THE WALK TO EMMAUS

On that same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a village named Emmaus, about eleven kilometres from Jerusalem, and they were talking to each other about all the things that had happened.  As they talked and discussed, Jesus Himself drew near and walked along with them; they saw Him, but somehow did not recognise Him.  Jesus said to them, “What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?”

They stood still, with sad faces.  One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening there these last few days?”

“What things?” He asked.

“The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered.  “This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything He said and did.  Our chief priests and rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and He was crucified.  And we had hoped that He would be the one who was going to set Israel free!  Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened.  Some of the women of our group surprised us; they went at dawn to the tomb, but could not find His body.  They came back saying that had seen a vision of angels who told them that He is alive.  Some of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see Him.”

Then Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said!  Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?”  And Jesus explained to them what was said about Himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.

As they came near the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther; but they held Him back, saying, “Stay with us; the day is almost over and it is getting dark.”  So He went in to stay with them.  He sat down to eat with them, took the bread and said the blessing; then He broke the bread and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they recognised Him, but He disappeared from their sight.  They said to each other, “Wasn’t it like a fire burning in us when He talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

They got up at once and went back to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven disciples gathered together with the others and saying, “The Lord is risen indeed!  He has appeared to Simon!”

The two then explained to them what had happened on the road, and how they had recognised the Lord when He broke the bread.

(Luke 24 : 13 -35)

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

VICTORY PRIZE

The Holy Bible says, “….Israel’s Holy God is great, and He lives among His people.”  (Isaiah 12:8)

PART ONE

Our daily life is buzzing with so many activities and filled with priorities to fulfil before the day ends and we fail to ponder over our blessings or to spend some time with our loving Saviour. We fail to understand the necessity of our Lord’s presence in our busy schedules. Lord Jesus too worked constantly, yet He made it clear on various instances that His prime priority was to meet the Father and fulfil His desire. In every crowd, His eyes searched for the neediest, afflicted ones and His heart yearned to set them free in order to honour God His Father. Aware of the emotion’s that ruled the heart’s of the poor, Lord Jesus moved with compassion to make them happy. His enemies were tight lipped by his wise teachings.

Let us take the instance when Lord Jesus was invited to a leading Pharisee’s home for a meal. The crowd gathered were busy merry- making, while our Lord was seated in the centre. The plan of God for His Son to be there, was to set free a man who was seated far in a corner, with his body swollen and heart filled with the bitter pain of loneliness. Lord Jesus gazed into the man’s heart; He healed him with just a consoling pat and sent him away. “Do not be worried and upset! I am your true friend and refuge. Go in peace!” The divine Lord’s look exchanged silent words of reassurance with the troubled heart conveying comfort and happiness. Lord Jesus calls all of us to His side to draw our share of joy, peace and love of the Father which are the true essence to survive on this earth; the fruits of its goodness and be the share of true eternal life. We are all created to be happy. We often ask our loved ones what they desire as a gift over our preferred choices; so that it is useful to them.  It is indeed truly heart touching to see our Lord Jesus in the last day of His mission with a profound departure pain encouraging His disciples, saying, “Until now you have not asked for anything in My Name; ask and you will receive, so that your happiness may be complete.” (John 16:24); Lord Jesus observed that they did not respond to Him.

Yes dear readers, sometimes owing to our inner confusion, we fail to understand other’s emotions. We may pray fervently but there are times when we don’t know what to pray for. Lord Jesus, who knows every human heart says to us, “Be still, know that I am your God.” He comforts us in our miserable and pitiable state. After being seated at the right side of the Father, He continues His work saying, “Listen, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into His house and eat with Him and He will eat with Me.”  (Revelation 19:20) We, too in this earthly life, must have come across situations when we were made to wait after knocking; its instances like these that make us impatient and irritated; and we almost consider the waiting more of a nuisance. But look at our Lord! Untiringly Lord Jesus waits near the door of every human heart for a response. He is knocking continuously to enter into your life, invite you to sit near Him and to share all that is in your life; to brighten up your bitterness, furthermore to comfort and hug you. He wants to help you to live and be victorious enough to achieve the prize. St. Paul teaches us that this is the time to run the best of your race. He said, “I have done my best in the race.  I have run the full distance and I have kept the faith and now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

(to be continued..)

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you.May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

THE TRANSFIGURATION

Six days later, Jesus took with Him, Peter and the brothers James and John and led them up a high mountain where they were alone.  As they looked on, a change came over Jesus; His face was shining like the sun, and His clothes were dazzling white.  Then the three disciples saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus.  So Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “Lord, how good it is that we are here!  If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”

While he was talking, a shining cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased – listen to Him!” 

When the disciples heard the voice they were so terrified, they threw themselves face downwards on the ground.  Jesus came to them and touched them, “Get up,” He said, “Don’t be afraid.”  So they looked up and saw no one there but Jesus.

As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone about this vision you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from death.”

(Matthew 17:1-9)

This is the Word of Lord

Thanks be to the God

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

A DREAM PARADISE

Jesus said, “None of those who cry out, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven”. (Matthew 7:21)

PART I

I would personally like to thank each one of you for your prayers, concerns and support.  It is always a pleasure to know your eagerness for the Living Word.

Lord Jesus always silenced the self justifying tone of the Sadducees with a good answer; that’s when a Teacher of the Law questioned the Lord, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

Jesus responded, “The most important one is this, ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ” (Mark 12:28-30)

Refusal to obey the Law and to turn against the will of God is sin.

Almighty God made His first covenant with mankind when He instructed Adam and Eve neither to eat nor to touch the fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden; but satan’s entry and his cunningness succeeded in convincing them into eating the fruit—thus breaking the First Holy Law. They very consciously and casually disobeyed their Creator, only to become slaves of fear and everlasting sorrow.

When an individual walks in the trail of sin he begins to assume himself as Lord or boasts himself as being equal to the Sovereign God; evil thoughts and questions on the obligations to obey God begins to creep in. This, though, is considered as one of the greatest sins by God and He says, as He stamps His seal of Supremacy over his creation, “If you will obey Me completely by doing what I consider right and by keeping my commands, I will not punish you with any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord, the one who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26)

Let us take notice of King David’s obedience to God. David, son of Jesse, obeyed and observed the Holy Laws with faithfulness and loyalty. He ruled over Israel for forty years and died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected. Many of the Psalms, we recite during Praise and worship, and that bring solace in our distress were authored by him. He took keen interest and contentment in pleasing God. It was his greatest desire to build a Temple for the Covenant Box; and made preparations to begin the work but when God’s will was conveyed to him – forgetting his majesty and highness, he bowed in submission before God and accepted the Holy Will.

Soon David commanded all the officials and everyone involved in building the Temple to gather and addressed to them as, “It was my dream to build a permanent home for God, but according to the Holy will of Sovereign  Lord the authority was to be given to my son Solomon’.

David wholeheartedly instructs the officials to obey carefully everything the Lord commanded as he blissfully hands- over the plans, administration and updated his son on all the materials used.

David’s infinite love for God and the keenness to obey Him is praiseworthy and obtained ample promises. His dreams and desires did not hold a centrestage; all that mattered to David was God’s Will that had to be fulfilled.

David appreciating his son says, “You must realise that the Lord has chosen you to build His Holy Temple. Now do it—and do it with determination.”

The buzzing world and its mankind today have hardly any time to realize the crucial path its taking. Bring consciousness to any severe situation and soon we see it being smoothened by a mass of people who react thus, “Take a chill pill, man!”

Create social awareness and another set stands up, “This can wait! Let’s relax for now!”

Though you know that your little one is ill mannered and needs some tweaking, yet in order not to spoil the atmosphere of the place, you oversee your child’s error. He/ she too are unaware to realize the importance of the basic etiquettes.  

But look how King David instructs his son, “Be attentive, you have been chosen by the Lord your God.” The father points out to the young son that though he may lack in experience he should never forget, that what he would built is not a mere palace for men but a Holy Temple for the Sovereign Lord. Through these instructions King David is preparing Solomon for the task. With complete respect to God’s Will, David confidently tells his son, “Do it with determination.”

The entire chapter enlightens us on the reverence and fear of God the father passes to his son.

The ancient generations would take necessary steps to observe a virtuous life. Every family member big or small would be strictly made to follow it so that a god fearing family or generation would progress. 

Today if you and your family lack in such reverence, take an inspiration from King David to enact his virtues to obtain God’s blessings.

Let us pray that such God pleasing characters do not dissolve or abolish from our life.

Small efforts to bring back the determination and realization in our daily life can wipe out our dissatisfaction.

                                                                                                                                                                                                            (.... To be continued)

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

LET’S BE AWAKE AND SOBER

The Holy Bible says, “Submit to God, resist the devil and he will run away from you.”  (Jam 4: 7)

PART II

Click here for the earlier part

Dear devotees of Christ, consider yourself a blessing if you have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord; filled with His supreme power of the Holy Spirit and venerated Him at the center of your heart. After being cleansed, the Holy Spirit will begin to work in you, giving you timely inspiration to lead a disciplined and orderly life. He will illustrate you a quite place and time that can be designated to the Lord in communication. The Holy Spirit will lead you in progress thus attaining tremendous heights of peace and joy.

Be sure to memorize that just as God’s mercy are sprinkled so also are the temptations scattered everywhere.

 It is essential to remind ourselves that Jesus too was tested by the evil spirit after the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus resisted him with the Word of God. Though the devil left Him; it is mentioned in the Holy Bible, ‘the satan left Him for a while.’

 

Similarly, the owner of those old evil habits that you abandoned due to True repentance is always on the lookout to capture you again. Unable to admit failure, it is the devil’s grudge and aim to harm those who threw him out. We often come across people who are unable to accept their mistakes and maintain grudge and anger to harm those who correct them.

The satan that left Jesus in the wilderness, always did try to capture Him through the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. When the time came for Jesus to be handed over to the power of the world, satan re-entered through His own disciple Judas Iscariot. (John 6:70)

The Holy Scriptures indicates the return of the devil with seven more badly than him.

If we go through the Light of the Holy Word it mentions a woman, Mary Magdalene from whom seven devils were cast out; she resisted the devil and went on to be Jesus’ constant follower, observing the Crucifixion with the Lord’s Mother.  She was blessed to be the first to witness and converse with the Risen Lord.    

Similarly, in the Gospel of Mark the devil himself confesses that ‘there are so many of us’. (5:9)

Lord Jesus rebuked and cast out all the evil spirits, proving His power and authority; so that whoever believes in Him need not fear the power of the world.

In the Holy Bible, the number ‘seven’ is a symbol of completion and perfection. While the devil traps you with his seven destroyers, the Holy Spirit anoints our life with His seven wonderful gifts.

It is important to correct oneself  at the  on start of the evil trap be it a small white lie or a casual disobedience; or else these habits may grow to more serious and cruel deeds. The satan throws in all his perishable and poisonous pleasures and turning him/her to a murderer or destroyer of the world. One of his worst natures is cheating and deceiving each other. When you do evil, sin is crouching at your door.

So let us be alert and control our life from the lust of eyes, body and pride. The devil is always in action capturing the number, power and spreading wickedness in all its fullness, as he knows he has very little time left. (Rev 12:12).

Lord Jesus said through the parable that those who are not ready to repent and have a stagnant life will advance to such tragedy, that they will be thrown in the lake of fire and sulphur along with satan. 

When our actions are accurate in the sight of God, the joy that radiates will be relevant on our face. St. Paul, undoubtedly declared that human race has the power of victory over the demons as he wrote in his letter to the Romans (16:20),’God our source of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.’

It is prudent to resist the entry of devil into your life. He blinds us to our numerous blessings through discontentment, throwing our attention to others and their prosperity, spinning a web of aloofness; striking the flame of enmity between your dear and true ones who flourished your life with prosperity.

If you have shared your heart with evil some you will turn a deaf ear to the Voice of God.  

Turn to the Savior Lord Jesus and the Merciful Lord will pardon and save you, and He says, ‘I will never leave you; I will never abandon you. So let us be bold and say the Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid what can anyone do to me?’ (Hebrews 13).

The Holy Bible says, “They will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who had caught them and made them obey his will.”  (2 Timothy 2:26)

Dear ones in Christ, you may consider that it is impossible to overcome temptations. But it is possible when you lead a life in union with Christ, filling your heart with His constant love; and shielding your thoughts, deeds and speech with God’s love and fear.

Though we do not belong to this world, yet there would be tendencies to fall into the trap but as an ardent believer of Christ we all must be aware of the devil and its tricky nature.

Blessed are those whose journey on this earth is steady and union with the Blessed Trinity. 

Even when you go through a mountain of suffering, be sure that Christ is leading you. Accept the rejections and insults for the sake of God and even if you fall through weakness, pray with greater determination to rise in good spiritual and physical health. Fight like a good soldier for the Kingdom of God.

Pray as the Lord taught, “Do not bring us to the hard testing but keep us safe from the evil one.”  

Keep your soul always shining; let your peaceful life be an inspiration for others to overcome their anxiety, fear and desperation.  Never argue or boast about your faith - especially to those who abandoned and wandered from true faith.  You may encounter many such people, so guard your faith as the only treasure which can reach you to your goal.  Pray to God for His grace that you may avoid sin. 

St. Peter warns us, “Be alert, be on watch, your enemy the devil roams round like a roaring lion for someone to devour.”  (1 Peter 5:8)  While St. Peter warns, , St. Paul advises us, “Be alert against the devil putting on the armor that God gives you so that you will be able to stand up against the devil’s evil tricks”  (Eph. 6 : 11). 

Whoever calls for safety of Lord under His protection can achieve victory over the devil. 

Lord Jesus has given us an example to use the Word of God like burning arrows to shoot against the devil, so when you confess the Word of God against it, your temptations will be powerless and disappear. 

Confessing your faith in Christ will help win over evil thoughts.  The one who believes in the Name and power of Jesus can overcome the tricks of the devil.

 The God whom you trust says to you, “He will crush the head of satan.”  When the Lord is your refuge you need not fear the wicked spirit. 

Let us imitate Job, who succeeded his faith test, confessing “His hands will kill the escaping monster.”  (Job 26: 13).

Lord Jesus has given His power and authority over the evil to His disciples and believers when He declared, “Believers will be given the power to drive out demons in His Name.”  (Mark 16 :17)

St. Paul says to the people who abandon their faith, “I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are accepting another gospel.”  (Galatians 1: 6). 

St. Peter wrote about those who turn to sin again, “If the people have escaped from the corrupting forces of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Son Jesus Christ and then are again caught and conquered by them, such people are in a worse state at the end than they were at the beginning.  What happens to them shows that the proverbs are true – a dog goes back to what it has vomited  and a pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud.” (2 Peter 2: 20-22)

Never get discouraged dear ones.  Lord Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Deliverer; also a High Priest who can wash us once again and accept us.   Whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 

Let’s all pray together to keep our faith alive by not restraining the Holy Spirit and also do not despise inspired messages.  The Holy Bible says, “Pray at all times, be joyful and be grateful to God in all circumstances - favorable or unfavorable.  Avoid every kind of evil – be it great or small. 

Things may change, life may change, surroundings will change, people around will change, but your Lord who called you never changes, would never forsake you, because He is a Faithful God.  Amen.

Reciting few prayer beads like the below will spiritually increase your zest to grow in the goodness.

‘Jesus, meek and humble heart, be my love’,

‘My Lord, my God, I love and trust in You’,

‘Soul of Christ sanctify my soul’

Give assurance to your mind – I prefer death than disobeying God.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

CHRISTEEN SECTION

THE RICH MAN

A Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?”  Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone.  You know the commandments:  Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; respect your father and your mother.”

The man replied, “Ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments.”

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “There is still one more thing you need to do.  Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow Me.”  But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was very rich.

Jesus saw that he was sad and said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!  It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God, than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. 

The people who heard Him asked, “Who, then, can be saved?”

Jesus answered, “What is impossible for man is possible for God.”

(Luke 18 : 18 – 27)

PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL

Part 1

The Holy Bible says “…….Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:19)

One day Lord Jesus was teaching the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law.

A man from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”

Jesus knew there were some in the crowd who were looking for a trap to catch Him as they were displeased about the truth in every message He had spoke and conveyed.

Since His time had not yet come to be handed over to His enemies, Christ said that He had not been given the authority to judge or divide their property.

“My Kingdom does not belong to this world” clears the above statement ; and Jesus took this apt opportunity to explain to the people about greed and false refuge on the worldly richness on the pretext of a better future as He went on to say, “Watch out and guard yourself from every kind of greed.”

Then Jesus told them this parable:  “There was once a rich one who had land which bore good crops.  He began to think to himself, ‘I haven’t anywhere to keep my crops.  What can I do?  This is what I will do.’ he told himself.  ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store my corn and all my other goods.  Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years.  Take life easy, eat, drink and enjoy yourself!  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?”

And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God’s sight.”  (Luke 12 :16–21)

This parable indicates a man who loses his peace and becomes restless due to his great riches; as he is unable to find a place to keep all his crops safe.

Sovereign Lord says, “I am angry with them, because of their greed…..” (Isaiah 57)

Worrying about money will lead to loss of health and sleep. One who loves this wealth, cannot be judged innocent as his efforts to get rich have led him astray to sin. The greed to possessions has been cause of ruin and disasters to many. The charm of excess money is a trap that every fool falls into.

Here too the rich man forgot about God and his co-brothers, when his land produced good harvest.

The Sovereign Lord says, “Each year bring to the house of the Lord your God the first corn that you harvest.” (Exodus 23:19)

Again His Holy Law commands, “Set aside a tithe --  a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.” (Deuteronomy 14:22)

Therefore it is our duty to use our wealth as the Most High commands, as it will do more good than accumulating it for ourselves.

The words, “All my crops” clearly indicates the selfishness of the rich man. It is evident that he had no intention of presenting an offering to God or selflessly giving to the poor.

You may claim that it is your hard work and it is you yourself  who deserve the fruit of your labor.

Without God’s approval and assistance can we gain anything in this world? Without the co-operation and the timely support of your family members, how many days can you continue your work?

The Holy Words reminds us that there is nothing that you can claim for yourselves. Didn’t God give you everything you have?  Well, then how can you boast as if what you have were not a gift.” (1 Cor 4)

Remember then, that like the rich man of this parable, if you also boast and forget your loved ones who supported you, the moment salary/ profits reaches you; then you are not far from the road that lead you to misfortune and God’s light will not shine through your hard work.

If you have faith in Christ, you ought to follow His righteous teaching in the interest of your own benefit. Be sure to utilize your wealth accordingly to the Will of God.

“Honor the Lord by making Him an offering from the best of all that your land produces.” (Prov. 3:9)

The rich man in the parable had decided to take life easy with his richness leading him to laziness – eat, drink and enjoy.  When God provides you opportunities like health, skills, talents, to work hard throughout your life, you can earn and help others who are sick and are not able to work even for their daily needs. 

Despise those who are lazy and who lavish their lives in foolish manner.

God teaches us that by sharing a part of wealth to those needy around us; we accumulate riches in heaven.

Whenever possible  do good to those who need it the most. “Giving to the poor can make up for sin, just as water can put out blazing fire. Anyone who responds to others with acts of kindness is thinking of the future, because he will find help if ever he falls on hard times. (Sirach 3:30)

                                                                                       (to be continued)

With Love filled Blessings

Your Sister In Christ

THE PARABLE OF PHARISEE AND THE TAX-COLLECTOR

The Holy Bible says, “I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts.” (Matthew 9:13)

Jesus also told this parable to the people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. “Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax-collector. 

“The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, ‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer like everybody else.  I thank you that I am not like that tax-collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you a tenth of all my income.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, ‘God, have pity on me, a sinner!’  I tell you,” said Jesus, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home.  For everyone who makes himself great will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be made great.”

(Luke 18:9-14)

This parable considers the different characters and attitude of mankind who go to the Temple to reconcile with God.  The Gospel of St. Luke include many parables which make a comparison between two kinds of people, for e.g. Rich man and Lazarus,  Martha & Mary, The Two House builders, the parable of two sons etc.   

The Pharisee elucidates his good deeds to God in a manner to justifying himself. Usually the Jewish people fasted only twice or thrice in a year. With an intention of scorning his listeners, the Pharisee began to add up all his good actions saying, “I fast and pray twice a week.”   He elaborates his generosity as he proudly boasts to God, “…I give you a tenth of all my income.”

On the other hand, the tax collector stood afar, lowly, bowed down his head confessing his weakness and asking forgiveness seeking shelter in the merits of God’s mercy.  The tax collector was conscious about his wrong doings and he knew God is full of mercy and he will be forgiven.  As per their custom he beat his breast symbolizing his repentance.

The Holy Bible says, “A good person brings good out of the treasure of good things in his heart, a bad person brings bad out of his treasure of bad things.” 

It is clearly evident that the Pharisee, who was justifying himself by trusting in his deeds only, never had refuge in God; nor reverence to God, he believed it was all because of his ability. 

Whereas the tax collector was totally submissive to God’s grace. 

Sacrifice and generosity are commendable and since the Pharisee was exercising his good deeds at the high level he might have thought, “What is wrong in publishing my good deeds?”

Lord Jesus too fasted for forty days, and also appreciated the widow who gave all that she had.  

He explained that all sacrificial deeds without love and done with the intention of gaining public approval is futile and does not have any value in the eyes of God, the Father. 

In his small prayer the Pharisee used four times the word ‘I’ which showcases his boastfulness and nature of under estimating others publicly. 

Our Lord said that these things will not have any reward from the Father in Heaven.  He will see what you do in private like the tax collector, will impartially reward you.

They both entered the Temple to get deliverance from their sins.  But Lord Jesus specifically concluded the parable by saying, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home.”   The Pharisee believed that because of his good deeds he was made right with God.  He trusts in himself for his forgiveness. Christianity teaches us that it is not with our good deeds but that only through the merits of the sacrificial death of Lord Jesus we get forgiveness of our sins and salvation of mankind.

“For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith.  It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it.”  (Eph. 2:8-9)