Caribbean Moravian Devotions

The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. Psalm 145:9

These last five Psalms – 145 to 150 – are all full of praises to God. It is remarkable that the Book of Psalms concludes with psalms of praise. It intimates that God’s people, towards the end of our lives should abound in much praise, because at the end of our lives we hope to remove to the world of everlasting praise. The nearer we come to heaven, the more we should accustom ourselves to the work of heaven.
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Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. Psalm 145:13

God is in control. And this is true always, This is the theme of this Psalm which speaks of GodÂ’s goodness and the praise that is due to him. So the Psalmist takes opportunity here to emphasise this point. GodÂ’s kingdom is forever. GodÂ’s reign will not end abruptly. Neither will it gradually or slowly dissipate. But what is the significance of this?
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He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Isaiah 40:29

Today we can picture Jesus riding into Jerusalem with all the glory of the crowds spreading their ‘red carpet’ for him, waving their branches, and shouting his praise. Seeing that power and strength he inspired in these people, we can well understand Isaiah’s suggestion that God “gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless”. It is not surprising, therefore, that this chapter concludes with the well-loved verse: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isa.iah 40:31)
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O.T.
The Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. Deuteronomy 26: 7.This account of GodÂ’s dealings with His people helped the people remember what God had done for them. What is the history of your relationship with God? Can you put into clear and concise words what God has done for you? Find a friend with whom you can share your spiritual journey. Telling your stories to each other will help you clearly understand your personal spiritual history as well as encouraging and inspiring you both.
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The Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. Deuteronomy 26:7

The Israelites are looking back to their experiences with God during their journey through the desert: And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord God heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labour and oppression.
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I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6

Come, let us all with gladness raise, a joyous song of thanks and praise (Hymnbook 356,1). It is said that this song by Gabriel Komarovsky was sung at a synod in 1467.
Both those who join in praying Psalm 13, and the Brethren at the synod sang. They all sing to praise God, and to thank the Lord, because he had dealt bountifully with them.
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O.T.
I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13: 6.
Theme
Praying for relief from despair, we must continue to trust God even when He doesnÂ’t answer us immediately.
In the beginning of the Psalm we find the writer, David, drooping, trembling and ready to sink into despair. What a surprising change in just a few lines! In the close of the Psalm we find him rejoicing in God and enlarged in His praises. We see here the power of faith, the power of prayer and how good it is to draw near to God.
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Once I was sitting next to a lady in the library who was working on her laptop. All of a sudden she let out a scream breaking the silence. Because she was sitting opposite to me I immediately looked up to see what had happened. With her head down and with a shocked look on her face she exclaimed, “I just touched a button and lost the last two hours of work.” I went over to her to see how I could help. I advised her to hit the UNDO arrow at the top of the Microsoft word document. In a split second all that she thought was lost reappeared on the screen. Doubtless to say she was more than grateful and for the first time she learnt that in Microsoft, UNDO fixes in a quick time all our mistakes.

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O.T.
I had said in my alarm, “I am driven far from Your sight! But You heard my supplications when I cried out to You for help.” Psalm 31: 22.

Theme
In times of stress, depending upon God requires complete commitment. This Psalm should be read in conjunction with Psalm 51 – both are penitent Psalms. Here David expresses the joy of forgiveness God had forgiven him for the sins he had committed against Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11-12) This is another of the penitential Psalms where the writer confesses his sin to God.

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I had said in my alarm, ‘I am driven far from your sight,’ But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help. Psalm 31:22

Are you wrinkled with burden, come to God for a faith lift!
Under discouraging circumstances or in ‘hard times‘ when things are not quite going our way, we tend to think that God is not watching, that God cannot see us – that we are cut off from before his eyes. However, this is incorrect and far from the truth. God is always watching, always there to answer our prayers, and when things seem to be rough, these are the times we should increase our faith, our patience, love and gratitude, because he is always listening, just waiting for us to ask for help.
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O.T.
The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God. Genesis 3: 8.
The thought of two human bodies covered with fig leaves trying to hide from the all-seeing, all-knowing God is humorous. How could they be so silly as to think they could actually hide? Yet we do the same, acting as though God doesn’t know what we are doing. Let us have the courage to share all we do and think with Him. Let us not try to hide – it can’t be done. Honesty will strengthen our relationship with God.
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The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God. Genesis 3:8

Adam hid from God when he did not want to face the consequences of disobeying God’s command – when he did not do what God wanted him to do. Like Adam, many of us are still hiding today from God’s commandments. We are still pretending that we cannot hear his voice.
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Mortal, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and hear with your ears. Ezekiel 3:10

Listening is one of the hardest skills to master. It requires more than just passive hearing. It takes a deliberate effort to pay attention and to understand the message conveyed. Listening is definitely not thinking of a response while the other person is speaking. God specifically asked Ezekiel to listen intently to his instructions. It was vital that he understood. The message to be shared was so important that Ezekiel was told to consume it. Before Ezekiel could tell the people of Israel GodÂ’s message, he needed to apply it to his own heart and life.
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Today’s text comes from the book of Ezekiel, chapter 3 and verse 10. And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. In this verse God instructs the prophet to do two things. Firstly he is to listen carefully. We may think we are listening to God, when in fact our listening is only in the moment, resulting in no change, like the seed falling on the rock, like listening to a great sermon in church, knowing it was really inspired by the Lord but never allowing the words of God to impact our lives in any positive way. We may also earnestly or sincerely listen, but then find that our commitment is crowded out by other issues that we have given higher priority, issues that come to us in the form of worries. No wonder Jesus told us in Luke 8: 18 “Therefore consider carefully how you listen.’ How many of us were told by our parents [or perhaps are still being told] ‘you need to listen!’

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O.T.
Let your eyes be open to the plea of Your people Israel, listening to them whenever they call to You. 1 Kings 8: 52.
Solomon, who seemed to have a prophetÂ’s insight into the future captivity of his people asked God to be merciful to them when they cried out to Him, to forgive them and to return them to their homeland.

N.T.
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. 1 John 5: 14.
The emphasis here is on GodÂ’s will, not our will. When we communicate with God, we donÂ’t demand what we want; rather, we discuss with Him what He wants for us. If we align our prayers to His will, He will listen and we can be certain that if He listens, He will give us a definite answer. Let us start praying with confidence!

Written by Rev. Marion McCreath