Maranatha Grace Church

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

¹⁹ The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights. (Habakkuk 3)

There lies the secret of a happy life. A life focused on the Sovereign Lord bring happiness. The Sovereign Lord is my strength (v.19)

Brothers and Sisters,

² The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
    the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
    and vents his wrath against his enemies.
³ The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
    the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
    and clouds are the dust of his feet. (Nahum 1)

Currently, the number one conversation topic of  every Haitian is the deteriorating situation of Haiti. “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:18) It seems that the fear of God is non-existent for many of the perpetrator of crimes. Christians should always remind the people around them that the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31). 

Please read Nahum 1 - 3. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6)

Because of the sins of the people, the prophets prophesize God's judgment on them.  But, the underlying goal of  the prophesies were to bring the people back to God.  Micah, like Jonah, like the other prophets knew this truth about God, "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression  of the remnant of his inheritance?  You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy." (Micah 7)

Please read Micah 1 - 7. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁰ When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. ² He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. ³ Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 3 - 4)

Jonah who was living in the time of the law knew a lot more about the grace of God than most Christians know. In his deep anger, Jonah spoke a profound truth about God. He said, "I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity."

We, also, need to be so convinced of these truths about God that even in our anger or in our fear we can blurt out: "I know that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." I love God.

Please read Obadiah 1 - Jonah 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Brothers and Sisters,

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.  Rosh Hashanah 2022 began in the evening of  Sunday, September 25 and ends in the evening of Tuesday, September 27. Today is the third day of Rosh Hashanah. In solidarity with the Jewish nation, we invite you to read aloud the one hundred fifty Psalms of the Bible during these three days. Today we read Psalms 101-150.

Please read Psalms 101-109, 110-119, 120-145, 146-150.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.  Rosh Hashanah 2022 began in the evening of  Sunday, September 25 and ends in the evening of Tuesday, September 27. Today is the second day of Rosh Hashanah. In solidarity with the Jewish nation, we invite you to read aloud the one hundred fifty Psalms of the Bible during these three days. Today we read Psalms 51-100.

Please read Psalms 51-69, 70-81, 82-97,98-100.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Rosh HaShanah is the Jewish New Year.  Rosh Hashanah 2022 began in the evening of  Sunday, September 25 and ends in the evening of Tuesday, September 27. In solidarity with the Jewish nation, we invite you to read aloud the one hundred fifty Psalms of the Bible during these three days.

Please read Psalms 1-20, 21-36, 37-50

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²⁸ “And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
²⁹ Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 3)

This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost and continues to be fulfilled right now. God doesn't force his gift of the Holy Spirit on anyone, but everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Jesus said in Luke 11:13, "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Have you asked?

Please read Joel 1 - 3. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁹ Who is wise? Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.
The ways of the Lord are right;
    the righteous walk in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them. (Hosea 14)

"The ways of the Lord are right" is a fundamental truth for all Christians. Once this truth is fully accepted and internalized by a person, they are free to surrender their will completely to the will of God. There is great joy in walking in the ways of the Lord.

Please read Hosea 12 - 14. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹² Sow righteousness for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
    for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness on you. (Hosea 10)

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7). The Lord is willing to shower his righteousness on you, are you willing to seek him?

Please read Hosea 9 - 11. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁶ For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
    and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6)

Do you treat people better than they deserve from you? Are you quick to forgive when someone wrong you? Do you promote peace and reconciliation because of your love for Christ?

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5:7)

Please read Hosea 5 - 8. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

² So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. ³ Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

⁴ For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. ⁵ Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days. (Hosea 3)

Love is more that strong emotion and feelings, love is a choice; otherwise God could not command the prophet to love that wife. Unfortunately, many Christians think the only solution to infidelity is divorce, however when it comes to human relationship a door to reconciliation must always be left open. God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (James 5)

Please read Hosea 1 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹² Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³ But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” (Daniel 10)

A prayer delayed is not a prayer unanswered. There are so many things that we don't know and we don't understand that the proper course of action is to live humbly before God. Daniel prayer was answered the first time he prayed, but it took twenty-one days for the answer to arrive to him, because "the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted the dispatched angel twenty-one days." Jesus told us to persevere in prayer, this is what we need to do. 

Please read Daniel 9 - 12. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: “May you prosper greatly!

²⁶ “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.  “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.
²⁷ He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” 

²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. (Daniel 6)

Please read Daniel 5 - 8. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. (Daniel 3)

After the trial comes the promotion.

Please read Daniel 1 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!