President’s Message for Website: June 2023

The Christian Community finds itself seeking and adjusting to the constant changes in a post COVID-19 era
primed with political divisiveness and uncertainty. We will fail if we continue to do things as we have
always done. The world around us is changing and even as our faith remains constant, our methods
must adjust to a changing environment. “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit
into it without thinking. Instead fix your attention on God. You will be changed from the inside
out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it” (Romans 12:2-
Message)
There is therefore a dire need for renewal in several areas if the Christian community is to recover its
authenticity as the body of Christ in this present generation. Amid the anger and hate in our political and
social arena, we must renew our relationship with each other through the renewal of love. John 13: 34-
35 records that Jesus said: “Let me give you a new command: Love one another… This is how everyone
will recognize you as my disciples- when they see the love you have for each other.”
The frivolous love we purport is too often polluted by “standing up for some political persuasion or
social ideology. That is when we need to love truth above all and seek a renewal of the Word of God.
Puerile exegesis and lack of contextual understanding of scripture leads some believers into the dark
paths of heresy cultism. “The scripture cannot mean what it never meant.”
Only when we understand the scripture can we worship God the way he wants us to worship him. So
there must be a renewal of true Worship. John 4:21-24: “You worship, guessing in the dark… but the
time is coming when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. It’s
who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the
pursuit of truth.” (John 4:21-24)
As we renew our love for God and for each other, study his Word and seek to worship him, it will
eventually renewal of service to God. We are saved alone but we serve by being part of a community
where we use our gifts for his glory. In discussing gifts and service, Paul noted: (I Cor. 12: 9-10) “Each
person is given something to do that shows who God is, Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits… The
variety is wonderful.” Then we will discover a renewal of faith, a renewal of hope and a renewal of
evangelism.

Blessings!
Dwarka P. Ramphal Ph.D.