This Week With Jesus

“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.”— Romans 1:25 Most of us have experienced highs and lows in life. We have experienced Gods blessings as well as downturns when the heavens seem to be shut. While that is a topic for another time, today I was prompted to share how we tend to misuse a blessing. I assure you it's very easy. How many times, when we are blessed, say we got a promotion at work, do we imagine it is a reward for our work. We thank God for being recognized, but do we recognize God as being the cause, and we the effect and not the cause. Imagined strengths sometimes lead us to misplaced thanksgiving, and misplaced praise. Self proclamation is another dangerous trap we sometimes fall into. The servant is not greater than the master and we are not greater than our Lord, no matter how great our sermon is, or how much we give to charity. All that was given by God. We were just a...

Root cause Analyses is a very popular management tool to find out the actual cause of a problem or a fault so that by rectifying it, the resultant problem gets solved. But did you know that the first Root cause analyses was done by Jesus Christ when he said in Mathew 5 29and 30 - "If your right eye causes you to stumble,(B) gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble,(C) cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell". Many of us take these commands so literally, we end up ignoring them . After all, if I have stolen something, am I to cut off my hands? Not at all. What these verses mean is to identify and remove the root cause of what has made me steal. Removing the root cause could be very simple or extremely complicated. If I am an alcoholic and my friends circle i...

“Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:8. Do you remember the story of David and Goliath? This small fellow, unknown for any war like skills, took on and defeated Goliath, the champion fighter. Alone, unsupported but only cheered on by Saul's army.(Kind of reminds me of our current day situation between Ukraine and Russia). Who in this world could be lonelier than King David? Hunted by his king, death of his best friend, his children turning on him, his favorite wife being his out of sin, her baby dying, constantly at war.... But there was one who never left his side and that was God . David is known as the man after Gods own heart, because while he may have been lonely, he sought God day and night and God was always there. . He tried to obey, he took punishment where due and all in all had a constant and daily relationship with God. In Psalm 25:16, he prays - Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and a...

Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ(A) and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.(B) The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God. And  Mark 5:  14-16 -  You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven A verb is a doing word. Not static but active. Being active in Baptism is not only about going around preaching to the world but first about change in ourselves and then about showing the world. Christianity is a way of life, not a religion of do's and don'ts only. When we choose to practice it, our psyche and our behavior, change. It effects the choices we make, the people we meet and the language we speak. It effects how we work, our profession, our rel...

When Christ had a request Mathew 26: 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Christ had a request. He requested God to spare Him the fate that awaited Him. Though God did not grant this request, Christ set the perfect example of   how to pray. Let us take example from His prayer - when He requested God to spare Him the agony of what was to come. "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed". — Matthew 26:39 There are several instructive features in our Savior's prayer in his hour of trial. Solitude It was lonely prayer. He withdrew even from his three favored disciples. Like Him we must also be much in solitary prayer, especially in times of trial. Family prayer, social prayer, prayer in the Church, will not replace the solitude of prayer when we are in complete communion with God. Remember, like Christ, David too withdr...