Wednesday Reflection, June 3, 2020

God Sees and He Hears

Greetings friends. Today’s reflection takes us back to a time in David’s life when he had to run for his life. He lived in a cave seeking to escape death and the pursuit of the enemy.

In an effort to escape Saul’s clutches. David sought refuge from the King of Gath but then the servants of the king recognized him and so he then needed another way of escape. David pretended to be insane. He pounded his head on the city gate and foamed at his mouth and spat upon himself.

Insanity was his defense and that deterred the phillistines because they would not touch an insane person. David then fled to a cave where he was joined by others.

It is there that he wrote psalm 34. He calls others to join with him in magnifying the Lord. He then begins to testify of his deliverance and further encourages others to share their testimony as well.

My friends, much can be said about David and his life. So many lessons can be drawn from all this but what of your life? And what of mine?

In today’s watchword we are reminded that, ‘the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.” Psalm 34:15

What a time it has been! A time of confusion, doubt, fear, death, wars and rumours of war. Some of us have literally had to lock away or remove ourselves from certain people or some scenes. So much is happening in our context and the world all over. I urge you to keep your eyes on Jesus!

Only those whose hope is firmly planted in Jesus Christ may be able to withstand in the evil day. So much is happening around us, attempting to drive us crazy or give a cause to plead insanity but hear the word of the Lord for He is ever watchful and mindful of His sheep.

Be encouraged today, God who pardoned and delivered David is still available to each of us, His grace is sufficient for all. Casting all your cares on Him, today’s new testament text in Matthew 7:7 stands as a reminder, “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”

Whatever it is you need today, be it strength, grace, endurance, faith, may you receive in Jesus name.

Amen

Kerone Lamoth

Tuesday Reflection – June 02, 2020
Don’t Judge Me, Pray With Me

Remember Hannah and Elkanah? Hannah was the unhappy wife who tried unsuccessfully to have a child for Elkanah, her husband. She constantly prayed for a child. On one visit to Shiloah to sacrifice, she goes aside to pray. As she prayed in anguish Eli, the High Priest, mistakes her emotion for drunkenness. His disdain soon turns to remorse however when he learns her story and in response, he joins her in praying that God would grant the desire of her heart. Hannah became pregnant and later gave birth to her son, Samuel. As Hannah rejoiced in the birth and dedication of her son, she praises God in what we have come to know today as Hannah’s Prayer. Today’s watchword is the beginning of that prayer, a statement that reflects the joy of Hannah’s heart. My heart exults in the Lord. 1 Samuel 2: 1.
As we reflect on Hannah’s story during what is happening today, I share with you some thoughts.

Firstly, the sense in which we understand prayer today does not fully reflect what Hannah did. Her prayer was more of a testimony or song of praise. She did not make a request of God for anything. What she did was thank God for the past, a past which for her had been filled with unhappiness and deep sorrow. Next, she expressed hope for the future, a hope based on what God had done for her in the past. Her present situation was that she was at the place of worship and she had given up her son, her only child, to the Lord, as she had pledged to do. What she was losing would never surpass what she knew her God would do for her in the future. Had he not proved Himself to her through the birth of her son? So Hannah sang her prayer, her praise, to her God. We should never be afraid to praise God for his blessings are unlimited.

Secondly, we find in the text, a statement of the condition of Hannah’s heart. He heart was rejoicing. She had endured a lot. She had been mocked, ridiculed, abused, and tormented. Her life before pregnancy had been a very unhappy one. Her husband had tried to make he happy, and those looking on might have felt she had all she needed so she should be happy, but in the depth of her heart her life had been unfulfilled. Society had judged her as being less than, she had been called demeaning names. In the temple where she should have found refuge, she was judged as being drunk and mocking God. We live in a society that often judges us rather than try to know us, to understand our situations. It wasn’t until Eli spoke to her that he shifted from judging her to praying with her. How often have we been guilty of judging people from a distance based on their looks, the way they sounded or something else about them, until we got to know them and understood their situation? We should not judge people. James 4: 12 challenges us: Who are you to judge another? As Christians we should pray with and for others. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.Gal 6: 2. Instead of judging, let us pray together.

Thirdly, Hannah’s joy and prayer of rejoicing was possible because Eli shifted from being an observer, judging and commenting erroneously from a distance, to becoming involved in the situation. As we watch the unfolding of demonstrations resulting from the senseless murder of George Floyd at the hands of those sworn to protect him, it is interesting to hear the comments of those who, like Eli, would accuse him of doing something that brough on his demise. Add to that those who incite violence against demonstrators. It’s also interesting to hear the deafening silence of those whose voices can make a great difference, those who have the power and responsibility to formulate and enforce the legislation to bring about the needed changes. 200 years ago, speaking of the sin of political apathy, Edmund Burk said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” This remains true today, for while good people do nothing, evil people continue to spread their evil throughout society. How many more will have to suffer, how many more will have to die before evil is defeated, before rejoicing can burst forth, and praise lifted up? When will we move from a place of judgement to a place of prayerful rejoicing? Until then, until we are known more and judged less can we do anything other than ‘get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. Don’t give up the fight!’ May we all live to see a society where God’s peace reigns, a society that prays with us more than it judges us. Amen

Bevon White

Monday Reflection – June 01, 2020
None Other Like God

Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one. Isaiah 44:8  

It’s hard to read today’s Watchword without hearing God’s declarations in the preceding two verses: “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be.” (vss. 6-7).

In these verses the prophet focuses on God’s being. Who is this God in a world filled with so many possible objects of worship, so many other gods? Here we see the prophet’s own witness of the sovereignty of God, as also God’s self-revelation. God is not playing second fiddle in the cosmic orchestra; rather, God is introduced as both first chair and conductor, the one and only. He is King, Redeemer, and Lord of hosts. God declares, “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no other god”. There is no other viable object of worship. There is no other source of life. There is no other King. There is no other Redeemer. There is no other Lord of hosts.

God challenges all around – Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. Of course, no one dares to rise up; no one – god or human – answers God’s questions. Into this silence, God proclaims, “Do not fear or be afraid.” Silence in the face of God’s questions is a great thing because it directs the witnesses back toward the living God, besides whom there is no other.

The world in which we live is overcrowded with objects and individuals demanding our devotion. These inspire fear – fear of death, inadequacy, alienation, being in control, being out of control. These fears demand devotion. With this reality, God directs our attention and our devotion away from these empty things and pursuits back towards him, the Saviour and source of life. We must pay attention to how we spend our lives, what consumes us and what consumes our time. Such is a clear indication of where our focus and attention is and ultimately, who is our god. God, who is the first and the last, desires to arrest our fears and give us a fresh vision of a great future. Jesus cemented this when he declared in Revelation 1:17, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hell.” Jesus Christ – King, Redeemer, and Lord of hosts – conquered death and hell and eradicated all fear.

May we yield ourselves to the sovereignty of God and may he reign in our hearts and lives.

Jermaine Gibson 

Saturday Reflection – 30 May 2020

“For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.” 2 Corinthians 2:17

Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday and is known in many circles as the birthday of the Church Universal. From that upper room experience, God having poured out of his spirit, upon the disciples there, they were now filled, united and empowered to fulfil the commission that was given to them by the Lord Jesus.

Our legitimacy and focus as a church has often been called into question, with calls from society for the church to cry out against moral turpitudes and other injustices and be the voice of reason, goodwill and the change in our society. In that light, we are reminded that we are made legitimate, true and sincere, with all power and authority by the empowering and leading of the Holy Spirit.

Paul, as he writes today’s doctrinal text, describes the presence of the true believer who is sent and engaging the Holy Spirit in ministry as that of an aroma that fills the atmosphere wherever they are. Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (MSG) says “In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.” That friends, and is our legitimacy, and it only comes through the power of God, brought on by the Holy Spirit and Paul asks the question saying “This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on?”

We who believe, have been commissioned and empowered to the spread the gospel-seed to just about anyone and everyone that we engage with and even then beyond our borders. It is not about us, but God’s power at work in our lives. Friends, we are unable to legitimize ourselves and no matter the passion or zeal, the wherewithal and exuberance that we display, if we are not lead by the Holy Spirit, it is for nought and in vain. Let us then lean on the Holy Spirit, to give us the power, to fall afresh, to transform us, and begin that good work, in our lives. Only then will we be legitimized and competent to take this mission on. For “God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.”

Brothers and sisters, Paul reminds us, the church, that we are not peddlers or vendors who are trying to sell a product to potential customers. But having understood and experience the grace and transforming work of God, who have now been called, commissioned and empowered, and fully understanding the weight of his calling, we go, under his leading and direction, to whatever door he will open for us, to tell somebody about the Lord Jesus that they too might believe. It is the Spirit of God who convicts the heart, we are just the vessel through which the message is shared and that is why it is important, that we are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit and also that we decrease, that self is slain, so that the Holy Spirit can increase and take over, and challenge their hearts. Even so, our labour in the vineyard, is led and empowered by God and to the glory of God.

Until next week, We, who rejoice to know Thee/Renew before Thy throne/The solemn pledge we owe Thee/To go and make Thee known. (F. Houghton, 1931) May this Pentecostal experience awaken in us a revival, that we will make our calling and election sure. May the Holy Spirit fill, unite and empower us that we may like a fragrance that is smelled and known by all, be the voice and the difference that by our sincerity and authority, others may be led into the kingdom of God. Amen.

Dominic J. Blair