[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: π Even this is a three-line post! πππ
[22:07,
19/10/2021] S.R: πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π:ππ‘
"And
Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her,
planned to send her away secretly."
Let's
love our fiancΓ©, friends, and fellow Christians like this. Love covers the
multitude of sins but does not tolerate sin. So, Joseph was planning to divorce
her!
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π:ππ
"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!
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π:π
"Therefore
bear fruit in keeping with repentance"
Repentance
is a radical change, enough to be noticed!
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π:ππ
"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!
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π:ππ
"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!
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π:ππ-ππ
"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.
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π:π
"πΌππ, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
A – πΌπ¨π
S – ππππ
K – ππ£π€ππ
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π :π
"Jesus
stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "π ππ π¨ππππππ; ππ ππππππ€ππ." 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
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ π‘:π
"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!
πππ₯π₯πππ¨ 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: —π ππ²π°π±π½ πΈπ· πͺ ππΈπΌπΉπ²π½πͺπ΅ ππ΅πΈπΈπ»—
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? πΈ ππππ πππππππ ππ ππππππππ! 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 ππΈππβπΌπ ππ: ππ that even the hairs of our head are all numbered
by God. Nothing is beyond God's supervision!