Beloved in Christ,
Warm Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We have entered in to the last month of 2016. Also we are reaching the end of another year and at the threshold of a new year. Let us give thanks to the Lord for all the blessings that He has been showering up on us throughout this year. It is a time for a new obedience and a new style of living. God is not a God of the heart and spirit alone, but of the whole person. God renews life in its totality and God is interested in the wellbeing of the total person. All that he wants from our side is a new commitment, a new obedience and a new attitude to all. Always the Bible exhorts us for a newness in our life. Be a new creation in Christ is the greatest demand of the Bible.
We are observing December 2nd as our family day. Family is the first and the greatest institution that God established on earth. God blesses family life. The marriage at Cana is the best example of this blessing. Christ attended in that wedding feast and blessed that occasion. Home is a sanctuary for God. God commands us to build a home for Him to live in, a home where there is peace. A home is where husband and wife are contrite and broken. A home is where husband and wire are Holy. God has no grand children, but only children who believe in him. The faith and prayers of a grand parent or a parent is a powerful means for them to come to God. Let us submit our families before God and say like Joshua, “…….for me and my household, we still serve the Lord”. When we celebrate this year’s family day , let us take two decisions. 1. A new day in my home will start and end with the family prayer. 2. In my family, there won’t have a place of evil thoughts and decisions.
In December we do celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The most important aspect of the Christmas story is God’ giving of Himself in Jesus Christ. Christmas marks the mood of celebrations and rejoicing. But Jesus experienced rejection from his birth. There was no room in the inn when he was born. He experienced rejection and exile when he has to flee to Egypt to escape death from King Herod. He experienced rejection by his own people. Jesus came to us as the “great unknown” in the form of hungry, thirsty, orphan, the sick person or prisoner. The question is whether we can discern his presence. Does he have space in our scheme of things or in our lives?. The meaning of Christmas comes home to us in the real sense when we recognize the need of other human beings, because God’s gift in Jesus Christ was in human form. Christmas does not mean that every thing will be rosy and comfortable. The other side of the manger scene is the scene of crucifixion.
Wishing you all happy family day, happy Christmas and a blessed New Year.
With Love and prayers
Yours in Christ
Rev. C.C.Sabu
