Friday Reflection September 17, 2021

Praise the Lord , all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord , my soul.
Psalms 103:22 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.103.22.NIV

Good morning friends, happy Friday!

Psalm 103 is said to be written by David. In the Psalm he speaks of the works of God ( verses 2 – 19) to include the following:

1. Forgiveness of Sin
2. Healing from diseases
3. Redemption of lives from the pit by crowning us with love and compassion.
4. He satisfies the desires of our hearts with good things so we are renewed like the eagles.
5. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

The Psalmist after pointing out the works of God, calls on His creation to praise Him! Because the Lord’s creation includes both heaven and earth; it is fitting that all His created beings and objects praise Him.

We may ask, how is this even possible? Even when God’s creation doesn’t speak in words, its very existence exclaims the glory of God (Psalm 19:1).

David went on to say “my soul praise the Lord”. These were the very words he used at the beginning of the Psalm ( vs. 1 & 2). Having been forgiven and given a new start, David had a reason to praise the Lord, not just to call others to praise. He had a praise of his own! Out of his own experience he was able to identify the works of God in his own life and he praised the Lord!

We, too, should praise the Lord joyfully, wholeheartedly, and thankfully for our salvation. We are to praise God for all His works in our lives. Even in the midst of a global pandemic God is still working, and He is deserving of praise!

Whatever you do from this day forward, don’t forget to praise the Lord!

God bless you!

Shaneka Raymore Euphfa

Thursday Reflection September 16, 2021

God’s providential care is for all

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 6:26

Greeting friends,

Today I would like for us to briefly observe the birds of the air. I will use the birds that I encounter at Carmel where I live. I don’t know the names of all the birds that I’ve seen here, but I do recall seeing parrots, hawks, vultures and other types of birds.

The first thing I notice is that they begin to sing/communicate at 5 in the morning. You can hear them chirping or singing away. It’s a beautiful sound unless you’re really tired and just want to go back to sleep.

The second thing I notice is that they fly around during the course of the day. Let me put it this way, “they go about their daily business”

Thirdly, I notice that they are provided for. When apple is in season the birds will peck at the apples. When it’s not in season they will find other fruits. To further support this point I’ve seen where a fig tree was growing in the bark of a dead coconut tree. The coconut tree lost its leaves due to a lightning strike so only the bark remain. A fig is growing there because birds would often perch there at times and the seed would fall out of there mouth.

The last thing I notice they go home. There is a flock of white birds that live in a tree not too far from where I live and between the hours of 5&6pm they head back home to that tree after completing their day’s work. This is done every single day.

I mention all of this about the birds to demonstrate how they are cared for. God who loves his creation including birds care for them. They wake in the morning and sing. They carry out their daily business and head home and in all of this they are given the essentials to survive.

Now if God does this for the birds of the air, imagine what He will do for us. God loves you and just like how He takes care of the birds, He will take care of you.

Blessings!

Christopher Euphfa

Human Kindness Begets Supernatural Favor.

Have you ever been told to be kind to others because kindness leads to kindness? Show kindness to others and kindness will be shown to you. That’s what I was told as a child. It was sort of like a mantra in our home with our parents, my maternal grandmother, six brothers and one cousin. It’s important to note that the seven of us were all boys and we were not gentle. Not with those in the community and not with each other. My grandma and especially my mother somehow believed we could be kind and gentle and they never relented from challenging us to portray our best side. Show kindness to others and kindness will be shown to you, they would impress on us. As I read the watchword for today, I thank God for their efforts because all seven of us have successfully learned to be our kindest selves, to be true gentlemen, wherever we are. In fact, without even realizing it, we have all been recipients of God’s gracious kindness repeatedly. We can all attests to the truth of the watchword that human kindness leads to supernatural favor. Psalm 41: 1 is the Watchword for today. Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.

Taken in its context, this verse points out the responsibility of the community to care for those in need. In this case it points to a specific need. Those who are poor. The word used in the original language further categorizes the word ‘poor’ to mean the sick, the weak in body or the sick at heart. In Psalm 40, David describes himself as poor and needy or rather humiliated and weak. His experience was that in that needy time, God raised up a community of support and strength around him, moving him from being pursued by many enemies, his life threatened, to his coronation as King of Israel and Judah. As David reflected, he realized how blessed not only he was, but those who had helped him were as well. They had been delivered, restored, and now shared in his elevation to the throne. David saw God’s hand at work in the process, repaying their kindness, their loyalty to him when he was needy and humiliated.

The Deuteronomic law made clear the responsibility of the community to the poor, the needy, those who were destitute. Deut 15: 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, “You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.” Note that poverty can come in an instant and the times of health crisis in which we are now living have seen countless businesses close putting many out of jobs. At the same time many have become emotionally broken with the loss of loved ones. We have more emotionally and physically poor among us that we are used to seeing. Ours is the responsibility to reach out in care to them, to lend a helping hand. Prov 19: 17 tells us, Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Our kindness to the poor is noted by the Lord who Himself rewards us with his favor. Note that we should not help for the reward, but because we have a compassionate heart for the needs of others. God rewards us according to the intention of our hearts. In Luke 6: 35 Jesus challenges us to have kind hearts which leads to God’s divine favor. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. When our kindness is unbounded, God’s supernatural favor to us will be unlimited. Put simply, the more we give, the more we get. God’s kindness to us is directly related to our kindness to those in need. Amen

Monday Reflection – September 13, 2021
Showers from God

Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the Lord have created it. Isaiah 45:8

As I read and reflected on today’s Watchword, my mind went to this famous hymn that we sing:
There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Saviour above.
 
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

In Isaiah 45, God makes solid declarations as He asserts his sovereign power over all creation. At the start of this chapter, God shows his control over human history by declaring his plan to use Cyrus, a stranger, foreigner, alien who did not acknowledge God to accomplish God’s will.  God also reminds His people of His control over nature, including sun, light and darkness. He further asserts in today’s Watchword that He will shower His people with the righteousness from Heaven. This is a very intriguing verse and one filled with the riches of God’s promises from heaven.

We usually associate heaven with the afterlife, a wonderful and beautiful place we get to live after our time here on earth. However, Isaiah 45:8 declares the showers of heavens raining down its righteousness on earth. Note that God commands the earth to open, so that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit. God can send His blessing from every direction. It comes down from the heavens, it comes up from the earth.

When the earth opens up to receive God’s blessing, there is a place for such blessing to go and bear fruit. Like a seed planted in fertile soil, the seed is the gift and the soil is the receiver. It takes both for the seed to sprout. God declares that the earth will open up to receive, and make salvation and righteousness sprout and grow. Salvation here means liberty, deliverance, prosperity and safety.

As believers, we have opened up our hearts and received Jesus Christ, God’s gift of salvation and righteousness. We, as the soil, and God as the giver, together cause these gifts to sprout and fill the earth with the sweet aroma of liberty, prosperity and safety. And lest we forget, God finishes Isaiah 45:8 with, “I the Lord have created it.” It is His sovereign power that makes it so, not man or the wealth and power of nations, but God alone. We, who are receivers of God’s gracious providence, are now obligated to spread his salvation and righteousness throughout the world.

There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.

There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!

Jermaine Gibson 

Friday Reflection September 10, 2021

Wait on the Lord, He will help you

We wait in hope for the Lord ; he is our help and our shield.
Psalms 33:20 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.33.20.NIV

In today’s reflection we will look at some of the words mentioned in this text and their meaning. This will give us a clearer understanding of the teachings in this text.

1. Wait : Stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or event.
2. Hope: A feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.
3. Help: Make it easier or possible for (someone) to do something by offering one’s services or resources.
4. Shield: A person or thing providing protection.

Now let us rewrite the text using the above definitions. Here goes:

We stay where we are and delay action with great expectations and desires of the Lord to make it easier or even possible, by giving us the resources we need to overcome our trials . He is the only person we can depend on to provide protection in uncertain times.

Last night it was reported that MU variant of the Coronavirus is in Jamaica. It is said to be more transmissible than the Delta variant. My granny would say ” it a get outta han yah now . With that being said, I know a lot of persons are becoming so afraid and even more uncertain at this time. But hear these words of comfort and hope.

The Lord is the help of His people in times of trouble, when no one else is or can be; and He is a present one. He will help at the right time and at the best season! God is our shield, who encompasses round about us with his love and favour, and keeps us by his power in the greatest safety!

Be encouraged, wait upon Him, and expect good things from Him He always come through, He will do it again!!

Blessings,
Shaneka Raymore Euphfa

Thursday Reflection September 9, 2021

Focus on today’s task

Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts. Haggai 2:4

Greeting friends,

Our text today cause us to push forward and not become daunted; not to compare the glories of the past to the work that needs to be done now. This was the situation regarding the people in Haggai 2. The Lord had challenged them in chapter 1 to rebuild the temple and not just focus on rebuilding and living in fancy houses.
In chapter 2 they began the work, but three weeks into rebuilding the temple they became discouraged. The people in their 70’s could remember Solomon’s temple that had been destroyed 66 years earlier. Whilst rebuilding the temple it has now become clear to them that the rebuilt temple is going to be far inferior to the temple they once knew. The people rebuilding the temple were comparing what they were doing now to what was done in the past and that affected the work to be done now.
How often do we do this? How often do we compare now with the glory days and focus on the glory days? How often we focus on the glory days of the boys brigade and girls brigade and compare it to now? How often do we focus on the glory days when most congregations we filled with people and compare it to now? How often do we look at Missionary services, especially in the rural parishes and think they were so fantastic and compare them to now? How often do we use the same tactics of 30/40 years ago that brought success then and want to implement them now expecting them to work. How often do we focus on the glory days and when the glory days are not recreated we become discouraged and the work of God is not done?

Hear the Lord in the text, “Yet now” God is drawing our attention to what needs to be done now and not the glory days of Solomon’s temple. The temple now will be smaller and less beautiful, but this is the temple that God wants to build now. The people were looking back at what was, but God now calls them to look forward to the present. He calls them to move forward with these three commands: Be strong, work and fear not

To do the work today we have to be strong. It’s easy to become weak and discouraged that today’s work doesn’t look like yesterday’s work, but be strong, as we know our strength comes from the Lord.

Not only should we be strong but we must work. Today’s temple cannot be built if we do not work. The work will be hard and it will be less people working. The returning remnant did not have the physical resources of Solomon, but they still had God, which is the only resource you truly need. Today, God is the true resource to rebuild. Let’s stop try recreate the past and build what God wants us to build today.

Lastly, fear not. Its easy to become afraid during the unknown and when you have less support, but fear not. Do not be afraid. Just walk in the promises of God and focus on today’s task. This is a choice we have to make, fear not!

God bless you as we work together in the vineyard.

Shalom
Christopher Euphfa

Wednesday Reflection, September 8, 2021

The Lord’s Elect!
Brothers and Sisters, I greet you well. Today’s watchword is from the book of Isaiah 42:1 in which the Lord declares, “behold! My Servant whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights! In a perfect world, children aim to please their parents. Employees strive for excellence and those providing goods and services seek to do so in a manner that will have their customers coming back and also making further recommendations to others. In Isaiah 42, the fore telling of a particular servant’s fate is explained; yet, before the details are given, the chapter opens with a wonderful pronouncement. God tells Israel that He will choose this servant, specifically selected, thought highly of, God’s Spirit would be with him and He would bring justice to the Gentiles.

Friends, this was not any new or strange matter. God had commissioned the nation of Israel with this particular task starting with the promises he made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 however, it matters not how many attempts us humans make, we most oft fail at at carrying out God’s perfect will and as such, Jesus had to come to earth to complete His father’s will in this regard and by extention, set the example we should follow.

In the gospel according to Luke 4:22 “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

Brothers and sisters, we have each been chosen to serve the Lord, may we continue striving to be like Jesus, following his blessed example, may we seek to be gracious as we continue along on this journey towards justice and peace.

Until next week, may the Lord continue to uphold you whom He has chosen and may His soul delight also in you.

Amen.

Kerone Lamoth

God Knows our Struggles and Delivers Us.

I recently saw my daughters off to college and it was an experience rife with emotions all around. For the first time they were leaving home for a prolonged period and would be almost four hours away from us. Many questions began to run through my mind. What if there’s an emergency? What is they need something right away? What if they get sick or hurt? All my foreboding was based on one thing and one thing only. They would be away from me. Then I began to realize that being away from daddy and mummy did not leave us nor them powerless or vulnerable for there is one who would be with them through it all. God has promised never to leave nor forsake us. Today’s watchword serves as a reminder of the reassuring and comforting thoughts I had. The Lord your God has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. Deuteronomy 2: 7.

The children of Israel travelled for forty years through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. As they are about to enter the land of promise, the Lord spoke to them through Moses as he recalled all that they went through to get to that point. He reminded them of the hardships they faced and the ways in which God delivered them. As the text states, God had been with them every step of the way. He knew everything they had experienced, and He had been their deliverer. The entire verse 7 says: “For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’This was God’s way of letting Israel know that He who had been faithful to them through the wilderness would be sufficient to keep them in their new location. They only needed to be true to the Covenant. In the same way, I also was reminded that God is able keep our children once we commit them to His care. What a comforting feeling it was to place my children, all the youngsters of our congregation, and others that I am aware of, into God’s keeping knowing they would be ok as they move away from home for the first time, or as they returned to college, to continue their education. God’s protection of them will be greater than anything we could ever do, for God who know their struggles is also God who delivers. Hear God’s word to us from Isaiah 49:25 (Amp) “For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save (defend, preserve, rescue, deliver) your children.”

If you are a parent who is struggling to release your child, to allow them to move to the next stage of their life journey, I encourage you to release them into God’s care. Let God lead that child forward. Let God surround him or her with his protective presence. Let God inspire and support your child as only He can. May today’s text also serve as a reminder to us all that God is aware of what we have experienced and of what troubles us in the here and now. He seeks to assure us that He who has been faithful to us through all the challenges we have faced in the wilderness of our personal life journeys, will be faithful enough for what we anticipate even as we look ahead. Let us rest assured that our Lord knows what we have been through, what we are going through and what we will go through, and He is able to take us safely to our journey’s completion. Let us continue to trust in our all-present and all-knowing God, for the God who knows our struggles is the same God who delivers. Amen.

Monday Reflection – September 06, 2021
Mercy Lord!

Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. Psalm 106:6

One of the critical characteristics of God that we depend on every day is God’s mercy. Without God’s mercy we would all be dead by now. We talk a lot about God’s grace and mercy, but what do these terms mean? For me, God’s grace has to do with what God gives to us that we do not deserve; God’s unmerited favour. On the other hand, God’s mercy relates to the judgement or punishment that we rightly deserve, but God withholds same and replaces that with mercy. Mercy and forgiveness are twins, since we receive God’s mercy because God forgives.

Psalm 106 celebrates Yahweh’s mercy to His covenant people. The Psalm begins by praising God for His enduring mercy, as the Psalmist invites us to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Why? Because God is good and God’s mercy endures forever. This praise for God’s great mercy is especially sincere because it is offered to an often rebellious and ungrateful Israel. Indeed, we celebrate a God who is longsuffering.

In today’s Watchword, the Psalmist confesses Israel’s past and present sins and thus highlights their need for God’s mercy. Verses 6 and 7 say: “Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wonderful works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.” Not only were God’s people sinful, but they paid no attention and forgot the magnitude of God’s mercy. So what we have is a contrast between the loving acts of God and Israel’s continued sins and lack of response. This dramatizes the greatness of God’s love and salvation, for He delivered a people who did not respond to His love.

Having acknowledged Israel’s sins, the Psalmist notes in verse 8a, “Yet God saved them for His name’s sake”. Though the Israelites responded to God’s deliverance with ingratitude and rebellion, God answered with rescue, but not only for Israel’s sake, but God’s. Boice makes the noteworthy point that “Israel’s history is as much the story of God’s mercy, faithfulness, and long-suffering as it is the story of Israel’s faithlessness and unbelief. In fact, it is against the background of their sin that God’s patience is most fully illuminated.” Yet, this is our story! We continue to be sinful and rebellious in the face of God’s continued mercies. However, let’s be careful that we don’t become so flippant and carefree doing what we want and ignoring God’s direction because we believe that God is forever merciful. There will come a point when God stops winking at our rebellion and inflict judgement.

Let’s be forever grateful for God’s manifold mercies to us every day, confess our sins and seek God’s forgiveness, pursue a life that honours God, and extend mercy to those who offend us.

Jermaine Gibson 

Saturday Reflection – 04 September 2021

“We must obey God rather than any human authority.” Acts 5:29

The Apostles had been arrested and brought before the chief priests for disobeying the strict orders that were given to them, not to preach the name of Jesus. You see, the gospel message had spread like wildfire all over Jerusalem, and in jealousy the chief priests along with a sect of the Sadducees arrested the apostles and had them thrown in a public prison. However, an angel had set the apostles free that night, and instructed them to go to the temple and continue preaching. Lo and behold, when the chief priests met, and sent for the apostles, they were not in the prison, and perplexed as to what happened, they spotted them in the temple faithfully teaching about Christ, and took them to the chief priests.

It was here that in verse 27-28, the high priest says to the Apostles “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” And in response, Peter and the Apostles say today’s doctrinal text “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” In fact, they go on to say “The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” (verses 30-32)

The teaching of Christ had been rejected by the chief priests and they had tried to snuff out any preaching of this gospel. There was also jealousy added to the mix, as many people had been drawn to the teaching of this Messiah, and had converted to the church. You can imagine that the Apostles held on to Jesus’ commission to them, and continued faithfully to execute that mission. And here came the instruction that finds itself contrary to Jesus’ instruction. How would they respond? As they did in the doctrinal text. They were convinced by the teaching and example of Christ, that he was indeed the Messiah, that came from heaven, and that he has by his death and resurrection, and by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, offered to us abundant and eternal life. And that anyone who would hear and accept this gospel, would be saved. Therein was the duty to faithfully preach and teach the gospel regardless.

Their answer demonstrated the higher authority that they held as Christians, and importantly the fulfilling of Jesus’ promise, that should be taken before the rulers, that the Holy Spirit would give them the answer and empower them to speak. Whether they were examined together, or individually, their answer exemplifies this promise. They were even frank to the chief priests, not begging for pardon, or giving excuses, but spoke as those given authority by God. Even in their answer, they told the chief priests of their own role in the crucifixion of Jesus. What do we learn from their example? The Apostle Paul reminds us that as Christians, we must be obedient to our leaders and rulers, and observant of the laws that are laid down. However, where those rules contradict, our obligation is first to Almighty God. To his rulership, and therein the principles laid out for us in scripture and in line with the character and heart of God. We must never be disrespectful, instead, be faithful and loving witnesses of the truth, that in God’s time, and by God’s grace, others may see the truth. And God will reward our faithfulness.

For the Apostles, there came Gamaliel, a respected teacher of the law, who pleaded with his fellow chief priests not to have them killed, but to leave them alone, for if their message is from man, it will fail, but if from God, then nothing we do will stop it, and worse we would be defying God. And instead, the Apostles were flogged (to which they rejoiced for bearing dishonour for the sake of Christ) and let go. The chapter ending by telling us that they did not cease to preach the gospel of Christ. As Christians, it is a call for discernment and wisdom, as we are led by the Holy Spirit and encouraged by our brothers and sisters of the faith. And as they were led by the Holy Spirit, so will we be empowered. For if we deny Christ on earth, so will Christ deny us in heaven. We must be committed to the mission of Christ, just as we are to our secular engagements. When it comes to the test, let us never deny the name that we bear, instead, may we be faithful to God, and there we will find God faithful.

Until next week, let us commit to the cause of Christ, spreading the gospel message, shining the light and love of Christ, in a world filled with darkness and hate. When tested, remember, we are faithful first to God. However, knowing that God has ordered the one in authority over us, let us be respectful, observant, and obedient of the law that guides us. Amen.

Dominic J. Blair