“Truly the  light is sweet. And it is pleasant  for the eyes to behold the sun.” Ecclesiastes 11:7  (NKJV) One thing that people in the Caribbean know about is sunshine. They don’t need the tourism  ads to remind  them  how brilliant it is  or how gorgeous it looks at mid-afternoon. They know. They have it year round, except on those days  when  a hurricane threatens and the  dark, thick clouds glower above the Caribbean Sea. As a Caribbean person myself,  I know about the sun, including  its penetrating rays that cause perspiration  to be a constant discomfort. Do we in  the island  ever feel glad for the sun?  I must…

“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”  Isaiah 12:3 The video made a strong impression on me.  It was produced by a church volunteer organization  that builds wells for people  living in dry places in Africa. Drought and other  environmental conditions have robbed  the people of the water that is so vital to life.  For years, the organization has been  digging in the brutally dry  soil and building wells—simple structures leading from an underground source.  In the video, when the water was turned on, people came running from every direction bringing containers to fill. One youngster simply stood by the pipe, cupped his hands,  and…

“Therefore,  if anyone is in Christ,  he is a new creation;  old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17  (NKJV) A lot  of you may not  remember pay phones, but once they could be found  just about anywhere,  readily available in an emergency, or just to make a personal call since not many people had a telephone at home before  the nineteen fifties.  I remember going to a writers conference at  a New York City hotel with hundreds of attendees. At a break in the sessions, we would stand in a waiting line at the bank of wall telephones in the lobby and wait…

“O give thanks  to the Lord,  for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”   Psalm 107:1  (NKJV) Another day of national thanksgiving. How shall  we spend it? Surely, we want to spend time with  our family and friends and enjoy the feast of good food that can be so delicious  on this special day.  But let us pause during this season of acknowledged blessings to express  thanks to  God who gave us all things through His Word.  Actually, it is through  the words of Scripture  that we come to know Him. One of the things that the Scriptures  invite us to do is to be thankful. ****“Enter into His…

“In the same way let your  light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify  your Father  in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16 (NIV) With all the bad news we read and hear about in the  nation today, it may begin to seem that there’s a dearth of good deeds, but good deeds do  occur, and opportunities for doing  them  abound.   Christ’s followers are noted for their good works, a large amount of it being done in groups or as part of an organization. In times of disaster, church groups join together and work tirelessly in community efforts to help the hurting victims. The people who do this…

“But you are a chosen people,  a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 1:9 (NIV) Like me, you may have received a letter more than once alerting you that there was a security breach of the electronic  system at your bank or your insurance company. We’re told of the nature of the breach and how our identity may have been affected. We become uneasy learning that our  identity might have been cocmpromised, but we take heart in the company’s reassurance that they are doing everything to…

“But the wisdom  that is from above is first pure,  then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without  partiality and without hypocrisy.”  James 3:17 (NKJV) Our society values knowledge. The same can’t be said about its feelings about wisdom because it seems to think that  wisdom resides in people with academic  degrees or in philosophers or perhaps in television pundits.  But God sees differently. Our focus text is a panorama  of virtues that define wisdom, and it’s evident  that you and I can be wise. Today the kind of wisdom that Christ promotes seems like a tall order, even for us Christians,  but as we…

“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Colossians 2:6 (NKJV) None of us remembers  how or when we  first learned to walk. That is a faraway occurrence for us adults, although our parents kept alive  vivid memories of that day.  Babies crawl before they walk; some crawl for months  and then suddenly one day  begin to take steps, unsteady  at first, but after a while, they get a firm grip on how to navigate terra firma.  After that, it seems nothing can stop their progress. In the apostle Paul’s gospel, “walk” has a wider meaning than mere physical activity. It refers to a way…

“All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded.”  Exodus 35:10 People who work with their handsa—the metal workers, the  carpenters, the bricklayers, the  carvers,  the  stonecutters, and, yes, the seamstresses—grace  the world with  beautiful things that enhance our cultural, religious, and everyday life.  Many times they are overlooked in deference to the highly educated people, but they are the ones who use their gifted hands to make  things that endure. Some of the world’s cathedrals  attract thousands of visitors each year because of  their  masonry, engravings,  carvings, and stonework,  all of which is exquisitely fitted together to make edifices that are…

“When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.” Luke 19:5, 6 (NIV) How do you deal with unexpected visitors to your home, especially at mealtime?  Some of us who prioritize neatness  and hospitality  tend to go into a tizzy at such a time,  trying to be gracious but wishing we had been forewarned. When I was a teenager living on the island, I was impressed with a  lady whose family I was visiting.  I noticed that she set a spread of delicious island food  for…