THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINING OF WISDOM

(First sermon delivered in 2017 at his Sunday School session, serampore by my son - Jaira Lalnunpuia Khiangte, who is 11 years old)

First of all, I thank God and also thank to our Sunday school teachers – for giving me this opportunity to share the words of God.

I will begin my short sharing by reading the scripture which is found in Psalm 111: 10

Now, let me read Ps 111: 10 -The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom
_________________________________________________________________________________

According to the psalmist, beginning of the wisdom is – the fear of the Lord.

All of us will want to become a man of integrity who has the quality of being wise ( that is –wisdom). Therefore, if we want to become a wise man – we must fear the Lord.
But, how does ‘the fear of the Lord’ meant to us? OR what is the meaning of ‘the fear of the Lord’?

A number of suitable answers are provided by the scripture itself.

Ps 34: 11 says – “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” Then the following verse tells us how we shall become ‘a man who fear the Lord’ –

i)    Keep your tongue from evil, 
ii)    Keep your lips from speaking deceit.
iii)    Depart from evil,
iv)    Do good; 
v)    Seek peace, and pursue it.

To conclude my short sharing, I want to mention some ‘benefit of the fear of the Lord’
The benefits of ‘the fear of the Lord’ are found in Proverbs;

i)    Prov 10:27 says - The fear of the LORD prolongs life,  but the years of the wicked will be short
ii)    In Prov 19: 23, we also see - The fear of the LORD is life indeed; filled with it one rests secure and suffers no harm.
iii)    Prov 22: 4 also tells us - The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honour and life.

May God bless us all through this short sharing.

2017 THLIRLETNA

Kum 2017 chu kan lo hmang liam leh dawn ta reng mai. He kum hi ka thlir letin ka tan kum tha a tlingin ka hria. Pathian hnen a lawmthu sawina chi khat atan he kum 2017 chhung a - rilru a lo lang hmasa sa; min fuih a , challenge min pe a, ka rilru tilawm-tu ka thil tawn thenkhat kan tarlang ang e.

1. BCM ah bial neiin kum 11 emaw lek rawngbawlin hun ka hmang tawh a. Chumi hnu chuan M.Th ziriin, zir zawh-ah Serampore College ah zirtir hna kum 5 ka thawhna a lo ni ve ta reng mai. BCM Zion, Chawngte L mi leh sa, he kohhran atanga chhuak hi ka ni.

Kum 2017 a lo inher chhuah hlim khan, kan veng leh ka chhuahna, Chawngte L kohhran a Unit TKP te chuan ‘Pathian rawngbawl’ tura infuihna chi khat atan leh rawngbawltute ngaihhlutna thalaite zing a tuh a nih theih nan tiin TKP Group hrang hrang an thente chu tiang hian hming an vuah a;
i) Upa Dozamlova Group
ii) Tv Hrangnghilhlova Hroup
iii) Rev K.Lalzarliana Group
iv) Rev David Lalmalsawma Group...tiin.

Upa Dozamlova hi missionary, Chawngte L Kohhran tirhchhuah, an chawm; fak tlak a rawng a bawl laia thi ta a ni. Tv Hrangnghilhlova hi BCM missionary, Chawnngte L kohhran mi leh sa, BCM in chakma missionary a neih tawhte zing a chakma tawng thiam ber a a neih thin a ni a. A ni pawh hi Pathian ram tan a mi inpe leh tangkai tak, rawng a bawl laia thi bawk a ni. Tin, Pastor David Lalmalsawma hi BCM hnuai a Pastor fel leh tangkai tak, Pathian mi hman, Diltlang Bialtu ni mek a ni a. A ni nen hian BCM Zion, Chawngte L atanga pastor chhuak awm chhun kan ni.

Tling lo inti chung a rawng kan bawl vena leh inpekna-te ngai hlu a kan thalaipui ten TKP GROUP then hming atana kan hming hnaisai lo an hmang duh hi, ka hriat tirh chuan mak ka ti a. Unit TKP President ni thin Pu Hose Lalhmangaiha’n min hrilh hlim phei chuan ‘ka zak deuh’ tlat nghe nghe a. He, TKP te thiltih hian kei ni, a hming putu la dam laite hi min cho hle bawkin ka hria. Lalpa avang ni suh se chuan he tiang thil hi a thleng ngai lovang a; ‘an zinga thu sawitu leh infuihna’ chi khat atana an hman kha, hming putu leh neitute hnen a ring taka thu sawitu leh fuihtu a lo ni ta zawk hlauh erawh kan tan a hlu hle.

'A nachang an hria' hi fak an phu takzet a. Mi dangte tan entawn tlakin thil an ti tih loh rual a ni lo. Bungtlang S bialtu ni tur a chawlhkar khat emaw lek Bungtlang S a ka awm lai hian Bungtlang S Khaw thlang lam huap? Football match, Bungtlang S ah hian nghah a ni a. A tir a ka hriatpui sa lemlohin ‘Pastor Zartea Team’ an lo chhuak ve reng hi a ni a, an thleng sang ta lem lo nain, BCM Zion, Chawngte L Unit TKP thiltih nen hian damchhung a ka theihnghilh tawh loh turte zing a mi a ni awm e.

2. Dt. 15 – 19th, March, 2017 khan BCM rorelna sang ber Assembly chu Chanmari, Lunglei-ah nghah a ni.

He Assembly-ah hian pathian leh hotutte duhsakna in zing bible study hun khat ka chang ve a. He duhsakna ka chan hi ka ngaihhlut hle lain Kum 6 zet ka absent hnu a Assembly ka tel ve thei tur hi ka ngai hlu zual em em a (Assembly tel ziah hi deputation a hmun dang a awm ordain minister-te tan BCM hnuaiah hian compulsory a ni ve lem lo). Thlenkim zan kan inkhawm tum a ka awm dan kha ka la hre reng mai. Inkhawm hun zahve chhung zet chu ‘lungchhe reng’ ang ka ni. Lamtual a mipui lam hut hut zinga zuk inzeh ve kha ka chak em em a. Mahse, ka emotion sang lutuk kha control theih chhung control ka duh vangin lamna hmun em chu ka thleng zo ta lo a ni. Ka dam chhunga ka thil chhinchhiah tur Pathian leh hotute zarah ka experience niin ka hria a.

3. Kum 2017 chhung hian College Book-room enkawl turin mawhphurhna pek ka ni a. Kan College hian kum 200 na 2018 hian a lawm dawn tawh nain, College Book-Room hi hlawhtling taka an kalpui thu kan hre ngai lo thung.

Principal remtihnain Mizoram a ka awmtawhna Pastor Bial 3 ah BCM Hqrs remtihna in kut dawh ngawt mai teh ang tiin ruahmanna kan siam a. Thingtlang kohhran te an nih hlawm avangin rilruin a beisei ruk lawk chu 50,000/- vel bak a ni lo. mahse Kohhran leh mi thahnemngaite zarah Rs. 80,000/- chuang zet hmuh a ni a. Hei hi College in belhchhah hlekin Rs. 1,10,000/- velin bul kan tan thei ta a. Heng hi kohhran zara college-in kan thil dawn ‘TE-TAK-TE’ ang chauh a ni nain, College Book-Room erawh nasa taka tih changtlun a ni ta a. Pathian leh kohhran zarah pangngai takin a kal ve zel tawhin a rintheih hial a ni.

4. KA NGAIH PAWIMAWH BER: Pathian rawngbawltu tan chuan kan fel emaw fel lo emaw, kan tha emaw tha lo emaw, kan rilruin Lalpa hnen a beisei a neih reng pakhat chu – “ Lalpa aw hriat a, a pawlna thar a khat mawi tawk tal a chan thin” hi a ni.

Institution a awm a academic lama han inchiah deuh hian he tiang ‘chan theihna boruak?’ hi Pastor Bial aiin a lo tlem deuh nge, keimahni lamin kan lo zir tawk lo ve deuh thin hriat a ni law? Zep lovah chuan - khawhar taka kum kan chhiar liam chang a awm fo mai. Kum 2017 erawh thung hi chuan tum 3 zet experience duhawm tak Lalpan min paltlang tir ta niin ka hria a. Thlaler hmunah nen lam a a mite umzui a, Akor ruam (Hose 2:15) pawh malsawmna a chantir theitu hian A MITE – ngaihsak a, min kan thar a, min tihharh leh thin hi a lo duh reng thin a. Kan tan a ‘TAHNA RUAM’ ni thinah khan, ‘TUIHNA THAR’ kan dawn ve pawh min remtih sak thin a lo ni. Thisen zawmpui leh chhungkhat hnaivaite tan lo chuan ‘tukhaw-kha’ ngaihsak tlak lo hi, lei leh van Lal ber erawh chuan MIN HRE RENG thung a. A rinawmna tun thleng a mi hnaisai lo leh tling lote chunga a la lantir thin hi KA THINLUNG HIAN A NGAI HLUIN, LALPA CHUNGAH HIAN LAWMTHU SAWI SEN RUAL LOH kan ba a ni.

5. Kan kohhran Pastoral deparment chan, pastoral ministry hnuai a mi ka ni a. Kum 2017 hi kan tlingtlak chuan Serampore-ah kum 5 kan awm ve tawh dawn tihna a ni. Kum tir (2017) atangin chhuak ve ngei tawh tur a inbeiseina rilru-ah a awm reng a. Pastor bial hi kan thinlungin a thlakhlelh em avang leh, ka Nupui fanaute phei chuan kum 5 zet zoram an hmuh tawh loh vangin zoram chhuah hlan hi ‘khawiah pawh awm dawn i la’ rilruin a nghakhlel takzet a ni.

Amaherawh chu, College in kan service hi kum 3 chhung pawtsei turin BCM ah a dil teh tlat a. Chu chu Pastoral Committee hnuhnung ber chuan lo remti in, a kar lakah thil dang a thleng a nih loh chuan, kum 3 dang kan awm leh dawn tihna a ni ta reng mai. Heng thil vel chungchang a ka thawhna hotu-in ‘ka ngaihdan’ min zawh lai hian ‘Pathian hi a hlauhawm em avang leh, awmna tur a duhthu lo sam ve hi pastor tan thil tih chi ni a ka hriat loh avangin’ “ngaihdan sawi ngam chi ni ve pawhin ka inhre lo, hotu leh hotu inkara inbiak rem dan dan hi kan pawm ang” ka ti ve ngawt kha a ni a. Mizia, nihna leh thiamna avang pawh a ‘kan phak ve loh’ thil ni a kan hriatah khan keimah chauh ni lo, mi dangte pawhin min rinpui loh zawngin Pathian hruaina kan chang zel zawng a nih awm hi maw?

M.Th ka zir hma, Bial a ka la awm lai hian, “Lalpa, nangmah leh I ram tana kan tangkai ve theihna hmunah zel hian min dah la, tul taka i ram tana kan inhman ve theihna hmun a nih phawt chuan KA RILRUIN A PAWM THEIH LOHNA HMUN-AH PAWH NI SE min hung zel mai ang che” ti a ka tawngtaina kha Serampore experience hian min hriatchhuah tir leh thin. Serampore experience hi phek tam tak daih ziah tur ka nei nain heti chinah hian rek bung mai ang.

6. Kum 5 hma lam khan ka Unau pa Hmangaiha (Lalhmangaihzuala, lecturer HSS Serkawn) chuan Madurai ka awm lain BLOG min siam sak a, chu mi-ah chuan ka kutchhuak ho te te ka dah khawm ve thin. Sermon, article, bible study, etc leh thil dang mizo leh English-in ka tlar thla ve del a. Thu ziak 100 em pawh a la tling lo. Kum 2017 kum tir khan ‘thla tin thuziak pakhat tal dah leh ka tum ang’ tia ka rilruk kha ka ti hlawhtling niin ka hria. Ka testimony, Pathian hnathawh MAK ka tawn thenkhat te pawh a tir lamah ‘hai’ peihte tan a awm.

7. Kumin Krismas chu Kolkata Mizo Christian Service (CMCS) in ni 24, Sunday tlai thusawi turin min lo ruat ve a. He mi chungchang hi FB-ah ka dah tawh avangin hei chauh hi kan tarlang tawh mai ang e.

Kumin Krismas, CMCS zing a kan hmang thei hi rilru hlim takin kan haw niin ka hria a. Min tilawm zualtu point thenkhat te;

i) Kan kal hma deuh hian Pathian a lawman thuk tak Lalpan min pe.

ii) Madurai-ah kum 2 kan awm bakah, Serampore-ah hian kum 5 kan awm dawn ta a. He Krismas hi kum 7 hnu a krismas hla ka sak tam ber kum a ni.

iii) Chutiang bawk chuan kum 7 hnu a krismas thuchah mizo tawng a nuam ti leh zalen taka ka sawi hmasak ber a ni awm e.

iv) Kumin Krismas hian sum chuangtlai hman mai tur kan tlachham angreng a. ‘nei si, nei si lo’ in kan awm a ni. Kum thar (2018) ah haw ve ngei kan duh avangin Flight ticket book-na tur kan indah ve a, hman heu ngam a ni lo. January thla hlawh kan dawng tawh nain, thla hlawh (Monthly salary) hi kham ngawr ngawr, a chang phei chuan kham lo nasa tak…kan nih avangin lo hman lawk ngam a ni bawk lo.

Tichuan leh, kan Nu hriatpui vak lohin Krismas hmanna tur pawisa Rs. 11,000/- puk in kan chhuak ta rawih a. Amaherawh chu, a mite ngaihsaktu Lalpa hian kan mamawh hi a va hre tehreng em...

Kan rawngbawlpui, kan U Te -Rev Sangtea te chhung fin kan ni a. Pu Michael-a (Pu A-Puia) te chhung, Pu Sangtea te chhungte hnai tak, Pu sangtea te Krismas rawn hmanpui an awm bawk. Pu sangte te Nupa (Pi Chhungpuii) hian duhsak namen lova min duhsak bak-ah, Pu A-Puia te chhungkua hian, “Kan Pastor te hi Krismas present kan la pe ve reng reng lo” tiin kan Nu hnenah pawisa a hlan mauh mai a. A Nupui (Pi Aluri) hian kan kan fate leh kan Nu tan thil tamtak a lei sak tawh avangin ‘Ka inthlahrung takmeuh’ a ni. Rs. 2000/- a pe maw ka tih kha a lo ni tawp lo lehnghal....

Mu tur a room kan luh hnuin, kan Nu chuan, “Pa, an pawisa min pek hi a tam lutuk a, ka lung a chhe deuh tlat nia” a ti a. “Engzat nge?” ka tih chuan, “Rs. 14,000/- lai a nia…” a tih chuan – sawi tur reng ka hre lo. Ka ngawi reng a, ‘Lalpa min ngaihsak zia hi’ tiin mak tiin zing lam dar 3 thleng ka meng a, Pathian hnenah lawmthu ka sawi a. Lalpan min ngaihsak takzet a ni tih hi rinhlelh rual lovin a tilang leh ta niin ka hria.

Kan sum puk rulh leh dan thlengin ‘min ngaihsakna’ hi Lalpan a tilang zel a, min ngaihsakna tilang turin ‘amite zingah’ min hungin, a hun takah a mite hi kan hnenah a lo tir leh mai niin ka hria a. Lalpa rinawmna hi kan tan hian 'a mak' tih loh rual a ni lo.

TLIPNA: Heng bak pawh hi ziah tur ka la nei nual a, heti zawng hian a tlang kawm tawh mai ang.
Kan hmabak kum 2018 lo inher chhuak leh tur pawh hi eng tiang angin nge kan hmachhawn dawn tih kan hre hauh lo. Amaherawh chu, a mite dinpui a sawipui thintu, kan hriat mang loh lai nen lam pawh a, a mit kan chung a len a, ‘keini ang paltlang ve rual a ni lo’ kan tih kawng nen lama min zawhpui thintu Lalpa hi kan Pathian a ni. Chuvang chuan HE CHHUNGKUA hian kum lo thar zel turah pawh hian Lalpa hi a vuan ve reng dawn a ni.

MIN NGAIHSAK FO TIH KA HRIA

(Luangliam Post)

Tukin (Dt. 21st, Dec, 2017) chu hla thluk, a thu ka hriat fuh chiah loh - "Min hriat reng thin vangin?" ti a ka hriat tlat hian rilru a luah reng mai a. Ka hla ngaihthlak zen zen loh, a thluk leh thu dang pawh chhunzawm ngaihna ka hriat loh hi a ni a. Humm, Humm, Humm... tih bak chuan sak ngaihna pawh ka hre meuh lo.

YouTube-ah kan en a. TBC-a (See - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3nS_V3p-k4) leh Lalthlengliani ( See - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvDISP8-eNo) sak a lo awm reng a. An va thiam tehreng em.

'Min hriat reng thin vangin?' ti-a ka hriat kha MIN NGAIHSAK FO TIH KA HRIA tih a lo ni a.

Ka Lalpa hi, "tunge maw ka nih a, ka chhungte pawh hi tunge maw an nih a min hriat reng thin hi le...?". Min hre satliah mai ni lovin, lei leh van a thuneitu, engkim chung a roreltu hian kei 'engmah ni lo, chhuan tlak nei lo, mi ngaihsan chu sawi loh, ka chhungte tan lo chuan ngaihsak tlak pawh ni lo' hi MIN NGAIHSAK FO a lo ni tih he hlathu hmang hian min hrilh thar ve leh ta a ni. Halleluiah!!!.

A chang thenkhat hlathu hi chu tun a ka awm dan leh hun tawn mek nen inlaichinna a neih pawh ka hre hran lo. Ka lungngai lova, tun hnai a ka letter hmuh pakhat erawh chuan 'min tilawm lo hle' tih mai loh chu rilru nawm lohna ka neih pawh ka hre lo. Mahse, chuti-chung chuan MIN NGAIHSAK FO tih min hriat thar tir hi Lalpa'n a la duh cheu niin ka hria a, ka tan hei hi a hlu em em a ni.

A ngaitha ve duh tan a link leh a thu hi kan dah nghe nghe ang e.

MIN NGAIHSAK FO TIH KA HRIA
(Lungngaih Ni leh Lawm Ni... tiin an dah a)

Lungngaihni leh ngui changni te hian
Lungngaih ni leh lawm lai niah hian,
Lal Isuan min ngaihsak ngai em?
Buainaten min chim, ka kawng a sei lua,
Ka lo chau ta, phurrit tak nen.

Aw, min ngaihsak fo tih ka hria,
Ka lungngaihin a tina;
Ngui chang ni leh zankhua rei hlauhawm hnuaiah,
Min ngaihsak tih ka hria.

Ka kawng a thim, hlauhawmin min bawm,
Lal Isuan min ngaihsak ngai em?
Ni eng a lo chuai, zan thim a lo hnai
Min vengin a lo hnai ngai em?

Thlemna dovin, ka bei a lo dawng,
Lal Isuan min ngaihsak ngai em?
Lungngaiin ka chau, chhantu an awm lo,
Zankhaw tlaitluanin mittui nen.

Leia lungduh ber ka then laiin,
Lal Isuan min ngaihsak ngai em?
Tuar rual loh lungchhia, thinlai min run hi,
A hriain a ngainep ang em?

GOD LOVES YOU

John 3:16; Rom 5:8



(Delivered on 3rd, Dec, 2017)

Today I am going to share with you –the greatest message of God which i considered as the greatest, not because of the content of my own message but because of God and the uniqueness of the message itself.

This message - though neglected and hardly hears in the midst of God’s people, is still one of the constant and central messages of the Bible.

To begin with the theme, I would like to share with you a story of Moorehouse, who was once a wild gambler and drinker, who at the later part of his life met God and has become a good preacher. He was known as one of the men who most influenced D. L. Moody, one of the greatest preachers. So, one day, Moody got a letter from Moorehouse that tells he would be in Chicago the next Thursday. Moody didn’t know what to do with him, so he told his deacons, “There is a man coming from England who wants to preach. I’m going to be gone Thursday and Friday. If you let him preach those days, I’ll be back Saturday and take him off your hands.” But when Moody returned back, the message he received from Moorhouse cached him up. It was so convincing that his heart began to thaw out and he even could not hold back his tears.

Then, on the final night, Moorhouse concluded his sermon by saying, “My friends, for a whole week I have been trying to tell you how much God loves you, but I cannot do it with this poor stammering tongue. If I could borrow Jacob’s ladder, and climb up into Heaven, and ask Gabriel, who stands in the presence of the Almighty, if he could tell me how much love the Father has for the world, all he could say would be, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Therefore, friends the same and living message conveyed through the gospel of John and by Moorhouse – “The love of God” will be our chosen theme for this morning.
But since this human tongue can never tell how much deep and how measureless the love of God is, our message for this morning will also be very simple and at the same time ‘a humble one’.

However, as we move on to the theme, I first of all would like to tell you some reasons why I chose this theme. Why this message?

1.    The world we live in is a world of confrontation, where we all together face diverse forms of confrontations – we are bombarded by various complex news (good and bad), new advertisements, innovative new technologies, and other desirable things which by no means we cannot simply avoided and rejected because of its irresistible powers and potentialities. Moreover, these things are being fabricated with the power of persuasion, and as a result we become enslaved by these powers. Our world, surrounding, environment became full of these diverse form of forces.
Therefore, in this situation – we, people of God need to make a repeated sound of the message of the love of God.

I contemplate and feel it necessary because, if we do not intended to do so, many people now begun to give more their interest in these forces than the core message of God.
IITim 4:3-4….For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.

2.    When I consider the chosen topic/subject– I realized thinking that, one of the greatest failures/ignorance I have committed during the past and present years was and is – I never tell ‘the sweetest story of the love of God’ to my students, to my colleagues. Of course, we have learned and being taught various subjects by our teachers from different areas of studies/aspect - doctrine and teachings of God, church and Christianity, etc. But we hardly receive direct message on the love of God.

Therefore, I feel it necessary to make a resounding voice of the love of God among the community of God’s people here.
But despite of this thing, the problem lays behind is - how shall we begin and how to tell this wonderful message of the love of God? Though the theme/phrase itself contain a lovely and wonderful message, it is not an easy topic to tell/convey. And moreover, when we talk about the message of the love of God, there are also serious unanswered and disturbing questions in many people’s minds.

Like these:
1.    If God is love, why is the world in such a fear of tragedy and why are so many people suffering?

2.    If God is love and if God is also sovereign and in charge, then why in the world would a loving God ever do these?

3.    And not only that questions, there is even more penetrating – if God is love, why would he send people to hell to suffer forever?

What kind of love is it – that can control the world and allows the world to suffer? What kind of love is it, that is sovereign and in charge, and sent poor suffering people to eternal flame?

Of course, there can be appropriate answers to these questions from the belief and concept of - universalism, and other sources; nevertheless; forgetting/putting aside of all these nagging questions, we shall put our thought on the power and mightiness of the love of God.

Many years ago, the Swiss theologian Karl Barth visited the United States. At a question and answer session, someone asked him, “Dr. Barth, what is the greatest thought that has ever gone through your mind?” Barth thought about the question for a while and then replied; “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so” Barth was right on that answer! Because the ‘message of the love of God’ is always and always will be the greatest message that has ever gone through and could experience by human.

But again, the question lays behind is - how can we say that this is the greatest message that has ever gone through human life? – How can we measure the power and mightiness of the love of God? Apparently is - this human tongue and mind can never measure, can never tell ‘the love’ that is in God
– however, let us try to put our thoughtful minds in these ways.
1.    Rom 5:10 tells us – while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him... Eph 2:4ff – but because of his great love for us, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we are death in transgressions.

Therefore, for the first point what I would like to make known to all of us is – the love of God is stronger than enmity, even than death in transgression.

Enmity, heated, crime, and death, are something that over and over again separated lovely couples, human, families, friends, community and society. If enmity is already presented between either any one of these groups, it is not easy to unite people. Suppose, even if there is possibility to unite between enemies, yet there can be no chance to unite if someone, our love one die.

This is our previous condition totally engulfed to all by spiritual death due to human transgression. The glory of God that we inherited from God did no longer presented to us for we become spiritually death. And moreover, according to Paul – we become enemy of God. This is the condition of human because of the same transgression.

But in spite of all these, a very good tiding that comes to us is – while we are God’s enemies, God who is rich in mercy, showed his great love towards us, his enemies. So this great love became a powerful and greatest instrument that breaks all the barriers between enemies. Therefore, we are no longer the enemy of God; rather we become members of the family of God.

When I contemplate again and again the love of God, delightful things I found was/were – the love of God that shown upon us is strong enough for it could reach and cross the boundary to and of his enemy, he could share and make available his love to and for his enemy. Therefore, what we can say is - His love is much stronger than the power of enmity, or any antagonism.

Therefore friends, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you this – whether you are rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, happy or sad, being known or neglected, financially sound or poor, academically strong or weak, etc God loves you. That means, God is at the side of you. He is always ready to help you; he is always ready to stand before and on behalf of us for his love conquered any forms of enmity. How fortunate and happy I am because I can tell you that - You are loved by God.

2.    It can heal the brokenness: The love of God is also manifested through the gift of his begotten son that consequently restores and heals the brokenness between God and human.
Isaiah 59:2a says - “But your iniquities (sin) have made a separation between you and your God.” This is by far, and as all knows the biggest consequence of sin committed by the first man and woman. Since, sin becomes an offense to God; God cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore he drove them out of the garden. Their relationship was broken.

This brokenness as a result causes man;

-    To isolate from God,

-    To lost the glory and holiness of God,

-    A fellowship that binds together God and human is no more,

-    A wall, huge gap that separate God and man falls between them…

-    In short, their relationship was broken.

But in spite of all these, God who is rich in mercy – is still willing to give his begotten son to heal and restore the brokenness.

The will of mine may accept to do the work of restoration between me and to someone who has significant importance in my life, who is good, who is rich, popular and lovely. But I don’t think, that I can go - with a man whom a considered as a sinner, hopeless, enemy, unholy, poor and rotten, etc.

But for God, who is rich in mercy, is willing to heal the brokenness. That means his love is stronger than anything else. His love is strong enough to give us his greatest treasure Jesus, though we do not deserve it. And moreover, as he weighed together ‘his love for sinners’ and ‘his begotten son’ on his own scale; his love for sinner is heavier and much stronger. This is the reason why God gave his begotten son, and this is how he demonstrated his love to us. (How wonderful and magnificent the love of God is?)

In resent year, Bill Gather, one of the best contemporary Christian song writers was asked - ‘what is the greatest lyric ever written…” therefore, without blinking his eyes, he immediately answered -
“The greatest lyric ever written is this –

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky…"

Though I still have 2 more points…
i) His love is more precious than anything else
ii) His love endures forever…I rather will stop here, but we will continue our message by presenting a song, a song which as I belief is more interesting and has more effective power to tell us about the love of God.

Therefore, we will invite our friends (Ms. Ajungla, Ms. Lovitoli, Mr. Hmingsanga) to present this song in continuation of the message…

"The love of God is greater far,
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell…"

HALLELUIJAH!

(Delivered on 08th, Oct, 2017 @ Sunday Morning Service, Serampore College)

Introduction: I would like to begin my short message by making a humble request; but please note that - I make this request only to those who can follow me willingly without any hesitation.
So, the request is – I’m going to shout 3 times, and as I shout, I also request you to shout after me….HALLELUIJAH!!

Friends, ‘Hallelujah’ is the theme I chose for this morning meditation. It is also the subject matter why I’m standing here, before you and before God.
________________________________________________________________________________

If we open the bible, the term ‘Hallelujah’ is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deutero-canonical books, and four times in the book of revelation

In the Hebrew Bible hallelujah is actually a two-word phrase, not one word. The first part, hallelu, is the second-person imperative masculine plural form of the Hebrew verb hillel which means a joyous praise in song, to boast in God. And moreover, Hallel could also refer to someone who acts madly or foolishly.

The second part, Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH, the name for the Creator - God. But, this name ceased to be pronounced in Second Temple Judaism, by the 3rd century BC due to religious beliefs. The correct pronunciation is not known, however, it is rendered by Christians as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah".

Therefore the meaning of the term ‘Hallelujah or halleluiah’ (as we all know) is ‘praise the Lord’.

To begin with the theme, let me tell you certain reasons why I chose this theme, and some significant points why I’m using this theme for today’s meditation;

1.    ( I do not know whether you are aware of the fact that) - We hardly hear crowd of people shouting ‘Hallelujah’ like a place where we, people of God are living, a place where many people of God are doing their future ministerial training.

Of course, we sing songs of praises in our gathering; we also adore his glorious name by reciting scriptures and by doing other items. But, shouting ‘halleluiah’ from the depth of our hearts might not be heard in the midst of God’s people and in our gathering. So with this conviction, I would say, we, people of God must shout to the Lord. At least, once in a year, we should shout ‘Hallelujah’ to the Lord.

2.    Praising the name of the most high with making the sound of ‘hallelujah’ has a power to release our anxiety and other related problems.

We sometimes fill with various forms of anxieties and different concerns– burdensome, stress, trauma, tiresome, unhappiness, mood off, etc due to financial problems, sleeplessness, suspicion, health problems, temporal or spiritual insecurity or weaknesses, etc. Whatever the reasons may be, as a result, we imprisoned ourselves by these powers which by existence we received not from above but from this temporal world.

Therefore, friends; we should praise God, because – praising the name of the Lord can help our weaknesses, it can lifting up on high our hearts and minds. It also can restore and heal broken hearted. It is indeed, like a secret field/place where many heavenly treasures are hidden.

Illustration: In 2004, when I was serving in one pastorate, I stay alone in a big newly built pastor’ quarters. One night at around 9:30PM I sat on a chair introspecting myself, and by that moment I felt very lonely and at the same time felt unworthy to serve God because of certain thing I have come across. I was totally weak and felt hopeless. In the meantime, when I was still on my chair, I heard a voice that came from far distance, and it was a sound of singing by a choir - Halleluiah…halleluiah…halleluiah. When the sound struck my mind, this simple sound produced by our local choir who had been practicing a song inside the church building, could all at once release all my anxieties. I felt very wonder when I experience the power of ‘praise’ because the song I heard from far distance did not only released all my anxieties but also gave me a new strength and hope.

Therefore, friends I once again would like to remind you – the sound and our deliberation for praising God has a power for ourselves as well as for others to set a person free from various bondages. It also has a power to heal our wounds and pains and at the same time release our unhealthy thoughts.

3.    In II Chronicle 20:1ff here we see - Dramatic triumph in sacral war. This triumph and victory was experienced by Israelite under the kingship of King Jehoshaphat.

What had happened?

When messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude was coming against him from Edom, from beyond the sea”. Jehoshaphat was afraid; therefore, he set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Then he prayed to God saying – “we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."

Then after when Jahaziel, one of the members among the crowd received the message of the Lord, then (in short) on the next day, they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out; Jehoshaphat appointed some people to sing to the Lord, then as they began to sing and praise singing - "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever." The Lord God who is always at the side of his people stretched out his hands, therefore victory and triumph was given at the hands of Jehoshaphat and his people.

What significance does this particular story has provided to us?

Obviously, the story tells us that singing and praising God has a power to destroy the stronghold of powerful army. It can give us triumph and victory over our enemies. It also can wipe out the power of darkness and all forms of evil. Praising of God can be the source of our strength.

Illustration: In 430 AD, Bishop Germenous, who once was a Roman Army officer before he became a bishop, was sent by the church to Britain due to the widespread and threatening of pelagianism (Pelagianism is one of the heretical teachings that believed and taught that original sin did not contaminate/pollute human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without special divine aid. ... they also hold the view that human beings can earn salvation by their own efforts). So that Germenous can keep save the churches in Britain from the danger of this heresy.
However, as he continues to stay in Britain; he sometimes involved with the army who fought against Pax and Saxon; people who used to come and invaded some parts of the Land in Britain. Therefore, as time passed, war broke out between British Army and this people, and Bishop Germenous was one of the leaders. During this time when Pax and Saxon people heard the sound of war cry shouted by British army under the leadership of Bishop Germenous, by hearing this sound, their hearths became melted, and there was no longer any spirit in them to stand before armies of Germenous. So, they were defeated, and the sound they heard was only ‘HALLELUIAH, HALLELUIAH’.

When God’s people shout to the Lord – halleluiah, praise the Lord…enemies of God’s people become scramble and feel nervous. They may also become powerless to defeat us.

4.    When Jesus, when he was on earth, perfumed miracles and many wonders; at the end of his ministries what we usually found is ‘after seeing and witnessing these wonders/miracles performed by him, all the people gathered around him praise and rejoice in the Lord.

What does this means - ‘Seeing the wonder performed by Jesus and exalting his name at the end’? It is only a sign of extreme happiness shown by people; it is also reverential action shown by people for the wonderful works performed by God. Likewise, when people see and realise wonderful things happened around them, immediate response we often see out of their happiness is some outward actions, like – crying, shouting, body movement, and other actions, etc.

Therefore friends, if we/someone happened to encounter with God and experience His direct intervention/involvement in his/her/our life; how can someone/we resist the wonderful work of God without giving appropriate respond of praise to it.

Now, let us also realise once again; how wonderful Jesus is in our life. Isaiah 53:5 says - he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

Now; we are healed by his bruises, we are cleansed by his blood, we are forgiven by his sacrificial offering. It is probably by knowing this wonderful work of God, Peter (2:9-10) also boastfully exclaimed; saying - But now you become a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,…Once you were not a people,  but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy,  but now you have received mercy.

Therefore, according to Peter, we are given a new identity.

Can we profane or treat with irreverence this new identity given by Jesus. Rather we must praise his name; we must adore his magnificent name. He is our creator, who sustain us, who keep watching his people, who knows our weakness and accepted us as to who we are.

The psalmist says (Ps 103:1-4) – Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits — he forgives all your iniquity, he heals all your diseases, he redeems your life from the Pit, he is also the one who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.

Therefore, Let us make a joyful noise to the Lord. HALLELUIAH!

ANOINTING AT BETHANY (JOHN 12: 1 - 8)

John 12: 1-8 is a well familiar text to all where we found the account of ‘anointing Jesus at Bethany’.

To draw some vivid picture in our minds, let me recollect summary of this account;

As we found from the text - Jesus and his disciples came to Bethany, a few miles from Jerusalem, to the house of Lazarus, for a meal.  So, members of the small circle presented were –
i)    Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

ii)    Lazarus' sister Martha who was serving the food.

iii)    Mary, Lazarus' other sister, who came into the room with an ‘alabaster container’ of liquid nard, a very precious perfume. 
As the account tells - She broke the jar and anointed Jesus on his feet, then wiped them with her hair.

iv)    Among the 12 disciple, one particular name mentioned in this account was; Judas Iscariot, who would later betray Jesus. 

As see from the account - Judas opposed Mary because of the extravagance, saying the perfume could have been sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor. But as the proceeding verse says - he did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 

Then, after seeing these records - in respond to what Judas’ said; Jesus replied saying:
“Leave her alone,”…. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

So from this short and interesting story I have selected what I call it as ‘Points of Interest’ through which, as I believed, we may get more spiritual insight or gain:

1.    As the gospel writers have recorded, all four Gospels tell this or a similar story. But details of the story vary in the four accounts.

Matthew (26:6-13) and Mark (14:3-9) being similar to each other mentioned similar records.

Therefore significant difference that in Mt and MK are;
i)    Name of the house where Jesus lodges himself was mentioned as Simon the leaper.

ii)    In MT and MK, name of woman is no mentioned.

iii)    In MT and MK, the woman anoints Jesus’ head and in John anoints Jesus’ feet.

iv)    There is no specific name mentioned for the one who made complained for the deed of woman – disciples…they were angry and said… (MTv8). Some were there…said to one another (LKv4)

Moreover, Luke’s account (7:36-38) is distinctive, in the sense that -

i)    The account is coming earlier in the Gospel,

ii)    The story was taking place at the home of a Pharisee,

iii)    No particular name is given for a woman except  ‘a sinful woman’ who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears,

iv)    In Luke gospel, a woman wipes with her hair, and anoints them with ointment.

So, the question left behind by these differences is – why do we have two records which has variations in the same story?

i) According to some scholars, (believe that) there might be two separate incidents behind these accounts, one as described by Matthew, Mark, and John, and the other by as described by Luke.

ii) And besides, there is also another presumption hold by some scholars, saying that - Luke uses Mark as one of his primary sources, so it seems likely that he merges Mark’s account with material from a second source.

2.    The second point of interest I would like to mention is – ‘inclusive organization system’ adopted by Jesus for nurturing his small community of faith.

Within his small circle, particularly; here, in this account – we see the presence of women, including a sinful woman (LK) and a woman who actively involved in preparing something for Jesus; Lazarus – whom Jesus had raised from the death, who also experience the power of death and at the same time resurrection or heavenly power; Judas Iscariot – a betrayal, who would later betray Jesus, whom the gospel writer commented saying ‘a thief - who used to help himself to what was put inside the money bag.
These are some of the people who have distinct characters and personalities apart from some of the core members of disciple who were included within Jesus’ circle.

Therefore, one significant point I would like to point out from this inclusion within the circle is – the community of believers (the church), found here on earth is not like spotless/ unblemished / perfect community where we could found all goodness, only purity, perfectness, wholesomeness, etc; rather the community where we live in is a community of faith where there is also ‘weeds among the wheat’. If Jesus also allowed and included people who has wonderful experience and at the same time who has weakness within his circle who are belonging from different backgrounds; obviously, one will find the same within the community of faith, within the church.

Beside what has been mentioned, another significant point we have here is – there are unexpected people presented at the feet of Jesus (Judas Iscariot). I do mention this point because – many people hold the view saying - A good leader/spiritual man or people who has charismatic gift produce only good people. A leader who is good is also embrace by a good people, or mostly people found at the feet of good leader are good people. This notion is completely wrong if we reflect upon the life and work of Jesus. 

3.    The third point of interest –
A strong willingness/eagerness - is one of the impressive qualities we found from a woman whom many people considered as a sinner. This strong willingness which is unable to hold by anything is clearly portrayed by the deed of one woman (Mary). She came into the room with an alabaster container of liquid nard, a very precious perfume. Then she broke the jar and anointed Jesus on his head and feet, then began wiping his feet with her hair.

Since her willingness, desire, longing and love towards Jesus was too strong, her persuasive behaviour to do something which many people do not have to do something is also strong. Therefore, this episode demonstrated that – the roots of many great things done by many people are found within one-selves. This desire is also something we must look and long for in order to please God, so that people around us can also taste and experience the smell of the fragrance of our service.

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

                                                        (Significance of the Word of God)
                                                (Deu 30; 15-20; Exo 25;16, 22; Psalm 19:7-9)

Under this theme, there are two important areas through which we shall make our focus;

i)    Covenant and the Ark of the Covenant,  
ii)    Significance of both the Ark of the Covenant and the words of the Lord


The covenant:

As we know, the idea of a covenant between God and His people is one of the central themes of the Bible. The word "covenant” is also commonly used term in legal, social (marriage), religious and in theological contexts. So, biblical words most often translated for ‘covenant’ are berit in the Old Testament (which appeared about 280 times) and diatheke in the New Testament (which is found 33 times). In its simplest form, a covenant is an agreement between two parties which involves promises on the part of each to the other. But in Biblical sense a covenant implies much more than a simple agreement or a contract between two parties;

i)                    According to Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, covenant is ‘a solemn agreement between two or more parties, made binding by some sort of oath’.

ii)                  The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary also define it as ‘an agreement enacted between two parties in which one or both make promises under oath to perform or refrain from certain actions stipulated in advance’.

Therefore, when a covenant is established, roughly a covenant took some form that may characterize biblical covenant:-


-         A statement of ideas was agreed upon (Gen. 26:29, 31:50-52).

-        The agreement was sealed with and by an oath (Gen. 26:31, 31:48-52).

-        The invocation of a curse was often present to ensure it would not be broken.  This was not always explicitly stated, but in the covenant between God and Israel it is made very clear (Deut. 27:15-26).

-        The covenant was ratified by some external act, often a ritual.

-        God has always been the initiator or the originator; the initiative is wholly with God, and the terms are set exclusively by God. Man’s part is simply to respond to offer of a covenant and to accept the relationships which that covenant brings with it.

-         In covenantal relationship, oath taking, the promise and fidelity/royalty play a predominant role. Eg:- If the Jewish people – especially the leaders – obeyed everything God’s commands … God would bless them.  But, if they didn’t obey Him … God would withhold his blessings from them (which essentially meant to bring judgment or cursing on them to various degrees).

However, if we go through the bible thoroughly, one will notice that - there are various types of Covenant –

The first two types, according to some scholars are;

i)                    Parity Covenant       : which is established between equals (David and Jonathan, Laban and Jacob, perhaps marriage bound may also come under this type)

ii)                  Suzerainty covenant : this covenant is covenants between “unequal”, which is existed or established between lords, kings and their subjects. This type of covenant is the covenant where we shall put our focus.

Besides these two types; some scholars also classified into various types; for example, there are – Noahic covenant, Abrahamic covenant, Mosaic covenant, priestly, Davidic, and lastly the new covenant, etc.

The Ark of the Covenant:

Since every permanent relationship of God with man is based on covenant, breaking of covenant becomes a serious matter for both the parties, particularly for God. Therefore during the time when God has established his covenantal relationship with the people of Israel in the wilderness, mount Sainai through Moses, he also has instructed them - how they shall make the Ark (Exo 25:10ff) and how they shall keep all the commandments inside the Ark. Therefore, having being received all these instructions, what we see from the scripture is – people of Israel have kept all the commandments / the words of the lord inside the Ark of the Covenant.

Therefore, as we move on to our sub theme – The Ark of the Covenant, there is one important questions which requires suitable answer i.e. – What significant position does this ‘Ark of the covenant’ has in the life of the people of Israel? Or what significant role does it play within the community of Israel?

In order to give appropriate answers to this question, we shall try to recollect some of the passages that tell us the role play by the Ark of the Covenant in the life as well as within the community of Israel.

i)                    Number 10: 33 – 34: When people of Israel were about to move forwards towards the desert after crossing the red Sea: “So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey with the ark of the covenant of the LORD going before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them, (v34) the cloud of the LORD being over them by day when they set out from the camp.”

ii)                  Joshua 3:3: Before and after crossing the Jordan: Some officers of Joshua commanded the people, saying - "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it. 17V - While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan. 4: 7 - then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.

iii)                Jos 6:10&11: Here we see the instruction given by Joshua, before they capture Jericho. As he gave this command, he said: "You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout." 11 So the ark of the LORD went around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp, and spent the night in the camp.

Therefore, from these three passages we may highlight, significant position hold by the Ark of the Covenant in the life of God’s people;

-          The Ark of the Covenant was used by the people of Israel as their front-runner /leader during the time when they were in the wilderness (in other places, I may reuse the term ‘wilderness’ as metaphor).

-          During the time of crossing the Jordan, the Ark of the Covenant was also being carried in the forefront. That means – The Ark of the covenant played a major role for leading the people of Israel, for removing the barrier as well as the wall, and making possible impossible before God’s people.

-           We also see how people of Israel were using the Ark of the Covenant during their difficult time. It was indeed, covenant was their stronghold through which people of Israel received their strength and defeated their enemies.

And moreover, apart from what we have already mentioned, there are also few more records that tell about the Ark of the Covenant.

-          Judges 20:1ff: tells us about a great battle broken out between people of Israel and Benjamin. In that battle, people of Israel were defeated by Benjamin for two times; so, they killed more than 22 + 18 thousand armies. But when (20:27) the Ark of the Covenant was with them, and when they acknowledged the presence of the Ark of the Covenant among them, they won the third battle.
-          Another interesting record is also found in I Sam 3:3: It says – Samuel was laying down in the temple of the Lord, where the Ark of the God was. Then, what comes next? – Samuel hard the voice of the Lord. As v1 records - during those times, the word of the Lord was rare, but in spite of irregularity of the voice of God– the word of the Lord was being revealed to a little boy Samuel, during such circumstance.

-          II Sam 6: 11: When king David brought the Ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem, on the way, before the Ark of the covenant reach its destination, they kept the Ark in the house of Obededom for three months (v11), then what had happened upon the family of Obededom? – The last sentence says – the Lord blessed Obededom and his entire household.

Lastly but not in the list, the bible also recorded, the story of someone who fail to honor, and who were fall short of the glory of the Ark; who knowingly or unknowingly have rejected the Ark of the covenant;

-          This record is found in the book of Samuel ( Ch. 2& 3): After crossing the Jordan and when they made their settlement in the land of Canaan, people of Israel have kept the Ark of the covenant in the house of the lord in Shiloh; therefore, during (this time) the time of Samuel, Eli and his 2 sons were the one who served in the temple, that means – Eli and his family had been taken up spiritual responsibility of the house of the Lord among the community of Israel.

Then what we get from the following verses is – Eli’s two sons have committed a serious mistake, serious sin before God (I Sam 2: 22) which provoked the judgement of God upon the family of Eli and Israel, then God’s prophesy against Eli’s household had come to a little boy, Samuel.

Then in Chapter 4: 11 – when the battle broke out between Israel and Philistine, the Ark of the Covenant which was the source of their strength in time of trouble could no longer become their source of strength, then then Ark of the Covenant was captured by Philistines, and the two sons of Eli were also died. Then, the following chapter tells us that – (4:19-22) when the wife of Phinehas, who was pregnant and had gave birth during that time, came to know the news of her husband and the news of the covenant which was captured by the philistines, she exclaimed, saying- “The glory has departed from Israel, because the Ark of God had been captured” (v22).

Therefore friends, all these records can reveal and demonstrate how significant position did the Ark of the Covenant had played in the life of Israel.

It was in fact, the Ark of the Covenant was their source of strength, their glory that gave and provided all their protections and shield. It was also like a banner that can give triumph, something force or motivating factor that enabled the people of Israel to cross the Dead Sea, wilderness, Jordan; that can strengthen and gave hope to the entire people in the time of difficulties and war. It may also rightly to say that – the Ark of the Covenant became - their life blood.

Therefore, as we move on to the last and final point (Significance of the word of the Lord), - the only remaining question; after ‘what’ and ‘how’, that may remain in our mind is - why did the Ark of the Covenant had play very significant position within the community of Israel. Did the Ark which was made up of wood can really have done something great for God’s people, what precious value did the Ark have to give honor and glory to the people of Israel?

Obviously, the right answer we can give is – It was only because of the ‘precious word of the Lord’ which was given to the people of Israel, which at the same time should be kept inside the Ark of the Covenant.

Therefore friends, this new answer permit us to reconstruct our previous answer by saying - The word of the Lord, not the Ark is the basic source from which people of Israel received their strength. It is also the source of their glory, that gave and provided protections and shield for the people of Israel, that enable them to cross the dead sea, wilderness, Jordan, that strengthen and gave hope to the people in the times of difficulties and war.

It was also (the word of God) ‘a determining factor’ for them through which they can receive God’s blessing as well as judgement; protection or God’s refusal; shield, security, well being and at the same time human misery and misfortunes, etc depending on their choice, their faithfulness to the covenantal promise. It was the beginning and the end of their entire life.

And moreover – these are the reasons why God has emphasized and also established his covenantal relationship between Him and his people. It must also be the main reasons why He wanted them to carry the Ark of the Covenant in all their ways, and wherever they are, throughout the course of their life journey. The word of the Lord is – according to the psalmist – perfect, sure, right and clear; that can revive the soul, wise the simple, live up the joy of our hearts to the Lord; and moreover, enlighten our eyes (Ps 19: 7-8).

Therefore, friends, with this concluding remark, I would like to make this appeal to all of us, saying that – being a bounded one to the covenantal relationship with God through Christ - let all of us set ourselves to the scripture; let us re-affirm our commitment to the word of the Lord, make ourselves ready to read, recite, and put on the banner – 'the word of the Lord' which is our glory, our Armour, foundational source through and from which we received our strength, that help us to do impossible possible.


This is also how we also can show our love to God – “Those who love me will keep my word” says Jesus (John 14:15).