The Collect

I went walking this morning. We had only walked once for the week. Too busy! No writing this morning. So I thought! Before leaving I had read the Collect for Sunday, and the Gospel. Prayed and then left to “ duh road”. But whilst walking, towards the end, almost home, this came:

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Jesus said to his disciples, ”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. 

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you…..

……that when the Holy Spirit comes He shall convict the world of Sin. Because the world does not know Jesus. Does not believe in Jesus! And therefore if the Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of sin, this is not something that we should “ hug up”, like the Methodist Church in the USA. Thank God the local Methodist church has remained faithful to the God who sent His Son to die for Sin. We in the Anglican Church, subjected to all kind of liberal theology from “ abroad”, need to very careful about “ Greeks bearing gifts” ( Just came into my mind). Further this Holy Spirit has come now, and came then, to teach us all truth. Truth that He will not speak on His own, but that which “ he has heard”. And this truth is all about glorifying Jesus from whom this Truth has been received and declared to us. Therefore this Spirit of truth will only live in those who “ give glory to God”. Those whose lives are filled with prayer and worship and doing good to all men. Those who are faithful to the God who died for us. And not those who are disobedient – worse than divination.

A final thought! Be careful about “ Lord Jesus hurry and come back for your world”. And Yes I know we are to pray for His return. But consider carefully what Jesus said to his disciples. That if He did not go away the Holy Spirit would not come to them. There is much work to be done in this broken world. But that work can only be successfully done when the world is convicted, proven wrong, of Sin, Righteousness and judgment. And only the Holy Spirit of God can do that. And He will only live in those who love Jesus and are obedient to him. The One who died for Sin, and was raised by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, the same power which is available to the faithful, to grant us new and eternal life. For the glory of God and for the rescuing of sinners who repent. Even the vilest offender!

Praise God Hallelujah.

Lord renew thy church we beseech thee with a fresh outpouring of The Spirit of Truth and of power; Lord renew your church that the church, filled with The Spirit of Truth and Power may help to renew the nation(s) filled with individuals yet to be convicted of Sin and Righteousness and Judgement.

In obedience

Shalom

LWJ

Woke up this morning with this foundation ( in the headlines above) of the Christian faith on my mind. This since I was led to read in my #lunchtimedevotions yesterday this eternal message:

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And :

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This as the greatest temptation that we face as redeemed children of God:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; For he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David;”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭68‬-‭69‬ ‭KJV‬‬;

…..is not from the outside, as many and as powerful as those are :

O Jesus I have promised ( my prayer as I wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom and then on my knees…briefly but definitely ) to serve thee to the end; Be thou forever near me ( because without you I just can’t manage)

Oh, let me feel Thee near me;
  The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
  The tempting sounds I hear;
My foes are ever near me,
  Around me and within;
But, Jesus, draw Thou nearer,
  And shield my soul from sin……

….but that which Jesus spoke about in the first letter to the churches in Revelations, “ You have forgotten your first love “. That is you have become a traitor to the cross, about which Paul warned then, and continues to warn now.

This as there is so much to do, and say and fix. Violence in schools! Murder most foul – how can you arrange to murder your own wife so that you can get her insurance money! Mercy. Recklessness on the roads. Children with no manners! Toxic homes where girl children are raped by family members and no one to defend them! Bangarang repeatedly and expectedly in the parliament. Corruption here, corruption there, corruption everywhere. Declining church attendance! Constitutional reform! Pay back time for those who enslaved us – church and state. #wrongaddresses and all the social and economic and moral ills which reside there, along with the injustice which created such addresses in the first place.

So much for the Christian, child of God to do. And the Gospel to be spread abroad! That we in this age in particular, have forgotten from whence cometh the power of God “ to make all things new”. To “ change my heart O God, to change their hearts O God”. What is the foundation for “ create in me a new heart and renew a right spirit within me’! And without metanoia, a change of heart, there is no permanent and sustained solution to all the ills of the world. Whether in Jamaica or in Haiti or in Gaza. Do you really think that cutting off armed supplies to Israel is going to make them ( read Netanyahu) more compassionate about how they treat women and children in Gaza? Do you really think that lobbying Israel and the UN to give Palestinian statehood is going to change their minds about Israel’s right to exist? Do you really think that guidance counselors can quell the rage in the heart of a young man, and prevent him from stabbing to death a young girl, and anybody who attempts to defend her. No! That ship has sailed! Long time ago from The Fall in the garden of Eden. And the only power to fix the hearts of sinful men and women, comes from the cross of Calvary and the mighty resurrection on Easter. Nowhere else. Not even from the mind that conjured up the most famous equation in the world : E =mc2. The mind of Albert Einstein, and that which changed the world powered by energy. But not the wicked hearts of mankind! Hope he repented and claimed Christ before he died! Mercy.

So the message this morning is that Jesus and Him crucified and Risen is sufficient. For all the needs of mankind. And we sin “ tread on the blood of our Savior” if we seek for any other solution than that which rescued us from sin and death unto everlasting life.

No doubt this is why after celebrating Christ in my heart with the opening words of The Benedictus:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; For he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David;”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭68‬-‭69‬ ‭KJV‬‬
…another song of praise entered my mind:

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: And all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭103‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

And I was blessed by the words of this song which I play in my car almost without ceasing :

https://youtu.be/I2Ar839L6A4?si=eRSkNW4la45Rd2iZ

Yes! Everything you are Lord is everything I need. Mercy…..trust and believe.

Lord renew your church beginning with those who believe this Word:

“Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Lord renew your church that the church may help to renew the nation(s) where people have become traitors to the cross of Christ. And yet cry out for mercy. Thank you Jesus that in you we find a God of mercy – even for the vilest offender who turns to Christ.

In obedience

Shalom

LWJ

The Habit of Enjoying Adversity

“The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.””
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭11‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

TheWord above greeted me on opening my old NIV Bible yesterday during my #lunchtimedevotions.

Moses was in “a pickle” !The newly freed from Egyptian slavery, children of Israel, were grumbling. They wanted meat. “ Tired of the “ same old same old” manna, cried “ the rabble”. Even after this happened!

“Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Before we continue, a word of caution. There has been spreads abroad in this liberal theological age,that God is only a God of love. They clearly have not heard of Taberah! This as one of the things we must always bear in mind, and give thanks for every minute of the day, is the only reason why sinful mankind can truly love Jesus. Why? Because on Calvary, He ( willingly …gave up Himself….laid down His life) died for our sins ( the wages of sin is death), and saved us from the wrath of God. The well known theological argument of the “ Substitution” for our sins.

That’s why we welcome the prophetic Word from the father of John the Baptist ( before the ministry of Jesus started), announced after hundreds of years of waiting on this promise:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭68‬-‭75‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is this redemption story, of Calvary and the mighty resurrection, that we must keep in the forefront of our witness in this broken and violent world. As the God of wrath against sin and evil, is a God who is a Redeemer in and through Christ Jesus. It is in this context that we receive this morning the Word from Numbers, and which Word was also shared by Isaiah :

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭59‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So it not only that the arm of the Lord is not too short to provide meat in the desert, but that the arm of the Lord is not too short to rescue us from the evil and “bangarang” which has descended upon the nation like a funeral shroud. Causing death in schools, death in the community, death on the roads, and the death of truth on social media. Producing iniquity in high places, and in the “ common crowd” alike. Disturbing the peace of the nation, in our politics, in the judicial system, in the security forces, in our professional lives, in the culture ( dunce lyrics) in the schools and homes.

And so even as Christians we “murmur”, and complain about the state of the nation.

I do not believe that it is just coincidence that nestled in the Word of God in my Classics Devotional Bible are to be found this word from one of her most dynamic and spirit filled preachers of our time – now gone t glory – Charles Spurgeon.

“Listen” and read carefully :

THOSE WHO MURMUR

CHARLES H. SPURGEON

Verse: Numbers 12: 1-2

There are murmurers among Christians now, as thy were in the camp of Israel. There are those who, when the rod falls, cry out against the afflictive dispensation . They ask, “ Why am I so afflicted ? What have I done to be chastened like this?”

Allow me a word with you who murmured. Why should you murmur against the dispensations of your Heavenly Father ! Can he treat you more harshly than you deserve? Consider what a rebel you once were, but he pardoned you! Surely, if he in his wisdom sees fit to chasten you, you should not complain.

Does not that proud rebellious spirit of yours prove that your heart is not throughly sanctified ( cleanse the thoughts of my heart Lord…comes to mind…part of a prayer we pray every Sunday morning in the Anglican church…my words)? Those murmuring words are contrary to the holy, submissive nature of God’s children. Is not the correction needed? But if you murmur against the chastening, take heed, for it will go hard with murmurers.

But know one thing – “ He doth not afflict , nor grieve the children of men“ ( Lamentations 3:33 KJV), all his corrections are sent in love ( even the holy wrath… my words), to purify you, and draw you nearer to Himself ( Tell the people: ‘ Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you shall eat meat….Numbers 11:18…my insert). Surely it must help you bear the chastening if you are able to recognize your Father’s hand. For “ whom the Lord liveth he chaseneth, ands courage the vey son who he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons” ( Hebrews 12:6-7”. “ Neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer” ( 1 Corinthians 10:10)

Comment: Mercy Lord. Mercy. This as we are all guilty of murmuring against a Holy God. In thought word and deed! Individually and collectively as a nation and even as a church. Some have even got tired of waiting on the Lord to “provide meat” and have gone ahead and built idols of silver and gold ( which neither Peter nor John used to give the crippled man new life and renewed strength). Even in the very church, in the sense that Jesus and Him crucified is no longer the only solid foundation, but rather “ Jesus plus”. Mercy! Jesus plus prosperity! Jesus plus repatriation! Jesus plus social justice. This as the mighty salvation wrought on Calvary and the mighty resurrection on the blessed Easter, needs “ improvement and clarity and better understanding ; and does not have supernatural power in itself to heal and to rescue this troubled land.

I close with a word in season, in the context of suffering and giving God the glory rather than murmuring from Oswald Chambers. Last night! In preparation for this message this morning:

…that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

 2 CORINTHIANS 4:10

We have to develop godly habits to express what God’s grace has done in us. It is not just a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved so that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” And it is adversity that makes us exhibit His life in our mortal flesh. Is my life exhibiting the essence of the sweetness of the Son of God, or just the basic irritation of “myself” that I would have apart from Him? The only thing that will enable me to enjoy adversity is the acute sense of eagerness of allowing the life of the Son of God to evidence itself in me. No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, “Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.” Instantly, the Son of God will move to the forefront of my life, and will manifest in my body that which glorifies Him.

You must not debate. The moment you obey the light of God, His Son shines through you in that very adversity; but if you debate with God, you grieve His Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30). You must keep yourself in the proper condition to allow the life of the Son of God to be manifested in you, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means God uses to exhibit just how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure His Son is. Discovering a new way of manifesting the Son of God should make our heart beat with renewed excitement. It is one thing to choose adversity, and quite another to enter into adversity through the orchestrating of our circumstances by God’s sovereignty. And if God puts you into adversity, He is adequately sufficient to “supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19).

Lord renew thy church we beseech thee in the midst of adversity and even punishment, and especially in the face of your wrath sent,in love always, to purity us ; Lord renew thy church that the church may renew the nation(s) suffering from the wrath and chastening of God. In Jamaica and in Israel and across the whole wide world.

In obedience

Shalom

LWJ

““I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up. People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.

“Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, destroying them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. “I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.

“I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.””
‭‭Amos‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Collect

O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Comment: Sunday coming , in the Liturgical cycle, is Pentecost. I was led to write about one aspect of Pentecost yesterday – The Spirit of truth. This morning the message is a difficult one. But I am being obedient! During my #lunchtimedevotions yesterday, I opened my Bible randomly and words from the prophet Amos greeted me. I read and the Words above stayed with me. Especially, “ yet you have not returned to me”. You have not returned to me, in spite of the many troubles, the many trials that God allowed his children to experience. This after the solemn warning; the Word that greeted me as I opened the Bible:

“Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt: “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”
‭‭Amos‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The challenge for us here in Jamaica, children of slaves for the most part, and which slave forebears left a legacy of trusting in Puppa Jesus and Massa God, is that in large numbers, we as a people have rejected the God of Sam Sharpe, the God of George William Gordon, the God of Paul Bogle, the God of Marcus Mosiah Garvey. And fashioned for ourselves “ broken cisterns that can hold no water” ( Jeremiah). Other gods! In politics, in business, in our professional lives, on social media, in the traditional media, in our communities and in our homes. And from which village ( it takes a whole lot of people to send signals to and form the mind of a child) a boy child emerges from a dark hole and stabs a girl child to death in Manchester yesterday. And her mamma cries! On TV for all to see. And a nation is traumatized. Again! And we mourn one who “ Hear the children cry”. Tried to do her best. Against the odds. A woman of deep faith in the Holy One of Israel. And not just another icon who has “passed”

And so yes, there is an absolute need for professionals to intervene and rescue our children from what the collective village has taught them:

But what I heard yesterday, and this morning as I read the Collect ( the collective prayers of our people) about the gift of making “ right judgement “ by the indwelling Holy Spirit, is that above and beyond all that we are called to do, is the matter of “ yet you have not returned to me”. You Jamaicans, who I love, says the Lord, whose forefathers were faithful in their love for me, the only God who rescued them from slavery, need to repent and believe the gospel. We are suffering a lot. Others too, yes, but our history is different from others. Drought – read the Amos passages above very carefully. Murder most foul. Iniquity. And more! And yet “ these people don’t even know how to blush”. ( Jeremiah).

This as the only “ right judgement “in this dispensation is to accept the free gift of salvation, so that a nation filled with righteous people, rescued by the precious blood of the Lamb, might “ exalt a nation”. Rather than be filled with people who carry out evil acts, with impunity and cause “ reproach in a nation”. Yes! There is a place for discussions about Justice and Slavery and how the enslaved ought to be compensated! And yes, there is a place, a crying need for constitutional reform, with the many issues to be sorted out. And yes, O God, yes there is crying need for proper parenting and community, writ large, intervention so that we no longer “ cry, cry for our beloved country”. And hear mothers crying, like Rachael:

““A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Weeping in Jamaica! Weeping in Gaza! Weeping in Haiti! Weeping in Ukraine now under serious threat of being overrun by the Russians.

But the fundamental, existential lesson that Pentecost teaches us is that “ two cannot walk together unless they are in agreement”. That God and sinful mankind can only reconciled by the shed blood of Jesus. And by the resurrection power of The Holy Spirit. The Pentecostal Power given to those who are in agreement with God that “ we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. And cry out like David, for forgiveness, “a broken and contrite heart you will not refuse”. And only then will our nation find peace. And allow our children to grow into adults and not die young. Mercy!

O Jesus hear our cry this day, and renew thy church beginning with all who cry our for mercy; O blessed Jesus we pray thee to renew your church that the church may renew the nation(s) where mothers weep for their children.

In obedience

Shalom

LWJ

Reaching Beyond Our Grasp

This late night reflection on a message from Oswald Chambers got me thinking. A lot! About the state of the church and our call to be salt and light in a broken #violenceinschools #gaza #protestersonUSAcampuses #samesexmarriage in Methodist churches in the USA #wrongaddesses and #Ukraine and #Haiti world. This as we celebrate Jesus. What Vision does the church in Jamaica and in the USA have?

MAY 9

Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision], the people cast off restraint… PROVERBS 29:18

There is a difference between holding on to a principle and having a vision. A principle does not come from moral inspiration, but a vision does. People who are totally consumed with idealistic principles rarely do anything. A person’s own idea of God and His attributes may actually be used to justify and rationalize his deliberate neglect of his duty. Jonah tried to excuse his disobedience by saying to God, “…I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2). I too may have the right idea of God and His attributes, but that may be the very reason why I do not do my duty. But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of honesty and integrity, because the vision gives me the moral incentive.

Our own idealistic principles may actually lull us into ruin. Examine yourself spiritually to see if you have vision, or only principles.

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?

“Where there is no revelation [or prophetic vision]….” Once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless. We cast off certain restraints from activities we know are wrong. We set prayer aside as well and cease having God’s vision in the little things of life. We simply begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating only out of our own hand, and doing things solely on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on a downward path. We have lost the vision. Is our attitude today an attitude that flows from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done before? Is there a freshness and a vitality in our spiritual outlook?

Gaza mourns …without ceasing!

Nothing in my hand I bring……

“The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.”

Judges 6:1 NIV

“When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.””

Judges 6:7-10 NIV

“The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’”

Judges 7:2 NIV

Yesterday, during my #lumchtimedevotions the Lord led me to read about Gideon. But not just about Gideon. Also about the fickleness “ prone to wander, Lord I know it, from the God I love” ( says the hymn writer) of the love that Israel had for, not just the Living God, but the God who “ rescued them from the hands of all their oppressors”.

Then this morning, as I prayed the first of three early morning prayers by Jacob Boheme, I was reminded that it was not my own strength and good fortune that kept me safe during the long dark hours of the night. But God Himself! And yet again. And again. For a very long time as I am big man now.

ON WAKING

Living Lord, you have watched over me, and put your hand on my head, during the long dark hours of night.

Your holy angels have protected me from all harm and pain. To you Lord I owe life itself. Continue to watch over me and bless me during the hours of day.

Comment: Then the thought came to me that it must be a big challenge to be a politician and a Christian. For the natural tendency, politically sensible, and the received wisdom of the age, is for the them to claim paternity for every good thing that happens in the nation and in the lives of their constituents. And in fact if they can declare “ never done before in the history of this country”, all the better – presumably in the eyes of the voters. Of course that kind of mindset runs completely contrary to the message from Gideon’s encounter with the Lord. That whatever happens, and not only in difficult circumstances, but in good times also “ Give God the glory”.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost! But it didn’t end there. For the same temptation can and who knows has affected the ordained and the leaders, the Bishops and Overseers.

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”

Acts 20:28 NIV

I close with two thoughts . One from the third prayer by Jacob Boheme. At the very end!

ON GOING TO WORK

……………….Above all, remind me constantly that I have nothing except what you give me, and can do nothing except what you enable me to do.

The other, a well known and often quoted, shared in this context, verse of a great hymn:

Nothing in my hands I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress,

Helpless, look to Thee for grace:

Foul, I to the fountain fly,

Wash me, Savior, or I die.

Lord we beseech thee to renew thy church beginning with those who know they bring nothing to the table but depend solely on your grace and mercy; Lord we beseech thee, you only who know the state of our hearts, to renew the church so that the church may renew the nation where “ Jah Kingdom goes to waste”. And his momma cries

https://youtu.be/tt8GDAL7Av8?si=J1_28lZQS6TDPRKQ

Listen carefully to the words of the song, one of my favorites, along with Etana’s #wrongaddress on how and why young men grow up in the ghetto, unattended by care and love, die violently. Because we as a nation and as church are too strong and wise, and don’t understand the power of evil. In the ghetto! And in “ polite company “. And so The Philistines, The Median of this age, are upon us, and we too like the children of Israel need to humble ourselves and cry out to the God who has delivered us before, and will do so again. Cry out for mercy. With a broken and contrite heart O God you will not despise. From top to bottom in the church. As we celebrate Jesus! And stop looking for Samson! The received wisdom of this age.

In obedience

Shalom

LWJ

Woke up this morning and going about doing my early morning chores, and thinking about last night’s message, especially “ this ship has sailed”, when this Word came to mind:

“ Not that I have obtained it as yet”. And then the entire passage written by Paul whose “ I want to know Christ”, desire to know nothing but Christ and him crucified is forever etched in our memory, came to mind:

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The challenge for us, in this liberal theology age, everything is everything age, which is message from the both this passage and the message last night from Oswald Chambers, is to have a sound doctrine of Christ. To desire to know Christ above all else. Above doing good works for him. Above building the church. Above rescuing the perishing . Above solving social justice issues. Above even wanting others to know Him. For none of the above can be achieved if we have not, as Oswald Chambers declared in the message last night, and as Scriptures urges us, died to self. And love him passionately and solely above all others in our lives. The context of “ hate even mother and father”. And the meaning of “ seek ye first the kingdom of God…and all other things will be added ( by God) unto thee).

I close with the words of the hymn which undergirded this ministry from day one. And which words came to mind as I contemplated why would anyone have this passion for Christ and Him crucified! And the hymn writer answers “ How I can I not love him “?

1. My God I love thee not because

I hope for heaven thereby,

nor yet because who love thee not

are lost eternally.

2 Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me

upon the cross embrace;

for me didst bear the nails and spears,

and manifold disgrace,

3 and griefs and torments numberless,

and sweat and agony; yea, death itself – and all for me

who was thine enemy ( lost in sin..born in iniquity…of Adam…my words)

4. Then, why, O Blessed Jesu Christ,

should I not love thee well……

The hymn writer continues ( #138 in our Anglican CPWI hymnbook) for another two and a half verses, and ends dramatically, with the reality that he loves his dearest Lord, solely because this God-man is “ my God” , and has proven by his death on Calvary to be “ my most loving King”.

And that’s why we ought to, and the only true way, to love Jesus. To love God. Because he died for me, “ whilst I was yet his enemy”. And was deserving of all his righteous wrath! Praise God. Hallelujah!

Then, and only then will he send me, with authority and with power and with love, to bring Him glory by seeking the lost, binding up the wounded, speaking truth to power, to do mercy and to love justice. For and to the stranger , the orphan, and the widows of this dying and broken world. In Gaza! Haiti! And Jamaica land we cry for.

And to celebrate his love and mercy and grace

Building For Eternity

As I read Oswald Chambers’ devotional guide tonight, it came home to me that if we don’t understand these things then “ the ship has sailed “ for us as Christians. And only grace and mercy and forgiveness if we repent of any vestige of trying to DIY, can help. And return us to be in good favor with God. Regardless of our position in the church!

My God I love thee not because……

[OSWALD CHAMBERS

MAY 7

Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it… LUKE 14:28

Our Lord was not referring here to a cost which we have to count, but to a cost which He has already counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred, the unfathomable agony He experienced in Gethsemane, and the assault upon Him at Calvary— the central point upon which all of time and eternity turn. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. In the final analysis, people are not going to laugh at Him and say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:30).

The conditions of discipleship given to us by our Lord in verses 26, 27, and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple ” (Luke 14:26). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion— those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.

All that we build is going to be inspected by God. When God inspects us with His searching and refining fire, will He detect that we have built enterprises of our own on the foundation of Jesus? (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We are living in a time of tremendous enterprises, a time when we are trying to work for God, and that is where the trap is. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus, as the Master Builder, takes us over so that He may direct and control us completely for His enterprises and His building plans; and no one has any right to demand where he will be put to work.]

Then” Prone to wander….from the God I love”, came into my mind. Uninvited! And then one thing led to another and to this:

https://youtu.be/4xJXzgonLdQ?si=JtimPFmJJAT1eEMS

Lord renew thy church beginning with me; Lord renew thy church that the church may renew the nation(s) filled with people who are wandering aimlessly without you, even though they seem to be on the face of it, heading in the right direction.

In obedience

Shalom

LWJ

https://youtu.be/qqJLN_h2RwY?si=j06Yafjm5gcpoAE8

Parents and child in church – best thing they could do for her

Yesterday, the Rector mentioned Majesty Gardens, and the St. Thomas Mission in his sermon – one of the outreach projects of STAPC. It was my turn, and privilege and appointment, to lead the service there and to preach. After the sermon I asked Andre – our resident musician – to play a song for us. And he did! Much to the delight and the worship experience of troubled souls living in that inner city #wrongaddress community. Falling in love with Jesus. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. And so I am moved to share the song above with you my sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, and to share the structure of the message – didn’t stick to the script – I gave yesterday as we celebrate Child’s Month.

MESSAGE STRUCTURE

The Gospel

John 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Comment: Jesus says “ I am the truth, the way and the life”. And the Christian faith includes bringing up your children in the love and fear of God. Jesus in fact was very explicit in declaring that little children should be fought to know him. This morning then we examine briefly the Theme for child’s month “ nurturing children for holistic development”. Which in essence means that we as parents and guardians have to look beyond the basics of reading writing and arithmetic. Beyond PEP. Beyond Champs and Manning Cup Football. Beyond preparation for the job market. It really means in the Christian context introducing your children to Godly ways, early. To show respect to the older ones. To practice cleanliness and tidiness. To be honest and to be always fair to others. To be kind to others and to always strive for excellence.

But if children are to learn Godly ways, since they learn what they see, and that good manners are caught and not just taught, then parents have to know God. They have to demonstrate and engage in regular prayer. Reading the Word of God regularly “ Thy Word O Lord have I stored up in my heart that I may not sin against thee”. Attend church regularly and bring the children with them. Be kind to their neighbors. Daddy has to show the children that he loves mommy. Be forgiving . Don’t spoil the child…and spare the rod.

Finally if parents are to learn Godly ways and contribute to “nurturing children for holistic development” , then the church, the Body of Christ to which the parents and children belong, ought to be a teaching church. A preaching church. A singing church. A praying church. A church that engages in evangelism and social justice issues: assisting the poor, fighting for justice for the powerless and disadvantaged,

And those in the church who are called by God to teach, need to practice, of first priority, the presence of Godin their lives. This according to Brother Lawrence :

CONTINUE IN HIS PRESENCE ( From my Classics Devotional Bible

Brother Lawrence ( 1605 – 1691…..Nicholas Herman spent 18 years in the French army…..and later when he was 50 years old, he joined the Carmelite order. There he became known as Brother Lawrence. He never sought to advance beyond the service of a lay brother, and served as a cook for 30 years. Despite his life of Catholic religious service, the orthodox mystical spirituality of Brother Lawrence has been received more widely in Protestant churches than in the Roman Catholic. Some of his simple writings including The Practice of the Presence of God, have been published.

Verse: Proverbs 8:30 …..Then I was the craftsman at his side, I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence.

There is no greater manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God

If I were a preacher, I would preach nothing but practicing the presence of God

If I were to be responsible for guiding souls in the right direction, I would urge everyone to be aware of God’s constant presence, if for no other reason than because his presence is a delight to our souls and spirits.

It is , however, also necessary. If we only knew how much we need God’s grace we would never lose touch with him.

Believe me. Make a commitment never to deliberately stray from him, to live the rest of your life in his holy presence.

Don’t do this in expectation of received heavenly comforts; simply do it out of love for him.

Put your hand to the task! If you do it right, you will soon see the results.

I didn’t sing this song, below, which came into my heart whilst preparing. But as I write this morning, about the best thing that ever happened to me, knowing Jesus, and Brother Lawrence’s call on our lives, the reality is that “ you did not choose me, I choose you”, is the essence of the song below. A response we are called to make if we are to properly guide our children in the ways of the Lord and rescue our country and children. From evil!

1 Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

calling for you and for me;

see, on the portals he’s waiting and watching,

watching for you and for me.

Refrain:

Come home, come home;

you who are weary come home;

earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

calling, O sinner, come home!

2 Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,

pleading for you and for me?

Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,

mercies for you and for me? [Refrain]

3 Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,

passing from you and from me;

shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,

coming for you and for me. [Refrain]

4 O for the wonderful love he has promised,

promised for you and for me!

Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,

pardon for you and for me. [Refrain]

”The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”“
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Yesterday, during my #lunchtimedevotions, the Word above came to me as I opened my Bible randomly and read what was already highlighted in green – from many years ago. And so it’s all about whether or not our hearts are clean before a holy God. This as “ the heart is deceitful and beyond cure, and beyond all understanding”.

Later on I would read in the New York Times about this:

Texas state troopers with protesters at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday.Credit…Jay Janner/USA Today Network, via Reuters

By J. David Goodman, David Montgomery, Jonathan Wolfe and Jenna Russell

This story was reported on the ground from campuses in Austin, Los Angeles, Boston, Rhode Island, San Antonio and New York.

Published April 24, 2024Updated April 25, 2024, 1:29 a.m. ET

A wave of pro-Palestinian protests spread and intensified on Wednesday as students gathered on campuses around the country, in some cases facing off with the police, in a widening showdown over campus speech and the war in Gaza.

University administrators from Texas to California moved to clear protesters and prevent encampments from taking hold on their own campuses as they have at Columbia University, deploying police in tense new confrontations that already have led to dozens of arrests.

At the same time, new protests continued erupting in places like Pittsburgh and San Antonio. Students expressed solidarity with their fellow students at Columbia, and with a pro-Palestinian movement that appeared to be galvanized by the pushback on other campuses and the looming end of the academic year.

Protesters on several campuses said their demands included divestment by their universities from companies connected to the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, disclosure of those and other investments and a recognition of the continuing right to protest without punishment.

Comment: The challenge , the existential challenge that students, and at one time many of us were in that mode, protesters, and adult also, face is that what they wish to change, the heart, is beyond their cure. And beyond their understanding. For how can you fathom the mindset that would lead to #GenocideinGaza. And #GenocideinGermany during world war 11, when Hitler exterminated 6 million Jews. Or Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, or Stalin’s reign of terror in Russia when millions died. Or Biafra. Or South Africa. And over 1000 murdered every year in Jamaica for years.

No! The problem of changing the hearts of men and women, sinful humanity, is not the gift of protesters, nor “progressive rulers”, but in what the Benedictus announces:

“ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited and redeemed his people:

And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us: in the house of his servant David. A promise made to the one who God described as “ one after his own heart”. The one who cried out, after #Bathsheba :

”Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.“
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭10‬, ‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And the Living God, creator of Heaven and earth, Gaza, and Israel, Jamaica and Haiti, who saw the heart of David, forgave him of his terrible and egregious sin. But like all the other great men of God had to :

”These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.“
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭39‬-‭40‬ ‭NIV‬‬.

Only together with us in Christ Jesus.

That’s the background for the Report of the Lord for today.

One that:

”For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”“
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

”For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.“
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And the second report rests on this first one. That:

”He must become greater; I must become less.”“
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This as those who err, those who are disobedient, those who are tempted to preach “ Jesus and the Cross, plus other things”, those who find meaning and power in anything beyond the cross of Christ, are those who have become in their minds, whether consciously or subconsciously, greater, and Christ has become, in their preaching and in their livity, less and less. Despite their claim to believe in Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God.

And so that kind of Christianity has no power to fight against evil. And change the hearts of broken humanity. And so the land mourns as the children in Gaza, and all over the world suffer and die. Because of unchanged hearts. Thank God for Jesus, we have a remnant in the world, through whom God will effect his power to change the world. According to his purpose and timing ! And then one fine day, cometh The Judgement.

Until then those who preach and live Christ and Him Crucified, as first priority, and seek to become less , and allow the Christ in them to become greater, “ Christ in you the hope of glory”, and not seek glory for themselves , God will use those who repent of their sinful ways, whose hearts God alone sees, and “ change my heart O God, make it truly thine”. For his glory and honor. And use them to heal Gaza, and Israel, and Jamaica and Haiti.

Good and gracious God we beseech to renew thy church with those whose hearts have been washed and purified by the cleansing blood of the Lamb of God, even Jesus Christ and him crucified. Lord renew thy church that the church may renew the nation(s) where hearts which are evil cause pain and grief and no peace.

In obedience

Shalom

LWJ