Saturday Reflection – 31 July 2021

“Remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you power.” Deuteronomy 8:18

Often times, when things are going downhill, and we are desperate for intervention; flat on our backs we find ourselves having no recourse but to look up and cry to our Saviour. But when all is well and we are enjoying prosperity, or all is normal, and there is nothing untoward happening, we find ourselves forgetting our Saviour in whom we live, and move and have our being. The sad thing is that, often times, we only see God as someone to rescue us in danger, or keep us from meeting certain calamity, and so when all is well, we have no need of Him.

Moses in his valedictory address to the Israelites, as they stood at the banks of the Jordan River and were about to enter into the promised land, urged them not to forget the Lord their God, but to remember. You see, while travelling the wilderness, they depended on God for everything – from daily provision to sustenance and protection as they travelled, and now as they would have been content in the land of Canaan, it is easy for them to forget who brought them there, and even, who is allowing them, and blessing them, even that they may enjoy the spoils of the promised land. And forgetting the Lord also means that we even forget the morals and standards that we have to live by as Christians – living our lives with disregard for our Holy God. It may be that during our time of testing or trial, we were patient, constantly praying and being careful to read and observe the word of the Lord, and now when we have passed the test, or endured the trial and are celebrating the spoils then we have not only forgotten the journey but embraced a worldly life that dishonours our loving God.

Hear Moses then as he addresses the Israelites in verses 11-18 “Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. Do not say to yourself, “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.”

When we reflect on the past year, we came to certain conclusions as a people. That the pandemic was about some lessons that we needed to learn with regards to our relationship with God, with each other and with the environment. We pledged to prayer and more time in devotion, and when the opportunities arose to participate in these activities, we actively took part and in great numbers. Now we are still in a pandemic, but with life progressing more or less, as it did before the onset of the pandemic, with more and more people being vaccinated. We must be careful not to go back down the road that we were moving on, before the onset of this pandemic, but to be faithful to the pledges and promises we made to God, who sustained us through this dreadful experience. We must be careful not to forget the Lord, our God, who kept us this far through the pandemic, and live with disregard when the rules are relaxed, or even when this pandemic has passed. We must not forget, but remember. Remember the challenges of the past year, the times that we turned to the Lord, and the testimonies that we shared, the experiences had, and the lessons learned. We are not passed this pandemic, but we have been sustained and are much better off, but only if we remain responsible. We have a lot to be thankful for, to our God with whom we must remain faithful.

Until next week, it has only been by the grace of God. Only He has given us the power to overcome. When we have overcome, by God’s grace and mercy, now being able to stand as overcomers, let us forget the Lord, our God. Amen.

Dominic J. Blair

Thursday Reflection July 29, 2021

God is preparing the land for you

8 But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot out your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they shall soon come home. 9 See now, I am for you; I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown; Ezekiel 36:8‭-‬9

Greeting friends!

I’m more excited than usual about the word today. In Ezekiel chapter 36, the Lord instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Since the Israelites were captured and taken away the land had become empty. The close-by enemies of Israel began to taunt Israel saying that the land was theirs. They mocked and jeered and threatened to take over. The mountains and land became the object of gossip, plunder and slander.

The land was plundered and so God gave Ezekiel a prophesy. The people who mocked and insulted the land will face similar insults by the hand of God. The nations and people that desecrated the lands will themselves become desecrated. Not only will the Lord deal with the enemies of the land, but He will also restore the land. The land shall shoot forth branches and yield fruits to the people for they are coming home soon. The land shall be tilled and sown like a farmer preparing the land.

Hear the word of the Lord, you have been mocked, jeered and laughed at. What you put your hand to failed and as a result you became the object of gossip and slander. Even what you had was taken away from you. I don’t know if what happened to you was as a result of punishment or a lesson, but a time of restoration is coming. God has started this restoration with the land and the mountains. God has started this restoration by putting in place the things needed for your success. God has begun to tilled the soil, because branches are going to shoot again and those who mocked you and slander you will be put to shame. This prophesy is not for everyone, because some have to go through the wilderness experience, but for those who have gone through the wilderness, the Lord is preparing the land for your restoration.

Be encouraged because God is preparing the land for your restoration.

Amen!

Christopher Euphfa

Wednesday Reflection, July 28, 2021

In God’s Hands

Good day friends, today’s reflection takes us back to Job’s response to his critics. His friends who heard of his demise and went to visit him, to mourn with him and to comfort him.

The latter verses of Job chapter 2 tell us of the three friend’s reaction after the saw their beloved friend. They did not recognize him, they cried out in agony, tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. They sat with Job on the ground for seven days and nights and no one spoke a word having understood the magnitude of grief.

Chapters 4-42 records discourses between Job and his friends who accused him of being sinful and encouraged him to repent then Job and Elihu who contradicts the three friends and Job as well as proclaimed God’s goodness and majesty , Job and the Lord dialogued too until the book ends with Job’s repentance and restoration.

In today’s watchword, Job 12: 10, “In God’s hand is the life of every living thing” this verse was part of Job’s response to his critics. He aptly used this metaphor to convey the image of strength and power. Job, I believe wanted his friends and us to recognize and understand that God’s power and strength doesn’t wane simply because we are called to endure periods of affliction.

There will always be critics, nay sayers, abusers and accusers but whose report will you believe? In today’s New Testament text, we are reminded by the apostle in Acts chapter 17:28 that it is, “In him we live and move and have our being.”

Brothers and sisters, the Lord has engraven you in the palm of His hands. Keep your eyes on Him, believe and trust in Him so when the winds and billows of this life roll you will rest assured in and of God’s providence.

In closing, Eleanor Brownn said, “like all living things, you were created for unlimited growth and possibilities. Keep growing. Keep changing. Be everything you were meant to be.

Amen.

-Kerone Lamoth

A Gentle Reminder

Every now and then we come across a Bible verse or passage in which God speaks to us, reminding us of His majesty, dominion, and power. We need these timely reminders because at times our life can become so self-focused, that we forget the source of our very being, the source of our existence. God is our creator, God is our sustainer and God is our Redeemer. Today’s watchword is a reminder of who God is, and who we are in relation to God. It is from Isaiah 44: 24. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by myself spread out the earth.

The prophet Isaiah spoke to Israel in captive, reminding them not only of who they were, that is God’s covenant people, but also reminding them of whose they were, the only true God, creator and sustainer of all things, including themselves. Although they considered their situation the worst thing that could ever have happened to them, the prophet reminds them that God was still in control. The Babylonians may have been holding them captive, away from their home and the temple, but God was Lord over all and still able to reach, rescue and redeem them. In fact, this was exactly what God planned to do for them. They should not lose hope but rather trust in the God who is able to accomplish all things on His own. They were dependent on God, but God did not depend on them to do what God wanted to do. God could and would act, without their help. He would use a non-Jewish king and his army to rescue them. Sometimes we just need a gentle reminder to trust God regardless of our circumstances.

Why would God do that for them though? Why would God rescue a people who had been displaced because of their disobedience in the first place? The Lord makes two things clear in his discourse with Israel. Firstly, not one of them existed without His action. He formed each of them, and us, in the womb. Cell by cell, bone by bone, muscle by muscle, organ by organ, limb by limb. He who formed us, knows best what our needs are. We need to trust His wisdom. Secondly, not only did He form us, but He created the environment for our very existence. This he did all by himself. Thus, all we need for our existence has been created by our maker. He created us, he sustains us and when we go astray, He will redeem us. This is what Israel needed to know. Their salvation was in God’s plan. They were God’s and God would save them. We can take hope in this fact today. The covenant was made, the price for our redemption has been paid. As Count Zinzendorf said, ‘our creator is our redeemer’. No matter how bad it gets, no matter how hopeless we feel, we need to remember that the one who created us is the same one who redeems us. It will never be too late or too much for the Lord Jesus Christ to save those who are His. A gentle reminder at the appropriate time will help us to keep our sanity and renew our hope for the future. Remain hopeful and keep the faith. Sometimes we just need a gentle reminder to trust God regardless of our circumstances. Amen.

Monday Reflection – July 26, 2021
The Power of Prayer

When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” So the Lord relented. “This will not happen,” the Lord said. Amos 7:2-3

The book of Amos is said to be a collection of sayings and visions of the prophet Amos, who was active in the 8th century BCE, during a period of relative prosperity and peace in Israel. Throughout the book, Amos appeals to God’s justice and righteousness as inseparable components of God’s commandment. Amos critiques the social, political, and religious structures of Israel for their failure to uphold ethical responsibility. In particular, the prophet condemns the social inequity that allows the wealthy to flourish while the poor wither (Amos 6:4-7; 8:5-6). He also criticizes empty worship that fails to promote justice and righteousness (Amos 5:18-24). We often separate social justice and piety as distinct practices, but in Amos’ vision there is no such division. The foundation of justice is the right worship of God, and worshipping God rightly requires promoting justice in the world.

Amos 7 presents three visions. In verses 1-3, God shows Amos the image of destruction where locusts were devouring the newly sprouted grass. Late in the harvest, Amos sees a swarm of locusts coming to devour the crops of Israel. It came after the king’s mowings, so the royal court already took their taxes. This left the Israelites with nothing at all. Hubbard reminds us that, “If the first cutting went to the court and the second crop to the locusts, Israel would be left destitute indeed.” In this season of destruction and despair, and at this vision of terrible judgment, the prophet’s heart was moved with pity and compassion for Israel, and he asks God to consider Israel’s frailty.

Israel is called Jacob, a reminder that he was the smaller, younger one to Esau in Isaac’s family. God had deliberately chosen him and therefore was obligated to stand by him in his helplessness. Amos acts as intercessor and pleads with God to forgive Israel. God relents and replies that the vision shall not come to pass. This is another amazing example of the importance of prayer. Some may argue that the issues of predestination and human responsibility are evident in this episode; however, we are clearly left with the impression that the plague either came or was held back based on the prophet’s prayer.

Yet, as we contemplate Amos’ prayer and God’s swift response, we remind ourselves that the power of prayer isn’t in the words we utter; neither is it about what we pray or even how we pray. The power of prayer is the power of God, who hears and answers prayer. Prayer is talking with God and is an act of worship that glorifies God and reinforces our need for Him. Through living a life of prayer, we communicate with the very source of and purpose for our existence. We remind ourselves that God invites and encourages to talk with him, and he promises to answer our prayers. Prayer is a principle weapon of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:18); and prayer unites believers, for there is no greater force on earth than a church united, that is engaged in fervent prayer. Also, prayer shapes our lives. Mark Patterson says, “Prayers are prophecies. They are the best predictors of your spiritual future. Who you become is determined by how you pray. Ultimately, the transcript of your prayers becomes the script of your life.” Who we become, the circumstances in our lives and the core of our character are all determined by what we talk to God about.

Let’s commit to a life of consistent prayer and watch God at work in our lives and before our eyes.

Jermaine Gibson

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

Monday Reflection – July 19, 2021
The Joy of Forgiveness

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalm 32: 1

G. Campbell Morgan beautifully describes Psalm 32 in this way: “It is a Psalm of penitence, but it is also the song of a ransomed soul rejoicing in the wonders of the grace of God. Sin is dealt with; sorrow is comforted; ignorance is instructed.” David speaks of the awesome happiness we experience when we know of the forgiveness of God. Our sins are no longer exposed; they are covered. Psalm 32 shows the blessedness of life when we make full confession and repentance of our sins. David can personally testify of the joy of forgiveness based on his own life. This great man of God – a man after God’s heart – had some significant seasons of sin and spiritual decline. Among these are David’s time at Ziklag (1 Samuel 27, 29-30) and David’s sin regarding Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11). After both occasions, David came to confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Therefore, David knew what it was like to be a guilty sinner. He knew the seriousness of sin and what a joy it is to be truly forgiven.

Psalm 32 comes from the depths of a conscience that has been wounded and healed. We can sense and feel the deep emotions and a gush of rapture from a heart experiencing in its freshness the new joy of forgiveness. This joy of forgiveness is available for all to experience. When we receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ and our faith in Him, then we have real joy. There is the joy of deliverance from sullen remorse and of the dreadful pangs of an accusing conscience. David says in verses 3 and 4: “While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” When our consciences are alive and our hearts refuse to confess our wrongs, remorse and dread creep over us.

When we confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness, there is the blessedness of exuberant gladness that lasts forever. The joy that springs in the pardoned heart, and is fed by closeness of communion with God, and by continual obedience to His guidance, has in it nothing that can fade, nothing that can burn out, nothing that can be disturbed. The deeper the penitence the surer the rebound into gladness. The more we contemplate the depths of our sinfulness, the more we trust in Christ and his salvific work at Calvary, and the more we rise into the heights of thankfulness and enjoy unending communion and fellowship with Christ.

We who experience God’s forgiveness must not take such for granted and continue to live frivolously and recklessly. Rather, we ought to walk circumspectly, and shun the very appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). We ought also to remember that while God forgives us, we have an obligation to forgive those who have wronged us. When we utter the Lord’s Prayer, we must remember that we say, “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). We also learn that forgiveness has no limitations nor does it expire, and we face the consequences of unforgiveness by God when we don’t forgive others (Matthew 18:21-35). As we enjoy the joy of forgiveness, let us freely offer forgiveness to those who wrong us. Amen.

Jermaine Gibson

Saturday Reflection – 17 July 2021

“He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

Many times, while going through the hustle and bustle of life, through weeks of work, school, chores at home, and the many other challenges that we face, we may end up burned out and in need of one of those “Mental Health Days.” Even so, there are times, we just long for a time of rest, calm out of the hustle and bustle, and in these moments, we hear the Psalmist saying “… In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

In today’s watchword, the Psalmist celebrates God’s care for Jerusalem. He finds it appropriate to sing praises, as God has cherished, gathered, and comforted his people. He recognizes God’s authority as the sovereign creator of the world, who sets and orders everything as they are, and whose greatness cannot be matched by our human understanding, and whose way far exceeds our own capacity to comprehend. It is this God, who in our Lord Jesus Christ invited us to his sweet presence saying “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (St. Matthew 11:28-30)

This invitation by Jesus reminds us of this Sovereign God, in whom the Psalmist celebrates. For the one who is broken, whether by sin or in struggle, by the challenges of life, strained by the load that we have to carry, can find relief in God. Many times, we fear that since we have dishonoured God through our sinful actions, that we can no longer be lifted from the miry clay. Also, we believe that the circumstances that we go through are punishment for sin or some wrongful deed that we committed. Furthermore, we sometimes look to others to compare our lives and theirs, some fellow Christians, some not and begin to question why their lives, are on the basis of our analysis, not as tumultuous as ours.

However, out of God love for us, he has offered to us this relief, this consolation in Him, that He will not despise a contrite and a broken heart, that He will hear us when we cry, and that He is concerned with our needs, our challenges and that He knows what is like to experience temptation, challenge, and grief. (Psalm 51:17, Psalm 34:17, St. John 11:35, Hebrews 4:15) And by the consolation of his sweet Holy Spirit, there is peace, knowing that our sins are forgiven, knowing that he is consoling us and holds us in the hallow of his hand, knowing that he journeys with us, and relieves us in our distress. Even so, the Spirit of God transforms our fear, anxiety and doubt into love, power, and soundness of mind. It is that comfort, that balm in Gilead, that knowing that in the moment of deep distress, crying to Jesus that we are tired, that we remember again Jesus’ invitation – “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (St. Matthew 11:28-30)

And when we come to God, we will find that He is exactly who He says He is. But we ought to trust God, and allow God, whose thoughts and ways and higher than ours, who has our best interest at heart, to work all things for our good. We may think, like Paul did, that the promise is to remove the thorn in our flesh, to take away the challenges that we face, and make it smooth sailing. And that would be our definition of rest. But out of Paul’s experience, we are reminded that God’s grace is sufficient, and God’s power is perfected in our weakness and therefore Paul declares “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (1 Corinthians 12:9b-11)

When you come, and learn, you will find in God to solace and strength to overcome the challenges, as in His presence, there is fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore. Not that we no longer face our difficulties, but God’s power is made perfect in our weakness, and as such when we are weak, then we are strong. For he heals the brokenhearted, binds the wounds, gives us grace to carry on, the will and strength to overcome and a song of praise in our hearts.

Until next week, we are reminded in today’s watchword that “He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3) “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) Amen.

Dominic J. Blair