He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great. Psalm 115:13

We live in a world where persons not just require, but demand proof. People want to know that there is empirical evidence to support what we say. Today’s society want proof for our claims and people question everything, especially the Millennials and Generation Z. We naturally seek out tried and proven financial institutions; tried and proven insurance companies; tried and proven churches; tried and proven tradesmen etc.

On the other hand, faith does not require proof; it is about belief. The writer of Hebrews begins chapter eleven with these powerful words, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” But lest we forget, such a faith does not exist in thin air or just suddenly descend upon us. This faith is grounded in a God who has proven himself time and time again.

In today’s Psalm, David outlines that:

1.      This Proven-God is to be glorified. We must claim no honour nor glory, but all should be directed to God. God deserves it because of his steadfast love and faithfulness. This God is consistently true to his word and has always fulfilled his promises. He is dependable, reliable, trustworthy and faithful.

2.      Other gods are useless, static, impotent and dead. In the first place, they are made by human hands. Isn’t it ridiculous that humans conceive that they can make a god and then turn again and worship it?  Such gods have no power, nor can they relate to us.

3.      Our trust should rightly be in this Proven-God. Why? Three times in this Psalm David declares that God is our help and shield. This is particularly important for the Israelites who had to face several wars against opposing armies. They required all the help they could get, and the shield was an essential defence tool. Theirs have been a history of God who not just fought with them, but fought for them. At times, all that was required was for them to stand still and watch God secure amazing victories for them.

Lest we forget, the Church is the army of God. We are in an ever-raging battle against the forces of the enemy. It seems that so many Christians don’t have a clue regarding the war that is taking place in the spiritual world. So many of us are comfortable and relaxed as if all is well; it’s as if we are just cruising along. The battle is raging!! Soldiers arise and arm yourself!! The war is on!!! Yet, this Proven-God is with us and fights for us.

4.      This Proven-God blesses those who fear him. Those who are in awe of God and establish God as priority in their lives are sure to receive God’s blessings. He rewards those who remain true and faithful.

Till next week, remember God has proven true and faithful!

Jermaine Gibson   

Wednesday Reflection – August 29, 2018
God’s Sentinels

Author: Rev. Jermaine Gibson
Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted sentinels; all day and all night they shall never be silent. Isaiah 62:6

The Bible has some interesting ways of describing the people of God. God’s people are described as Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation, Peculiar People, Covenant People, Army of God, Family of God etc. In today’s Watchword, God’s people are called to be sentinels. The allusion is to watchmen on the walls of cities whose task it is to keep their place and stand, to not move from it, but to look out diligently. They were to sound the alarm should there be any enemy or danger approaching, give notice of it, defend the outer sections of the city, and repel the enemy. Undoubtedly, such a task requires courage, constancy, vigilance, and sobriety.

God’s sentinels are required to:

Watch over ourselves – The sentinel placed on the walls of Jerusalem knew very well that he had to diligently keep watch, because should an enemy invade undetected, he would be one of the first persons they would aim to kill. The sentinel is a prime target for the enemy. This is true for God’s sentinels who are called to guard God’s people against the devil. We are the prime targets that the enemy is constantly scheming to destroy; thus we have to keep watch over ourselves. Hear Paul, “But I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” I Corinthians 9:27

Watch over others – God’s sentinels are the guards and defenders of the Gospel and of the Church. God puts us into office, makes us able, qualifies us for the job, and enables us to perform. God’s sentinels are always on the job praying and preaching. Ceaseless prayer is necessary to discern God’s will so we may be equipped with the gifts and graces necessary for the task at hand. God’s sentinels are to declare God’s word in and out of season, frequently inculcating the doctrines of Christ, constantly affirming these things, ever informing, instructing, and exhorting the people. This is to ensure that those who name Christ as Lord remain in God’s Kingdom and are not invaded, polluted nor destroyed by the enemy. Also, those who have not yet surrendered to the lordship of Christ, will yield themselves before it’s too late.
God’s sentinels must be wakeful, faithful and willing to endure. We must be willing to stand guard day and night, never off the watch or falling asleep. God’s sentinels must never hold our peace, but take every opportunity to encourage Christians to remain focused and true, and warn sinners of the consequences of sin. God’s sentinels must never betray the cause of Christ by a treacherous or cowardly silence.

Till next week, let’s remain faithful to our calling as God’s sentinels and watchmen.

Monday Reflection – August 27, 2018

Sing of God’s Guidance

Author: Rev. Jermaine Gibson

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pslZZpUaEk&feature=youtu.be

In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed. Exodus 15:13

Hallelujah!! Praise the Lord!! Isn’t this our response whenever God’s promise is fulfilled in our lives? We have no choice but to be grateful and sing a song of praise to God. When God delivers us from the plans of the enemy, out of bondage, and from a seemingly hopeless situation, we burst into joy and singing that ought not to be restrained. Our praise to God should know no limits and we should not feel hindered by anyone or anything.

We can well imagine then the attitude and mood of the Israelites having crossed the Red Sea on dry land. God created a highway in the sea by driving back the waters with a strong east wind resulting in a wall of water on either side of the Israelites as they passed through. The Egyptians who were chasing them all perished in the sea as God brought back the waters together. God’s 400-year promise was being fulfilled right before their very eyes. They had no choice but to break out in a song of jubilation and victory.

What a grand triumphal celebration! The picture of Moses and the children of Israel singing, and Miriam and the women answering: a gush of national pride and of worship! Can you feel its grandeur? They celebrated the powerful hand in God that they had witnessed, declaring that there is no god like Jehovah. If David was there, he would have said, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” (Psalm 98:1) If Jehoshaphat and his army were there, they would have sung, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 20:21) If Asaph, his trumpeters and musicians were there, they would have sung, “He is good; his love endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 5:13) If we were there, perhaps we would have sung, “Jesus is my deliverer, Jesus is my deliverer, Jesus is my deliverer, I know cause he delivers me.”

Today’s Watchword celebrates God who leads and guides by his steadfast love. The emblem of a flock underlies the word used here. There is not only guidance, but gentle guidance. Such guidance also involves God’s judgement, revealed in the drowning of the Egyptians who were chasing them. God’s redemptive acts are like the guiding pillar of fire, in that they have a side that reveals wrath and evokes terror, and a side that radiates wonderful love and kindles happy trust.

God’s guidance is available to us every day to lead us along the paths of righteousness. His guidance provides the light in the midst of a dark world, and clarity in the midst of all the confusion around us. God’s guidance offers us strength for the challenges we face and food for the long journey. God’s guidance directs us aright and takes us safely into the promised land.

Till next week, let’s avail ourselves of God’s guidance, as we sing his praises in the midst of our deliverance.

Tuesday Reflection – July 24, 2018

Watchword Text: Isaiah 31:6
Author: @Bevon White
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xOB06h7SRE&feature=youtu.be

Greetings friends,

Misplaced trust is easily understood by those hurt by deep betrayal. When someone we love and care about turns to a complete stranger for the assistance which we were both willing and able to give, we will feel a sense of betrayal as we wonder why they did not trust us enough to come to us. Today’s Watchword is a call for Israel to return to God, having betrayed God by looking to others for the help that God alone could give to them. Turn back to the Lord whom you have deeply betrayed. Isaiah 31:6. God was displeased with his people because when the Assyrian army approached from the North, they looked to Egypt in the South to save them from the threat. They trusted Egypt’s military might more than they trusted the Almighty God who had brought them out of slavery in Egypt and established them in the promised land. They abandoned the God who had stood by their sides through thick and thin, who had delivered them from hunger, from thirst, and from enemies in the wilderness. Even in this sad situation God promised to protect and deliver a penitent Jerusalem, issuing a challenge to His people to return to Him and repent of their betrayal.
There are two truths that we can hold on to as we contemplate whether we should trust God or the world around us.
Firstly, God is always there for us. Psalm 46: 1, reminds us ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble’. We live our lives in God’s presence. He is never far from us and so will always be aware of what we face. At no point should we ever feel alone. As the Assyrian army marched on Judah they felt abandoned and forsaken thus they began to look elsewhere for help. They failed to realize that God was right there, ready and willing to come to their rescue. All they needed to do was set their minds on God and ask. Sometimes we too are overwhelmed by the situations we face and think that we need to find solutions on our own. Friend the fact that we are never alone is an indicator that we will never need to face any situation by ourselves. Remember Jesus’ promise to us, ‘I will be with you always, even to the end of time’.

Secondly, we can trust God to deliver us. Judah’s mistake was in trusting Egypt more than they trusted God. Egypt would fail in their first attempt to stop Assyria and as a result Judah ended up in deep trouble. We have to be careful that we do not think of worldly might as being more than God’s might. Egypt had chariots and horses and so they were a great force to match against the advancing Assyrians, but they were not enough. Why settle for less than enough when our God is more than enough? Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7. To turn back to the Lord is therefore to pledge undying trust in His ability. It is to accept that there is none like Him to save and deliver us. Like Judah, you may be surrounded by advancing enemies. You may be caught up in situations that seem hopeless and are trying your best to find solutions. Let me invite you to look to the Lord our God who is mighty to save, whose grace is sufficient and who is able to keep us until the day of His return. To look anywhere else is a betrayal and abandonment of God and like Judah we will be called to repent and return so that God can act for us. You can replace your worry and fear with trust in God so that you will never fall into such a position. Amen.
Bevon White

Tuesday Reflection – July 10, 2018

Watchword Text: Proverbs 11:24.
Author: Bevon White
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jmhYx2mWz8&feature=youtu.be

Greetings friends,

One of the most difficult tasks for any Church board is to get the members to a point where their giving comfortably covers the expenses of the congregation. The ideal situation is for the congregation to receive a little more each week, than its expenses demand. That would leave something for mission and outreach, for maintenance and expansion, and for savings. For most Churches however, the reality is that they struggle financially and barely cover their expenses, having to do extensive fund raising for budget shortfall and other projects. This is so because many congregations depend only on the giving of their members to meet their financial needs. Today’s Watchword offers a cause and remedy for financial problems in the church and in the lives of God’s people. Some give freely, yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due, and only suffer want. Proverbs 11:24.

I remember years ago teaching a congregation board the principles of tithing and every member decided that this would be the way of their congregation. They share this with the congregation who also agreed. One month later, one brother stood in church and testified of the financial difference that tithing had already begun to make in his life. He stated ‘I have never handled so much money in my life. The more I give to God, the more I receive’. This, friends, is the principle of the proverb. A person can discreetly spend what they have on church work, charitable organizations and helping people in need, only to realize that they are richer for it financially and spiritually. At the same time others may keep for themselves what God has been blessing them with, only to lose it anyway. Personal investments go bad, bonds and stocks fail, banks fold under and all you have invested goes with them. When we give unto the Lord however, it becomes a gift with certain and unlimited returns. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38
But it is does not finish there. The other side of the coin is that a person can become so careful a spender of their money that they end up the poorer for it. When we are unjust in repaying our debts, when we withhold more than our due share of profits, when we are stingy in providing for our homes and families, when we refuse to give to the needy and to meet our financial obligations to the church, when saving wealth becomes more important to us than saving our lives through proper medical care, we are truly setting ourselves up to be poor, to lose more than we have saved. When we live like this, expect bad credit to haunt us, expect bad health to drain us and expect poor relationships to strip us of the company of family and friends. In Haggai 1:6 – 9 God challenges Israel to pay more attention to the temple and they in turn would fare better. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.
Today I challenge us to be faithful and true in our giving to God and God will in turn faithfully reward our effort, so we will be able to do even more. This is what I call the cycle of blessing. May God add to you even as you add to His church and to those around you. Amen.

Tuesday Reflection – Proverbs 11_24
Bevon White

Tuesday Reflection – July 03, 2018

Watchword Text: Psalm 116: 12
Author: Bevon White
Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVmWHI33waE&feature=youtu.be

Greetings friends!

Today’s watchword is from Psalm 116: 12. What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? There are many who fail to see a connection between the everyday occurrences of their lives and God at work. They believe that all they have, all they do and all they have achieved are thanks to their own effort. Not so with those who know and trust the Lord God. We know that we can achieve nothing of ourselves. God is therefore at work every moment of our lives, working His will and purpose for us.

In the Psalm, David gives thanks to God for delivering Him out of many dire situations. He is moved to devotion, love and gratitude to God for delivering Him. Even so he questions whether he can do enough? What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? When we look at our lives and see God’s handiwork in and around us, how do we respond? When the enemies of Jesus tried to trap him with a question of whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar in Matthew 22, he responded by telling them to give to Caesar what belonged to Caesar and to God what belonged to God. True loyalty is giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and true piety is giving to God what belongs to God. Do not worship the earthly system and show loyalty to God as some do! No. We are to worship God and God alone. If we place the focus on ourselves our imperfections, failures and weaknesses will always cause us to miss the mark, to fall short. However, when we focus completely on God we see God’s perfection and faithfulness from which His benefits flow. His benefits include the creation and sustenance of all life. From the establishing and keeping of the multiverse to the creation and sustaining of every single organism, whether we deem it as important or not. This loving care is what we respond to. The creator is the sustainer.

What shall I render? Friends, half-hearted thanks is no thanks at all. In the same way, half hearted worship and praise reaches nowhere. We are to worship God with all our hearts, minds and souls. 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. God desires our praise and this should flow naturally in response to God’s bounty, or goodness to us. In Psalm 150 we are called to praise God for all that God does. The more we see, the greater will be the praise. May our eyes be opened to God at work in and around us as our hearts willingly respond to Him in praise, worship and thanksgiving. Amen.
Bevon White

Monday Reflection – February 05, 2018

Read More

Read More