Ramesh C. Reddy
Editor in Chief
Hi everyone :)
May the Lord Jesus heal you with His magnificent love and may you have the best homecoming in the Lord as desires to be your Light of the World! Amen!
Quiet Times (Psalm 127:1-2 and Philippians 1:25-30)
“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)
“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.” (Psalm 127:2)
“But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.” (Philippians 2:25-30, NIV)
I learned Paul labeling Epaphroditus in 4 ways:
1. My brother.
2. My fellow worker.
3. My fellow soldier.
4. Your messenger.
Labeling Epaphroditus as his brother before giving him other titles showed me Paul’s closeness to him. Later, he goes on to say what a worker and soldier he has been. I found it significant that he was labeled as soldier too because being a soldier is not easy and it shows his work ethic.
There are a lot of things soldiers need to do to prepare themselves and Epaphroditus became a soldier for the Lord. He must have conditioned himself and done multiple spiritual drills. His life was also in danger and he almost died but thanks be to God that He was spared!
Later, Paul says that Epaphroditus is their messenger sent to him to take care of his needs. Now Paul wants the Philippians to know that there is a Homecoming on the horizon as a brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier will be returning to the Philippians as their messenger and he wants them to give him a welcoming reception for all that he has done.
I saw important implications for my own life. It is in the concept of Homecoming. I have had many titles through the years but none more exciting than being called a child of God.
A child of God, wow! The Creator of the Universe takes me in as His child as He becomes the Author of my Life!
The key is not just having titles for the sake of having them. When Paul talked about Epaphroditus, his titles were bestowed upon him by the actions he took as a messenger to Paul. Now he is returning to the Philippians.
I want all my titles to have meaning and purpose. But most importantly as a child of God! Sadly, I have not always acted that way. I have gone my own way and done my own things. You could say I ran away from my Heavenly Father but my Heavenly Father did not give up on me and prepared a Homecoming for me as I returned to Him and has welcomed me back!
Reading that verse bought to mind my own titles and how I have responded to them. I am glad to have returned to the Heavenly Father for the Lord alone gives us the best Homecoming! What better place to be than in the arms of love of our Savior! He will hold us near and hold us still! For that I am excited!
I ask you now dear friends, has your Homecoming already begun?
Dear friends, after serving Paul, Epaphroditus is ready to go home. He did his part as he served Paul as a brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier. His part was not a negative part but what I shared with you was a negative aspect of my life.
Maybe you are already close to the Lord and always had a wonderful Homecoming but if you are not or have departed away, your Homecoming can be now! Yes, friend it can be right now!
It will be more spectacular than any school’s Homecoming for you will be Homecoming to the One who loves you so much that He died for you and came back to life to save you! No matter where we have been, we can come back to Jesus’ arms of love. That is exciting to know!
Don’t let the enemy deceive you and lie to you making you think that you will not be accepted. For the Lord Jesus will take you in and you can receive His abundant blessings and peace as you confess and repent of your sins and ask for His help to guide you and lead you! I am not talking about a prosperity Gospel but the life-saving, life- changing Gospel of Jesus Christ whose promises we can claim. In Jesus Christ, you can have a “Homecoming to find the Light of the World”
I do not know about you but I need a Guiding Light to show the way through the college path, I have chosen. I am going to write a vignette that some of you may be facing. Finally, you will learn how to find the light on this campus.
There was once a girl named Ryan. She was so bold and beautiful. She had everything going for her when she entered college. She had transferred from Santa Barbara to study psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Settling at Pitt was not easy for her. She missed the good old days. She belonged to a band called 'Young and the Restless'. She was always restless with personal issues taking a toll on her. Ryan would always search for tomorrow hoping it would be better than the present day she was facing. She would always miss her 1:00 p.m. class to watch 'All My Children'. Ryan's hope of a fun and exciting life does not have to end in misery but can end in everlasting joy.
As college students we all face another world compared to high school or the work force. This world can be hard on all of us. There could be continuous pressure from our parents or guardians to excel in our studies and pressure from our friends to conform to their standards. As the world turns we are left in a dilemma that could produce suffering or joy. It does not matter even if our home is in Port Charles. Many times we choose the wrong choices and suffer the consequences because our passions are in the wrong direction. Some consequences are tragic that lead to death as we have only one life to live. Some consequences take us to the general hospital whether we are dealing with a pregnancy, overdose of drugs, alcohol intoxication, or sickness. Is there a hope for us to continue in our studies and still have an exciting time without worrying about pressures we face from our parents or friends? Can we find activities that are fun and do not have negative consequences? Yes, to both of these questions!
I want you all to know, there is hope for each one of you no matter where you are in your life right now. All the days of our lives we can turn to God who loves us so much and has a wonderful plan for us. "I know the plans, I have for you says the Lord, they are plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11) That's God's plan for you my friend! God loves you so much that He sent Jesus Christ to give you hope. Jesus says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with Him and he with me" Jesus wants to be your Guiding Light. He wants to guide you throughout your life and give you peace of mind and heart. Jesus says, "I am leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart, and the peace I give is not like the peace the world gives, don't be troubled or afraid" (Read John 14)
Jesus loves you so much and will accept you just as you are. You do not have to prove yourself for Christ to love you. You are important to Christ just the way you are. If you are having difficulty in any area of your life, give it to the Lord and leave it in His hands to take care of it. His hands are Helping Hands and He will help you. If you are enjoying your life and think you don't need the Lord, remember He wants you to be His son or daughter because He loves you so much. Jesus died and came back to life to save each one of us and to give us a life of hope, love, and faith. The greatest of these is love. You can be a Christian and still have a lot of fun.
Healer Offers Magnificent Entrance Coming Over, Multiplying Inspirational Nurturing Guidance! (H.O.M.E.C.O.M.I.N.G)
If you would like to ask Jesus to be part of your life and be your Guiding Light as He has become my Guiding Light, why don't you pray this prayer with me and mean it in your heart!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have heard that you love me so much just the way I am. I want you to be the whole of my life. There are so many things that are happening in my life right now and I need you to intervene to help me out. I am so sorry for my sins. I confess my sins to you Lord and repent of them. Please be in control of my life and be my Guiding Light. Thank you so much Jesus. Please forgive me of my sins and help me. Thanks for forgiving me of my sins. I come now and acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior who will be my Light for eternity as I come home and find you as my Light of the World. Thanks Lord, I do not have to be alone but you are with me. I give my life to you Lord because you want to show me the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Please come into my heart and make my heart your home. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home! Thanks for living in me Lord and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thanks again for this new life and all my sins are forgiven and I am washed clean. Thank you for dying for me and coming back to life to save me. Thanks for hearing me and answering me. You are my Heavenly Father and have given me the best homecoming as you are ready to take me in your arms of love. Thank you I need not go by feelings but on your promises! I claim your promises Lord! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
Love in Christ,
Ramesh
P.S. Check out the ZanyCrossword puzzle I created for you all.
It is interactive which means you can solve it online.
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