Good morning Saints and a pleasant Sabbath to all.
I’ve
been asked to say a few words this morning as a returning member of the Maloney
Seventh Day Adventist Church and one who is again committed to serve as the
Holy Spirit would direct rather than warm the benches or visit occasionally.
Some
of you may know me as the former Local Government Representative for the
Mausica/Maloney Electoral District where I served from 1999 to 2010, but more
than that I was privileged to be a part of the Maloney Seventh Day Adventist
Assembly who were here under the tent twenty six years ago and in fact my wife Jean
and myself were baptised on March 31st 1990 by Pastor Joseph Mc Coon
and for several years thereafter we were actively involved in Church activities
which included working within the Community of Maloney.
Those
of you who are internet savvy can Google both the active Facebook page and the
website of the Family Resource Centre Trinidad and Tobago and read about some
of the activities we successfully undertook through that NGO. Sisters Elsa Belfour
and Althea Gooding played a big role in what we achieved.
But let me get to the
staying away from church part. Some years ago I was going through some health
challenges where I had difficulty walking and on December 30 2011 wrote this
Facebook post: “Haven't been able to attend Church for several weeks now and
definitely missing the Sabbath fellowship. But one must exercise wisdom and
trust in the Lord. It's the Sabbath of the Lord. Blessed be His Holy name.”
This lasted perhaps three
months but it’s a fact that staying away
from church becomes a habit once you begin and as time went on I found other reasons
why I couldn’t attend; but when the Holy Spirit is working in and on you, you
begin to recognize those reasons for what they really are, excuses to justify
your absence.
Hebrews
10: 25 says and I quote: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together ,
as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the Day
approaching”. And so the words “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves” kept
haunting me every Sabbath morning.
It
was only a matter of time before I felt compelled to return and since another of
my health challenges was corrected by surgery last November it seemed like the
appropriate time to do so. Of course my wife who has never stopped going to
church and was visiting other places of worship kept insisting that I return
and my parent’s insistence that I attend church as a child in obedience to the
admonition in Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even
when he is old he will not depart from it” also played a significant role in
that decision.
It
also helped that Jesus in John 16:7 promised us that “Nevertheless I tell you
the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you”; and this made my return easier.
What
I particularly found pleasing when I returned earlier this year was the genuine
greetings from those who knew me, as well as from those who thought I was a
newcomer and went out of their way to make me feel welcome. True Christianity
and evangelism at work within the body of Christ.
I want to encourage any of you and especially the men who may
have been absent as I was to put aside whatever doubts or perceived hurts you
may have, let go of the past, embrace the present, and look towards a future with
the Saints and Jesus in Glory.
2 Corinthians 6:2 says “For he saith, I have heard thee in a
time accepted and in the day of salvation have I helped thee: behold, now is
the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Let us together make our
calling and election sure. Come back home to the Church on the Hill( the pink church on the hill) and let us
work together. Maloney is crying out for our help.
https://www.facebook.com/frctt/
https://www.facebook.com/frctt/
No comments:
Post a Comment