Boaz: Simple Meditation

Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. Ruth.2:20.
The man in this verse is Boaz, the forefather of King David, who was the forefather of Joseph the husband of Mary who is the mother of Jesus our Lord. Boaz, very wealthy man, who is not crude, who helps, and seems from 3:12 a good keeper of the law of that time. Wasn't that all God wanted from a man to be blessed. The days we live in gives us far better experiences of the kind of people who we are with. The people who seemed so good at nature, now show their actual nature, once that home looses the key person. What worth is it of being a Godly man, if not having the nature of God ? Our Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts, ... 1Chronicles.28:9, And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, ... Acts.15:8. Blessed is the man who keeps the law of the Lord. Let us not be like people of this world, we are the heritage of the Kingdom above, Let us live to that extent. Be blessed.

In Deuteronomy.25:5-10, We can see the duty of a redeemer of that family. In case of Ruth, both her husband and her brother-in-law were dead. There was no person to act as a redeemer either for the posterity or for their land. So, Boaz a close relative Ruth.2:20, but according to law was not eligible to redeem. He steps in to redeem her by consultation and counselling with the elders Ruth.4:1, and then redeeming her through marriage. Adam, sinned against God and lost the fellowship with Him. As a sinner we have nothing to do with the Holy God. Everyone was going to be punished because of Adam' sin, Romans.5:18. Like Boaz who is not ment to redeem Ruth by law; Christ steps in, For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: Being then made free from sin..., Romans.8:3, 6:18. Like Boaz who redeemed Ruth, so also Christ redeemed   us from the bondage of sin. Let's thank God for what he has done on the Cross of Calvary for our sake. Be Blessed.

Three Important Things

For these are the days of Christ' return. There are certain things that are to be followed by every believer.

CONSISTENT FAITH - The Word of God says that everybody is fallen short because of sin, Romans.3:9,23. But we were been provided by grace, the Son of God Jesus Christ who for our sake has been our Salvation and Redemption. But it is our duty that we should call upon His name by faith. Romans.10:13, For whosoever call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This is an act of faith. Jesus after his resurrection, after showing himself to his disciples, speaking to Thomas, Jesus speaks concerning the doubt of Thomas in John.20:29, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed; this is faith. This faith is to be kept strong until the time of the Lord' return.

ALWAYS CHECK WITH THE SCRIPTURES - This is no new thing in this world. People who call themselves Priests, Evangelists, Teachers of the Word of God, Theologians, Christian Organisations, Seminaries etc.,  what not, everyone has his own interpretation of the Word of God. The world around a Christian Believer is in chaos. Jesus in Matthew.24:4,5, Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. This is why Apostle Paul urges Thessalonians to believe in Jesus using Scriptures available for reason, Acts.17:2. The people of Berea with all the readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so, Acts.17:11. Let no one device you, always check with the Scriptures with readiness as people of Berea.

LOVE EVERYONE - 1John.4:8, for God is love. For it is out of this love, God gave his only begotten Son to be the propitiation for the remission of our sins, John.3:16 and Romans.3:25. The Epistle of 1st John, Chapter 3 and 4 is completely speaking on Love. 4:10, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Jesus after speaking about his suffering, says in John.13:34, A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Yes, inspite of we be handed over to the suffering (Matthew.24:9-13, Luke.21:12,13), we should love. When we love we are expressing that, Ye are of God ... because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world, 1John.4:4. We should love and this love expresses, .... God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so we are in this world, 1John.4:16,17.

These are the three important things that every Christian has to follow and all the other will follow these.

Ye are gods!

This is how my Lord Jesus had made his way into this world for me.

Jesus speaks in John.10:34,35, "Ye are gods". The word 'gods' refer here to all those past judges and rulers of Israel in other words those who are of specific responsibilities or in a sense people of authority. In Psalm.82:6, A'saph, man of high rank or dignity, one of Davids' chief musicians, writes in his psalm "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High".

Yes, we are gods we are here with a specific responsibilities within our family and within our professions too. Though Jesus reminds of 'gods' to them (Jews) quoting from the Scriptures of OT, we are here as same as in the past. Though, Jesus wants to make his point of claiming himself as "Son of God"; he making his way saying "I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I myself, but he sent me" (John.8:42); (Romans.8:3) "God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man, to be a sin offering" cleansing us from all the sin and it's consequences on the Cross and making us into his likeness and glorifying us (Romans.8:29,30). Making us like gods, gods (responsible citizens in building the Kingdom of God).

Lord, help us to be like gods, gods after your own line, in building your Kingdom on earth. Thank you Lord, for all that you have done for us.

Ephphatha!

This Christmas season is celebrated with joy, happiness, shopping, sweets, cakes, parties, charities etc., through out the world. Yes, Christmas brings all this into every family. Including these, there is something very important message that this season brings in. 

I want to start with a miracle that Jesus Christ had done in Mark.7:31-35. Jesus heals a man who is deaf and had difficulty in speaking. What He does is, he takes him away from the crowd and smearing his tongue and stuck his fingers in his ears looking unto heavens he groans "Ephphatha". This is an aramaic word means "To Open". 

What really was Jesus opening? At an appointed time (Acts.3:25) Jesus, making his way out opening the womb of Mother Mary into this world. On his way out, he is not just opening the womb, with that he is also opening which was impossible till that span of time.

Through his blood he is making us acceptable to God. He is opening the understanding of the Scriptures in explaining and expounding them. He is opening our hearts and mind to accept, willing to understand and receive the truth. With his 29 parables, he is opening to us what it would be like the Kingdom of God is. With his 33 miracles recorded in gospels, he is opening to us what his authority is. He has opened up everything that was closed/hidden before the appointed time so that he can be understood and be acceptable to keep faith (Acts.3:25,26). 

It is the intention of Jesus that no man should suffer, either physically or Spiritually. He groans out of uneasiness for the generation of this world. He is speaking unto us "Ephphatha", are we ready to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior who gave Redemption and Salvation from all the sin and guilt. 

This Christmas, Jesus' first cry at his birth (Vagitus) at his 'Parturition' (the act of giving birth) is for you and for me, and is out of groan "Ephphatha". Are we ready to accept Him?

God: my Father and my Mother.

We all know that we were all made by the hands of our Father creator. We know that God is our Father. In a way God is our mother too.

As human beings we are brought into this world by our father and mother. Our mother knows that she is bearing a child in her womb, through modren technology she can also know the different stages the child in her womb go through. She can only own them but she cannot design the child in her womb.

The one who conceives us is God alone. For example an engineer can have a plan of a beautiful construction in his thoughts unless he puts it on paper the owner of the site cannot understand what the engineer thought off. So is on the sixth day of creation "the Lord God formed man...." (Genesis.2:7). The word 'formed', means to devise, to shape, not just the nature but also in the womb. Speaking to Jeremiah, God says, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb" (Jeremiah.1:5). Speaking to Zechariah, in 12:1, "....laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the spirit within humans". David in his Psalm.139, in v13, "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb". v16, "You saw me before I was born. Everyday of my life was recorded in your book....". God not just formed the nature but also conceived human beings in His thoughts even before He placed them in the womb and knit them in the mother's womb and also numbered the days too. Now, as a mother you can only contain a seed in your womb who was actually conceived in the thoughts of God; even every detail of the seed you conceive.

As a father his responsibility is to give his family utmost care and security. As a mother, her responsibility is towards more of love to fulfill the needs of the family more than care and security. We can see the providence of God in the Old Testament from the time of Adam to till now. There are very many examples to be writte. In New Testament Jesus speaks about God the Father how prudent He is towards his children. In Matthew.6:8,32, Jesus says that your Heavenly Father knows all your needs even before you ask them. In Matthew.7:11, Jesus says "...how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them....." This is the heart of the mother. The heart that cares for our needs. In God, the heart of the father can also be seen in 2Corinthians.6:18, "and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty".

To conclude, the word "Elohim" for God, in the Bible is taken as a masculine gender. The purpose of ascribing gender to God is to say that God is the Head of the whole creation and everything within, who is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. However, John.4:24 says, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth". So, to me God is not just my Father, but He is my Mother too.

The Stumbling Stone, Jesus.

Stumbling Stone - The stone that is in the midway causing the trespassers to stumble.

People who watch this will learn that they are passing by a Stumbling Stone, the passers who dosen't watch will be stumbled by it, making the stumbler to learn that it's there.
Jesus, quoting about himself in gospel of John.11:9,10, Jesus saying about those who are opposing him and of their ignorance of who He is, "If you walk during the day, you will have light from the sun and you won't stumble. But if you walk during the night, you will stumble, because you don't have any light". Quoting himself as a Stumbling stone, Jesus, tells that those who recognise Him are those who walk in light understanding the Scriptures, and those who don't recognise Him are those who walk in darkness.

Apostle Paul, in letter to Romans.9:33, "Look! I am placing in Zion a stone to make people stumble and fall..."  This Stumbling Stone, is a prophecy came true. In Isaiah.8:14,15, "I am the holy God, the Lord All-Powerful, Run to me for protection. I am a rock that will make both Judah and Israel stumble...." The prophecy that was fulfilled in Bethlehem with the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. He is our Stumbling Stone. The purpose of this Stumbling Stone is to be make known about it throughout the world for what it has done to the humankind, because the prophecies about the end of this world has to be fulfilled.

In gospels of Matthew.24:14 and Mark.13:10, When the good news about the kingdom (about the Stumbling Stone) has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come. The end of the world is very much nearer. We are in the midst of prophecies like threats of war, earthquakes, starvation, martyrdom, false prophets, false messiahs, strange signs in the sky are just to name some (Matthew.24, Mark.13, Luke.21).

Did you recognise this Stumbling Stone on your way in search of truth? This is the Stone that has cleansed you from all your sins and condemnation on the Cross of Calvary. Know Him now, and accept Him as your Lord and Savior of your life.

About picture: watch the picture carefully, did you recognise the name of the Stumbling Stone?

Simon of Cyrene

Simon of Cyrene who was mentioned in gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke; was happened to be coming from his fields doing all the toil. The time happened to be Jesus taking up the Cross to Calvary. Jesus has also done his toil in this world (Matt.9:35-38)*. He got his field ready (Kingdom). The people around Jesus were of mixed feelings with grudge, anger, compassion etc., on the way to Calvary. It was then this person Simon of Cyrene comes in and was forced to take up Jesus' cross on the way to Calvary. There are many interpretations on this situation. The best I can tell you is, Why only Simon of Cyrene was dragged to take up the cross when hundred's are watching and walking along? Because, Simon of Cyrene is coming from his field, which is an implication of Jesus has done all the hard work in establishing the Kingdom of God here on earth. At the same time Jesus also wants the implication as like Simon of Cyrene who has nothing to do with the situation in other words, he was innocent to take up this burden (Cross), so is Jesus too who is also an innocent to take up this burden. But Jesus willfully taking up the Cross which fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah.53:6, "... Lord hath laid on him the iniquuty of us all". Even though Jesus was innocent, He willfully wanted to be as in 1Corinthians.5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him". Jesus died on the Cross for our sake and on our behalf, for the "result of sin is death", so that we might live and live in righteousness without blame and guilt. My friend, this is an invitation specially to you to come and enjoy the goodness of the Living God.

*And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their Synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest". Matthew.9:35-38.

Simon of Cyrene, he was the one whom I have written about in the last post. We have seen two of his implications in the works of Jesus Christ; 1.Toil and 2.The innocence of guilt. Today by the grace of God we will meditate on more. Simon of Cyrene is from Cyrene a place in Libya, which is in Africa, this place was once part of Egypt at the time of Greeks, then it was been handed over to Romans peacefully. Simon of Cyrene is not a Israel born jew but was a jew probably born in Cyrene, was back to Israel (Judea) around the time of Jesus. There is no concrete evidence that Simon of Cyrene actually owned a field or a worker in the field owned by some one else. He was from Libya, settled in Judea and after the ascension of Jesus, he happened to be the part of the early church at Antioch. This is an implication; even Jesus as Christ was not of this world, He was with his Father and without Him nothing was formed (Psalm.33:6), born of a virgin in Judea, after crucifixion, resurrection and ascension He was with the church living in each and every person as Holy Spirit God as promised. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John.16:7). "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of the truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but what so ever he shall hear, that shall he speak: .... All things that the Father has are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John.16:13,15). We can see about Cyrenians in Acts.2:10, 13:1, who are of certain importance in the early church. One more implication: Cyrene is a place on south side of about 2000 ft above sea level and inclined towards north which has a great plateau and rich in agriculture. This region was of great importance from the times of greeks. People of this region are of great at hard work. By the time of Romans, Rome used to import most of it's  slaves from Africa. If Simon of Cyrene has come as a worker in his masters field, so is Jesus too. "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark.10:45). As a slave he done all the hard work in establishing the Kingdom of God. And at last He gave his life on the Cross for us, so that we can live without sin and its effects. The purpose of sharing the Cross with Simon of Cyrene is met with a great understanding and wisdom. Now it's time for you to take up your cross and follow Jesus (Matthew.16:24), if you save your life you will lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for Christ' sake shall find it.

These are the implications of Jesus Christ, why Jesus on his way to Calvary with Simon of Cyrene.
1. Toil
2. The innocence of guilt.
3. Likeness of Trinity.
4. To minister as a servant.