Friday Reflection

December 11, 2020

God’s love never changes

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever – Hebrews 13:8

In this life , there are a number of things that are inevitable, one of those things is change. People change, seasons change and the weather changes, just to name a few .The only thing we are sure of that doesn’t change is God’s love for us . Today’s reflection will be about Gods constant love.

I remember when I was growing up and whenever I would get in trouble, I would be so worried that my mom wouldn’t love me the same or she would stop loving me, fortunately for me she didn’t. It is completely different when it comes to God, we never have to worry if his love for us will ever change or if he will ever stop loving us. The scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. That means his love never fails and his grace and mercies endure forever.

It doesn’t matter what sinful thing you’ve done in your past , what you are doing now or what you are about to do because God knew of all the sin you would commit before you even entered the world and he paid that debt by dying on the cross. Many times we are burdened with the guilt of our actions because we keep forgetting that God is not like man. Yes he might be disappointed with some of our actions but that doesn’t mean he will turn his back on us or love us any less.

As I conclude this reflection I just want to leave you all with a reminder that God’s love , his grace and his mercy never changes it is always constant and it is always sure .

Until next week, stay blessed, stay safe
Toni Ann Poyser

Thursday Reflection

December 10, 2020

Carry each other’s burden

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 NIV

In this chapter Paul is giving instructions to the Galatian Christians about how to live with each other as Spirit-powered people in Christ. In verse one of this chapter Paul teaches how to deal with someone caught in sin. It is not a place of condemnation, but one of assistance. The aim is to help that person to walk in the Spirit of God again.

Verse 2, our text for reflection, further emphasise this point. We should carry each other’s burden. A misconception that is held throughout life is that being a Christian means you will not have burdens. That is definitely not the case. We all have burdens to carry. We have so many different burdens carrying such as relationship challenges, financial challenges, emotional challenges, academic challenges, illness, work related challenges, challenges at home and with family, challenges with sin and temptation and the list goes on.

Here Paul encourages us to carry each other burden. This is instructive for a couple of reasons.

1) It shows love
Love is the fulfillment of the law. Galatians 5:14 says “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We are carrying out the mandate of Christ when we carry each other’s burden. We are showing love.

2) It gives support
When persons are overwhelmed with their burdens they become vulnerable, burdened, sad, lonely, abandoned etc. When we help to carry the burdens of others, it encourages them and remind them that they are not alone. You become a physical presence of support and a physical reminder of the presence of God.

We carry each other’s burden by being there. In some cases we cannot solve the problem, but our presence helps as we mentioned earlier. We carry each other’s burden by helping in whatever way we can, even if it is an inconvenience to us.

This is how we truly show the love of God. At this time many people are overwhelmed and burdened, let us help to carry some of those burdens to remind persons that God is present and will help.

Shalom

Christopher Euphfa

Wednesday Reflection, December 9, 2020

Prelude to the Promise

Greetings friends. In Deuteronomy 8 Moses is recorded as reminding the children of Israel about what they should and shouldn’t do, what they should expect upon entering the promise land and also he reminds them of the Lord’s unwavering faithfulness to them.

So you’re nearing the end of a very long journey, a period of drought, of nothingness, perhaps one that has made you doubt its end and question whether the Lord is still with you. The Lord hasn’t forsaken you brethren, and even now Jesus Christ intercedes on your behalf.

In today’s watchword, Moses told the people, “the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills. Deuteronomy 8:7

The children of Israel were still in the wilderness yet, God already made preparations and wonderful provisions for them. In the same way He provides a way of escape from sin, perfect rest is what He promises to every believer who trusts in Him.

If you are wandering through a particular wilderness today, be reminded and encouraged that God has already prepared good land for you, fertile ground for you to bloom and grow, water to refresh and purify you- He is forever our wellspring of joy.

Romans 8:32 also reminds us that, ‘God who did not withold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?’ Whatever you may lack today, whatever needs and desires you may have, all can be found in the Lord, as long as we desire and seek God above all else, everything else will fall into place.

Until next week, may holiness unto the Lord comtinue to be our watchword and song.

Amen.

Kerone Lamoth

The Day of the Lord.

This is the second week of Advent. Advent begins the church calendar or the Christian Year. The word Advent means ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’ and refers specifically to the second coming of Christ. As we celebrate the Advent, looking forward to the coming of our Lord, we also pause to celebrate His first coming (Christmas), and what it means for us in today’s world. The coming of the Lord is an event that every Christian anticipates as it references the culmination of life as we know it and the beginning of the reign of Christ in God’s eternal kingdom established on earth. We often refer to the coming of Jesus as the day of the Lord and we find this phrase in today’s text. The day of the Lord is coming, it is near. Joel 2: 1.

The text embodies a message we have heard for as long as we can remember. For Israel during the time of Joel, the day of the Lord gave hope, promised peace, anticipated joy and would demonstrate love. For them this ‘great and terrible day of the Lord’ (Joel 2: 31) would be that day when God would defeat the enemies of Israel and establish them as the leaders of the nations of the world. The people therefore longed for the day of the Lord to come since in it they found hope even in the direst of situations, it promised peace in a time when they were losing their sons and their inheritance to war, it promised joy in a season of mourning and it promised the ultimate demonstration of God’s covenant love for Israel in their being raised up from slaves, servants and exiles to be world leaders. In the midst of this joyous anticipation however, the prophet sounds a note of caution. He warns them that this long-anticipated day will not be what they are expecting. It would be about God exercising a heavy hand of punishment on the people for their sin, rather than elevating them regardless of their apostacy. This is also reflected in the declaration of the prophet Amos who stated: Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord! What will the Day of the Lord be for you? It will be darkness and not light. Amos 5: 18. Israel’s anticipation of their exaltation would really be God’s glorification, as God used Israel’s hardships of plagues, famine and war, to bring them to repentance and a return to Him.

Today as we celebrate Advent, the church longs for the return of the Lord. We anticipate the day of the Lord as that time when Christ shall return and establish God’s reign on the earth. We see it as a time of hope realized, peace established, joy fulfilled, and love completed. This day however will be one of both joy and sorrow. Those who faithfully anticipate this day of the Lord, will from our Lord receive a crown of eternal life. Jesus promised us that those who endured will be the ones saved. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Matt. 10: 22. We also see salvation as the reward for faithfulness regardless of the circumstances faced in Rev. 2: 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. It is our faithfulness to God that will be rewarded in the end, not our position, our calling nor our possessions. Note also that if faithfulness will be rewarded, then unfaithfulness will be punished. Both reward and punishment are part of this long-anticipated time of Christ’s Advent. The day of the Lord is coming, it is near. It will be a day of rejoicing for the faithful and a day of mourning for those who have fallen away from God. God’s word calls us to faithfulness. We are not promised a safe path, or complete protection from hardships and diseases. On the contrary we are to expect hardship, disease and betrayal in this life. Our faithfulness to God should not be destroyed by what we face but rather strengthened as we anticipate the Day of the Lord, the culmination of our Christian hope and the realization of everlasting peace, joy and love. It was Brigham Young who said, ‘every trial and experience you have passed through is necessary for your salvation’. Indeed ‘trials mark the road leading home to God’. The day of the Lord is coming, it is at hand. Amen.

Monday Reflection – December 07, 2020

Reflecting the True Light

Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3

Daniel 12 begins on a sad note as there is the declaration of a future time of trouble for Israel. This is not just any trouble, but verse one notes that it will be one that has never been seen since Israel was established. The Jewish people knew many a time of trouble throughout their history; however, this will be worse. This refers to the time of persecution for Israel and world calamity known as the Great Tribulation. Jesus quoted this passage in Matthew 24:21. In Daniel 12:1, Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. The angel Michael is often associated with spiritual battle (Daniel 10:13, 21; Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7). Michael is called the archangel, thus Satan’s true opposite. Michael is the spiritual warrior whom God has appointed as a spiritual guardian over Israel. So a spiritual battle is taking place.

Despite the terrors of that time, deliverance is assured. No matter how great the attack is against the Jewish people, God promises to preserve them, maintaining His covenantal promise to Abraham. This promise of deliverance is for these who are found written in the book. There is also the promise of the resurrection of the dead – some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

In today’s Watchword, we find another promise for the righteous – Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Those who live in God’s wisdom will shine. Despite the entire calamity and all the difficulty coming upon Israel, God has those who are wise, and they shall shine. The wise among God’s people are those who turn many to righteousness. All God’s people are like stars, in the sense that they radiate light and help others to see and find their way. But those who turn many to righteousness shine even more brightly, helping even more people to see the light and find their way. Note that the brightness of God’s wise ones will last forever. It isn’t fading. It endures in the midst of so many other temporary things. We put our effort into so many other things, but even if they succeed, they give only a temporary shine. It is worth it to invest our lives into the things that last forever and ever.

As we have entered into this Advent Season and Christmas is fast approaching, putting up Christmas trees with lights have and will still take place in many homes, businesses, parks and shopping malls. Many have also put up their Moravian stars. All these are offering light. However, we must remind ourselves as believers that we are called to be the light – exhibiting wisdom and leading many to righteous living. In this way we shine like the brightness of the sky and like the stars. We also remind ourselves that we are not the true light, Jesus is. We are called to reflect the light in our corners of this dark world with people facing many and varied dark situations, acknowledging that Jesus is the light of the world. Amen.

Jermaine Gibson

Saturday Reflection – 05 December 2020

“That evening, at sunset, they brought to Jesus all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many.” St. Mark 1:32-34

The news had spread throughout the city about someone who speaks with authority and is able to cast out demons, who heals the sick and suffering. For the people, he was not like any other, though they dubbed him a prophet. There was a glimmer of hope in this dull world, where many faced the realities of ill-health and suffering. Religion seemed to do no good, as the Pharisees made the law into a burden, which brought no real sense of pride, hope, peace, and joy to the people. In that context, Christ came to the world, not to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. In that context, he came to bring life more abundantly. (St. John 3:17; St. John 10:10)

And as the news spread throughout the region, so did the people come having experienced the strain of their own realities, and brought their own sick, or demon-possessed with the hope that the one they heard about could make them completely whole. And we can all imagine the joy and celebration, the glory to God being given, as Jesus heals them all from their infirmities. This hope sparked great leaps of faith, as the people came to the Messiah, and genuine worship, when their faith became sight. The people were amazed as his ability and authority and some good news, in an otherwise normal and dull world, spread throughout the whole region.

The season of advent is one of preparation. As we reflect on our Messiah’s first coming, stories like these, remind us of the light, hope and joy that he brought to this otherwise dull world. Our journey through the advent season, should be a reminder of the hope that was the prophets of old announced to the people, and even the good news that spread throughout the region about the one that heals and frees. Though they classified him as a prophet, there was just something different about him, and they may have thought it to be his authority, or what we could assume was the ambience; the presence of God when they felt when they were with him, or that they were never the same again. But it just was not normal. He really was the good shepherd. No one was the same again, for Christ had made them whole.

This year, though unforgettable due to the unprecedented pandemic that we find ourselves in, has otherwise gone by so quickly. It may be so easy to forget our solid foundation in Christ, as we go through the motions. Or even grapple with the lasting effects of COVID-19. Yet still, the season of advent reminds of the Messiah who came a living testament to God’s love, care and grace given to humanity. Like in today’s doctrinal text, let this season of preparation, stir us to spread the good news of the birth of our Messiah and ignite hope, love, and peace in the hearts of all people. Where there is gloom and despair, spread the gospel-message so that the light of the good news of the incarnation of the Messiah, may raise the hearts and minds of all people in adoration and expectation of our God that heals and frees, and in affirmation that we will never be the same again.

Until next week, like John the Baptist, let us proclaim the good news of the coming of our Saviour. Let this message be on our lips like those who have experienced the power and presence of God. Let hope triumph over hopelessness and a song instead of sighing. Then let us all in expectation, as we journey through this season of preparation, fix our hearts on minds on Christ who came to save us, and who will come again. Amen.

Dominic J. Blair

Friday Reflection-Dec 4, 2020

The Correct Way To Pray

Your father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:8

Today we will be reflecting on the instructions God gave to his people , informing them of the correct way to pray .

When you become a parent, your main priority becomes your child. They are the first thing on your mind in the mornings and the last thing you think of before bed. Most parents know how to properly love, feed , care for and comfort their child without being told how to do so. Parents don’t need directions from their children on how to tend to their needs because in most cases parents know what’s best.

It is the same way with our Heavenly Father but he does a way better job of taking care of his children. He knows our needs, our pains, our struggles and all the desires of our hearts . We often pray for things that we want but have we ever stopped to wonder if that’s what God wants for us, or if that’s the best thing for us? He gives us very clear instructions on how to pray. He also tells us to be careful that we are not praying like the hypocrites in the synagogues because they pray just to be seen by others. Instead, his word says we should go into our room, close the door and pray to him . He also tells us not to keep on babbling or making vain requests because Your father knows what you need before you ask him .

So let us start paying attention to the way we pray and instead of vain repetitions and just asking God for all the things you think you need let’s just humbly ask him to let his will be done

• Toni-Ann Poyser*

Thursday Reflection

December 3, 2020

Thanks and Praise to the Almighty (Part 2)

And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:13

Good day friends!

We continue our look at this text from 1 Chronicles 29. There are a couple truths that we have established about this text. We highlighted that the fact that everything belongs to God. The Temple which includes our bodies and the place we worship belongs to God. We also established that our possessions belongs to God. Everything we own or possess came from God and thus belongs to God. I want to highlight in this reflection how David treated and dealt with that knowledge.

First, David understood the importance of the Temple. David was the first to come up with the thought of having an earthly house for God. It was his project, but God said otherwise. The responsibility of building the Temple would fall to his son Solomon instead. Why? David hands were hands of war and so God forbid him to build the Temple. Instead he gave it to Solomon who would know peace during his time. I do not know how David felt initially, but I can tell you David’s response in chapter 29. Instead of moping around, David took another approach. He still wanted to play a role and began acquiring items to build the Temple so that the work would be easier for his son. David understood that this was not about him or his ego; it was about God. That is the bigger picture.

We have to learn to put away petty differences and focus on God’s work. We cannot spend most of our time on doctrines and the observance of tradition, when there are far more important matters to deal with. Don’t get me wrong there is a time and place to focus on those, but there is a bigger picture at play. How do we get more people to become part of the body of Christ? What is my role in getting more people to become part of the body of Christ? What mechanisms do we implement? What strategies do we use? The world is changing how do we now appropriately adjust so that others can find the Gospel of Jesus more appealing? This is I believe is the bigger picture. How do we get persons to give their mind, body and soul to Christ and to the work of the building we worship? Also how do I play my role?

David understood his role. It wasn’t the big role of building the temple, but it was the role of helping to acquiring the items needed to build the Temple. David didn’t say, “Well I am not in charge so me nah do nothing.” No instead he said “let me find a part to play.” David understood that there was a bigger picture and found his role in that bigger picture. Friends we too have to understand that there is a bigger picture and work towards it. When we understand the bigger picture then we can be of the SAME MIND, WILLINGLY GIVE and REJOICE after knowing that we have FREELY givien to the Lord. Remember the bigger picture is about God and His mandate.

When we bear this in mind then we can give God thanks and praise for all that He has done.

Until next week

Shalom

Christopher Euphfa

Your Story, Your Path, Your Blessing.

Many times we follow paths that have been travelled by others before us not because it was our path but because those who traveled before us did so with some measure of success. In today’s watchword we see the Lord guiding Isaac to take a different path from the one taken by his father even though the situation Isaac was facing was the same one his father faced. I speak of a famine that forced Abraham to leave the Promised Land to go to Egypt where he got into problems with Pharaoh over his wife. In the case of Isaac there was also a famine that caused him to move but God told him to follow a different path, one that would guarantee his blessings. The Lord said to Isaac, “Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you.” Genesis 26: 3

Isaac’s story was not the same as his father’s nor was the path he was to trod the same. Like his father, he had to leave where he was to find provision for his clan. Like his father he decided to pretend that his wife was his sister because of fear. Like his father the king welcomed him. The stories may sound similar, but they are not the same. Isaac was destined to travel his path as his story unfolded and experience the blessings that God had in store for him. Note however that while in Abraham’s case he decided to go to Egypt, in Isaac’s case the Lord told him to remain in the land of promise. Gen 12: 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. Interestingly, even while creating his own story, Isaac’s life merged with his father’s story, even while on the path God chose for him, Isaac veered onto his father’s path. Have you ever stopped to ponder whose story you are living? Whose path you are following? For years I followed a path that was not mine, living a story that I was so familiar with, but that was not mine either, until God called me out and established me on the path He had chosen for me. Obedience to God’s leading guarantees the blessing that is meant for you. Remember that Isaac was still being blessed based on God’s promise to Abraham. His obedience to God now however would be rewarded with new and greater blessings.

Today let us examine our story, our path. Is your journey one that is pleasing to God, to self, or to others? Remember that God does not leave us without a helper and guide. The Holy Spirit is our constant companion and points us in the right direction. John 14: 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. When you depend on the leading of the Spirit you will be strengthened, protected, and blessed in accordance with God’s promises. My prayer then is that like Isaac we will learn to walk daily with God, surrendered to His will, guided by the Holy Spirit. I pray that we grow in obedience to His leading looking only to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. In this way we each will be living our own story as we travel our path and reap the blessings that God has in store for us. Amen.