Caribbean Moravian Devotions

When I lived in Trinidad in the early 1990’s Trinidad’s top designer Peter Minshall decided that year that he would give his carnival a name with just one word. So in 1995, Minshall named his carnival band HALLELUJAH! For weeks, Christians and Muslims alike voiced their disapproval of the word HALLELUJAH being associated with the playing mas’ at carnival. As a young pastor, though I understood the various viewpoints that were being made, I decided to withhold my judgment until the day in question when I could see what artistic concepts Peter Minshall had come up with that would merit using the word which is usually associated with praising God. So you want to know what happened on those carnival days? When I saw on my television the resplendent, kaleidoscopic blend of every imaginable color that Mishall had created against this lily white material in the midst of a cloudless, sunny Caribbean day crossing the stage at the Savannah, there was only one word that came out of my mouth. Can you guess what it was? HALLELUJAH! I wasn’t praising Mishall and his creativity. I was praising God for the beauty of God’s creation. So for our FF for today I invite all of us to adopt a bold attitude that is captured in a short chorus that begins HALLELUJAH ANYHOW! That’s today’s FF – HALLELUJAH ANYHOW!

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I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. Isaiah 43:11

We live in an idolatrous age. We pledge allegiance to powers and systems that cannot do for us what the one true God can. We give excessive admiration or love – praise – to individuals or objects which are ultimately powerless of themselves. We spend countless hours in devotion – worship – to possessions, situations and persons that we hold dear, often choosing to neglect the one who created both us and our possessions. It is no wonder that God challenged the people in Isaiah 43 to prove the spiritual value of that which they had chosen over Him. The fact is that God had an unmatched track record with the Israelites. It was this record that Joshua stood on when he stated to the Hebrew people: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24: 15. None other had done for them what He had, thus he could speak with force of authority and conviction. Joshua stood as a witness for God before the people.

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So far for the month of February, in observance of Black History Month, IÂ’ve been reflecting on various Negro Spirituals. A few days ago a ministerial colleague forwarded to me a very inspiring excerpt. It really captures many of the thoughts I wanted to share and so I felt led to share the following excerpt with you as a reflection on the spiritual STEAL AWAY. ThatÂ’s todayÂ’s FF: STEAL AWAY. Trust that you will be blessed as I was:

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IÂ’m quite sure that many of us are very familiar with the television program called 60 Minutes. It usually airs on the CBS network on Sunday evenings. A few weeks ago there was a segment on the program that dealt with people who possess this unusual ability in that they REMEMBER just about everything. Though 60 Minutes had already addressed this some years back, this time around they highlighted the ongoing research about this condition especially now that it was discovered to exist not only among adults but also among young children. Can you imagine whatÂ’s itÂ’s like to have such a long term memory that youÂ’re always able to REMEMBER events and details that the rest of us typically donÂ’t REMEMBER. Wow! With that in mind, our FF for today is drawn from another Negro Spiritual. For todayÂ’s FF we pray the petition DO LORD, REMEMBER ME!

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Few days ago I passed by the airport and noticed that a Delta aircraft was sitting on the tarmac early in the morning. I thought to myself thatÂ’s strange since I knew that their flights donÂ’t usually overnight here in St. Thomas. Later that day as I drove by, I noticed that the same aircraft was still in the same position. I thought to myself that looks like a plane that obviously developed some major mechanical problem which left it grounded. My suspicions were confirmed when the next morning as I was driving by I noticed that it was still there. IsnÂ’t it amazing that with all of the up to date technology that are used these days in flying these commercial jets that they are not perfect inventions. Even the most advanced contraptions break down and need to be FIXED. It was not until the third day that the problem was FIXED and the plane went airborne again. As we observe Black History Month in February I invite us to focus our minds on a few Negro Spirituals that are well known and which by their titles can speak a word in season to our hearts. So with that in mind our FF for today is FIX ME JESUS! FIX ME!

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God says, "My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention." Isaiah 46:10

I find this to be a very forceful and purposeful statement. Forceful because it depicts command, confidence and clarity. Purposeful because it portrays a God who knows what He is about and who refuses to bow to challenge or be affected by lack of support of devotion. It tells me that the God I serve is an intentional God who speaks and carries through His words. There can be no doubting our God because He has and will always be true to His words. Here we hear God speak through the prophet Isaiah a declaration of His intent. The idols worshipped by the nations around Israel are incomparable to God. God alone is God and he has been proven through time. From the beginning of time He predicted the end of time. Regardless of what any may say or do, God's purpose will not change and God's intention will triumph in the end with or without mankind's help.

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There is always so much in life that we could complain about. Though there are many things that are going right, we can also identify as many things that are wrong. We can quickly testify about the many ways in which we have been blessed. But at the same time we can also. But at the same time we can lay out a litany of problems and challenges that lie before us. So the same tongue which can SPEAK ABOUT whatÂ’s good and rejoice over it can also SPEAK ABOUT the hurdles and mountains that are before them. We can choose either to murmur or complain about what needs fixing or give God praise for all of GodÂ’s goodness, kindness and faithfulness. As we come to the end of the first month of 2014, I challenge us all not to let the challenges before us to determine what how we SPEAK. That means rather than SPEAKING ABOUT the hurdle or mountain before you, SPEAK TO it. Our FF for today then is SPEAK TO, NOT ABOUT!

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