Clothe yourself with Love Col. 3:14

Many of us have experienced some kind of intense tragic event with such profound sadness/ devastation. This was mine: When the war began in my native home, we lost everything within just 3 months. So many lives were lost; some families were wiped out. The Kingdom of darkness was at work. Pure Devastation. I also thought of the recent devastation of the earthquake that left thousands dead and few survivors under the rubble, waiting for a miracle with a faint cry. In cases like these, survivors painfully wait and hope for rescue. These stories send us chills and put us on the edge, hoping for the rescue moment. And tonight is such! It is the night when the line between death and resurrection becomes thin! We have good reason to rejoice, even in the midst of our sorrow! On one hand, we heard the story of Israelites under the darkness of Egyptian slavery, crying out to God in desperation, prompting God to haste the rescue! Just like them, we also may have longed for God to rescue us in ou...

Our OT lesson in ISAIAH 43: 16-21 offers a window into the life of Israelites in Babylonian exile. It is hard not to imagine their spirits totally broken by the harsh realities of exile. God’s word in Isaiah assured them that God will be with them in their trials, and promised them protection no matter what they go through, be waters and rivers, or fire and flame. What is interesting is that God is saying that this new thing that He was about to do, will be an astonishing thing: His rescue will be spectacular in the same way that He rescued their ancestors by creating a way where there was no way. (They were reminded how their ancestors had crossed the Red Sea on dry land) That in itself should create peace and hope in their hearts. That is God’s way. He is our redeemer and rescuer. We are again here In the Gospel of John (12:1-8), introduced to God’s way in Jesus who was a week away from going to the cross to redeem humanity. We learn God’s way in everything he did and said in farewe...