But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony – Revelation 12:11a (NRSV)

Greetings in Jesus’ Most Holy Name!

Witness is a judicial term that implies seeing, hearing and testifying about something or someone. When we witness about someone, first hand knowledge is important because this leads to experience. The one who proclaims Jesus should have seen, touched, heard and experienced Him personally. The apostles of our Lord testify about Him through their personal encounters with Him - 1 John 1:1-4. We are like St. Paul who have not seen the Earthly Lord, but we have experienced the Ascended Lord. We encounter the Risen Lord through the sacraments and through our faith in Him. The testimony of the followers of Christ who have seen and personally experienced Him is effective and has the power to conquer and break the power of the Evil one, who accuses them day and night before God. Witnessing without personal involvement is a false testimony. It is important to testify about the Lord through our transformed lives.

Our personal witness of Jesus has tremendous power to draw others to Him. We see this in the story of the Samaritan Woman – John 4:1-42. She was a woman in need of deep emotional healing. How do we know this? Because she was living a secluded life; she chose to come to the well to draw water at noon when no one would be around in that area. Jacob’s well was a place in Samaria where women of that time usually gathered to fill water. Jesus got into a conversation with this woman and started to draw out her pain through her confession about her lonely life. She was thirsting for love, which is why she had 5 husbands, and the 6th one she was living with was not her husband! This deeply hurt woman was still looking for genuine love. And when she encountered LOVE speaking to her at that well and drawing out her pain, her healing was complete! She was filled with so much joy that she went back to her city and told all the people there about Jesus!

I have always wondered about the obedience of this Samaritan woman in response to Jesus words – “Go call your husband and come back.” – John 4:16. Which husband was Jesus referring to? Was it husband No. 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5? I suppose this woman must have told the man she was currently living with about Jesus and she certainly must have testified to this man too and drew him to Jesus! What or who can we bring to Jesus, today? The Samaritan woman brought the entire city through her personal witness after Jesus got her to open her heart through her genuine confession and repentance. She certainly experienced the love of Jesus and shared His love through her testimony to the people in her city. This is true evangelization – Sharing from the heart with others about what Jesus has personally done for you! For some people, our transformed lives may be the only Bible they will ever see! Our faces of love, faces of joy, faces of peace must testify about Jesus because we can radiate His Love, Joy, Peace only when we ourselves are filled with Him.

As followers and disciples of Jesus, we are in Christ bearing witness about Him to the world. Are we aware of people beyond salvation because they are desperate for living waters, inner healing, forgiveness and release? Let us draw them to Christ who alone can heal them and fill their lives with His transforming love. May our own testimonies of encountering our Lord personally touch the lives of others as we say, Come and See like the Samaritan woman!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for shedding Your precious Blood for each of us. May our testimonies always bear witness through our transformed lives, so that those who do not know You yet may experience the power of Your Love!

Blessings,

Monisha Rebello

You may submit your prayer requests, which will be treated with absolute confidence. Remember to glorify our Lord as soon as He blesses you. You can email your testimonies with permission to publish them online at www.heavensmission.witnesstoday.org

…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for His good pleasure – Philippians 2:12b-13 (NRSV)

Greetings in Jesus’ Most Holy Name!

Through His sacrificial death on the Cross, Jesus Christ purchased salvation for each one of us who believes in Him, yet why does St. Paul in the above Bible verse exhort us to work out our own salvation? We are to ‘work OUT our salvation’, not ‘work FOR our salvation’. If we had the ability to work FOR our salvation, then Jesus Christ died in vain! His painful sacrificial death on the Cross would be meaningless if we could save ourselves! God our Father views all our human works as filthy rags – Isaiah 64:6. He offers us a free gift of salvation by trusting in His Son’s death, burial and resurrection as being sufficient for our eternal security.

We are to ‘work OUT our salvation’, not ‘work FOR our salvation’.

How are we to work out our salvation? The Word of God says with ‘fear and trembling’, but fear of what or whom? Is St. Paul asking us to fear God? If we are performing good works through obedience and gratitude towards God for the irrevocable past gift of salvation, then why should we be scared and trembling? In the analogy of a child who wants to please his parents by doing the daily household chores in fear and trembling, because he or she fears being punished or displeasing the parents, rather than performing those tasks because he loves them. If our perspective of God is of One who punishes, then we will fear Him rather than love Him. God is Love. His steadfast love never ceases and His mercies never come to an end. Infact, they are new EVERY morning – Lamentations 3:22-23.

Fear and trembling in the above Bible verse then, can best be described as a reverential awe towards God; the knowledge of His grace which is sufficient for us. St. Paul is exhorting us to be vigilant to remain in a state of grace and holiness with God, lest we fall out of it. And as sinners, we will fall if we take His love and mercy for granted. The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom - Proverbs 1:7; 9:10.

Are we working FOR God or WITH God? 

Hence, we are to work out our salvation by obedience, because God is at work in us. In other words, we are to manifest the anointing, gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit within us with great respect and care because the power of God is involved with whatever we are doing. Led and guided by the Holy Spirit, we need to discern God’s will and the action to be taken. Here, we can also ask ourselves this question – Are we working FOR God or WITH God? Many of us want to work for God and do good works, but few work with Him. When we work with God, He leads guides and directs our paths through the power of His Spirit and all He asks is our humble obedience to His promptings! St. Paul himself manifested the power of God with fear and trembling. We read about this in 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 – “And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”

The best example in the Bible of one who worked out his salvation is Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10. He was seeking to see who Jesus was. When he heard that Jesus was coming to Jericho, he climbed a tree in order to be able to see Him. Zaccheus had a reputation of being an extortioner and a sinner. What must have been going through his mind as he sat on that sycomore tree and waited to see Jesus? I believe that Zacchaeus was WORKING OUT HIS SALVATION AS HE SAT ON TOP OF HIS SINS on that tree! He surely must have acknowledged his sinful life right there on that tree and repented for all his wrongs with a firm determination of repaying evil with good. Even with the crowd surrounding that place, Zacchaeus was connected with the heart of Jesus because we read in Luke 19:5 – when Jesus came to the place, even in that crowd of people, He looked up and addressed Zacchaeus by name! Jesus knew that deep in his heart, Zacchaeus was not all that bad. Even if he had dirtied his hands in immoral deeds, he had not lost his sense of what was good as evidenced by his eagerness to see Jesus even to the extent of humbling himself by climbing up a tree. And we know that Jesus did not disappoint this effort of Zacchaeus. He received Jesus joyfully into his home; a genuine joy that reflected the transformation effected in him when he saw Jesus. Zacchaeus the outcast sinner had never felt more accepted for what he was than at that very moment in the presence of Jesus. His conversion was apparent in his speech and decision to rectify his evil deeds. When God deals with sinners, He overlooks the sins of men that they may repent – Wisdom 11: 23-24. God first overlooks sin; then repentance follows. As humans, we demand repentance first, then we overlook the wrongs and sins of others. This highlights the difference between the way God and we forgive.

We are all sinners and therefore in need of salvation. Like Zacchaeus, let us begin by seeking to see who Jesus was. To see and know Jesus, we must make efforts to spend time in His presence. We too will be given opportunities for repentance in an atmosphere of acceptance, because Jesus’ mission is to save what was lost. When we respond to Jesus’ call or his knock on the door of our hearts, our transformation may be considered suspect especially by those who have already pre-judged us as sinners. But let us not allow that to bother us as Zacchaeus did not and worked out his salvation. After responding to Jesus’ desire to stay in our hearts, may we too like Zacchaeus, hear His same words – “Today, salvation has come to this house.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the free gift of salvation and grace. May we always honor the painful price that You paid to redeem each one of us from death and sin through Your sacrificial death on the Cross.

Blessings,

Monisha Rebello

You may submit your prayer requests, which will be treated with absolute confidence. Remember to glorify our Lord as soon as He blesses you. You can email your testimonies with permission to publish them online at www.heavensmission.witnesstoday.org

The Lord turned and looked at Peter - Luke 22:61a (NRSV)

Greetings in Jesus’ Most Holy Name!

A ‘Look’ can speak volumes without words being spoken. Our looks can convey more than what we wish to speak or communicate. It’s been said that our ‘eyes’ are the windows of our soul. And those who are filled with guilt cannot look into the eyes of the one whom they have betrayed. The ‘Look’ of Jesus at Peter in the above Bible verse is no mere glance. Jesus turned to look at Peter with piercing, discerning eyes. And what did Peter see in the eyes of Jesus that pierced his heart and soul? What did those eyes tell him? The next words in Luke 22:61-62 describe Peter’s actions. He “remembered” what Jesus had predicted about his denial. Hence, confronted with his betrayal and memory of Jesus’ words, Peter was a totally broken man as he went out and wept bitterly. His heart must have been broken into a thousand pieces with the knowledge of what he had done.

We can certainly imagine the turmoil Peter was going through emotionally; no doubt he felt shame and guilt on being confronted with his sin of betrayal and denial. We have all felt the same when confronted with our sins. Can we imagine what Jesus was going through as He looked into Peter's eyes, knowing that Peter had just denied Him, just like He had predicted? Which pain would be worse for Jesus to endure? - The pain of the scourging and crucifixion or the pain of betrayal of His friend?

For some of us, the eyes of Jesus that looked at Peter may seem condemning, without any hope or redemption. Yes, Peter had sinned; he did not measure up because he had betrayed a dear friend. For others, the eyes of Jesus may seem filled with disappointment. Yes, Peter had disappointed Jesus; he knew he should not have denied our Lord, but he did nevertheless and that too, three times! Peter also had expectations of himself as a follower of Jesus. Even if the other disciples ran away, he would not. He had even said that he would die with Jesus if necessary. To feel Jesus’ disappointment would mean that he was seeking Jesus’ approval.

Personally, I think Peter saw sadness; a compassionate and hopeful sadness in the eyes of Jesus. Jesus grieved for Peter as He looked at him with eyes of merciful love. His eyes expressed sympathy and caring. They were ‘redemptive’ eyes. Jesus was more interested in a deep relationship with Peter than excluding, punishing or condemning him. Jesus demonstrates the divine love of a parent who grieves over the failures of his child but still does not give up on him. Peter saw in Jesus’ eyes, the on-going compassionate and forgiving love of our Lord that would strengthen Peter through this entire experience & help him deepen his commitment as a true disciple!

Peter indeed cried bitterly and these tears were not tears of self-pity but tears of sorrow, brokenness and repentance over what he had done to Jesus. Remembrance indeed has a theological significance, because we see Jesus’ remembrance of Peter’s denial and repentance to let him know that despite Peter’s sins of denial and betrayal, He loved him and His plan for Peter would be fulfilled – John 21: 15-19. When God brings back a memory, He does so in order to heal and restore us and fulfill His divine plan for our lives!

As our Lord did with Peter, so He does with us, daily. We don't deserve it, but still He loves and forgives us. He knows how many times we have denied and let Him down; the times we have kept quiet when we should have spoken out; the times we have spoken out when we should have kept quiet and the times we have disgraced His name. And yet with grace, He stands with His arms open wide saying, “Come unto Me…My child.”

In our betrayals, our sins, our denials, what do we see in the eyes of Jesus as He looks at us? The cock may not crow to remind us, but each time we deny our Lord, let us remember that we are adding another stripe, another pain, another hurt to the One who truly deserves none! The sad and compassionate eyes of our Lord Jesus anticipated the joy of redemption for Peter, for me and for each of us. In my own personal traumatic experiences of the past, I too had turned away from our Lord, but like a true Shepherd who goes after that one lost lamb, He came looking for me, to draw me back into His arms. Sometimes, our Lord will allow us to stray only to make us come back to Him so strongly that for eternity there will be no turning back! That’s the power of His grace and merciful love for each one of us!

Prayer: Beloved Lord Jesus, through our tears of remembrance, like Peter may we too gain strength through the compassionate love and hope that we see in Your eyes. May Your love O Lord, draw us back to You, where we truly belong.

Blessings,

Monisha Rebello

You may submit your prayer requests, which will be treated with absolute confidence. Remember to glorify our Lord as soon as He blesses you. You can email your testimonies with permission to publish them online at www.heavensmission.witnesstoday.org