Caribbean Moravian Devotions

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141: 3

Hoping that everyone had a holy and blessed Easter. In today’s text David prays to God to control his mouth. I don’t think David was concerned with what was going into his mouth. There is no evidence that he had a problem keeping the kosher law. His concern was more with what came out of his mouth. David was a praying and a singing man. The many Psalms attributed to him bears witness to this. His mouth was therefore a praying mouth and his lips were praising lips. He is fearful however, realizing how easily prayer can be replaced by personal undertakings and praise by pride. He recognizes that the mouth can easily become defiled with untruth, or pride, or wrath thus he prays that God would protect him from such failings. David seemed to accept the truth that no matter how watchful we are, we are prone to slip ups, so he begs the Lord to guard him against falling into such sins. He knew that if God secured him there would be nothing to worry about. He is the one who had said: “Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Psalm 127: 1b. He recognized his limitations even in keeping his speech pure but also knew that he could depend on God’s keeping. David learnt to trust God where he couldn't trust himself.

Continue reading "Can't Trust Yourself? Trust God."

I am sending todayÂ’s FF at the end of the day intentionally. This is not just any other Friday. ItÂ’s Good Friday. Christians everywhere would have spent time in worship reflecting on the passion of Jesus Christ. On our TV and our radio we would have watched or listened to programs which focused on the death and resurrection of our Lord. And so on this Good Friday, as it comes to a close and we look with joy to the Resurrection Day, I share with you this brief thought. There is life AFTER THE CROSS. We all have a CROSS to bear. As difficult as it may be, God will always send others in our lives to help us bear our CROSS. Like Jesus, we will not only carry our CROSS, but it will bring us to a place of surrender where we die to ourselves and the world. But thank God, there is life AFTER THE CROSS. And that life is like no other! We all have a different CROSS. Whatever yours may be, donÂ’t abandon your CROSS. Bear it bravely and humbly. Remember God has so much more in store for us AFTER THE CROSS.

Have a joyous Easter Day. And even as we focus on today on THE CROSS, Easter calls out to us that there is life AFTER THE CROSS!

Mikie Roberts (Rev)
HereÂ’s the link for the blog. Join in the discussions.
http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus

Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth. Psalm 119:43


As we recall the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, we hear the crowd shouting triumphantly, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” (Matt.21:9; Mark 11:9-10; Luke 19:38) When the Pharisees complained, Jesus responded: “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:40)
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It's almost time for me to get a new mobile phone since my two year contract is about to end. Recently, I walked into Radio Shack trying to figure out which phone I should get when the time came for the upgrade. Of course I went straight over to where there was this sign advertising free models for persons upgrading. Now that's the beat price on planet earth. Can’t beat free! As I got closer to the sign and started to read the small print below there were some very important information that told another side of this free offer. I laughed to myself because the fine print showed that what was free from far was actually far from free. The store didn’t lie in their advertising. It’s just that they failed to say up front what were the hidden related COSTS associated with giving you a free phone. Though it was free, it was certainly NOT WITHOUT COST. That's today's FF – NOT WITHOUT COST!

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Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her! Rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her. Isaiah 66: 10

The preceding verses to the text tells of the displeasure and judgment of God on those who seek to ignore His call to repentance. There is a word of assurance however for those who hear and are fearful at God's call. Those who love Jerusalem and those who mourn for her are assured that the coming judgment would not be for them. The God who judges will also restore those who look to Him in faith. Sorrows will soon become joy for them because of their love for God, and interest in God's people. They are therefore encouraged to rejoice with Jerusalem. Those that mourn will soon have cause to rejoice and those mourning with them will also rejoice with them. We learn from this that when God blesses his people, all who are connected to God's people will be blessed. We are not to give up then, but stay the course knowing that if we suffer with Christ and sorrow with his church, we shall reign with Him and rejoice with her.
Continue reading "Stay the Course!"

To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:3


Let us take a philosophical look at this Watchword. This will require that we first establish some working definitions.
To sacrifice is to give up or give over oneÂ’s right in deference to another. A sacrifice is that which is given up in deference to another.
Righteousness is living correctly or rightly before God.

One who is living rightly before God will not need to give up any rights to God since God would be in control of such a person’s life and that person would not think of withholding anything from God. The ‘rights’ therefore are God’s and we have ‘privileges’ from him.
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One of the major roadways leading into the capital city of Charlotte Amalie here in St. Thomas has been under construction for years. Traffic is always a nightmare in that particular area. I usually go through this area at least twice a day. Earlier this week, we were stuck as usual in a very long line of traffic with no one moving. I noticed that two cars ahead of me that the driver overtook a white pick-up truck. Naturally I thought to myself that this white vehicle had broken down. The other vehicle in front of me also passed. I was so thankful to finally see the traffic moving that when it was my turn I did the same thing. Don’t know if I was curious or just nosy, I looked over to see what was wrong with the white pick-up truck as I slowly passed. I thought it odd that the engine was still running. And so I took a closer look. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The driver was still at the steering wheel with his head propped up by his left hand on the door and his eyes closed. Guess what? He was fast asleep. The car behind me passed him too and by the time I looked in my rear view mirror I noticed that he finally got going and rejoined the slow moving traffic. Can you imagine that this guy was overtaken by at least four vehicles before he was awakened. I thought about that encounter and it led me to share with you today’s FF – TO KEEP MOVING, NO SLEEPING!

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The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Joshua 2:11


This was the observation of Rahab as she hid the two men of the children of Israel from the wrath of the king of Jericho. She recounted how the children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea and their protection from the Amorites. (See Exod.14; Num.21:21-35) She had observed GodÂ’s powerful intervention with his people and evidently had carefully assessed it. Hence she could proclaim that their Lord was God indeed. Therefore, even as an outsider, she was confident of GodÂ’s power. And so she called on these men to invoke that power for her benefit and as a reward for her kindness.

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ItÂ’s been nearly 3 weeks now since the SEARCH for Malaysian Airlines flight MH 370 began. This is one news item that has captured the worldÂ’s attention. ItÂ’s hard to count the number of theories that have emerged trying to offer some sort of explanation as to what might have happened on board the aircraft that would have led to its disappearance. Was it a terrorist act? What about the pilots? Was it mechanical failure? Can we point fingers to the two Iranian passengers with stolen passports? What about the 5 passengers who checked in but never boarded the plane? Whatever the cause, the one thing that we are sure about is that after nearly 21 days, there are ships and planes from numerous countries all working together in the SEARCH for this plane. Though there is the fear for the worst, there is a resolve to KEEP SEARCHING until they find the exact location of all the debris that have been seen via satellites. As we continue to remember in prayer all those who have been directly impacted by this tragedy, I invite us to reflect on just one of the many lessons that can be learnt from this incident. Our FF for today expresses that and it is KEEP SEARCHING!

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Not one of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. Joshua 21:45


This information is of great comfort to GodÂ’s children, inspiring confidence. It produces the evidence that GodÂ’s commitments are sure. He makes good promises and he makes good on his promises. What he did for Israel he will continue to do.

This therefore supports the call to ‘step out in faith’, as our Provincial Theme this year implores. Continue reading " Joshua 21:45"

The LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one and HIS name will be the only one.    Zech. 14:9

 

Today we worship strange gods; we have gods of wealth, possessions, material things. We no longer care about our fellow man; we do not know who our neighbours are. We drive along and speak to no one, we just want to be better off than all others. We pay lip service to GOD'S teachings forgetting that we are mere flesh, remembering HIM only when evil befalls us.

 

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Picture this: itÂ’s 5:30 AM and the blaring sound of your alarm jolts you from your sleep. You know that itÂ’s time to get up out of bed. But itÂ’s still a bit chilly and to top it all off itÂ’s raining cats and dogs on the outside. So instead of jumping out from under your nice cozy blanket you decide to just roll over to the side and catch a few more minutes. You know what youÂ’re supposed to do but another part of you wants to linger a bit longer. So the STRUGGLE begins. As inviting as staying in bed is, it is only a matter of time before you know that the STRUGGLE will eventually give way to you getting up and getting the day going. Depending on the kind of night youÂ’ve had or what may be planned for the day ahead, the STRUGGLE may be more intense. And even though youÂ’ve started your day, there remains the STRUGGLE between whether to give in to how you feel on the one hand and what you know you should do on the other. If you can identify with that tension today, then our FF is an invitation to be somewhat transparent and admit I STILL STRUGGLE.

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I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. Isaiah 65:1


So often in life we consider that we have problems on our hands and nowhere to turn – no one to run to. We fiddle with our problems on our own and throw up our hands in despair. We figure there is no help or behave as though there is no help. Sadly, this is often true of Christians. We seem to forget that the eternal God is our refuge and underneath are his everlasting arms. (See Deut.33:27)
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Not too long ago, I happened to have been driving in car and was about to put on the radio when I saw something on the car’s panel that I had not seen in years. It was the opening for a cassette tape. And did the memories come flooding back! I thought of the days in the mid 80’s when walk-mans were the hottest thing around. Remember that one button that came in handy when you were trying to go back to find that one spot in a song? That’s right, you could hit REWIND. But there was always a problem, sometimes you could end up going too far back or not far enough. I don’t know about you but I recall getting very frustrated many times after failing to find exactly where you wanted. Eventually you just gave up and let the cassette play to the end. But the decade of the 80’s came and went and with it the walk-man craze has given way to the digital era. Today nobody has any reason to REWIND when you’re listening to I-tunes or the latest CD. Times have certainly changed so that today we can finally say that we’re DONE REWINDING. That’s today’s FF – DONE REWINDING!

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The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. Psalm 34:15

‘Where is God in all this?’ seems to be a common cry of today’s society which has become so proof oriented that it has fast lost its faith. With everything that is happening in a society divorced from religion and righteousness, we sometimes wonder at the proximity of our God. Today’s text is therefore both a reassurance and a reminder of God’s role in our everyday existence. We are reminded of two important activities of God towards us as we go from day to day.

Continue reading "God Sees, Hears and Acts."