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An Inspirational Message for the Month of November 2024 – The Way of Mercy – by Charles Schokman Reflection Many of us have heard the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus multiple times. But today, we invite you to see it as an example of Jesus accompanying two people in desperate need of mercy. The two disciples are fleeing Jerusalem in fear. They’ve left the community of believers and set out on their own. Like so many in our community today, they have lost hope. Now, Jesus draws near to them and walks with them. He listens to their story and sorrow, empathising, consoling – accompanying them. Then he begins his instruction. He starts with a rebuke: they are “foolish” and “slow of heart to believe” (Luke 24:25). They are stuck in wrong-think, which is preventing them from seeing and receiving the good news. Recalling the ...

Nov 5, 2024 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Charles Schokman Tagged INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE, Jerusalem, The Way of Mercy

SUNDAY CHOICE – PALM SUNDAY-HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST – By Charles Schokman Today, Christians around the world are celebrating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (which we usually call “Palm Sunday,” because the crowd welcomed Him by spreading palm branches in His path). Those who greeted Him were convinced He was the Messiah (or “anointed one”), sent by God to establish His Kingdom on earth. Why did the crowds turn against Jesus so quickly? One week they welcomed Him, and the next week they demanded He be crucified. Billy Graham addressed this important question numerous times in his My Answer column. “No events in human history were more important than Jesus’ death and resurrection, and yet many people (even Christians) never take time to study them. It must have been a dramatic sight as Jesus approached Jerusalem on a donkey (which was a sign of His humility). The ...

Mar 22, 2024 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Charles Schokman Tagged Billy Graham, Christians, Easter, first Palm Sunday, God, Jerusalem, Palm Sunday

AWAY IN A MANGER – A Christmas CARD – By Ernest Macintyre Image Source : catholic-daily-reflections NO CRIB FOR A BED Both during Christmas festivities as well as prayers of thanks in the season, a mediating thought can be that God appeared on earth amongst the poor. Why? There are some suggestive indicators from which a design may be worked out. It was probably a recognition that the great multitudes on earth were these materially unfortunate people . It is not that the more fortunate classes were neglected by The Lord but as the Bible quotes Jesus as saying in Luke 18:25 that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” It is also in the Qur’an of Islam. The “Eye of the Needle” was in fact a narrow gateway into Jerusalem. Since camels were heavily ...

Dec 20, 2023 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles Tagged Christmas, Jerusalem, Jesus, season, Sri Lanka

Religious Legends and Natural Wonders Near the Dead Sea – by Dr. Gamini Kariyawasam Between the sky and the sea, the mountain range towards Jerusalem is golden in color from the distance as the sun sets. The area is covered by the vast sea and a quiet plain covered with fog, which makes the human mind drowsy. A closer inspection of the milky rock that rises from place to place in the sun shows that it is a water table made of salt. Some time ago, when I was working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I had to go to Jordan for some official work. That’s how I pictured the Dead Sea, a wonderful creation of nature that I saw there. This academic article was prepared using the wealth of knowledge extracted from the views that caught my eye, the information I heard, and the reference to academic documents. The Dead ...

May 22, 2023 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Dr. Gamini Kariyawasam Tagged Amman, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Judean Mountains, Natural Wonders

Jerusalem I Long to Behold (Beggars’ Choice) – Creation to Redemption, Birth in the Grace Train – by Lakshman Navaratne The numbers, tell the real story; the God of Hebrews have heard the cry of the Gentile nations, and adopted us to be his very own! This is the story of a Chosen Generation. Christianity preached by the Apostles during the first century after Christ was pure Revelation of the Risen Christ in the heart of Living humans. The faithful, were not focused on human Jesus who was the son of Mary for 30 years, until the Baptism of Jesus at the Jordon River, by the last prophet for the nation of Israel. [B] There were no Jewish prophets for the last 2000 years of humanity, yet today on earth, faithful to the God of Israel has outnumbered all other humans worshipping un-known deities. The 39 books of the Old Testament, ...

Feb 27, 2023 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Lakshman Navaratne Tagged Apostles of Christ, Christianity, God, Jerusalem, Jesus

SUNDAY CHOICE – “Gethsemane” sung by a little girl —So Heavenly – by Charles Schokman In Matthew 21, Jesus has just arrived in Jerusalem for the final days leading up to His death on the cross. While He was in the temple, healing the blind and the lame, the leading priests and scribes saw Jesus performing miracles and even heard children shouting, “Hosanna! Praise God for the Son of David.” The religious teachers grew irate, questioning Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus responded to His critics, asking, “Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise’?” (Matthew 21:16, NKJV). Jesus was quoting Psalm 8:2: “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.” Pray this hymn sung so beautifully by this little girl ...

Feb 18, 2023 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles Tagged Gethsemane, God, Jerusalem, Jesus

The True Story Behind Handel’s ‘Messiah’ and the Day He Had a Vision of God in Heaven—Mark Martin. For many, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without witnessing or taking part in a performance of Handel’s “Messiah.” From the Virginia Symphony in the United States to the heart of the Holy Land, Jerusalem, the show is felt across the globe. German-born George Frideric Handel moved to London in his late thirties. Handel considered himself an opera composer, but public interest was waning in England, and by 1741 a discouraged Handel wondered if retirement was near. “Some people do think at this point, it was kind of like a career crisis … and it’s quite possible that he was thinking of returning to Germany,” Martin Wyatt, deputy director of Handel House Museum in London, told CBN News. That’s when Charles Jennens handed him the words, or libretto, of “Messiah.” Jennens, a literary scholar, carefully ...

Jan 5, 2023 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles Tagged Christmas, George Frideric, Handel House Museum, Jerusalem, Messiah, opera composer