Caribbean Moravian Devotions

Some memories never leave you. How well do I recall my very first ride on a New York subway back in the 1980Â’s. Those days you bought tokens to get into the train station. As I stood there on the platform waiting for the train, I felt the earth beneath you starting to shake. It was a rumbling! That was the first sign that the train was COMING. Then I felt this rush of wind coming through the subway tunnel. No train yet but I knew IT was COMING. I could hear the train tracks rattling with the noise of steel against steel. Still no train in sight! But I was even more convinced that the train was COMING. Anticipation was building! I looked around and noticed that some people had stepped forward to the platformÂ’s edge to see if the train was COMING. I wanted to as well but I was too scared to look. But then again there was no need to. I had heard enough and felt enough to know for sure that the train was COMING. And guess what before I knew it right before my eyes was the #2 Brooklyn bound train. This is the last FF before we go into the summer months of July and August where I reprint former articles. So our FF for today is IT IS COMING!

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Thus says the Lord, “I will rejoice in doing good to them.” Jeremiah 32:41

What a lovely verse today’s watchword is! It does not speak about our response but of God’s intent and purpose. ‘It refers to God's firm purpose, rather than to the safety and security of the people.’ (Barnes Commentary) God’s grace is at work here, not human’s works. There is indeed nothing anyone can do to deserve God’s goodness; it is God’s gift to us. God is most pleased therefore when we approach the throne of grace to receive this gift of goodness which God’s heart and soul so willingly gives to us. It brings rejoicing to God’s heart, not because of us, but because of the work of Christ which opens for us an access to God. God rejoices in the same way a groom rejoices at the sight of his bride marching up the aisle.
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Over the past few weeks students at all grades and levels of the educational system have been taking all sorts of TESTS. For some it was the Common Entrance exams. For those in high or secondary school it was the CXC, SAT or promotion exams. And for our college level students their TEST came at the end of the long semester. I know of very few people who like taking TESTS. They can be a source of stress. After all so much is riding on them. Our sense of worth and value is often judged by how we perform on TESTS. I donÂ’t think anybody goes to take a TEST and beforehand decides to intentionally fail. Everybody wants to pass! Yet not everybody passes the TEST. Based on that one TEST result the course of our lives is set. Which secondary school do we go to? Do we get promoted? Is it summer school? But instead of seeing TESTS as events for us to pass and not fail, might we see them as means by which we are being PERFECTED. So our FF for today is TESTING IS PERFECTING!

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You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19:6 (NIV)

What is our primary purpose? We go about from day to day in the business of life, fulfilling our dreams and aspirations. We achieve much according to set personal goals and earthly standards or at times we deem ourselves as not fully achieving all we could. How often do we stop however to separate our primary purpose from our secondary purpose? The nation of Israel was assigned a primary purpose from the very beginning of her existence. She was to be a ‘kingdom of priests and a holy nation’. The question of why Israel, may be one which you want to ask. What did Israel do to gain such an outstanding position? The answer is absolutely nothing. No nation was good enough to be God’s treasured people, God’s example and guide to the other nations around. Israel became God’s chosen people, selected to be a guide and example to the other nations and the channel of God’s salvation, not because of, but in spite of what they had done. God chose them, rigorously trained them and then used them as a blessing and channel of His grace. Regardless of anything else that Israel did or became, that was their primary purpose. As priests and a holy nation, they were channels of God’s grace.

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Have you ever been confused trying to figure out the difference with a set of identical twins? You try to find something that distinguishes one from the other as a way of telling them apart. Sometimes you get it right and there are other times when youÂ’re not even too sure whoÂ’s who. Sometimes identical twins themselves do something just to make a DISTINCTION between them. ItÂ’s their way of declaring their individuality. Each wants the world to see the DISTINCTIONS that makes each unique. So one choose to have a different hair styles or choose glasses that are dissimilar. With that in mind I invite us to consider todayÂ’s FF which is DIVINE DISTINCTION!

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The Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid." Genesis 3:9, 10

There was a time when God walked and talked with us face to face. Have you ever thought on this? Humankind was in such a state of perfection that God was able to fellowship directly with us, no intermediary needed. That changed the moment sin entered the world. Sin is the great separator between the creator and the created. In relationships there are sometimes such moments which have lasting effect. This can be a misspoken word, or an action done without consideration of its consequence. The sin of Adam and Eve was such a moment. In fact, the moment of disobedience was also a moment of revelation to them. They realized that they could not face God in their new condition of sinfulness. Even then however, God still sought fellowship with them.

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We all have DESIRES, both good and bad. It can be said that our actions are driven and propelled by DESIRES. The DESIRE to lose weight will cause someone to enroll in weight watchers online or find the nearest gym. The DESIRE to graduate at the top of the class will motivate a student to study hard in order to be successful. The DESIRE to gain acceptance into a gang will cause someone to commit a crime even against his/her better judgment. The DESIRE to be in the spotlight even for a brief moment may lead one to take a foolish risk and attempt a prank just to draw attention to him/herself. It is wise to keep constant check on our DESIRES for if we are not careful what we DESIRE can either lead to our ruin of our elevation. With that said our FF for today calls us to do this one very important thing DESIRE THE WORD!

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Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord Your God as long as you live. Deut. 31: 13

There is a set formula in the book of Deuteronomy for the teaching of the principles of the faith to the younger members of the family/community. It was seen as the responsibility of the parents to teach them to their children. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deut. 11: 19. In our text we see an important reason for this teaching by the parents. It was to establish the children in the guiding principles of the nation, so that those who did not know these principles could see and emulate GodÂ’s people.

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Recently I was driving behind a car and I couldnÂ’t help but think that the driver must have been drunk. Why? The car was swerving all over the road from left to right. As vehicles approached he would immediately pull back over to his side. I then realized that it was a young male driver. His windows were down and the car stereo blasting at full volume! And then I noticed that the car was so low to the ground you would have thought that it was riding on air. That led me to conclude that he was not drunk but was swerving to and fro because he was trying to AVOID the many bumps and pot holes that were in this stretch of road. There was some success but then again there were places when he had no choice but to go through the rough spots. I was thankful that he was wise enough to realize that it was more important to AVOID colliding with other oncoming drivers than trying to AVOID having a rough ride in his very low car. With that in mind our FF for today is AVOIDING THE UNAVOIDABLES!

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