Holland Methodist Church

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Pause and Reflect

GOD WORKS THROUGH US

“For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for His good pleasure”. Phil. 2:13 NRSV

In Paul’s epistle to the Philippians, which he wrote while imprisoned in Rome, he expressed his appreciation to the believers in Philippi for their gift, and he encouraged and strengthened them with his assurance that genuine joy emanates from Jesus Christ alone. He emphasized his conviction that the Christian life is a partnership with God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

In our text, Philippians 2:13, Paul advised the believers that God was constantly working in them to inspire them to will, envisage, dream, and plan for the good things, things that please God. Yes! When we open our innermost being to the promptings of the indwelling Spirit of God, we become vessels, instruments in God’s hands. The Holy Spirit will cause the believer to decide what is best, and what will glorify God. The Holy Spirit will subsequently enable the believer to work towards the realization of that desire.

So, God puts in us a desire to do things that are excellent and praiseworthy, and then enables us to accomplish what we desire.

Friends, think about it: all too often some persons strive to be Christians, or endeavor to be good persons, by their own strength and effort. This often leads to failures, blunders, disappointments, frustrations, and cynicism. It is no wonder that so many of us who embark upon the Christian pathway soon surrender, recant, or backslide. My Dear Brothers and Sisters, we cannot run the Christian race in our own strength. We simply cannot!

Today, I encourage us to pause, realize, acknowledge, and affirm that the Christian life is a partnership with God. God calls us into partnership, a relationship. God is the Initiator and the Source of all that is good, and so followers of “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” — Jesus Christ — must learn to relax in the assurance that our God is at work in and through us. God helps us to want to obey Him, and then gives us the power to do what He wants. Yes! The secret to a changed and exciting life is to submit to God’s control and to let God do His work in and through us.

Let’s face the simple, hard, but profound fact, that God never created us and placed us in this world to struggle all by ourselves. If that thought ever invades your consciousness, you must expunge, extinguish it instantly! God is working His purposes out.

As followers of Jesus, and as mortals in this transient world, we struggle with many issues. Some of us have gone to God in earnest prayer for an end to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have seen, felt, and heard how this deadly virus has contributed to the demise of millions, and how it is causing division and divisiveness in churches, families, educational institutions, and communities. We desire and pray for this terrible affliction to end, and for God to help us overcome it.

We want, and plead with God for, an end to domestic violence, human trafficking, exploitation and inhumane treatment, sexual abuse, and papedophilia. We desire, and are praying for, the elimination of destitution and avarice; for the creation of greater community spirit and neighborliness; for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Where did these noble desires come from? From God. It is God who has implanted these desires in our hearts, and it is God who is working through us to realize these desires.

God is working His purpose out as year succeeds to year. Do you believe, like me, that God answered the prayers of the faithful, and has led scientists to create vaccines, in rapid, record time, to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, protect individuals, facilitate face-to-face learning, and ease the pressure on our frontline workers? God is working though us in amazing ways. Recognizing this, Charles Wesley wrote:

My every weak, though good design,
O’errule, or change, as seems Thee meet;
Jesus, let all my work be Thine!
Thy work, O Lord, is all complete,
And pleasing in Thy Father’s sight;
Thou only hast done all things right.

The wise man therefore said that in all our ways and efforts we must trust and acknowledge God, and God will direct our paths.

Thought: God is working in us, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation.

Prayer: For the willingness to allow God to create the desire in us, and use us to realize that desire.

Bishop, The Rev’d Everald L. Galbraith
President of Conference

Pause and Reflect

GRASPING OPPORTUNITIES

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money” Matthew 25:14-18.

Years ago, I started piano lessons with Teacher, free of cost. I didn’t mind the “Sit up straight”, but I could not appreciate the sound and after-effects of the ruler on my knuckles. I abandoned the opportunity and have lived to regret it.

Have you ever heard the saying: “God will supply us with the opportunity, but it’s up to us to do something with it”? Taking advantage of our God-given opportunities is precisely the message of our text. The focus is on the servant who failed to use his opportunity and ended up losing the little he had.

The context of this Advent parable is the departure and anticipated return of Jesus. In this perspective, Jesus directs the listeners’ attention to the issues of faithfulness, preparedness, and risk, rather than to the obsession with speculating about when Jesus will come again. Waiting and watching for Jesus’ return requires being good stewards of our resources and opportunities. In the parable, two of the servants took advantage of their opportunities; the third did not. When viewed from this perspective, this is a disturbing story about what we Christians do or do not do with our opportunities while we await the manifestation of the Kingdom of God and the second coming of Jesus.

The three servants fall into two categories: faithful and unfaithful. The faithful servants took their opportunities and put them to work for their master. The unfaithful servant refused to use his opportunity. He buried it. Ironically, whereas his master expressed confidence in him, he judged his master to be a harsh man.

It is worth observing that the servant who buried his talent was not a dishonest servant who was out to get whatever he could from his master. There is no hint of fraud, deceit, or scandal. He seemed to have had no plans to embezzle the funds or to swindle his master. Furthermore, there is no indication that he was a philanderer or a prodigal out having a good time. Far from it! Discretion, caution, and deliberateness were his virtues. Unfortunately, his virtues became vices.

Friends, prudence can become impeding self-protectiveness and restraint. If we are not guided by a higher power and principles, that which is our strong point can weaken us. In this case, his inhibition turned to fear, and the servant ended up refusing to grasp his one opportunity.

By doing nothing, he committed a sin and robbed his Lord of service and increase. The Master reprimanded the servant for wasting his opportunity, and took this opportunity away from him, giving it to the one who had made the best use of his opportunity.

Opportunities are all around us: opportunities to witness for Jesus; to lend a helping hand to a child or to someone in need; to assist an individual financially; to say an encouraging word to a disheartened person; to tell of the goodness of God; to see and appreciate the beauty of creation, and many more. Only God knows why some people are given more opportunities than others. So having opportunities is not really the issue, because we all have been awarded something. Therefore, let us ask God to make us alert enough to grasp and use the opportunities given to us.

Thought: What we do not use for the Lord, we are in danger of losing.

Prayer: Providing God, help us to be aware of the opportunities you give to us, and to use them according to your good pleasure and your glory. Amen.

Bishop, The Rev’d Everald L. Galbraith
President of Conference

First Sunday of Advent – Hope

Sisters and Brothers,

It is Advent again. A new liturgical year has begun.

Notwithstanding the changes and challenges experienced through twenty-one months of dealing with COVID-19, time moves on. We are moving toward the fulfilment of God’s plan. The Advent Hope, which we hold as Christians, is ever before us.

Even now, God is calling us to greater things, to do and be better than we ever dreamed, to always keep moving towards the very best. We can move confidently into God’s future as we acknowledge God’s hand guiding, providing, protecting and delivering in the past. Yes, we can recall the good in the past for reminders that stimulate hope. Then we anticipate that God will lovingly take us forward in time. For this we ought to cooperate with God’s Spirit.

Knowing that the Lord walks alongside and with us in the present is truly enabling. We recognise that God who has kept us in times past, who is alongside us in present successes and struggles, is the One whom we know in Jesus Christ- the same yesterday, today and forever. This gives us every reason to willingly put our future in God’s hands.

So then, Advent brings past, present and future in an unending scheme of things that are under God’s control. Recalling past good, and celebrating God’s presence in the now, are the bases for our confidence in what is to come.

So, no matter how challenging the present might be, hope is our watchword. And as a people of hope, we must certainly bring hope into situations that would provoke hopelessness in others. Advent is a good time to act decisively in bringing help, hope and heart action that can change sad hearts into thankful ones. Let us do to, with and for others, as much good as we can to show the love of God. Causes will be mentioned in our gatherings. Let us take them seriously. And be as generous as we can with our time, actions and service supported by our prayers. We can trust God to let the very best issue from such offerings. In God is hope and hope is alive!

This, this is the God we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend whose love is as great as His power
And neither knows measure nor end.
‘Tis Jesus, the first and the last, whose Spirit shall guide is safe home.
We’ll praise Him for all that is past,
And trust Him for all that’s to come.
Joseph Hart (1712-69) VIP#29

Yours in God’s service
Joan Delsol Meade

Connexional Pres. Message

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The grace and peace of the Lord be with you!

Our pilgrimage continues into a new Connexional Year. We are constrained to join with Charles Wesley and joyfully declare:

“His providence hath brought us through
Another various year; (VIP 503).

We celebrate God’s grace and mercy during the past year and renew and reaffirm our hope and confidence that “the best is yet to come” because God is with us.  Friends, through all the changing and unpredictable scenes of life, our loving and compassionate God is with us. Therefore, we cannot allow ourselves to be daunted by all the negative forces around us.  

As believers and citizens of this region we are forced to grapple with the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, hurricanes, earthquake, crime and violence, volcanic eruption, and other natural and manmade disasters.  The sacrifices and dedication of our governments, health care workers, first responders, educators, scientists, and all who are giving yeomen service in the interest of the welfare and well-being of our citizens are indicators that there is love, goodness, tenacity, and hope in our people. The creativity, resilience, determination, and faith of our clergy and laity during these times are evidence that greater is he who is in us than he that is in the world.

The Connexional Theme for the Triennium: “Facing the Task Unfinished: Pressing Forward with Christ”, the development and approval of the MCCA Unified Strategic Direction 2021-2026 are further evidence of the unyielding conviction that God is not finished with the MCCA. Every member of the MCCA ought to remember that it’s our mission to spread scriptural holiness and transform societies. This is an unfinished task of our Church. As disciples, it is our task to make more disciples as we go. We are assured of Jesus’ presence in all circumstances.  By God’s grace a brighter future awaits us as we press forward with Christ.

We celebrate with the four ministers who have now joined the noble rank of the superannuated. It is encouraging that four additional soldiers have joined the front

line as they begin Circuit ministry, and one has joined those who are in training at UTCWI. They need our prayers. Many more soldiers of Christ are required. Join me in encouraging others to respond positively to God’s call to ordained and lay ministry.

We praise God for our Esteemed Patriarch of Caribbean Methodism, Rev’d Dr. Claude Langton Cadogan, who was promoted to glory on August 20, 2021. He was blessed with over 106 years on this earth, and we were fortunate to have journeyed with him. Our faithful God will give him eternal rest. 

Praise God for the commitment and faithfulness of the officers, leaders, preachers, and members. The work of God, especially in these times, is not easy. However, I assure you that God will strengthen us as we continue to give the best of our time, talent, and treasure for the work of the Church. 

In closing, the three new Connexional Officers, the Immediate Past Vice President  and I will need your continued prayers and encouragement as we seek to lead God’s Church, according to God’s will, during these turbulent times.  

Sisters and Brothers, let us “Press Forward with Christ” and be determined that:

Our lips and lives shall gladly show
The wonders of Thy (God’s) love,
While on in Jesu’s steps we go
To see Thy (Christ) face above.
                                                                       Charles Wesley VIP 503

We will not be defeated because God is with us, and God is on our side. Let’s stay on God’s side.

Everald Galbraith
Connexional President
September 1, 2021

Facing the Task Unfinished: Pressing Forward with Christ