Friday Reflection July 23, 2021
Meditation Time

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. ( Your word)
Psalms 119:148 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.119.148.NIV

Background
The Jews divided the night into three watches, which began at what we call six o’clock in the evening, and consisted each of four hours. The Romans taught them afterwards to divide it into four watches of three hours each; and to divide the day and night into twelve hours each; wherein different guards of soldiers were appointed to watch. At the proclaiming of each watch the psalmist appears to have risen and performed some act of devotion. (An extract from , “The Adam Clarke Commentary”.)

Application
What is the value of meditation time? There is so much to gain from dwelling on the promises/ word of God. Especially in the wee hours of the morning. As we Jamaican would often say “before di cock crow”. Here are a few reasons why taking time to meditate on God’s word is important:

1. You will gain a better knowledge of what God wants from and for you. The plans he has set out for your present and your future.
2. You will get great advice from the word of God! FREE!!!! No charge! And the best part about it is that nobody will know… Everything you say in that moment to God, stays between you and him!
3. Meditating on his promises will bring you to a place of peace and joy, even in difficult situations.

Encouraging words
Though the battle maybe hot and the conflict sore, don’t give up. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and he will strengthen your heart, mind and soul. Wake up! Keep watch! Pray and meditate on the word of God. BLESSINGS!

Shaneka Raymore Euphfa

Thursday Reflection July 22, 2021

Do not forget the Lord

And when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Deuteronomy 6:11‭-‬12

Greeting friends!

As we reflect today on the passage of Scripture above we’re called to always remember what the Lord has done for us. Moses, speaking to the children of Israel after giving them the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5 summed up the commandments in chapter 6 to say, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” He encouraged them to recite it to their children, talk about it at home-when they rise and when they lie down. Bind them on their hands, fix it as emblems on their forehead and put it on their door posts.

Moses wanted to stress the importance of loving the Lord. So they should do everything to ensure that they keep this commandment, hence he gave them a warning to not forget the Lord when they enter into the Promised Land and acquire homes and land they did not build. Be careful not to forget the Lord!

In times of trouble it is easy to remember the Lord. It is the Lord who we depend on to get us out of trouble and save us. When times are good we’re not so dependent on God and so people tend to forget what the Lord has done for them and thereby fail to keep the commandment of loving the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind. The truth is that we are forgetful people. We forget what God has done for us that’s why we constantly worry when trouble come. We’re forgetful people that’s why we at times forget what God has done for us when there is no trouble. So the question then is how do we ensure that we always remember the Lord?

Moses gave us the answer to that question. Love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul and mind and teach it to your children. Write it on your door posts, place it on your forehead and on your hand. Talk about it when you’re home and when you’re away. When you rise and when you lie down. This way God and what He has done will always be before you.

Shalom

Christopher Euphfa

God Delivers Those Who Love Him.

I have always loved Psalm 91. It was one of my grandmother’s favorite Psalms. The first verse was her response to many of the disturbing situations she faced in life. It was her assurance that everything would be ok. The rest of the Psalm, including today’s Watchword, flows from that assuring first verse. It gives us the stability we need when the road becomes rocky. It gives us staying power and strong faith when we are challenged by the many choices and voices on our life’s journey. The Lord says, “Those who love me, I will deliver.” Psalm 91: 14

This is not a statement that sits by itself, but is stated about a specific group engaged in a pointed activity. The Psalmist, traditionally believed to be Moses, begins the Psalm with the premise: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. This is the group to which the watchword applies. When we take God as our keeper, we will be specially blessed, specially favored, by God. Nothing that comes at us will be able to destroy us physically or spiritually as long as God is our keeper. David would later reflect this Psalm in Psalm 27 as he made affirming statements and asked the questions: The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When God is our dwelling place, our rock in the weary land, our shelter in stormy times, what do we ever need to fear? God delivers those who love Him.

There’s a chorus that says ‘Jesus is my deliverer. I know, he delivers me.’ It is saying two things about the singer. Firstly that there was a moment when he or she was in trouble, was in need of deliverance and secondly, that he or she was delivered by Jesus. All of us as Christians can attest to that, we were, at some point in our lives, in need of deliverance. In faith we called out to God and we were rescued. It is noteworthy that in the watchword, it is not the voice of the Psalmist that declares God’s intent to deliver, it is a declaration by God. God promises to deliver those who love Him. This deliverance is also twofold. God delivers the living from the troubles we meet in life and God delivers the dying from this troublous life. For Matthew Henry, we find strong support for this promise in the experiences of David and Paul. In Psalm 34: 19 David declared: Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. In sharing his experiences with Timothy in 2 Tim 3: 11, Paul told him that he faced many persecutions and sufferings at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. ‘Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them’, he concludes. Such experience gave Paul the certainty of his statement to the young Bishop in 2 Tim 4: 18. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. What a joy to know that the God we serve will deliver us from the troubles of this life and establish us in His eternal kingdom. All that is required of us is that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and that we reflect this love in the way we love those around us. Whatever you are facing or will face, always remember, God will deliver those who love Him. Amen