NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS PART II : Pastor Rajiv's New Year Message

BIBLE PASSAGE – ROMANS 12:9-21

While we discussed resolutions yesterday and, taking a cure from Paul, we looked at "building a Biblical New Year Resolution". From verse 14 onwards Paul changes gears to talk about behaving like Christians with non-believers. Make no mistake, this is a crucial admonition especially in the world we are living in today.

Paul says we are to relate to non-believers the same way we relate to other believers: with love Even when non-believers persecute us do good even to those who treat us badly. The post tragedy behaviour of Mrs Gladys Staines is a beautiful example of this : ‘bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse’.

It takes god’s grace to be truly concerned about the successes and needs of other people.

Verse 16 is extremely crucial in defining behaving like Christians : be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. do not be wise in your own opinion.

Simply put, this means keep harmony amongst all do not be haughty or conceited or manoeuvre or manipulate to associate with the high ups in life. This aspect is a common fallacy and trap that humans, including Christians, fall into.

Jesus set an example of this from his own life here on earth. He associated with all sections of society and especially with those whom the high and mighty of the day refused to associate with like tax collectors sinners and the outcastes of society. He was comfortable with everyone.

Then, from verses 17 through to 21 Paul emphasizes an extremely crucial point based on Jesus’ redefinition of the of standard of ‘an eye for an eye’

Jesus said instead ‘turn the other cheek’ ! This was an ethical standard which was foreign to the ways of this world then, and it still is now.

This propagation does not go down with the way the world thinks and Paul has used 5 verses to make this very crucial point in our relationship with others. Our typical reaction is “vengeance” through retaliation which never stops evil and in fact fans its flames even more.

It is important to note that when we strive to avenge ourselves we are actually trying to do God’s work; we are trying to take his place because god has reserved vengeance for himself.

Paul quotes part of Deuteronomy 32:35 when he says we are not to avenge ourselves.

Give place to wrath and let God deal with a person in his own way and in his own time. God’s time may not be convenient for us but His timing is always perfect.

Verse 20 is an extremely powerful verse. therefore

“if your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him a drink;

for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

Theologians and biblical scholars call this à the principle of replacement, it is a powerful biblical principle and we will talk about this tomorrow. 

Remember the New Year Resolution of 2022?: Pastor Rajiv's New Year Message

BIBLE PASSAGE – ROMANS 12:9-21

Most people make new year resolutions! In fact, A study in the us in 2016 showed that 41% of Americans made new year resolutions but by the end of the year only 9% could claim to have been successful in keeping those resolutions.

The reasons for this failure are many - unrealistic goals, poor record-keeping, plain forgetfulness, and, an unrealistic number of resolutions.

I don’t know how many of us make new year resolutions. I don’t, but perhaps a good way to start would be to follow the list given by Paul in our bible passage today.

Paul in this section of his letter to the Roman church is advising and cautioning them, and us, to ‘behave like Christians’. As a church, as people, I think that is a good resolution to make and then strive to keep it.

But what exactly does he mean? Paul talks about behaving like Christians within  the church, with other Christians (verses 9 to 13) and behaving like Christians outside the church, with others (in verses 14 to 21).

In these 12 verses Paul has given a list of 22 actions of how to behave like Christians which are all centered around loving one another, going beyond mere emotion to action which is genuine and not hypocritical.

Relationships within the church are very important. They lead to fellowship which in turn leads to "encouragement". Paul has used the phrase ‘one another’ three times in these 12 verses.

And for any relationship within the church to survive, love is a key component. (Paul wrote a whole chapter on love to the Corinthian church, in 1 cor.13).Up to this point in his letter agape has been used to describe God’s love for people. 

This is the first action that Paul advises and then goes on to build every other action listed around this first one.

Secondly, he asks us to ‘abhor evil’ or hate evil, but care has to be taken that we do not hate the evil person but the evil inside the person. Paul then goes on to say love one another with brotherly love the kind of love for each other that god shows to us.

But Paul does not just stop at that. He elaborates saying ‘in honor giving preference to one another’.

In essence it means that if a person truly loves another person they will pursue what is best for them even if it comes at a cost to themselves.

Furthermore, Paul also asks his readers not to lag in diligence by being lazy in serving the Lord and being fervent in spirit. Both of these go hand in hand for when we are fervent in spirit we will be bubbling over with enthusiasm.

And, this is the important part: when we do that, we rejoice in the hope of eternal life so that we will be patient when we are tested and live always in an attitude of prayer.

Paul ends this part of behaving like Christians with an important admonition - ‘distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality’. Essentially sharing what we have with those who are in need.

We will stop here today and talk about showing Christian behavior to non-believers, tomorrow in Part II. 

A New Year Prayer: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths you would have me go this coming year. Show me your vision for me a d Guide me in your truth and teach me. for you are God my Savior, my provider, and my protector and my hope is in you all day long, every day. Your thoughts and plans for me will give me an expected end.

Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old and yet are new every morning, in your great faithfulness. So I do not lose hope.

Do not remember the sins of my youth, of past years gone by, and my rebellious ways, but forgive me my transgressions, according to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good.

Yet, even as I am your work in progress, help me, in all things shewing myself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, and good speech.

Fill our homes with your presence, for me and my house, have and will, serve you. And in this coming year, and years after that, renew our strength and that of our children, and let them soar on wings like eagles; let them run and not grow weary, let them walk and not be faint. Let their future and thier hope not be cut off. As The New Year brings a new chapter in their life — they know that you will always be THE main character in their book.

"Certainly, the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly, God’s compassion isn’t through! They are renewed every morning and every year. Great is your faithfulness."

***This prayer is based on Psalm 25 4 to 7 and other Bible verses***.

I don't know about tomorrow: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

 

As we near the end of 2022, we cannot but recall the horrid years the world has spent since 2020, those dark Covid times. And every now and then, even now, we see that pandemic raising its ugly head. We cannot forget the mass graves in New York, the mass of funeral pyres in India, the daily death counts in China, Europe and the world, and the constant fear of death looming over our heads. No one in this world was spared loss, directly or indirectly.

Sadly, some did not survive. They went on ahead to prepare a place for us.

For those who did, that time was spent in fear and or heartbreak. 

Today, in retrospect, what do we feel and think? What have we learnt?

The past defines the future and There is one truth which has kept many of us going -

1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

The truth is that we all have come through the worst, with the Lord’s help.

Each one, anyone of us can confidently say this for our life. Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, “hitherto hath the Lord helped us!”

If you are reading this today, you are blessed. And as we write this, we are blessed. We each need to fall on our knees and thank the Almighty, for hitherto He has helped us. Each day, He has protected us. Each day He has provided for us, Each day He has participated in our lives.

And because of this, as this year ends, we can look forward with confidence to 2023 in the surety of that one line – “hitherto our Lord has helped us”. Let us prepare ourselves for the New Year, looking back on His Blessings and looking forward to living with His help. 

 

 

 

It’s our 1st Anniversary and a very special reflection today.

 

It’s our 1st Anniversary! Yes, we are ONE year old.

It’s been a year since Pastor Rajiv and his team started sharing his messages and other reflections. We wish to thank our readers and contributors through the year and on this occasion share a special reflection.

In the Upper Room today, Terrie Hellard-Brown recounts a miraculous Christmas experience which we would like to share here -

"As worship leader in my church, I always planned the Christmas worship services with great care and excitement. One year I asked a soprano named Rebecca to sing “O Holy Night” during the last Sunday morning service before Christmas.

As the date approached, Rebecca called me and said, “I keep feeling like God wants me to sing ‘O Holy Night’ in French. Is that weird?”

I told her I thought it would be glorious, and that if God was leading her to do it, then she should. Our church had an English-speaking international congregation with 15 countries represented weekly. We were not aware of any attendees from French-speaking countries, but we both felt certain this was God’s plan. We had no idea just how beautiful God’s plan was.

That week in our Sunday service, a French businessman was depressed because he had to spend the holidays far from home. He was feeling discouraged and alone until Rebecca sang. As he listened to the hymn, he was flooded with the love of God and knew he was not alone. God encouraged and blessed that man through our simple act of obedience. That Christmas will forever remind me that Jesus truly is Immanuel, God with us".

This exemplifies the mission of This Week with Jesus. We will never know who will be touched by one of our reflections or messages. We will never know who needed to hear it or read it. Like Rebecca we are directed to write and share. Nothing is planned.

In the last 365 days, we have put out 172 posts and 24 videos of Pastor Rajiv with his message. Stats show more than 3600 readers, spread across America, India, France, Germany, Australia, Russia, Holland, Jamaica & the Caribbean, U.K., Sweden, Brazil, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Peru and a few more. Yet we have a long way to go. This world has 195 countries and 8 Billion people! 

As Pastor Rajiv shares his weekly message, other anonymous writers also share their reflections, thoughts and experiences. We are all stakeholders, and anyone can contribute, including you. You can write to us or simply share this with your friends and family. Together we can reach the world. Together we can reach that one person who needs the message. God can move the whole universe for us, even for just one of us. Even when we are going through the worst, rest assured, just like in the story, God moved a whole church because He cared about what this one man was going through, He cares for each one of us.

Today, we also have a New Year gift for you as well. We have made an app envelope for Android so that you don’t ever have to login or browse. You can download it here:

http://www.appsgeyser.com/15357662

Once again, we thank you and request you to continue your support by contributing your reflections and/or sharing in your network. God Bless you all and a Happy New Year to you and your family.

He Stooped to Conquer

People who are alive today, possibly are witnesses to the biggest tragedies the world has seen. The world wars, epidemics, nuclear accidents and the latest being Covid. During this covid time I doubt there will be a single person or family who has not lost a friend or a family member, near or far, or has not been affected in some way. But the very fact we are here today is because of the grace and mercy in our life. When one journey ends, another begins. For some maybe on their second journey, but for us we can only say "Father, thank you for your grace and mercy in our life today. Truly we have walked through the shadows of death, but your grace has been with us throughout"

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me".

As we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate that this day God came down to be with us. Today He stooped to conquer () so that we could have a life. 

So let us not only celebrate Christmas Eve but celebrate Life with Christ. A life of Joy, of Peace and of everlasting love. 

Give or Take: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

In continuation to our post of yesterday, another thought that comes to mind is - is Christmas all about giving or is it about receiving?

There is not one human in this wide world who has nothing to give. Everyone has something and everyone has time.

Time for children, for parents who live their life now through you, for the elderly who are lonely, for the sick who need some care. Each one of us has a need and each one has something to share.

Our needs are known to God. God has given us His gift. But what will we share? What present will we lay at the manger? 

If we come to him with gifts, then we put him in the position of a needy person, and we become the benefactors, which is incorrect. We live on His grace, His provisions and His protection. 

Therefore, the only gifts that we can bring Jesus are gifts of praise, thanks, longing, and neediness. And out time for His creation. 

The Gift: Our Daily reflection

Come Christmas, and the business of gifting starts with a bang. I know the excitement one gets when we receive a gift, but I have also seen the excitement and love of people when they give a heartfelt gift.

From their childhood, my children have loved to give something, from time to time. Maybe a piece of candy wrapped loosely, or a drawing made at school, some pastries when they were older. Thier excitement knew no bounds looking at our joy. Even today, they do the same things, surprise gifts, surprise visits and more. Their eyes still shine, and their delight is in seeing the joy of their parent.

As I sit thinking about them and the joy, they bring to us nearly every day, in terms of the love they share, I wonder what God would have felt when He gave us the priceless gift of His son' life? Was He excited that He would save mankind? If I am called upon to gift Him something, what would that be?

Today, the Advent season calls from us a spirit of generosity that is often not seen in our actions during the rest of the year. In fact, there is a song written about this that repeats in the refrain how nice it would be to have Christmas all year long. What else should be present in our lives throughout the year?

As Ms. Francis Taylor so rightly has written -

"Perhaps we need a spirit of forgiveness, a spirit of compassion, a refraining from judging others, a willingness to speak our truth without fear". 

The Wise Man: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflection

John 14:23

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.


1 Corinthians 3:16

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

There's a story about an abbey in a forest where the monks were so happy they sang while they worked and prayed and people flocked to them. Then something changed, and the cook started fighting with the gardener and the shepherd with the houseman and the singing stopped and people stopped coming and the Abbot didn't know what to do. 

So he went to visit the wise man in the woods. He said to the Abbot, tell them the Lord is in their midst. He went back and told them what the wise man said.

The cook thought to himself, what if it's the gardener. The shepherd wondered if it was the houseman. Everyone began to treat everyone else as if he was the Lord. Soon the joy returned to the Abbey and the singing and then the people.

God is in our midst, today and every day and we need to bring back the joy of seeing Him in each of us. Then only will we have peace, love, joy and hope. 

Do you have a Vision: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflection

Proverbs 29:18

"Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the Law"

Every life is unique. Every person is different. Every profession needs a unique skill set and a unique personality.

As we prepare celebrate Christmas, maybe it's time to think about who we are and our personal vision for our life. As a person, who would I like to be? Where do I see myself? What does God want to accomplish through me? What tools or talents has He equipped me with?

Let's understand this. God has a vision for Every follower of Christ.

So, What does it mean to run with the vision God has given you? First of all, it means to see the picture that God sees for your life. Know the plan He has for you, and then go after it with full force, giving it everything you’ve got. It means to be committed to God’s call with your whole heart, not halfheartedly.

This also means we will need to o be able to overcome our personal vision and accept Gods vision. The question is how do we get to know Gods vision for ourselves?

There are three questions we can use to shape a God given vision -

A. What has been my past? Am I proud of it (legacy, including talents etc.) and what would I have done differently (regret) . What is a dream I dream of (ideal)

B. What have been the various influences or influencers who have helped me shape that dream (role models)

C. Is that dream, minus the regrets plus the legacy, in line with the life of Christ? Does it reflect Biblical principles?

Once we have answers to these questions, answers which have been well reflected on and reflect the truth about us, we can start building a vision. Do note that this vision will evolving over time. Becoming better and better, reducing the gap as we continue to reflect, maybe daily, on our progress towards it.

Example of a personal vision statement could be

“My vision is that people whose lives are limited by poverty, lack of education, or deficient training will experience the love of Jesus through me as I give them employment, encourage their education, and offer them training so they feel successful and are able to support a family.”

See, right there is a vision - where one is reflecting the light of Christ to make someone's life better, showing the world what a Christian life is all about.

This Christmas shall we reflect and create a Personal Vision for ourselves? 

For more examples and details, please do visit https://www.faithward.org/how-to-discover-gods-vision-for-your-life/