Wednesday Reflection, June 10, 2020

God Provides

King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, were two of the most nefarious characters in biblical history. 1 Kings 17 introduces us to what could be described as a very significant standoff between the King and the prophet Elijah.

Elijah straight up tells the king that there would be no rain for two years unless he, the Lord’s servant received instructions from God and spoke it.

In Jamaica we could say, based on the declaration Elijah made, that “him have big chat” and why wouldn’t he? He represented the Most High, the voice of final authority.

So he delivers the message to the king and then receives instructions to hide himself by the brook of Cherith. Naturally, Elijah could not have delivered the Lord’s message to Ahab and remain in place for his life was in danger.

As he hides by the brook, the Bible tells us that the Lord commanded Ravens to deliver his morning and evening meals. Because of the drought, the brook eventually went dry and so it was time for the prophet to leave that particular hiding place.

So the Lord then instructed him to go to Zarephath where He has already made provisions for him through a widow. Elijah gets to the gate, finds the woman gathering sticks. He asks for water and while she goes to fetch that he appeals to her to bring him as small piece of bread.

She turned around and informed him that all she had was a handful of meal and a little oil. Her plan was to prepare a meal for herself and her son, they would eat it and then die. Since that was all she had left.

In this story, God’s Providence is evident throughout. The themes of humility, honesty and obedience are highlighted. The prophet tells the dear widow not to be afraid but to do as she intended but first make him a cake and then make another for herself and her son for the Lord said, the oil and meal would not run out until He sent rain.

My friends, what an incredibly amazing God we serve! Every believer has accounts of high and low points; Elijah had just completed an important task for the Lord but instead of a celebration he had to go into hiding but notice how the Lord was with him all the way.

In today’s watchword, 1 Kings 17:16 says, ” and the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

There may be days when it would appear the oil and meal are running out; likewise your faith, patience and whatever else you may think you’ve been holding in reserve. Dear friend, trust the Lord to grant you endurance and to keep you faithful through the power of humility and obedience as you trust Him to provide.

Until next week, I leave you with the words of Victoria Osteen, “may you open your heart and invite God into every circumstance because when God enters the scene, miracles happen.”

Amen

Kerone Lamoth

Tuesday Reflection – June 09, 2020
A Little Respect Goes a Long Way

The eighth commandment is simply four words. You shall not steal. Ex 20: 15. This is today’s watchword. It is short and to the point, leaving no room for argument as to what is covered or what is included. According to the Oxford Dictionary, stealing is to ‘take without permission or legal right and without intending to return it.’ Simply put, to not steal is to leave other people’s things alone. There is much more to this commandment, however.
 
I have always broken down the commandments into two sections. The first three deal with our relationship with God, while the other seven deal with our relationship with each other. The command to not steal is related to the other six in this group. To not honor one’s parents, to take someone’s life, wife or husband, to disrupt someone’s life by lying on them, or to covet something that is not yours are all ways in which we can steal, that is, take from someone what was never ours to take. To take someone else’s idea and use it like it’s yours, to take someone’s reputation, trust, dignity, to take someone’s time and intellect, are all ways in which we can steal. The command to not steal is therefore a call to show respect to others. 
 
Note that in its earliest understanding among the Jews, this commandment was interpreted as a command against stealing other human beings. It therefore prohibited kidnapping and thus stood against a system in which people were kidnapped from their homeland and sold into slavery. It also speaks against the human trafficking which continues to plague the world today. In fact, in Ex 21: 16 the penalty for such action was death. “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.’ If we respected each other as we ought to, then a lot of the things that plague our society today would not be happening. If we respected each other as we are commanded to, then George Floyd would not have died under the knee of a police officer. If we respected each other then Noel Chambers would have been treated with human dignity and would not have died after spending forty years in a Jamaican prison at the Governor General’s pleasure, without a trial and without dignified human and medical treatment. If we respected each other Maurice Gordon would not have been killed by a police officer even after it was clear that he was unarmed and not in violation of any laws. Clyde Kilough was so correct when he said ‘the most irreplaceable things are rarely physical’. If we respected each other this would truly be a wonderful world for a little respect goes a long way.  
 
There is hope however. Hope in this very commandment ‘thou shall not steal’. Paul in Ephesians 4: 28, speaking of living as Godly people, reflecting the new life we find in Christ Jesus, commands us: Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. The opposite of stealing is working to give. Those who know Christ should be transformed from being takers to being givers. We give by sharing, by caring and generally by respecting each other. When Jesus met Zacchaeus in the gospels and went to his house, Zacchaeus was confronted by who he had been up to that point, and immediately vowed to change. “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Luke 19: 8 – 9. I want to believe that the respect with which Jesus treated Zacchaeus even while so many were disrespecting him, contributed to his conversion. Rather than also steal what little reputation and respect he had left, Jesus gave to him by calling him by name, by calling him closer and by fellowshipping with him in his house. What a difference it would make in this world if we who are called by Jesus’ name begin to treat everyone with such dignity and respect. It would change the entire outlook of humanity. Indeed, a little respect goes a long way.  Amen. 

Bevon White

Monday Reflection – June 08, 2020
Who Will Comfort? Who Will Cry?

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for. Isaiah 40:2  

I continue to agonize over the murder of George Floyd at the hands at law enforcement officers in Minneapolis, USA. Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes in full view of three other police officers. As if that were not enough, the case of Noel Chambers makes me enraged. Based on the Quarterly Report (January -March 2020) of the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), Chambers died in custody at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre (TSACC) in January 2020 at 81 years old. He was incarcerated on February 4, 1980 and had been in prison for 40 years without being tried. He was being held at the Governor General’s pleasure, deemed unfit to plead to a charge of murder. Twice Chambers received ‘Fitness for Trial Certificates’ from two different psychiatrists and despite these, there is no indication that they were sent to the Court or that he was taken back to court for trial. Family members and a human rights attorney tried to have his case heard in Court, but this proved futile. In time, his family grew disheartened with the process. INDECOM noted that Noel is not alone, but many others are in similar situations. They highlighted nine cases of persons ranging from 19 to 49 years, with some deemed fit to plead, yet have last listed court dates as far back as 1975.

As we contemplate our appropriate response to such ungodly and unjust actions, we are invited to reflect on today’s text. Isaiah 40 signals a shift in tone from one of judgement and warning to that of comfort and blessing. Isaiah 39 ends with the announcement of the coming Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and the impending exile. Yet, beginning in chapter 40 the Lord offers his people comfort. Today, so many with hurting hearts, obvious and hidden, are waiting for a word of hope. It is important for hurting hearts to hear a word of comfort from God’s messenger. God’s comfort is not a hollow, positive-thinking kind of message. God always gives his people reasons for comfort – her hard service has been completed; her sin has been paid for. Another version puts it like this: Her warfare is ended and her iniquity pardoned. At the moment Isaiah spoke this, the battle may have still loomed, yet as far as God was concerned, her warfare is ended. The people knew of their sinful lives, yet God offers pardon. These are reasons for comfort.

Indeed, we must offer comfort to the families of George Floyd, Noel Chambers and so many others who are hurt and in pain today. We must assure them that God’s comfort is able to heal the deepest of pain and sorrow. Yet, there is more for us to do. Verses 3 to 5 of Isaiah 40 speaks of the voice of one crying in the wilderness. What does he cry? “Prepare the way of the Lord…Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth…” It’s a call for the levelling of the field. Where inequality, inequity and injustice prevail, our voices must cry until every obstacle in the way is removed and whatever is wrong in the road is corrected. It is a cry that demands that we treat everyone as brothers and sisters. It’s a cry that lifts us the downtrodden and brings down the exalted. Who will cry until the glory of the Lord is revealed and all people see it together?

Jermaine Gibson 

Saturday Reflection – 06 June 2020

“How great are God’s signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.” Daniel 4:3

Tomorrow is Trinity Sunday, where we acknowledge our Triune God, having now revealed himself to humanity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How fitting then, as we approach that special day in our church’s calendar, is our watchword for today, where King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the power and greatness of God and therein commands the people to respect and honour God. For Nebuchadnezzar, (as recorded in Daniel 3), having experienced the faith of the three Hebrew boys and how God protected them in the midst of the fiery furnace, he is led to make this profession of faith.

Many times, when we share our faith with others, we are immediately asked, what do we believe? Or what is that your church believes or stands for? When confronted with this question, some time ago, in later reflection, it became clear that we profess our faith every Sunday, by the Apostles or Nicene Creed or the Affirmation of Faith, which is the foundation of what we believe. Every statement that is made in our creed we affirm with the words “I believe.” It’s like Nebuchadnezzar who comes to this recognition, that as salvation is made known to us, as we experience God and celebrate these events on our Church’s Calendar, it becomes more and more real to us. Even as Nebuchadnezzar experienced it before his very eyes.

The problem, my brothers and sisters, is that we may soon forget the solemnity and meaning of our profession of faith, and it is evident in the Daniel 4, where in a short space of time, after the experience with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and twelve months after Daniel interprets the dream and implores Nebuchadnezzar to repent, that he goes back to square one and proclaims in verse 30 “Is this not magnificent Babylon, which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty power and for my glorious majesty?” It’s almost as everything he had seen, heard and experienced meant nothing to him or in more familiar terms “all that went through the window” Because he forgot Jehovah, he was made to eat grass, losing his power and his sanity so that he could be reminded and humbled. Again, having survived, he ends with his profession of faith.

For me, the reason we say these creeds each week, is that we would, in understanding and in reflection and later committing to memory, it becomes a reminder, of God’s omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence and we experience God’s grace as we say “I believe.” In a world, where so many things are going wrong, where the challenges of life, seem to be coming just one after the other, our “I believe” keeps us connected to God, and our faith is grounded. So, brothers and sisters, we cannot allow anything to shake our belief, nor can we get to the point where our affirmation of this faith, becomes ritualistic and meaningless.

We celebrate and experience, the majesty of our creator God, who said “Let there be, and there was”, where after the fall of humanity, his unending love led him, through Christ to be born in this world, to teach us of the kingdom and how to live godly lives, then to offer himself a ransom for our sin. We see the risen Lord, who conquered sin, death and the grave, who ascended to heaven and sent us a comforter, the Holy Spirit, as our guide and friend. We experience the community of faith, known as the church, made up of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are apart of the family of God. We cling to the hope of the resurrection, where the Lord will return as King and Judge. Together, we worship and serve him, and we continually feel his presence, and experience his grace. And we believe that one day, the church militant will become the church triumphant and then shall we evermore be with the Lord. When we stand on these promises, proclaiming and living the truth, then we can be all that God intends his church to be.

Until next week, we cannot be fickle, that we allow anything that we face to shake our belief and our resolve and would take away God’s Holy Spirit from us. From now on, every time, we profess, let it be a solemn and true profession, as it is the foundation of our faith. And in turn, we must be the church that spreads this hope and confidence to others, so that they too, might know and believe, until the day when our faith becomes sight. Amen.

Dominic J. Blair

Friday Reflection

June 5, 2020

Grace in a time of weakness

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2co.12.9.NIV

Good morning Friends, happy Friday!

God’s Grace is sufficient for you today, tomorrow and as long as you live, in times of strength and more so in times of weakness.

It is in your darkest, most terrifying and helpless situations that you will prove these words to be true. Have you ever been so low and weak in your body, heart and soul that you are only able to cry out ” Lord have mercy”?

It is a fact that at some point in our Christian journey we become weak and derailed. Infact it is in those times that we often step out of the will God… But hear the promise of God through his Son Jesus in the text for today.

He said “My grace is sufficient for you”
It might have been a voice from heaven, or some extraordinary revelation of the Spirit of God; or by a divine impression upon the mind; whereby the apostle was assured that God’s grace was sufficient to support him in his time of weakness however long it was going to last.

We too need to find and embrace this said assurance that however long the world is in chaos and however long we may feel a sense of weakness, GOD’S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT

Not only is His grace sufficient in your time of weakness, but the scripture says His POWER is made PERFECT in your time of weakness What does that mean? Is it saying that in your time of strength his power is not present? No! It is a sign of assurance that in times of weakness, his power is more evident. His strength is made to appear, illustrate and shine forth in its perfection and glory, in supplying, supporting, and strengthening his people under their time of weakness.

Therefore friends, let us be assured that He is our STRENGTH and POWER , in this our time of weakness.

Untill next week, have a blessed and wonderful weekend! Much love ❤️♥️.

Shaneka Raymore Euphfa

Thursday Reflection

June 4, 2020

Fight in the name of the Lord

David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts.” 1 Samuel 17:45

The story of David and Goliath is one of the popular stories in the bible, often told to children at Sunday School. The story is told of the Philistine army going to war against Israelite army. The Philistines would send out a champion named Goliath who stood over 9 ft tall. Goliath would taunt the Israelites to send out a champion to fight him. However, the entire Israelite army was afraid.

David’s father, Jesse, sent David to bring food for his brothers who were a part of the Israelite army. When David saw Goliath and that no one was willing to fight, he decided to fight him. David went out to face Goliath, but Goliath was disdain that they sent a little boy to fight him. He then threatened and cursed David, “The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” But David responded, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts.”

Friends as we move pass the children view of this text to a deeper understanding we must realize that the enemy is real. In this text Goliath and the Philistines were the enemies, but today Satan is the enemy we fight. We must understand the purpose of the enemy. Goliath came with sword, spear and javelin, which indicated his purpose and intentions. Goliath came to kill! Similarly the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy. John 10:10 and the enemy prowls around seeking who to devour. 1 Peter 5:8.

I also want to note only God can defeat the enemy. For forty days Goliath presented himself, but no one from the Israelite army went out to face him. They were all afraid of the enemy. Why were they afraid of the enemy? They were afraid, because they were trusting and relying on their own strength. The truth is on our own we are weak against the enemy, but… Ah yes! There is a but… But those who rely on the Lord WILL overcome the enemy. Those who fight in the name of the Lord will overcome the wiles of Satan.
How do we overcome? For David it was a stone and a slingshot, but for us it is by prayer, fasting and confidence in the Lord. That is how we overcome.

Friends the enemy is real. He comes to kill, but those who fight in the name of the Lord will overcome.

Keep fighting, because Greater is God who is inside you than Satan who is in the world.

Blessings!

Christopher Euphfa

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