CHRISTIAN MAGAZINE FOR KERALA MALAYALEE CHRISTIANS FROM INDIA AROUND THE WORLD
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ARTICLES AND SERMONS OF REV. FR. DR. T.J. JOSHUA |
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REV. FR. DR. T.J. JOSHUA
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Rev. Fr. Dr. T. J. Joshua is one of the foremost orators of Malankara Orthodox Church. He is the Professor of New Testament in the Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam for last fifty years. Fr. Joshua is blessed with a golden tongue to propagate the word of God. Serampore University awarded Fr. T.J. Joshua with honorary doctorate in recognition of his extensive service and excellence in the field of theological and biblical studies.
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There are many similarities between St. Peter and St. Paul. Both were directly called by Lord Jesus Christ and attached them to discipleship. Both renounced everything and blindly followed Jesus. Both had black experiences in their past life. St. Peter betrayed Jesus three times, while Paul executed the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem.
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Father Abraham was a prayer Warrior. Intercessory prayer is an important part of the prayer life. The prayer should be selfless. Abraham prayer is a model for our prayer life. Abraham's prayer for Sodom is an amazing revelation of the faith of one man in the justice of Almighty God and an incredible boldness of a mere human before the Creator of the Universe. Also we get a lesson from family life of Abraham that the marriage life should be maintained pure and trustworthy.
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Abraham is spoken of in the Bible as the friend of God. This Title of Abraham is conveyed by God himself in the Book of Isaiah Chapter 41. Also Abraham is known as the Father of Believers. Abraham is a role model for all believing community. Abraham is the Old Testament Name which is maximum referred in the New Testament. The God of Glory appeared to Abraham and given him a commission to go to a distant land. Abraham blindly obeyed the Word of God.
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In the prayer of St. Paul Hebrews address both the God Father and the Son Lord. God Father is the God of peace and God of strength. Raising the son Lord Jesus Christ from death is the great expression of the strength of God. Where there is God, there is peace. Jesus was a good, great and chief shepherd. Jesus established a new covenant of Holy Communion and endorsed it with the blood shed on the cross. The covenant is the final and eternal.
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Maranatha is the smallest prayer of St. Paul, we can see in his epistles. Maranatha is an Aramaic phrase occurring once only in the New Testament and also in the Didache which is part of the Apostolic Fathers' collection. It is transliterated into Greek letters rather than translated, and is found at the end of Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 16:22) This was a traditional prayer of early Christian Church which means 'O Lord, come!', for the early return of Jesus Christ. The prayer interpretation of the word is supported by what appears to be a Greek equivalent of this acclamation in Rev 22:20 'Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!'
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Tribulation in life is an integral part of human life irrespective of gender, culture, education or class. St. Paul exhorts us to keep perseverance in tribulation. Jesus taught us that we have tribulation in the world, but take courage as He had overcome the world. When the first man did sin in the Garden of Eden and henceforth man could not but eat in sorrow all the days of his life. As per the scripture our attitude of endurance towards tribulation is more important.
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Three basic factors of Christian life are hope, endurance and prayer. A strong hope enables us to withstand all turbulences in our worldly life. As per scriptures, our hope is Lord Jesus Christ. Christian faithful are considered with hope. The foundation of Christian faith is Jesus Christ because He was victorious over sin, death and Satan. Jesus gave great promise for eternal life.
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In the Prayer for Colossians, St. Paul first appreciated their faith in God and love between each other. His prayer for them was to receive knowledge to know the disposal of God and to work according to the will of God. Again he prays for them to receive strength to attain Godly wisdom and to act according to divine instruction. Christ had shown through His life that the food for life is to fulfill the wish of His Father.
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St. Paul desired that the faith of the Thessalonians might be perfected and so he prays to the Lord in the deepest love to them as father, to make the way to meet them again soon. This kind of affection by the church fathers towards the spiritual children is extremely needed for current fathers. He earnestly prayed for the prosperity of their souls. Mutual love is required of all Christians between themselves, and between the church fathers and the spiritual children. Apostle mentions his love, his abounding love, towards them. Our desire should be to have our hearts established in holiness before God, and be preserved safe, to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Cornelius, a centurion was a devout and righteous man and one who feared God with his entire household, and gave much alms to the people and prayed to God continually. He was highly respected by all especially by Jews. He, his family, relatives and friends all were very eager to hear and receive the word of God. Divinely directed by Holy Angel, he invited St. Peter to his house and heard his message. When Peter talked Holy Spirit came to the congregation and gentiles were accepted first to the Kingdom of God.
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Isaac was the obedient son of Abraham and obeyed him even to be sacrificed in mount Moriah. He led a prayerful childhood and youth hood. Isaac used to meditate and pray in solitary field and by those divine exercises by which he could converse with God. After marriage Isaac and Rebecca did not have children for twenty years. They prayed earnestly to God and God gave them children. But during old age Isaac and Rebecca kept a bad tradition to treat the children in partiality.
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There are three levels of prayer in Christian life, Church worship, Family Prayer and Personal Prayer. The family Elkana to which the Prophet Samuel was born is a great model for all these three levels of prayers. All above type of prayers are complimentary to each other. There are many reasons to substantiate the need of Community Worship. Jesus as a Community fellowship establishes holy Qurbana itself.
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Apostle Paul bless Galatians with grace and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. But we may observe, First grace, and then peace, for there can be no true peace without grace. Jesus Christ gave Himself with will of His Father to deliver us from this present evil world as a great sacrifice to make atonement for us and it was in the mind of God before the origin of universe. Grace comes from Father as the fountain, through Jesus Christ as the channel of conveyance.
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After the deluge a new generation emerged out. While Adam was the father of nations before the deluge, Noah was the father of the generations after the deluge. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. He found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah never got blemished with the wickedness of the surrounding society and environment. Noah did according to all that God had commanded him. God remembered Noah and redeemed him at the real time.
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St. Paul concludes his Epistles to Corinthians with a valediction and a benediction. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. It is usual and proper to dismiss worshipping assemblies in all denominations of Christianity. This plainly proves the doctrine of the gospel, and is an acknowledgment that Father, Son, and Spirit, are three distinct persons, yet but one God; and herein the same, that they are the fountain of all blessings to men. This benediction reiterates the faith in Trinity. The believers live in a continual regard to the three persons in the Trinity, into whose name we were baptized, and in whose name we are blessed. We can desire no more to make us happy than the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost.
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Lord Jesus is touched with a feeling of our infirmities, a sympathizing physician, tender and skilful; he knows how to deal with tempted sorrowful souls, because he has been Himself sick of the same disease, not of sin, but of temptation and trouble of soul. Our Lord is a God of consolation. Lord comforts those who are in deep distress. Apostle had received consolation from the Father of Jesus Christ. Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces.
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The innate desire of human to communicate with his creator has caused him to commence the worship of God. Initially he started to worship God in his own house. Later the communal worship had come into existence. While the Israelite went through the desert they started making tabernacle and lived around it. Eventually King Solomon made the Church of God in Jerusalem. Lord Jesus Christ loved the Church and He was keen to go to the Church regularly. It is not the tradition or bigness of the Church count, it should be worshipping place which rejuvenate our spiritual life. Our Body is another form of Church wherein the God resides.
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The work of the ministry and life of a believer is a spiritual warfare with spiritual enemies and for spiritual purposes. Though we walk in the flesh and live in the body and engage in common affairs of life, we are not designed to please the flesh. Also the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
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Light of Lord's Countenance is capable of alleviating all the problems and disturbances of our body and mind. Our Lord makes us full of joy with His countenance. We can see the face of God with full delight of pleasure, joy and happiness. We can also see great compassion and suffering in His face. Lord promised to us that His joy might remain in us, and our joy might be full. He is the one who rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
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Daniel visualize the feet of Lord, strong like that made in colored and polished brass, while St. John see His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace. At the nail-scarred feet of Jesus we receive remission of our sins, enlightenment and consolation. We should learn the Word of God at His feet and reach His feet to give our thanksgiving for His blessings.
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Lord Jesus's hands are very distinct in the world as they are the nail-scarred hands. These hands are the ones which created the universe, redeemed us with His wounds, heal us from our sickness and preserve us in our day to day life. Most importantly, those are the hands which will judge us when He comes to this world again in His full glory. Lord exhorts us to come, see and take refuge in those hands.
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All those who desire to live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution. But Lord deliver us out of them all. The power and ruler of darkness was trying to conquer the world from the beginning. If the Son of Man had to endure suffering in this world we are no exception to it. As our Lord had overcome the world, He exhorts us to be courageous and cheerful.
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For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. This was the establishment of Eucharist by our Lord Jesus Christ.
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