Caribbean Moravian Devotions

I call upon God, and the Lord will save me. Psalm 55:16


What a wonderful thought and precious promise! It is especially precious as we anticipate the reminder of the Palm Sunday experience of the crowd shouting “Hosanna” – ‘save now’. The people recognized, in that moment, their Messiah and Saviour. The Psalmist here recognizes in God one who will save him as well. What of you today?

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There is a scene in the movie Madea Goes to Jail in which Madea is about to drive into a parking spot when a lady in a red sports car drives ahead of her. The lady quickly took that same spot and rudely ignores Madea when she tries to get her to move her car. Having no success, Madea does what only Madea can do. She trashes the sports car! Because of this, Madea ends up in jail. Not all of us are MadeaÂ’s but we know what itÂ’s like to be in line and what would happen if somebody were to try cut ahead of us. I donÂ’t think that any of us would STAND idly by and say nothing. Even the most timid among us would say something to make sure that youÂ’re not being taken advantage of. Even though it was not the best way of expressing herself, MadeaÂ’s action was her way of STANDING her GROUND. That the spot was hers to begin with! For our FF, I wish to borrow three words that have become somewhat controversial in recent times because of the Treyvon MartinÂ’s tragedy. TodayÂ’s FF is STAND YOUR GROUND!

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That which has not been told them they shall see. Isaiah 52:15


The text for today is part of the final verse of Isaiah chapter 52 which serves as a link between chapter 52:13 and chapter 53:12. In these verses the prophet portrays the Messiah as ‘the suffering servant’ who will eventually triumph over many nations and kings. In this verse kings will be astonished at the exaltation of the servant, they will see what they had not been told and they will understand what they had not heard.

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Inquire first for the word of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 18:4


This was the admonition of Jehoshaphat to the king of Israel. Before you do anything else, check with God. Find his perspective on the matter. This is always good admonition.

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And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21


We approach Palm Sunday when the crowds shouted ‘Hosanna’ as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. They spread a ‘red carpet’ for him with palm branches and garments. Jesus and the crowd saw the path that he would take as he rode the donkey.

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Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars! For he commanded, and they were created. Psalm 148:3,5


This Psalm speaks about praising God for what he did for us. As we praise the Lord from the deepest ocean to the farthest mountain, we are thus obeying him. Each and everything living thing must obey God as he commands, for he says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” (Ps.150:6) His name is greater, more powerful than man, so let us praise him as his nation will get stronger and his people will gain spirituality.

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Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars! For He commanded, and they were created. Psalm 143: 3,5.

In a class yesterday we were discussing the presence and recognition of God in and through nature, and how close this may come to resembling the worship of nature. References were made to the creation groaning [Romans 8: 22], and the trees clapping their hands [Isaiah 55: 12]. With Palm Sunday coming up how can I not mention Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in Luke 19: 40 “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” There are other instanced of nature being involved in praising God. Psalm 96:11-12 says “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy”. Psalm 145:10 says, “All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!” With scientific development, new equipment have enabled scientists to discover sounds from the universe. I recently watched a fascinating movie clip made from the images and sounds collected by the Hubble telescope. Scientists believe that there is a constant humming from the sun and another from the oceans and/or possibly the atmosphere. The essence of these discoveries is that creation is indeed not silent. Creation praises God.
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The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Now I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah 1:9


When God so equips us as he did with Jeremiah, our response ought to be as the song-writer who said:
IÂ’ll go where you want me to go dear Lord.
OÂ’er the mountain or plain or sea,
IÂ’ll say what you want me to say, dear Lord,
IÂ’ll be what you want me to be.
(Chorus, hymn 84, Alleluia)

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They will neither hunger or thirst, nor will the desert hat or the sun beat down upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. Isaiah 49:10 (NIV)


This verse speaks to two of the most basic needs of human beings- the need for food and water, to satisfy our hunger and thirst and the need for shelter.

These words spoken by the prophet Isaiah present an image of God, our father, and of His son, Jesus Christ, as a shepherd, tenderly taking care of his flock. This is one of the most powerful and often repeated promises found in the Bible.

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Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. 2 Chronicles 14:11 (NIV)


The one who speaks these words of trust to God is Asa, King of Judah. The whole prayer reads: “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. LORD, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you:”

At the beginning of his reign, Asa was a good king. He instituted spiritual reforms and he had an army of 450 thousand men. Word came to him that their land was being invaded by Zerah, the Ethiopian, with a million men and 300 chariots. This verse speaks to how Asa sought to deal with the impending challenge of having to fight the Ethiopians.

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For some students mathematics could be one of the most difficult subjects. But on the other hand there are always some for whom working with numbers is second nature. Like any other subject, solving mathematical formulae require knowing the various rules and making sure to apply them at the right time. Now I do not claim to be a math genius, but I do recall being taught about the principle of INVERSION in algebra. Put simply, it is to turn the figures upside down or go in the opposite direction. Now of course I know that it gets a lot more complicated when youÂ’re doing advance math. But the basic rule is in knowing when to do the INVERSION and recognizing that if you fail to do the INVERSION correctly then you will not get the right results. Our FF for today is to consider the blessings and curses that come with INVERTED LIVING!

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May your eyes be opened toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, “My name shall be there. 1 Kings 8:29


David prayed at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem that God should grace this place with his presence day and night.
The name of God will be in the temple because God will manifest His gracious presence there. He will keep His eyes open upon us so as to hear our prayers directed towards him. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

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Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3:7


The writer clearly presents distinct advice indicating that GodÂ’s people must not exhibit pride, but fear the Lord and depart from evil. This reminds us that God wants his people to remain humble and be cognizant that he is the Supreme, maker and controller of all things. Thus, in this period of reflection during this Lenten Season we must recognize that humility must be portrayed to be considered a true child of God saved by his grace and salvation.

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Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. Psalm 106:6
TodayÂ’s text is from a Psalm which is a hymn of praise to God for GodÂ’s goodness and faithfulness to Israel, even in the face of IsraelÂ’s prolonged history of sin. Coupled with this praise is a request or petition for help in their current problems. In this Psalm, which is a rather long one [48 verses] we find a somewhat penitent recounting of the peoples falling into sin, GodÂ’s responsive judgment on them, along with GodÂ’s compassion, mercy, protection and deliverance again and again. Does this sound like the way it is today? It sure does. The text then is recognition that the same rebellious spirit of the ancestors was present in the people of that time. They could not say they were better than their fore parents.
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Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. Psalm 106:6


This verse is the beginning of confession to God by the people of Israel outlining in detail the wrongs they have done.
In confessing our sins, we must be totally honest with God and sincere in heart. We must acknowledge that the ways of God are right and that we are wrong. We must own our sins and take full responsibility for our actions as the people of Israel did. Only in a spirit of true repentance are we able to receive GodÂ’s favour.

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