Protect and Proclaim Your Faith
Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible. It has 176 (lines) verses, and was written as a song of praise to God. There is something unique about the style of this Psalm. It is an acrostic poem, meaning that each stanza begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The 176 verses are divided into 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse within a particular stanza begins with the same letter. The writer uses ten key words that are found in each verse except for verse 122, all pointing to the importance of God’s word. Today’s Watchword is verse 43 of this Psalm: Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth.
In the midst of the Psalmist’s song of praise is a prayer for faithfulness in the midst of opposition and persecution. The Psalmist prays for gallantry, fortitude, and honesty. He wants to be courageous in the face of opposition to his faith. He wants to have the kind of strength in adversity which he knows that God alone can supply. He wants to be honest enough, regardless of the consequences, to speak of the goodness, the power and the blessings of God. Thus, the Psalmist declares in verse 46: (Message) Oh, I’ll guard with my life what you’ve revealed to me, guard it now, guard it ever; And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom: Then I’ll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed. For the Psalmist, the joy and blessings that He has found in his relationship with God is worth protecting and proclaiming. What about you dear friend? Is your relationship with Jesus Christ worth fighting for? Is it worth protecting and proclaiming?
In a world of many views, voices, and values, we are being reminded that we are a people of hope, a hope that is grounded in God’s words. To speak God’s word is to speak hope to the daily situations we face. In the midst of the many crisis we face: threatening natural disasters, a pandemic that does not seem to be going anywhere any time soon, lack of jobs, lack of finances, loss of loved ones, sickness, mental issues … and the list goes on, in the midst of these many and varied situations we find hope in God’s promises to us in His word. When those who oppose us say our hope in God is unfounded, we refute their claim by proclaiming God’s gift of salvation to us. This hope then is what gives us the confidence to speak boldly. We can be courageous and unintimidated in the face of opposition for regardless of what others have to say, we know what we know, and God’s word is in our mouth and in our hearts. This text thus calls on us to be steadfast and uncompromising in our resolve to live for Christ especially when faced with adverse situations. It challenges us to put our faith to the forefront, to put our complete trust in the God who we serve. The doctrinal text from 2 Tim 4: 3, 4 warns of a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine but will find themselves teachers who teach their brand of truth. We are living through such times, we are threatened daily with such realities and as Christians our duty is to hold to, protect and proclaim the truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is worth living and fighting for.

Monday Reflection – August 16, 2021All to God’s Glory

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Psalm 115:1
Christians face many tests of varying kinds and degrees. Some of our tests search the heart, trying to detect our highest pursuits. Though some of our tests are often subtle, this is the scheme of the enemy who seeks to set us up for destruction. In today’s Watchword, the Psalmist boldly zooms in on the crux of the matter – either we are living for God or for ourselves. If we do not live for God, then we make ourselves a serious target for the forces of the devil that are always trying to compromise our heart’s affection. We usually think only of life’s testings which centre on more superficial areas of our lives, such as our jobs, careers, and family. They are there for sure, but the testing of our heart lies underneath those and therefore becomes more critical. This testing is continuous, as God regularly tests our hearts to see our true affections and who or what takes priority in our lives.
The Psalmist understands that when God does wonderful things, the glory should be given to God – not to God’s people (not unto us), even if they are in some sense active in the work. The glory should go to God and His holy name. Charles Spurgeon indicates that, “The repetition of the words, ‘Not to us,’ would seem to indicate a very serious desire to renounce any glory which they might at any time have proudly appropriated to themselves…” We must remain diligent in recognizing that pride and haughtiness have a way of creeping up on us until they consume us. The devil has a way of sporting with us by sending subtle temptations our way, trying to persuade us that our success is due to our wisdom and strength. He desperately tries to detach us from our devotion to God. Satan has a multitude of ways to lead us to self-worship and is an expert in this field, having himself left the worship of God to seek his glory. Each of us has a flesh, a self-willed nature, which loves revelling in ourselves. Thus, Satan may shift our trust from God to our own successful ways. We go from praising God on how He answered prayers to gloating that we are pretty good Christians, especially compared to others. We walk around profiling and announcing what we have done and the successes that we have achieved. When we forget or confuse the source of God’s work in our lives, pride takes root.
So many times we start out well, but when success seems real we begin to trust our strength and serve our glory. The Lord’s grace then begins to recede. He allows us to work from our energies, increasingly in frustration and desperation. We turn from admiring God’s grace to wanting to receive flattering remarks. What people think of us become more important than true concern for the Lord or others that we serve. As believers, we begin our Christian lives by openly stating that Jesus is our Saviour and Lord. We commit to live for God’s glory! May we never forget that the root of our success is the Lord. All the glory goes to God because he is at the root of anything that we call success. This Psalmist reminds us that it is all because of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Any good that we do is only because of God’s gracious work within us, so all we do ought to be to God’s glory.
Paul understands this well and admonishes us in today’s New Testament text in Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment.”
Jermaine Gibson 

Friday Reflection August 13 , 2021

JOB KNEW , DO YOU?

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
Job 19:25 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/job.19.25.NIV

Friends, Happy Friday 🙂

Most, if not all of us are familiar with the story of Job. He faced a very difficult period in his life where he basically lost everything. In his affliction, he demonstrated courage like no other. Job confidently declared, “I KNOW that my redeemer lives” In other words he knew that all of God’s plans and promises will one day come to fruition. Job KNEW! Do YOU?

It is easy for some of us in our time of affliction to “curse God and die’. However, today I want to challenge you to go the hard way! Stick it out and stick with God. His promises never fail, his love never fails and his mercies are new everyday!

As you face your trails, make the same declaration job did. Say “I KNOW MY REDEEMER LIVES
It’s as simple as ABC and easy as 123.

just do it

justknowGodhaveyuhback

Friday blessings friends,

Shaneka Raymore Euphfa.

Thursday Reflection August 12, 2021

Praise God for your spiritual blessings

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:3

Greeting Friends,

For today’s text I would like to share the thoughts of Charles Spurgeon and the Enduring Word re the text above.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
Paul called for a blessing upon the Father (in the sense of recognizing His glory and honour and goodness), because the Father has already blessed the believer with every spiritual blessing (who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing). [Enduring Word]

Who has blessed us
This blessing is ours. God’s resources are there for us always. This speaks of an attitude of certainty and assurance.

“We are not sitting here, and groaning, and crying, and fretting, and worrying, and questioning our own salvation. He has blessed us; and therefore we will bless him. If you think little of what God has done for you, you will do very little for him; but if you have a great notion of his great mercy to you, you will be greatly grateful to your gracious God.” (Spurgeon)

With every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ
This describes both the kind of blessings and the location of those blessings. These are spiritual blessings, which are far better than material blessings. These blessings are ours in the heavenly places in Christ, they are higher, better, and more secure than earthly blessings.[Enduring Word]

“Our thanks are due to God for all temporal blessings; they are more than we deserve. But our thanks ought to go to God in thunders of hallelujahs for spiritual blessings. A new heart is better than a new coat. To feed on Christ is better than to have the best earthly food. To be an heir of God is better than being the heir of the greatest nobleman. To have God for our portion is blessed, infinitely more blessed than to own broad acres of land. God hath blessed us with spiritual blessings. These are the rarest, the richest, the most enduring of all blessings; they are priceless in value.” (Spurgeon)

To summarise friends, the spiritual blessings of God far exceed our expectations and are more lasting than the temporal blessings we receive. Therefore, let us give God praise for all He has done for us.

Shalom
Christopher Euphfa

Wednesday Reflection, August 11, 2021

According to the Lord’s Will

Greetings friends, today we will look back at a point of conflict between King Saul and his then son in law, David. Saul continued to listen to his advisors who told him to pursue David in order to kill him.

David was presented with opportunities to kill Saul instead but his spirit was troubled and he explained to his all too eager soldiers that it was not the will of God that any harm be meted out to Saul, the Lord’s annointed.

David tried reasoning with Saul in chapters 24 and 26 of 1st Samuel. He went as far to liken himself to a flea and a dead dog (1 Samuel 24:14) as a way to get the King to realize he was wasting his time in pursuit of him as he was not an enemy but in fact a loyal servant.

In today’s watch word, David, in speaking to Saul declares, “may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he rescue me from all tribulation.” 1 Samuel 26:24

Friends, as believers, we have one enemy. The enemy of our souls. Satan is in constant pursuit of us. Spreading lies about us and using his agents to set traps for us as well. In the movie, Same Kind of Different as Me, one character said to another, ‘the more precious you are to God, is the more important you become to the devil’.

Brothers and sisters, Saul’s advisors kept leading him astray. David’s men were ready and willing to kill or bring harm to Saul but David recognized the Lord’s annointing on the king and showed him mercy and kindness repeatedly. How frustrating it must have been for David, to have had to be living the life of a fugitive whilst knowing he was innocent.

I imagine the Lord speaking to him as he did to the Apostle Paul in the old testament text Acts 23:11, ‘that night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘keep up your courage!’. I believe this is what God is also saying ti each of us today, even in this moment. Comes what may or whatever be tide, keep up your courage and act only according to the Lord’s will.

Until next week, I join with John Birch in saying, may God’s love surround you may His hope sustain you, faith defend you, joy surprise you, peace restore you, this and every day.

Amen

Monday Reflection – August 09, 2021
The Spirit of the Lord

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:2

Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 11 was about the coming Messiah and King. This King from the branch and root of Jesse is full of life, and full of the Spirit of the Lord. According to David Guzik, this verse presents the Messiah who has seven – the number of fullness and completion – aspects of the Spirit of the Lord.
1.      The Spirit of the Lord – The Spirit is upon the Messiah. Jesus did not have a false spirit or a deceiving spirit, or even the spirit of a man. Jesus was of the Spirit of the Lord and He knew it.

2.      The Spirit of wisdom – Wisdom is about the special perception from God that connects the consequences of one’s decisions with what will occur. Indeed, Jesus is perfectly wise in all things. He showed this during his earthly ministry. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that Jesus became for us wisdom from God. It isn’t just that Jesus has wisdom; He is wisdom.

3.      The Spirit of understanding – Understanding speaks to the God-given discernment that enables a person to grasp the proper perspective of a certain situation. Jesus understands all things, and He understands us perfectly. What a joy that He is our sympathetic High Priest in heaven (Hebrews 4:15-16). 

4.      The Spirit of counsel – This is the insightful, wise words from God’s Spirit which bring comfort, healing, and warning. Jesus has perfect counsel to give us at all times.

5.      The Spirit of might – This is about God-given strength. Jesus has the power to do what He desires to do. Many people would help us if they could but are powerless so to do.

6.      The Spirit of knowledge – This is special insights from God that bring attention to what is needed to handle a certain situation properly. Jesus knows everything including our hearts. Jesus has knowledge that we don’t have, so it shouldn’t surprise us that sometimes His decisions seem strange or wrong to us or to others.

7. The Spirit of the fear of the Lord – The fear of the Lord is the special awareness of God which provides guidance, leading a person to trust the Lord. It is about submission to the Sovereign will of God. Jesus willingly kept Himself in a place of submission, respect, and honour to God the Father.

The Messiah was filled with the Spirit and lived and ministered as such. Jesus displayed in His life and ministry wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. Yet, we can also live as people governed and guided by the Spirit of the Lord. When we invite Christ in our lives and submit to Him, God’s Spirit fills us. Experiencing the Spirit’s indwelling presence and power alone enables us to live for Christ. When the presence of the Spirit of God is within us, it occupies and influences our thoughts, decisions, and relationships with others. Also, when we depend upon the Spirit of God, we are effectively led closer to God and our lives are made more fruitful. Let’s submit to God and experience the overflowing presence and power of His Spirit who bestows joy and fulfilment.

Jermaine Gibson 

Saturday Reflection – 07 August 2021

“Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the Lord?” 1 Chronicles 29:5

Today’s watchword echoes David’s invitation to the house of Israel to offer useful gifts both generously and sacrificially for the building of God’s temple. David himself had given a gift for the builders, and now invited the people to follow his gracious example. As the invitation went out, so did the people respond in like manner, giving many gifts and igniting a great celebration among them as they had given willingly to the Lord. Hear David in his praise to God in verses 11-13 “You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all. All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.”

But the sticking point in his praise is echoed in verse 14 where David says: “Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already.” That even in their celebration, they would think too highly of themselves, in their ability to give, or consider that if it were not for them, there would be no gift received for the building of the temple, instead, they recognized that all that they had, were out of God’s bounty to them, and they only gave but a portion of all that they have been blessed with. We hear the humble heart continuing in verses 16-17 where David says “O Lord, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you. I know that you test everyone’s heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you.”

As we reflect on this experience, there are two notions that come out for our consideration. The first is, the issuance of the invitation. Like David, we too are called to give of our time, talent, treasure to the enlarging of God’s kingdom and to the glory of God’s holy name. This may come in the form of our regular freewill offering, our tithes, and special walk-up offerings for different projects. But many people consider treasure, and forget that God has called us to give generously and sacrificially of our time and talent as well. Giving of our time to engage and actively participate in church activities and ministries, to fellowship and give a helping hand, to fulfill the mandate of Christ is indeed time well spent. For there is a thrill that we feel when we get together with God’s wonderful people. And talent is important, to use our skills and experience to the benefit of our church ministry and the overall life and witness of the Church. When we put heads and hearts together, thinking, believing, and helping to make it happen, and then to put our all, that it comes out better, when we use our gifts to make worship richer, to edify and call people to Christ, then we really become good stewards of all that God has blessed us with. And since God has given us, out of His riches in glory, time, talent, and treasure, then in response, we give generously and sacrificially to the Lord.

The second notion coming from the text, comes in the response. There is no pride, but humble surrender to the Lord. This recognition that all they had was out of God’s bounty, led them to recognize that they are indeed nothing without the Lord. Had God not so blessed them, then there would be no offering to give. You see brothers and sisters, our ability to give of our time, talent, or treasure, however beneficial, must never lead us to pride where we begin to seek entitlements rather than assignments. Instead, we must humbly surrender all that we are, and all that we’ve got, to be used by the Lord. Should we be able to give, to help out, to make better, then we give God thanks, that God has used us, to be apart of His ministry, and that by His grace, it was the success that it was. Remember, that we are all co-labourers in God’s vineyard, so without God, then we run this race in vain. And we must never consider ourselves more or less important, as one person plants, the other waters, but God gives the increase.

As a result of these two important notions, before considering how and in what condition, we give, we must first give ourselves to the Lord. Without surrendering our all on the altar of sacrifice, then all our giving, however generous and sacrificial, is certainly in vain.

Until next week, may we give of ourselves to the Lord, then may we give generously and sacrificially of our time, talent, and treasure, to our generous Lord, ever with the words of W.W. How, 1858, as we sacrificially give:

“We give thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.”

Amen.

Dominic J. Blair

Thursday Reflection August 5, 2021

Avail yourself and let the Holy Spirit do the rest

“My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power” 1 Corinthians 2:4 NRSV

Good day friends,

Our text today is simple and short and the essence of today’s reflection is captured in the title, “Avail yourself and let the Holy Spirit do the rest”. Paul speaking to the church in Corinth to address the division there amongst other issues, stated in chapter 1 that we all have different roles within the body of Christ. Also God has used the foolishness of this world to confound the wise. For the message of the cross is foolishness to the Jews who ask for a sign from heaven and foolishness to the Greeks who seek human wisdom. However, Paul states in verse 24 of chapter 1 that, “But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Paul continues his discourse on wisdom in chapter 2 stating, he did not come using lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell them about God’s secret plan. Instead in verse 4, he preached in a very plain and simple manner, relying on the Holy Spirit. Paul was a brilliant scholar who could have overwhelmed his listeners with intellectual argument, but instead he shared the simple message of Jesus by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide his words. Paul’s confidence was not in his intellect or speaking ability, but in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit was helping and guiding him.

Whilst education and wisdom are important, reliance on the Holy Spirit is far more important and this is what Paul stresses in this text. Paul came to the realization that all he needs to do is avail himself for the work of the Lord and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. It is the Holy Spirit that empowers and we are just vessels for the work of the Holy Spirit.

If there is total reliance on intellect or wisdom then we do not allow room for the Holy Spirit to work. If we come trusting in our own ability then there is no room for the Holy Spirit to work. If we come trusting only in logics then the Holy Spirit cannot work. What is required of us is to avail ourselves and let the Holy Spirit guide us and direct us. Of course for this to happen means spending quality time with the Lord. This is crucial to any relationship, especially a relationship with the Lord.

So I charge us today let us avail ourselves to the Lord and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

Shalom
Christopher Euphfa

Monday Reflection – August 02, 2021
Freedom!

Yesterday, August 1 we marked Emancipation Day. Today is being observed as the public holiday in recognition of our emancipation. We remind ourselves that August 1, 1834 marked the date when all children under six years of age were deemed to be free, but all other slaves were deemed to be apprentices and forced to work 40 hours per week without pay as compensation to their owners. Full ‘freedom’ was not given to the slaves until four years later in 1838. We bring to memory the journey that has taken us here, and salute those on whose shoulders we stand as a proud people.

I find today’s Watchword relevant as we reflect on emancipation – But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. Exodus 14:13

Exodus 14 shows God delivering, freeing, emancipating His people. This chapter is marked with drama – horses’ hooves pound the dirt, the Israelites cry out in fear, the Egyptians scream in panic, the wind howls, and the waters churn in their great vertical walls. There is also the pillar of fire and cloud. In this chaos, Moses’ instructions to the terrified Israelites are shocking: don’t fear, stand firm, look, keep still. As they were being chased down by this technologically equipped fighting force, the Israelites are certainly inclined to fight or flight, resist or run; not keep still. What good will that do? The mandate from God is neither fight nor flee, but to witness; to observe God’s power and might. God will do all the fighting for them. This is the Lord’s victory alone. Through this victory, all see that the Lord’s glory far surpasses any of Pharaoh’s claims to military prowess or status of deity. The contest between God and Pharaoh has been building throughout Exodus 1-13 to this showdown at the sea, and God has won.

The story of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea (or Sea of Reed) is the bedrock of the covenant relationship between God and Israel. The exodus has pride of place in any recitation of the story of God’s relationship with Israel. Yet, this episode testifies to Christians today about the power God has to defeat oppressors and deliver the oppressed, demonstrated in God’s salvific work at Calvary and the triumph of the empty tomb.

Today’s text speaks to Israel’s emancipation and freedom from Pharoah. Yesterday and today, we are marking the journey of our foreparents and their fight for freedom and emancipation that was achieved in 1838. Through both these stories, may we never lose sight of the power, interventions and actions of God who desires that His people experience freedom. Yet, we must also reflect on a far greater freedom – spiritual freedom. Satan desires to enslave, bound, terrify, control, steal, kill and destroy. He desires to maintain a stronghold over our lives. But, thank God, the path to freedom has already been secured by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Great Deliverer and Emancipator. We don’t have to live in bondage; freedom is ours for the taking. When we surrender our lives to Christ, he offers us freedom and wholeness. Let’s be reminded, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1); and “If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:36).

Jermaine Gibson