Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are to have the attitude that Christ had. He didn’t come into this world to be

May the Lord empower you to have the mind and attitude of Christ and to look out

“Dear Lord, we thank you that Jesus set the example for us. Help us to not be self-

Romans 12:9-13 Wake Up from Quarantine Fatigue -

In times of distress like these, the psalms show us how to honestly come before God. Psalm 77 also calls us to remember our song in the night and the Lord’s many wonders in the past, which give us strength to face an unknown future.

Today, as we face the uncertainty of COVID-19 and all of the difficulty that comes with it, it is important for us to remember the faithfulness of God.  It might be easy to look at our circumstances and complain and grumble.  But if we take a look at God’s faithfulness to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, we’ll see how He keeps his promises and is always faithful to his people.  Therefore, we can put our trust in Him.

There are many instances of God’s faithfulness in the Old Testament, but I just want to briefly highlight a few of them.  At the beginning of the nation of Israel was a promise that God made to Abram, who would later be renamed Abraham.  God promised included land, descendants, and blessings.  These promises seemed unlikely, because both Abram and his wife were really old already. But God blessed them with a son Isaac, when they were 100 and 90 years old.  This was the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham to make him a great nation. 

Later in Israel’s history, they were enslaved by the Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  God raised up Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery, but Pharaoh wouldn’t let the Israelites go.  So God used Moses to perform ten plagues in order for Pharaoh to let the people go.  Even after the tenth plague, Pharaoh decided to pursue them with horses, chariots, and the rest of his army.  When it seemed like the Israelites were cornered, God split the Red Sea in order to let the Israelites escape and brought it down on the Egyptian army, once again delivering them from their enemies. 

Eventually, after Moses died and Joshua took over as leader of the Israelites, they finally took possession of the land that God had promised Abraham hundreds of years earlier, fulfilling another part of his covenant to them.

We often gloss over these stories as just stories, but they show us that God is faithful to his promises, both to Abraham, Moses, and the people of Israel and also to us today.  We can trust that all things will work out for good for His children.  We can trust that he will give us comfort us in our difficulty.  We can trust that he will give us peace when we pray to guard our hearts and our minds.

I want to leave you with a verse that was written after God had led the people of Israel through all of difficulties that I just mentioned. 

Deuteronomy 7:9 - 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.

So my encouragement for you today, is that whatever difficulties or trials you’re going through, remember that God is always faithful to you, just like he was to the nation of Israel.

As we continue to shelter-in-place, it's important to spend our time wisely, whether we have a lot of time on our hands, or not enough.  We'll take a look at Ephesians 5:15-21 to see how it's necessary to make the best use of the time, because "the days are evil" and consider three principles for spending our time wisely.

During this Coronavirus pandemic, it is easy to have anxiety, fear, and even panic, but we can draw strength and comfort from God’s word. In I Peter 5:6-7, Peter exhorts Christians to cast all our anxiety and cares on God because He cares for us. These verses say:

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

The background of this book is that Christians were being persecuted and being blamed for the fires in Rome that Nero set so that he could build more. This caused the Romans to be very upset with him. To save his political standing, Nero then blamed it on the Christians, and vicious persecution followed all across the Roman Empire.

It was in this situation that Peter taught believers how to live victoriously in the midst of trial, to not lose hope, to not become bitter, to trust God, and to look forward to Christ’s second coming.

Do you have feelings of anxiety, fear, and worry? It might be because you have practical concerns such as finances, employment, health, or just feeling down because your school, work, or regular activities have been disrupted. Or maybe you can’t visit family members who are isolated elsewhere. No matter what your situation, I encourage you to cast all your anxiety and cares on God because He knows all about your situation and He cares for you. God has not changed because of this pandemic. He is still the same loving, caring God, and He is still in control. If we humble ourselves under His mighty hand, He will exalt us in due time. He will carry us through to the other side of this pandemic. I see this trial as a reminder to lean on God and learn to trust Him in a greater way. Tell God all about your worries, fears, troubles, and cares. He can carry them for you. He never intended for us to carry things that are too great for us. So trust Him, lean into Him, and use this time to allow Him to strengthen your faith in Him as you draw strength from and practice His word.

May the Lord bless you and make your faith in Him stronger through this global crisis.

“Dear Lord, we thank you that you ask us to cast our anxiety on you. As we humble ourselves before you and as we give you our burdens, lift us up and fill us with the supernatural peace that only you can give. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Now is the time for the rubber to meet the road. God’s Word says that our lives must reflect our beliefs and commitments. If our walk does not match our talk, then something is wrong (Isaiah 29:13).  It is time to apply Biblical principles to every area of our lives, even the most personal ones. In this message we will look at integrating our faith with Biblical sexual morality.    

We are into week 5 of shelter in place and have at least 3 and half more weeks to go.  Life has certainly changed since coronavirus struck.  Most parts of the world are on lockdown and the world economy is collapsing.  Closer to home, I have lost count of how many times I read about how we should wash our hands and to observe life-saving tips for grocery shopping.  As confirmed cases and deaths keep rising, many of us are gripped with fear and anxiety.  We worry about what might happen to our families and friends, our workplaces and churches, our cities and countries. We fear what might happen next as this virus continues to spread.

In the midst of this uncertain time, I want to share with you Psalm 46, a passage of comfort and reassurance.  In v1-3 of Psalm 46, it says “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” 

What this passage offers is not the usual platitudes: “I’m sure everything will be fine. This virus will go away in a couple of months and things will be back to normal”.  Rather, Psalm 46 exhorts us not to fear because God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  On one hand, the author recognizes the seriousness of the danger and threat but he knows God is with him.  He is his refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

When the Bible says “Do not fear”, it does not mean that God wants us to dismiss the threat and danger without concern or not to take them seriously.  God wants us to take wise evaluation and take appropriate action to deal with threats and dangers.  For example, Proverbs 14:16 says “One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.”  God never wants us to act foolishly, as if nothing could ever harm us.  

Psalm 46 calls us to reflect on who God is and to recognize that He is our refuge and strength when we face serious threats or in the midst of danger.  Covid-19 is a real threat, not only to our health but also to our social and economic well-beings.  But we can let God’s Word reassure us that He is our refuge and strength when we are fearful or anxious.  God is a “very present help in trouble” for us.  We can either let fear taint our hearts and corrupt our decisions or we can let fear turn us to the Lord, remembering His goodness and grace and trusting in His faithfulness and sovereignty.

I encourage you to meditate on Psalm 46 and talk to God about your fear.  Ask God to help you to sort out what is wise caution and what is fear to be surrendered to Him.  And I encourage you to share what you have learned with your family members and friends. 

May the Lord bless you with peace in Christ as you put your trust in Him!