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The Real Meaning of Easter

4/16/2014

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Rapture
part 4 of 4
by
Mary Pulipati

Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Matt.24:39-42
Scripture reading for today 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
Jesus told his disciples that there were many rooms in His Father house. He would be going there to prepare a place for them. And if He went and prepared a place for them He would come back to take them to be with Him. And also He told them that He was the way and the truth and the life. No one could go to the Father except through Him (John 14:1-7). Jesus very clearly told them He would be coming back to take them with Him to his Father’s house. This coming back is a reference to his Second Advent. From the Scriptures we understand that His return to this earth has two stages. The first stage is mentioned in the above reference where one will be taken and the other left (Matt. 24:39-42). The Lord’s coming will be a time of separation. The believer will be taken into Christ’s kingdom but the unbeliever will be left for judgment. The Lord brought life and immortality to light by the gospel. Jesus also taught them to be watchful for His return. Paul gives a description of this future event, basing on a special revelation given to him by the Lord. This is called the rapture, though the same word is not used in the Bible. Many Bible commentators believe that this is the first of the two comings; not a coming to the earth but in the air When Christ meets the saints in the air He takes them back to heaven with Him and presents them before the Father’s throne where they remain during the time the tribulation runs its course on the earth. The Lord taught that the days immediately preceding that glorious event would be like the days of Noah. People eat, drink, and marry which means they live normal lives without thinking of their future which has no end. They do not have time for God and the things of His kingdom. The Second Coming of Christ would mean judgment for those who reject His offer of mercy. In the Olivet discourse of Matthew 24 Jesus gave more information about His Second Coming. Mostly the prophecies in the Bible have two fulfillments; an early and a later final fulfillment. The lesson Jesus taught them was to watch because the day and hour of His coming are unknown. Believers should live as if the Lord might come at any moment. They should be ready with lamps trimmed and filled with oil like the five wise virgins. Jesus said, “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed” (Rev.16:15) Jesus exchanged His robe of righteousness with our filthy rags on Calvary. We have to put on that robe at all times.

We need not fear or worry about future events that have been predicted as long as we believe in the Resurrection of the Lord and obey His commands. Easter gives us the hope of new life. Just like nature renews and revives at spring, we will be renewed and regenerated by becoming obedient to the teaching of the Lord. He gives us victory over sin and death because He did it all for us. What He promised, He fulfills. Just like He said, He rose again from the dead; just like He said He sent the Holy Spirit to empower us. Just like He said He would come again to take us with Him and save us from judgment, He would. Our part is to believe and be watchful. That is the meaning of Easter!!

Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of Salvation. Increase our faith and empower us to share your love and the message of hope with others who never heard of it. Give us the courage to boldly proclaim the good news that sin and death have no power over believers. Amen!
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Mary Pulipati was born and raised in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. She has been living in New Jersey with her husband, Vijay Pulipati, for the past 25 years. Mary and Vijay have three grown children who live in New Jersey with their respective families. They have six grandsons and one granddaughter. Mary is a born-again Christian who developed a close relationship with her Savior from a very young age. She holds an M.A. degree in English Language and Literature, another M.A. degree in Theology, and a Bachelor of Education. She worked as a Lecturer in English for the Department of Higher Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India for two decades. She worked as claims adjudicator for Health Insurance companies for another two decades in the United States. She retired in 2008 and has been helping Campus Crusade for Christ International ministry in the United States. She is a trained volunteer for GMO (Global Media Outreach) and shares her faith with online seekers and helps struggling believers strengthen their walk with God. As an online missionary, she serves the Indian young adult community. She started “Breakthrough Prayer Cell” in New Jersey and encouraged others to start similar Prayer Cells in IL, TX, MD and NY under the umbrella of Naya Jeevan. She is an active ministry partner of Cathy Douglass, who is the Director of Naya Jeevan (New Life). Naya Jeevan is a project of Campus Crusade for Christ International.  She reaches out to the students of Rutgers University with the help of Chaplains Rev. David Mannon of ISI and Rev.Gregory Bezella of The Episcopal Campus Ministry. She is a member of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, Assemblies of God in East Brunswick. She teaches Vacation Bible School and helps adult Sunday school there. She is one of the founding members of United Evangelical Christian Fellowship, an Indian church in New Jersey. She served as board member for 6 years. She helped develop their Sunday school, women’s fellowship and group Bible study.  She also served Asian Indian Christian Church and National Association of Asian Indian Christians as a board member.
Walk with God and glorify His name.
Dessi

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The Real Meaning of Easter

4/15/2014

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Passover
part 3 of 4
by
Mary Pulipati

Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth. 
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Bible reading for today Exodus 12.
The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were closely connected. These feasts were to remind God’s people of His redemptive work on their behalf. The Passover commemorates God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery. The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures the kind of lives the redeemed should live: full of praise and free from malice and wickedness. All the Israelites males were to appear before the Lord with a gift according to each one’s ability. The law commanded annual attendance of all male adults with their families at three feasts: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles/Harvest (Ex.23:14-17, Deut.16:16). Distance and poverty prevented many from attending all the three but most Jews tried to take a pilgrimage to Jerusalem temple at Passover. We understand Jesus had observed Passover annually since his birth. “Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual” (Luke 2:41-42) In the Gospel of John four mentions of Jesus entering Jerusalem are recorded. Jesus grew up in Nazareth and had Capernaum as his ministry headquarters in the region of Galilee.

The Lord gave detailed instructions to Moses and Aaron on how to celebrate the Passover.  We need to observe here the sequence “a lamb” (12:3), “the lamb” (12:4),”your lamb” (12:5). The Passover lamb is a picture of Jesus Christ who died for the sins of the world (Jn.1:29; 1Cor.5:6-4). What is He to you “a Savior”, ‘the Savior”, or “my Savior” (Luke 1:47). Jesus is the perfect Lamb (1Pet.1:18-19) who had to die to save us. We are saved by applying His blood to our own hearts by faith. We feed on Jesus Christ when we meditate on His Word and make its truths a part of our inner person. Leaven/Yeast is a picture of sin; it begins small but spreads quickly. But if saved by the blood of Christ we will have a life that is pure and free from known sin. Paul explained these truths in 1 Corinthians 5. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God. John the Baptist introduced Jesus to Israel as” the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world “(Jn.1:29-34). Jesus is our Passover lamb (1Cor.5:7) “sacrificed once for all” (Heb, 7:27) for us. The blood of Jesus constitutes a perfect protection from judgment (Ex.12:13; 1 Jn.1:7; Heb.10:10, 14) and the feast typifies Christ the bread of life. It corresponds to the memorial supper (MTT.26:26-28, 1Cor.11:26-26). He offered himself as a sin offering for times and for all peoples to appease the Father’s anger against sinners. He loved us so much that he “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross.”(Phil.2:6-8). The gift of salvation is freely offered to everyone but it is for you to decide whether to accept the gift or reject. God sets  two ways before us and give us the freedom to choose wisely.
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Mary Pulipati was born and raised in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. She has been living in New Jersey with her husband, Vijay Pulipati, for the past 25 years. Mary and Vijay have three grown children who live in New Jersey with their respective families. They have six grandsons and one granddaughter. Mary is a born-again Christian who developed a close relationship with her Savior from a very young age. She holds an M.A. degree in English Language and Literature, another M.A. degree in Theology, and a Bachelor of Education. She worked as a Lecturer in English for the Department of Higher Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India for two decades. She worked as claims adjudicator for Health Insurance companies for another two decades in the United States. She retired in 2008 and has been helping Campus Crusade for Christ International ministry in the United States. She is a trained volunteer for GMO (Global Media Outreach) and shares her faith with online seekers and helps struggling believers strengthen their walk with God. As an online missionary, she serves the Indian young adult community. She started “Breakthrough Prayer Cell” in New Jersey and encouraged others to start similar Prayer Cells in IL, TX, MD and NY under the umbrella of Naya Jeevan. She is an active ministry partner of Cathy Douglass, who is the Director of Naya Jeevan (New Life). Naya Jeevan is a project of Campus Crusade for Christ International.  She reaches out to the students of Rutgers University with the help of Chaplains Rev. David Mannon of ISI and Rev.Gregory Bezella of The Episcopal Campus Ministry. She is a member of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, Assemblies of God in East Brunswick. She teaches Vacation Bible School and helps adult Sunday school there. She is one of the founding members of United Evangelical Christian Fellowship, an Indian church in New Jersey. She served as board member for 6 years. She helped develop their Sunday school, women’s fellowship and group Bible study.  She also served Asian Indian Christian Church and National Association of Asian Indian Christians as a board member.
Walk with God and glorify His name.
Dessi

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The Real Meaning of Easter

4/9/2014

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Easter
part 2 of 4
by
Mary Pulipati

And when he had apprehended him, he put him (Peter) in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Acts 12:4 KJV
Scripture reading for today John 20:10-31
The King James Version (KJV) commonly known as the Authorized Version is an English translation (1611) of the Christian Bible for the Church of England. This and a few other earlier English translations have the word Easter in the above passage. But the later translators recognized that Easter was an inaccurate translation of pascha (Greek) in acts 12:4. So they used Passover (English) instead of Easter. The word Easter is of Saxon origin. The Saxons were originally from northern Germany but invaded Britain in the 5th century AD along with Angles.  It is believed that in northern Europe and the British Isles people worshipped a pagan goddess by name Eostre/Eastre. She was supposed to be the goddess of dawn and was worshipped by pagans. The feast that was observed in her honor was called Easter by the Anglo-Saxons. It was a pagan festival and was observed long before Christ. Some Bible scholars (including FJ Dake) believe that the goddess Astarte/Ashtoreth in the Old Testament is the same as Eastre. It was the worship of this pagan deity by Israel that alienated them from God.  As this pagan festival Easter was celebrated at the beginning of spring, eggs and rabbits became symbols of Easter. It was believed that the worship of this woman would increase fertility and prosperity.  None of these celebrations have any relationship to Christ or the Christian Easter.  It is understood that the English word Passover corresponds to Hebrew “Pesach” which is a great feast of the Hebrew people commemorating their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. In the primitive church Passover was invariably applied to designate the festival of the Lord’s resurrection which took place at the same time. Many Bible scholars believe that modern observance of Easter represents a convergence of three different traditions:
1) The Hebrew Passover in Abib, the first month of the Jewish religious calendar corresponding to March/April
2) the pagan festival of Eastre (festival of spring) which fell on vernal equinox (March 21st)
3) the day of the Lord’s resurrection
The word Easter in Acts 12:4 (KJV) is likely to refer to the Roman celebration of Eostra/ Eastre which celebrates the revival and resurrection of nature after winter. In an attempt to honor the only one and true God many Christians have decided to move away from the term Easter, using Resurrection Day in its place. Whatever name we use, we Christians have a clear conscience about the Lord’s victory over sin and death. Because the early Christians could not openly celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they held their celebration at the same time as the pagans and the Jews.
Christians must grow in the knowledge of God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Only the word of God as recorded in the Bible teaches us the true meaning of the virgin birth and the life and death of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus gives us hope and faith in a future life in eternity. The commercialization of Easter binds us to the earth and hinders us from soaring higher and higher in spirituality. The true meaning of Easter is the gift of eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
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Mary Pulipati was born and raised in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. She has been living in New Jersey with her husband, Vijay Pulipati, for the past 25 years. Mary and Vijay have three grown children who live in New Jersey with their respective families. They have six grandsons and one granddaughter. Mary is a born-again Christian who developed a close relationship with her Savior from a very young age. She holds an M.A. degree in English Language and Literature, another M.A. degree in Theology, and a Bachelor of Education. She worked as a Lecturer in English for the Department of Higher Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India for two decades. She worked as claims adjudicator for Health Insurance companies for another two decades in the United States. She retired in 2008 and has been helping Campus Crusade for Christ International ministry in the United States. She is a trained volunteer for GMO (Global Media Outreach) and shares her faith with online seekers and helps struggling believers strengthen their walk with God. As an online missionary, she serves the Indian young adult community. She started “Breakthrough Prayer Cell” in New Jersey and encouraged others to start similar Prayer Cells in IL, TX, MD and NY under the umbrella of Naya Jeevan. She is an active ministry partner of Cathy Douglass, who is the Director of Naya Jeevan (New Life). Naya Jeevan is a project of Campus Crusade for Christ International.  She reaches out to the students of Rutgers University with the help of Chaplains Rev. David Mannon of ISI and Rev.Gregory Bezella of The Episcopal Campus Ministry. She is a member of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, Assemblies of God in East Brunswick. She teaches Vacation Bible School and helps adult Sunday school there. She is one of the founding members of United Evangelical Christian Fellowship, an Indian church in New Jersey. She served as board member for 6 years. She helped develop their Sunday school, women’s fellowship and group Bible study.  She also served Asian Indian Christian Church and National Association of Asian Indian Christians as a board member.
Walk with God and glorify His name.
Dessi

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The Real Meaning of Easter

4/7/2014

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"Resurrection"
part 1 of 4
by
Mary Pulipati

Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here. He is risen from the dead! Remember what He told you back in Galilee. Luke 24:5-6
Scripture reading for today: Luke 24:1-12

Jesus died on the cross on Calvary outside Jerusalem on a Friday at about 3:00 pm probably in  33 AD. Jesus was not executed. He willingly offered His life for the salvation of all mankind. He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep…….. I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.” John 10:11-15 The Lord’s birth, life, death and resurrection were all prophesied well in advance and his entire life was in fulfillment of those prophecies. This is unique.
Saturday is the day of rest for the Jewish people and the body of Jesus had to be interred before sunset on Friday. Their day begins with sun rise and ends with sun set. Leaving the body on the cross for two days was disrespect to the Lord. Two men boldly claimed the body of Jesus. They were not his family members but they were secret followers of the Lord. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were both men of wealth and power. They passed from hiding in the darkness to coming into the light at the Teacher’s death. They hurriedly removed his body from the cross, applied expensive spices to his body, wrapped him in a shroud and laid him in a brand new garden tomb. All his followers ran helter-skelter at his crucifixion and went into hiding. John the beloved disciple and a few women were standing at the foot of the cross as Jesus suffered. It was not just physical torture, it was spiritual agitation also; he suffered separation from the Father which was more painful. He bore all the sin of the world and underwent punishment in order to buy forgiveness from Father God for all of us. He died so we may live. Spiritual death is separation from God. He saved us from that. All sinners and rebels against God’s rule will end up in hell as eternal punishment. Jesus loved us all: both Jews and Gentiles alike and paid the penalty for sin. By accepting the Lordship of Jesus as the Son of God, we have peace with God and peace with one another. His disciples did not understand this at that moment. They forgot what all Jesus told them about his death, resurrection and the blessings we receive from it.  At early dawn on Sunday some women who loved the Lord went to the tomb with spices they had prepared, they did not remember that a huge stone which had been rolled against the mouth of the tomb would stop them from applying the spices to his body. But when they arrived the stone had already been rolled away and Jesus’ body was no longer in the tomb. They saw two angels who announced to them that Jesus had risen from the dead as he had predicted. What joy and wonder struck them was beyond description. This is the Lord’s resurrection, the first Easter which is the foundation to Christian faith!!
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Mary Pulipati was born and raised in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. She has been living in New Jersey with her husband, Vijay Pulipati, for the past 25 years. Mary and Vijay have three grown children who live in New Jersey with their respective families. They have six grandsons and one granddaughter. Mary is a born-again Christian who developed a close relationship with her Savior from a very young age. She holds an M.A. degree in English Language and Literature, another M.A. degree in Theology, and a Bachelor of Education. She worked as a Lecturer in English for the Department of Higher Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India for two decades. She worked as claims adjudicator for Health Insurance companies for another two decades in the United States. She retired in 2008 and has been helping Campus Crusade for Christ International ministry in the United States. She is a trained volunteer for GMO (Global Media Outreach) and shares her faith with online seekers and helps struggling believers strengthen their walk with God. As an online missionary, she serves the Indian young adult community. She started “Breakthrough Prayer Cell” in New Jersey and encouraged others to start similar Prayer Cells in IL, TX, MD and NY under the umbrella of Naya Jeevan. She is an active ministry partner of Cathy Douglass, who is the Director of Naya Jeevan (New Life). Naya Jeevan is a project of Campus Crusade for Christ International.  She reaches out to the students of Rutgers University with the help of Chaplains Rev. David Mannon of ISI and Rev.Gregory Bezella of The Episcopal Campus Ministry. She is a member of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, Assemblies of God in East Brunswick. She teaches Vacation Bible School and helps adult Sunday school there. She is one of the founding members of United Evangelical Christian Fellowship, an Indian church in New Jersey. She served as board member for 6 years. She helped develop their Sunday school, women’s fellowship and group Bible study.  She also served Asian Indian Christian Church and National Association of Asian Indian Christians as a board member.
Walk with God and glorify His name.
Dessi

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4/3/2014

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