Caribbean Moravian Devotions

There are some things in life that are so good that you just wish that they would never FINISH. And there are other moments when it seems as if some things take too long to FINISH. It’s as if the end can’t come fast enough. Eventually though everything in life and life itself reaches a FINISHING point. How do we react when we get to that point and we are wishing that what is FINISHED could go on a little longer? If it’s a musical event people shout “Encore! Encore!” because they want more. They’re not ready for it to FINISH. But even the most uplifting musical performance FINISHES and the audience has to get up and leave. Similarly no matter how enjoyable a movie is, when you see the credits at the end you know it’s FINISHED.

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Psalm 143: 8 Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

How many of us know the way we should go? How many of us have discovered this expected path on our own? We live in a society which craves direction. We often run after those who seem to have the solutions to the problems we face, those who promise to lead us in the direction we ought to go. In the midst of it all, there is the true guidance that seeks to take us through the many pathways of life and lead us to the place of total joy in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I speak of that divine guidance that comes only from God.


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The Western Christian Church celebrates December 25 the day on which to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Christmas is celebrated on January 7. Then of course there are some Christians who have chosen not to celebrate Christmas at all. They argue that since we don’t know the exact DAY, then you are misguided in celebrating on what could be the wrong DAY. So you may ask on which DAY was Jesus really born – December 25 or January 7? We can’t say for sure! But does it really MATTER? Do questions like these disturb your faith? I pray not! In the Christian traditions, whether Western or Eastern, a DAY has been set aside to celebrate this profound truth – God became flesh and entered the world to redeem lost humanity. When that DAY was is not as important as the fact that that DAY finally came! The DAY THAT MATTERS is not so much the one that Christians have historically chosen to focus on the birth of Christ. Instead the DAY THAT truly MATTERS is the one when you and I can say that Christ was born anew in our hearts.

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The totality of life can never be measured only by what the VISIBLES. Neither should the substance of life be valued primarily by what we only see. Very often the INVISIBLES of our lives have far greater impact on the VISIBLES than we fully understand. And yet so often in the daily course of our lives it is VISIBLES which we show more concern about. Our world seems obsessed with the VISIBLES. Like Hollywood celebrities we all dress to impress so that when we step out on the red carpet all eyes must be gazing in our direction. Our speech is politically correct rather than what may be the blatant truth just to make sure that we are not the odd one in the crowd. We measure success by the VISIBLES we possess and so the more we have the more successful we are, at least we think so.

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Psalm 51: 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

There are times in life when we do things for our own satisfaction or pleasure, not stopping to think how our actions may affect others or our relationship with God. Other times we think we are justified in our doings because of the times we spent doing things on behalf of others. Such actions if left unchecked, and un-confessed, places us at risk of losing GodÂ’s presence in our lives.

Continue reading "God Recognizes the Penitent and the Humble."

Life is a series of choices. From very early in our lives we begin to make small choices – what clothes to wear, which shoes to put on. As we grow older the things we are called to make more serious choices that impact our lives greatly. We may CHOOSE either not to or to get married. We CHOOSE which college or university to attend or CHOOSE not to go at all. We CHOOSE where we want to live and what our career path will be. The truth is we all feel a sense of power when we are able to CHOOSE for ourselves. And so we don’t always like it when others CHOOSE for us. But when we’re very young and very old – those are the seasons when others CHOOSE for us. For most of our lives though we are making the choices. Today I invite us to focus not so much on the options from which we CHOOSE. Rather, let’s consider our motives behind our CHOOSING. And so our FF today calls us to CHOOSE SELFLESSLY, NOT SELFISHLY!

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The names Steven J. Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky may or may ring a bell for you. But within the past month both of these men have been sentenced to death for the brutal KILLING of a mother and her two daughters in Connecticut. Fortunately, the husband escaped and is the only survivor to this tragedy. The details surrounding their gruesome deaths in 2007 have shocked us as CNN has been carrying the story as a headline. We shudder at the thought that people could be so wicked in their treatment of other humans created in GodÂ’s image. But we also recognize that similar incidents are happening even in the paradise home we call the Caribbean. There is not one island that has not seen an increase in murders. Any right-minded person should be haunted by this rise and would want to shout out STOP THE KILLING!

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On Sunday past, most churches ushered in the Advent season. The season of Advent is the first season of the Christian calendar. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. The main focus of the season is Christian hope and anticipation. With the focus on the Advent or Coming of Jesus, especially in anticipating His Second Advent, there remains a need for preparation for that coming. To somewhat personalize Advent, let us look at todayÂ’s text from Psalm 90: 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
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