" than Jesus. Jesus is both gentle and wrathful! He even called his chief apostle "Satan"

Being Stupid is better than being Satan, btw!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟜:𝟛𝟝

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away."

Night follows day; summer follows winter; major sports events happen after 4 years, these are easily believable. Eternal things, things longer than our life span are difficult to comprehend and are often subjected to doubt and unbelief!

We are given and called to supernatural faith!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟝:𝟛𝟟-𝟜𝟘

"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'"

Believers should be delighted to read this section, not be distressed by the next section. Believers are the righteous sheep!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟞:𝟝𝟞

"But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets. Then all the disciples left Him and fled."

Imagine the guilt trip they would be walking through after this till the resurrection of Christ!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟟:𝟝

"And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself."

Indeed, it is easier to die than to live. Respect life, the living!

 

[17:12, 16/11/2021] S.R: 𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚𝟠:𝟙𝟟

"When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful."

Two groups of people based on their obvious reactions: worshippers and doubters. Be gentle to the doubters! They are still not the deniers nor the apostates!

Short Reflection from Matthew 1-10

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (KD) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

[21:12, 18/10/2021] S.R:

This time I will post only 3 lines for each passage.

If I am smart, 2 lines.

If I happen to be very smart, just 1 line.

[21:13, 18/10/2021] S.R: 👆 Even this is a three-line post! 😂😎👍

 

[22:07, 19/10/2021] S.R: 𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟙:𝟙𝟡

"And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly."

Let's love our fiancé, friends, and fellow Christians like this. Love covers the multitude of sins but does not tolerate sin. So, Joseph was planning to divorce her!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟚:𝟙𝟞

"Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully determined from the magi."

Herod was a fool to think he can fool the Magi. Would the Magi betray the King of the Universe just to please this arrogant wicked puny Herod? Certainly Not!

Like the Magi, let's not fear man to adore God!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟛:𝟠

"Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance"

Repentance is a radical change, enough to be noticed!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟜:𝟚𝟛

"Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people."

Jesus' ministry is summarized by three descriptions of actions: Teaching, Proclaiming, and Healing.

It may well be understood as Discipleship, Evangelism, Counselling to our application!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟝:𝟙𝟞

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Some hesitate to say they are Christians because of persecution.

Others hesitate because they are ashamed of their not-so-good deeds!

May this verse motivate us to be courageous and holy!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟞:𝟙𝟙-𝟙𝟚

"Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

Actually, the Lord's Prayer is dangerous. We really don't like that and never mean it when we recite.

It's a prayer for daily bread but we want to have everything until we die, not just for today, tomorrow, next week, next, next year, or 10 years.  One of the reasons why people move from the private sector to the government sector in Manipur is because of the job security that will last till retirement!

Also, it’s a prayer about forgiveness. If you don't forgive, basically you are saying, please don't forgive me, Lord.

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟟:𝟟

"𝘼𝙎𝙆, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

A – 𝘼𝙨𝙠

S – 𝙎𝙚𝙚𝙠

K – 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟠:𝟛

"Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘; 𝕓𝕖 𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕕." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."

This is our God. Let's remember His mercy in our prayer life! Recall this in your prayer, prayer meeting, and public prayer, whenever necessary!

 

[13:15, 27/10/2021] S.R: There is an early church confession, a biblical one, which says, "Believe in the name of Lord Jesus, and you will be saved!"

"In the name" means the totality of Jesus: His person and His work, and His teachings because true faith works work; it bears fruit. If I believe a bus can take me to a place, I just board a bus and indeed, it takes me to that place.

There's no minimal Christian or mere Christian; it's everything, it demands everything of us. There's no one foot in, one foot out; we are wholesomely Christ's or wholesomely devil's

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 𝟡:𝟚

"And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.’"

We often need to remind ourselves of this: God's grace is greater than our vilest sin!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕨 10:29-30

"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

This is concerning the persecution, but the protection of God for the people of God is the same. Nothing, yes not even an ant under the leaf of a fallen tree on a thick forest floor of an unexplored island moves left or right without the knowledge of God.

The hair falls when you sleep, take a bath, or take a comb, they are all under the supervision of God.

Be calm, cool, and comforted!

[04:52, 30/10/2021] S.R: —𝓐 𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓸𝓷 𝓪 𝓗𝓸𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓕𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓻—

If one of the places you would want to avoid the most to spend your night is the hospital bed, spending a night on the hospital floor will not be that pleasant.

Though I had a better space, a better mat, and a better pillow than most of the people sleeping on the floor, the beeping sound of a machine used by the other patient and the light that hit my eyes had robbed my sleep throughout the night.

I would rise up from time to time and try to sleep from all angles, but couldn't. I would just like to throw away those machines, but wouldn't. In fact, I would make the light brighter and the noise louder if it would bring relief to that patient struggling for a breath.

What is my sleep compared to his struggle to breathe? 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗! Every one of us someday may have to spend a night in a hospital. Though it's the least pleasant sight, it makes one more Christ-like i.e., to have compassion for the sick and the wounded! And if a vile and sinful man I am, could have compassion on these sick people, surely God must be compassionate. And indeed, He is for He has written in 𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎 𝟙𝟘: 𝟛𝟘 that even the hairs of our head are all numbered by God. Nothing is beyond God's supervision!

Short Reflection from Malachi 1-4

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (OVU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

[9:02 pm, 05/03/2022] S.R: 𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚 𝟙:𝟚

“"I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have You loved us?" "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob;"”

If people doubt or question the love of God, no wonder they will question others. Sometimes, it's we who don't understand people's love for us.

When a gf or wife complains that her bf or husband doesn't love her much. Maybe it's true, but sometimes, it's the complainer who doesn't understand.

 

𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚 𝟚:𝟙-𝟚

“"And now this commandment is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name," says the LORD of hosts, "then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart."”

Priests and pastors have one main duty—to teach the people to honor the name of Yahweh! When they don't do that, it's time for them to step down and go sell drugs or rob a bank for a living!

 

𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚 𝟛:𝟡-𝟙𝟘

“"You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."”

Hopefully, we all are faithful in our giving to God.

 

𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚 𝟜:𝟞

"He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse."

The last word of the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament ended with a warning word "curse"

Last word matters. There must be a lot of warnings even in today's world!