The Best of all is God with us

                              The First Methodist Conference of Sri Lanka, 1814            The month of August every year is significant for the people called Methodists in Sri Lanka. The Annual Conference of the Methodist Church meets in Colombo for its annual deliberations. The Methodist clergy and lay leaders representing different parts of the island gather for deliberations on the mission work of the church. The gathering elects the President Bishop, the Vice-President and other officials for a term and is the supreme decision-making body of the Church. The annual Conference is a great tradition of Methodism, introduced by John Wesley in 1744. John Wesley has recorded the following: "In June 1744, I desired my brother and a few other clergymen to meet me in London to consider how we should proceed to save our own souls and those who heard ...

  The Spirit of Judas in Modern Churches Judas is mostly remembered for his betrayal of Jesus. But this is not the whole truth about Judas. When looking deeper into the relationship between Jesus and Judas, it seems that he would have been an admirer of Jesus as the expected Messiah. Otherwise, later, how did Jesus choose Judas to be one of his twelve apostles? The twelve apostles spent time together, travelled together, and shared meals together with Jesus. Jesus seems to have developed confidence in Judas to the extent of appointing him as the keeper of the common purse (treasurer). Jesus may have chosen him for what he was and what he might have been, not for what he became! However, at the anointing of Jesus by Mary in Lazarus’ home, another side of Judas’ life is revealed (John 12: 1ff) …Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. Isn’t Judas repeating almost the same thin...

 The "Arrestable" Jesus At the time of writing this reflection, the Sri Lankan Society is debating the arrest of people on various charges. Some seek legal intervention to avoid being arrested. Others flee the country and go into hiding. Those with high connections have got away without arrest. I was moved to reflect on how Jesus faced his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, which I believe will be thought-provoking for us. The arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is recorded in all four Gospels of the New Testament. However, John (the writer of the 4th Gospel) presents the arrest of Jesus from a different perspective (John 18:1–11). He does not mention Judas' betrayal kiss. Instead, he records that "…. Judas brought a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. They arrived at the garden carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons." The opposing forces had come together with Judas for the nighttime arrest of Jesus, the Messiah. Th...

                                                                                                       A self-proclaimed prophet who is building up a cult in Sri Lanka has caused a huge uproar because of derogatory comments he made about Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. This is not the only incident of this nature. We have had extremist Buddhist monks with political agendas attack the beliefs of Christians and Muslims. Sadly, the authorities haven't done much to bring them to book. Sri Lanka is a country where Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity are practised by its people. If we allow these irresponsible behaviours, we will be playing into the hands of those who are waiting to d...

            THE IMPLICATIONS OF STEPPING DOWN During the time I was in leadership of my church, a person sat down in front of me and described how he had held all the high positions in our church, both at the local and national level, for more than thirty years. At the time of our conversation, he was still holding a high position at the national church level. To my great surprise, he said, "Now that my children are in university, the time is right to withdraw from all the positions in the church and give time for them." My sincere response to him was, "Yes, you have understood your priority, and I am very glad about it." "Send your resignation, and I will advise the Church Standing Committee to release you from your responsibility." However, at the time of handing over to his successor, I discovered that he was a disgruntled man. Later, I heard from another that he was very unhappy with me for not asking him to stay on! Now he has come back and gotten int...

"Signs and Wonders" that lead astray The delivery of Israelites from the repressive hand of the Egyptian Pharaoh is recorded in the Old Testament as God bringing them out "with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with signs and wonders " (Deuteronomy 26:8). The New Testament also records that Jesus and the Apostles performed signs and wonders, which are also referred to as miracles. To this very day, the Christian Church teaches and believes in the supernatural interventions of God in human history and refers to them as "signs and wonders." In looking at the Greek meaning of "signs and wonders" in the New Testament, this is what we find: The Greek word sēmeíon  is translated as "sign." It is given specifically to confirm, validate, or authenticate the end goal of exalting the giver. The Greek word téras  is translated as a miraculous wonde r . It is performed to elicit a reaction from witnesses; it is an extraordinary supernatu...

    Prosperity Gospel and Healing The earthly ministry of Jesus was a preaching, teaching, and healing ministry (Matthew 4:23). These three characteristics are vividly recorded in the four gospels of the New Testament as demonstrations of the dawning of God’s kingdom. The same ministry was entrusted by Christ to the disciples and thereafter to the church. It is my humble belief that God continues to call the church to carry out the ministry of healing today, and I personally testify to the same. The prosperity gospel or "health and wealth gospel" preachers bring a huge distortion to the Christian understanding of healing. They teach that everyone can be healed if they use their faith. I could see prosperity preachers intensely trying to manipulate both God and the person in need of healing. Who is the God in whom we believe? "God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." (Psa 115.3). "[God] works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will....