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17 December 2011
Here’s the start of salvation history: Jesus Christ was conceived by the Blessed Virgin Mary - Extracted from Luke 1:26-38
The Annunciation
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’
She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean,
but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David; He will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and His reign will have no end.’
Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the Child will be holy and will be called Son of God.
Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth (6th) month, for nothing is impossible to God.’
‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’
And the angel left her.
Sharing: Make Mary’s “Be it Unto Me” your own @ http://www.youtube.com . 8-)
Our Reflections: The Blessed Virgin Mary, with her obedience, said “yes” to God; then salvation history took place. Without her “YES”, the Christ would not have been born.
We believe that everyone was not born by chance, all of us have been created in the image of God and have been UNIQUELY fashioned by Him to accomplish a SPECIAL purpose on earth.
We believe that if one wants to be truly happy, then one must find what he /she has been made for by the Creator. For example: The “cup” would never be happy to be used as a “frying pan” etc.. After one has found this Special purpose, he would put in the best to accomplish that Special Mission on earth. We believe that it would be a “loving” purpose that has to be life-giving to others, as anything not life-giving can only come from the devil. We believe that when all of us have done so, then there would be true peace on earth where justice dwells.
We always feel sad when we see someone in a position of authority oppress or manipulating another fellow human being, either in work place or in other occasions. We just feel very sad for the oppressor, because this person is running to his /her own ruin, as such people could never have love, joy, peace & wisdom etc., because these gifts are only present when God is around, but God would turn His face against such people.
And worst of all, on one fearful day, when God tells this person in the face, ‘I regret for having made you…’ 8-(
What’s next? After the Annunciation, Mary goes off quickly to visit and help her cousin Elizabeth, who was then 6th month pregnant… see Luke, Chapter 1:39-56.
Before the world was made, God chose us in Christ - Extracted from Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, 8-)
to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in His presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of His grace, His free gift to us in the Beloved.
And it is in him that we were claimed as God’s own, chosen in the beginning, under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things as He decides by His own will; chosen to be for his greater glory, the people who would put their hopes in Christ before He came. |
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Extracted from James 5:13-20:
If any one of you is in trouble, he should pray; if anyone is feeling happy, he should sing a psalm.
If one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of Lord and pray over him.
The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
So confess your sins to one another, and this will cure you; the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully.
Elijah was a human being like ourselves—he prayed hard for it not to rain, and no rain fell for three-and-a-half (31/2) years; then he prayed again and the sky gave rain and the earth gave crops.
My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins. 8-)
17 December 2011
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Yahweh, the Judge of the world—Extracted from Psalm 98
Sing Yahweh a new song for He has performed marvels, His own right hand, His holy arm, gives Him the power to save.
Yahweh has displayed His power; has revealed his righteousness to the nations, mindful of His love and faithfulness to the House of Israel.
The most distant parts of the earth have seen the saving power of our God.
Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth, burst into shouts of joy!
Sing to Yahweh, sing to the music of harps, and to the sound of many instruments; to the sound of trumpet and horn acclaim Yahweh the King!
Let the sea thunder and all that it holds, and the world, with all who live in it; let all the rivers clap their hands and the mountains shout for joy, at the presence of Yahweh, for He comes to judge the earth, to judge the world with righteousness and the nations with strict justice.
A warning for the rich and the self confident - Extracted from James 4:13 - 5:6
Here is the answer for those of you who talk like this: ‘Today or tomorrow, we are off to this or that town; we are going to spend a year there, trading, and make some money’.
You never know what will happen tomorrow: you are no more than a mist that is here for a little while and then disappears.
The most you should ever say is: ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we shall still be alive to do this or that’.
But how proud and sure of yourselves you are now! Pride of this kind is always wicked.
Everyone who knows what is the right thing to do and doesn’t do it commits a sin.
Now an answer for the rich. Start crying, weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth is all rotting, your clothes are all eaten up by moths. All your gold and your silver are corroding away, and the same corrosion will be your own sentence, and eat into your body.
It was a burning fire that you stored up your treasure for the last days. Labourers mowed your fields, and you cheated them—listen to the wages that you kept back, calling out; realize that the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; and in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your hearts content.
It was you who condemned the innocent and killed them; they offered you no resistance. |
