Caribbean Moravian Devotions

YouÂ’re having a conversation with someone else but youÂ’re not in the same room. You canÂ’t see each other you are still communicating. You ask a question but get no answer. Then you realize that in between the exchanges the other person would have LEFT the room only for a brief moment. YouÂ’re watching TV with a family member and commenting on the show. After a while you notice that youÂ’re the only one speaking. You look over only to see that the other person is fast asleep. YouÂ’ve been LEFT by yourself as he goes off into dreamland. ItÂ’s one thing for people to check out and LEAVE, but our FF for today is a troubling question. What do we do WHEN GOD LEAVES?

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I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered. Isaiah 65: 17

Why would God recreate new heavens and earth when we read in Genesis 1 that everything God created was seen by God as good? Does creation lose its goodness at some point? In the poem ‘Paradise Lost’, English poet, John Milton, points out that everything changed when the serpent successfully tempted Adam and Eve. Milton somehow makes satan to be the hero in his poem, one who would lead any who would follow, but does not seek to hide the destination of satan’s leading. It is when we chose to follow the leading of any other, apart from God, that paradise becomes lost to us. C.S. Lewis in his book “The Problem of Pain” sets to prove that the presence of pain and suffering in the world was not an act of God, but rather the result of human actions. Human action then caused God to make this promise in our text.
Continue reading "Paradise Regained."

The past 24 hours the eyes of the world have been focused on the African country of Libya and the death of its long time dictator, Colonel Qaddafi. One reporter asked about the future of those who were supporters of Qaddafi, wanting to find out if they too will be punished. The interviewee responded that repeatedly he’s been told by those who were not supporters of the late dictator that they have FORGIVEN those who were. After all they are all Libyans and they know that the only way to move forward is to FORGIVE each other. Well said! We know that FORGIVENESS is never easy. Either we are too proud to ask for it or too hurt to give it. And yet whether it is in giving or receiving, FORGIVENESS is a must! I’m sure that there are Libyans though who may still find it hard to FORGIVE Qaddafi for what he did. But let’s remember that FORGIVENESS has two sides – divine and human. The first relates us to receiving God’s FORGIVENESS. The second has to do with us FORGIVING each other. Both are connected in that one affects the other. But for our FF for today our attention is drawn more to the second. The challenge is not so much for us to FORGIVE another but ensuring that we are able to also FORGIVE YOURSELF. That’s our FF for today FORGIVE YOURSELF!

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Psalm 14: 3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
This is a serious indictment on any people. The Psalmist begins with the statement, ‘Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God”. As God seemingly searches the world of fools then to find even one righteous, the futility of the search is brought out in our text. There are none, as everyone has begun following their own beliefs. If God is absent then, it follows that there is no good in the world. If God is good, then the absence of God is indeed the absence of goodness. Not that God is absent in that God is everywhere, but our failure to acknowledge God will result in our failure to see the good of the situations around us.
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If you love athletics, then Sunday August 28, 2011 would have been an unforgettable day. With thousands of spectators in the stadium in South Korea and millions more watching on TV, Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth, had a false start. Immediately, he was DISQUALIFIED from competing in the 100 meters finals at the World Champions. Why? The International Athletics Associations of Federations (IAAF) changed their rules. Before, runners were allowed two false starts before BEING DISQUALIFIED. Now it’s one. First strike and you’re out! On that day the reign and dominance of Bolt ended with a DISQUALIFICATION. So our FF for today is a warning – AVOID BEING DISQUALIFIED!

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Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has instructed Him? Isaiah 40: 13

Isaiah 40: 12 – 14 asks a series of rhetorical questions about God, aimed at highlighting God’s power and wisdom with which nothing else can compare. The main theory of these verses in which today’s text falls, is that God far outweighs the enemies of his people in wisdom, knowledge and might. Today we translate this in the omniscient character of God. God is all-knowing, all-seeing and all wise. When we compare our wisdom in light of this vast wisdom of God we see how truly unwise we are. If we then are so unwise, do we dare to direct or counsel God who is wisdom and counsel in its entirety?

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It is fair to say that everybody loves a SURPRISE! But then again it depends on what the SURPRISE is. Some SURPRISES leave us so shocked that we can hardly separate reality from fiction. Then there are those that leave us deeply saddened, especially if we hear about a sudden and unexpected death. But there are some SURPRISES that we gladly welcome. We are joyful at having a SURPRISE birthday party or seeing a long lost relative. What makes a SURPRISE a SURPRISE is that it is unexpected. It is the norm for others to SURPRISE us. But there is one area that we can SURPRISE ourselves – in what we say. So our FF for today is to SURPRISE YOURSELF…..SHHHH!

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The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but His power and His wrath are against all who forsake Him. Ezra 8: 22.

As I look at todayÂ’s text, there are four words that stand out. They come in a combination of pairs. First are the words gracious and seek, then there are wrath and forsake. The statement is part of the entire verse in which the prophet explains that he called a fast to pray to God for protection for the band of exiles who were returning to Jerusalem. He further explains that having given the king assurance of GodÂ’s protection over them, he was now ashamed to go and ask for soldiers to help. Our text represents what he had told the king.
Continue reading "Stay In GodÂ’s Presence."