Caribbean Moravian Devotions

God is with you in all that you do. Genesis 21:22

TodayÂ’s text is a statement made by Abimelech as he approached Abraham to form a covenant between their two families. Abimelech was a king of the Philistines. Abraham settled outside of Gerar, his city, and told them that Sarah was his sister. The king took her and wanted to marry her but God intervened on AbrahamÂ’s behalf and Abimelech sought to make amends with Abraham by giving him many gifts. Abimelech was guided by the fact that in everything that happened it had become evident to him that God was on AbrahamÂ’s side. He had learnt that when God is on someoneÂ’s side there was nothing anyone could do to harm them or to derail GodÂ’s plan for them. Paul puts it beautifully in Romans 8: 31 If God is for us, who can be against us?Â’

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This past Monday an estimated 20 million Americans turned on their TV to watch the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama for the second time. On Washington DC Mall itself, it was estimated that another 1 million persons gathered for the historical event. Then let’s add to those numbers the millions worldwide who turned on their TV or listened to their radios to catch the moment. There were many highlights to the ceremony but the one which seemed to have caused the most talk, other than the President’s speech, was the rendition of the national anthem by Beyonce. The news headline the next day was one troubling question: did she REALLY sing? Well now the verdict is in. From all reports, as great as we thought this performance was, it was so disappointing to later find out that it was not altogether REAL. Beyonce lip-sync her way through the national anthem! Wow what an act! Folks became disillusioned with Beyonce’s performance. Why? Is it because though it was ‘sooooo’ good, it was not REAL in that it was pre-recorded and not a live performance? With that in mind, our FF for today is KEEP IT REAL!

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Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed. Isaiah 1: 17.

The last phrase of the verse before our text tells us: ‘Cease to do evil.’ It’s one thing to stop doing something that we know we shouldn’t be doing but something totally different to replace it with the right thing. This is the call of the watchword. Do not only stop doing what is evil but instead begin to do what is good. That is the result of the transformation we should go through. We stop doing what is evil so that we can begin to do what is good. The mistake that is often made is that we stop doing evil and become idle. There is a need for us to be always doing. Do good, seek peace and show mercy. Doing good is a learning process. We become better at it the more we do it. It is important to be conscious of the reason for doing good. This will help us to do the best we possibly can. Doing good should become second nature to every child of God. should not be a duty but our nature.
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Picture this: A few weeks ago I pulled up in the drive thru lane at the bank. All four windows already had customers who were being served and I was the first car next in line. Because the ATM lane runs parallel to the drive thru I left just enough space for another car to pass just in case someone wanted to go to the ATM machine. I WAITED for about 20 minutes and then to my utter surprise up drove another car and parked right in front of me blocking the passage way and ensuring that he was next in line. Did you think the first thought that came to my mind was “Praise the Lord?” I immediately blew my horn and so did several of the other drivers who were WAITING behind me. But he was determined that he was going to be next in line. So I got on my phone, called the same branch and told them what was taking place outside. Of course, by that time he had driven up to window #1. I was at window #2 and the other two vehicles were at #3 and #4. The bank officer asked me which window he was at. You can well imagine the big smile on my face when she said to me, “Don’t worry we will let him WAIT while we serve at least 5 other vehicles before him.” Within a few minutes my transaction was completed and so too for the other two vehicles. And I as drove around my impatient neighbor, I couldn’t help but feel vindicated saying to myself the old proverb is true, “God don’t like ugly.” We left him there still WAITING to be served. Our FF for today is simply this WAIT YOUR TURN!

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By the ordinances of the Lord is your servant warned. Psalm 19: 11

Laws are important to every society. Each has its own sets of rules and regulations which keeps it going. They serve the purpose of warning would be offenders of the possible consequence to them of breaking the law. They therefore set the boundaries for acceptable behavior in any society. Obedience to the law will always lead to limited harm to others. In our text, the Psalmist is more than pleased with the laws of God. They reflect GodÂ’s perfection and are perfect in themselves. In other words, the person who is able to follow the laws of God to the letter will be a perfect person. It would be easy to think from this that GodÂ’s purpose for giving the laws is to make us perfect. That however was not the case. GodÂ’s laws are a warning to GodÂ’s people. Blessings follow the obedience of the laws and curses follow its disobedience. (Deuteronomy 28)

Continue reading "The Law is Good, but Grace Abounds."

The past few weeks have been extremely windy here in St. Thomas. By virtue of living a few hundred feet above sea level it actually feels as if winter has pushed itself a little further south. STANDING in the back yard is a mobile basketball rim that weÂ’ve kept in place with some heavy stones. Then one morning we got up only to realize that the hoop had fallen because of the strong winds. I put it to STAND UP AGAIN and put a few more stones hoping that that would keep it from falling. But three days later, I heard another big bang and when I checked I realized that AGAIN the basketball rim was on the ground. So I did what I had done the last time. And then guess what happened earlier this week? You guessed right, when I came home there it was AGAIN on the ground. I wondered to myself how many times I should have to put this rim back in place. With that in mind the FF for today is to encourage all of us to STAND UP AGAIN!

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You, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us! Jeremiah 14:9

There is a well-known saying that ‘tough times demand tough people’. The text speaks of the reaction of the prophet Jeremiah to a severe drought that the Israelites were experiencing. The devastation of the drought led to the suffering of the people. They had lost their comfort and the pleasures they so loved. The prophet Jeremiah takes onto himself the responsibility of intercessor for the people. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Jeremiah does hard or tough praying for the people of Israel. Jeremiah’s prayer is what is described as a tough prayer and it served the purpose of inspiring the people to pray for themselves.

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Jeremiah said, “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ then within me there is something like a burning fire.” Jeremiah 20:9



Jeremiah has reasons not to mention the name of the Lord anymore and to give back to the Lord his ministry as a prophet. He was struck and put in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:1ff). He was in derision; everyone mocked him (Jeremiah 20:7). His fellowmen devised plans against him (Jeremiah 18:18); they sought to kill him; they had dug a pit for his life (Jeremiah 11:18-21 and 18:20). All this he suffered, and he had not asked to become a prophet – the opposite! (Jeremiah 1:6).

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The hearing ear and the seeing eye — the Lord has made them both. Proverbs 20:12



The Wise Man seems to make two suggestions here in this Proverb. The first point relates strongly to God and the second point relates strongly to us as human beings. They both show responsibility.












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Isaiah said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and live among a people of unclean lips.” Isaiah 6:5



After seeing the Lord and listening to the praise of the angels, Isaiah realized that he was sinful before God, with no hope of measuring up to God's standard of holiness. Isaiah's lips were touched with a live burning coal; his sins were forgiven. It was not the coal that cleansed him, but God. In response, Isaiah submitted himself entirely to God's service. The painful cleansing process was necessary before Isaiah could fulfill the task to which God was calling him.

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Wall Street responded positively a few days ago when the US Congress passed a bill to prevent the pending fiscal cliff. Yet CONFIDENCE in Wall Street is not at its highest right now. The same Congress that decided to pass the fiscal bill failed to address another bill which would have provided much needed government aid to those whose lives were negatively impacted by ‘super storm’ Sandy. New Yorkers saw red and their CONFIDENCE in politicians in Washington fell. According to the United Nations at the end of 2012 over 60, 000 people have been killed in civil unrest in Syria. In one CNN report, a Syrian man expressed his disappointment with the rest of the world who has stood by and watched while the Syrian dictator kills whoever opposes him. For sure, Syrians’ CONFIDENCE in the rest of humanity coming to help them has all but disappeared. As we embark on a new year, our first FF for 2013 is that we will LIVE WITH CONFIDENCE!

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The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you. Leviticus 19:34


Within the law given to the children of Israel were instructions pertaining to strangers. Here they were specifically told to treat strangers as if they were citizens. The significance of this instruction could be two-fold.

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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7


The Lord has made all things and the Lord is all-knowing. His knowledge is superior. It therefore stands to reason that any knowledge we may try to acquire would be more beneficial if it were to commence at him.

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Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, “In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.” Isaiah 45:23-24 (NIV)


We stand today at the beginning of a new year, having experienced God’s direction and his blessing in the past year. Even against the background of the challenges which we may have experienced we can say that we have been ‘brought safely thither by his hand’. Isaiah has therefore spoken for all of us – “In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength”. His strength brought us through.


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Happy new year to you! May this 2013 be a prosperous year to you and yours. Thanks for allowing these weekly reflections into your sacred space. I pray they have added to the sacredness of the moment as you read and reflect. Continue to pray for me even as I pray for your blessings and continued sustenance. From my home to yours, my family to yours, a happy and blessed new year!

Today’s Watchword: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, “In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.” Isaiah 45:23-24 (NIV)

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