Category: Daily Promises

ENOUGH

“It is enough for the disciple to be like his Teacher.” –Matthew 10:25, RSV-CE In the original temptation, Adam and Eve were tempted to become like gods (Gn 3:5), knowing what was good and what was evil. They sinfully succumbed to that temptation, and soon it was not enough for them to have this knowledge. In a sense, Adam and Eve became their own “God.” They decided to be greater than their master (cp Mt 10:25). Jesus teaches: “It is enough for the disciple to be like his Teacher” (see Mt 10:25). Disciples imitate Jesus in His character and in...

NOBODY BUT JESUS

“Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will turn against parents and have them put to death.” –Matthew 10:21 The Jewish Christians of the early Church often were rejected by their families when they became Christians and united themselves with Gentiles in the Body of Christ (see Eph 3:6). The Jewish Christians were sometimes betrayed by their family members, handed over to the authorities, and put to death. Thus, if Jewish Christians did not turn their backs on their fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, sisters, and their very selves, they could not be disciples...

THE FATHER OF MERCIES

My heart is overwhelmed; My pity is stirred.” –Hosea 11:8 God is so personally involved with each human being that His heart is overwhelmed with love for each person. He is a loving Father (see Hos 11:4). Although the message of the prophet Hosea has, to this point, generally been to convict us to repent of sin, today’s passage reveals that God loves each of us as a father, tenderly. Some of you may not have experienced merciful love from your earthly father and thus perceive God as stern, angry, and distant. Others feel so unloved by their earthly fathers...

இறைவனின் தாயுள்ளம்

ஓசேயா 11: 1 – 4, 8 – 9 இறைவாக்கினர் ஓசேயாவின் நூலில் “திருமணம்” என்கிற உறவைப்பற்றிய உருவகம் இருப்பதை நாம் இதுவரை பார்த்தோம். இஸ்ரயேலுக்கும், இறைவனுக்கும் உள்ள உறவு, இந்த திருமண உறவு போன்றது என்பதைத்தான், இறைவாக்கினர் தன்னுடைய இறைவார்த்தையில் பகிர்ந்துகொள்கிறார். ஆனால், 11 ம் அதிகாரம், சற்று மாறுபட்ட உருவகத்தை நமக்குக் கொடுத்து, இந்த அதிகாரத்திற்கான தனித்துவத்தை சிறப்பாக விளக்கிக் கூறுகிறது. இந்த அதிகாரத்தில், பெற்றோர்-பிள்ளை உருவகம் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. இந்த அதிகாரம் தான், இறைவனுடைய ஆழ்மனத்தை நாம் அறிவதற்கு உதவியானதாக இருக்கிறது. இறைவன் என்றாலே, அன்பும், இரக்கமும் நிறைந்தவர் என்பதை, இந்த அதிகாரத்தில் நாம் கற்றுக்கொள்ளலாம். ஒரு குழந்தையை, அந்த குழந்தையின் தாய் எப்படியெல்லாம் வளர்க்கிறாள்? என்பது நாம் அறிந்த ஒன்று. அது பேசும் மழலைச்சொல், அதுநடைபயிலும் அழகு, அதன் வளர்ச்சி ஒவ்வொன்றிலும் தாய் அகமகிழ்கிறாள். குழந்தையின் உலகமாக இருக்கிறாள். குழந்தைக்கும் தாய் தான், உலகமாக இருக்கிறது....

GROUNDWORK

“Break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the Lord.” –Hosea 10:12 Most peoples of the Bible were agricultural. Like all farmers, they had a special kind of relationship with the ground. Hosea prophesied that if the people did not repent of their idolatry, the ground would be their death. The mountains would cover them and the hills fall on them (Hos 10:8; Rv 6:16). An unrepentant, idolatrous people would be buried in a spiritual landslide. However, if we repent and become disciples of Jesus, we will plow the ground and bear much fruit. If...