Hello everyone! I have a million things to share but I’m going to try to share what’s most important. This pandemic is one of the strangest and most dramatic things I’ve ever seen in my 52 years of living. It is affecting the entire planet! Everyone has some sort of message about how we need to respond right now. The messages come from presidents and CEO’s and celebrities and NPR and pastors and Who leaders and the CDC experts and governors and mayors. We are told to stay calm, don’t panic, practice social distancing, flatten the curve, wash your hands and don’t touch your face. We are being instructed on how to stay connected through technology. Christians seem to be talking a lot about not being fearful.
Many of these messages are good and important but this Sunday I’m going to share what I believe God is saying in all this. Strangely, few seem to be speaking this message. I believe this message is also the absolute best strategy to stop the spread of this deadly virus. Can you guess what this message might be? Tune in to our live stream this Sunday at 11am. If you miss it we are aiming to post the service on our website, social media accounts and in a newsletter by 1pm that day. If you missed last Sunday’s message you can access that on our website.
I receive quite a few resources that come into my email inbox daily and I want to highlight one that I recommend: Gospel Coalition. They have a wonderful website and the articles they send daily are well-written, relevant and very biblically rich. Tim Keller, who many of you love, is one of the founding members of this initiative I believe. You should subscribe. The content is non-denominational and hundreds of writers contribute from all walks of life. I’ll give you one simple example in this link.
Since you are shut in at home probably, and can afford 10 minutes to read, I want to encourage you. It is a known fact that many Christians fall away when pressures come. This was taught by Jesus in the famous parable of the sower. When trouble comes they pull away from devotions and indulge in sin to cope. They get sucked into the whirlwind of cares. I want to urge us not to do that. No matter what, there are certain things we ought to keep doing! I’ll list the ones that come to mind.
Be at peace with God. Stay holy. Fear God. Don’t mess with sin. Walk in repentance. All of these. In other words, guard your heart from any type of sin. Be in right relationship with God. Whatever sins you may have committed in the past, confess to Him and receive His mercy. Pay attention to all that God commands in Scripture and be diligent to do it. This isn’t a time to slack off or be ignorant of what God requires. Let’s stay in harmony with God at all times.
Pray. It’s so important right now to be pouring our souls out to the Father for ourselves, our families and for the world. This is not a time to passively just accept everything going on. This is a crisis of global proportion and it demands urgency in prayers and intercessions (Joel). This is a time to go deep in prayer. In some ways, being shut in can help our life of prayer. Let’s not waste time watching tv and overloading on current news. Sure, a little is okay, but let’s make our time with God first priority.
Steep in the Word. I think it was the author John Stott who admonished Christians to live with the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other. Yes! We should stay informed with what is happening with the pandemic. But this must be balanced with careful reading of the Word. It’s good to read Scripture with questions in mind. I’ve been doing that this week as I steep in Isaiah chapters 24-39. Here are a few questions I’ve been asking:
Why do catastrophes happen?
Why does God send judgment?
What does God promise amidst trouble?
What should we do when the earth gives way?
Serve people. This is the very heart of Christian action. Love one another, serve one another, carry one another's burdens. This is a little challenging to do shut into our houses but not impossible. Reach out to people through a text or a phone call. Have a group chat with some friends using Zoom. FaceTime someone. Consider picking up items at the store for people you know who are vulnerable to the virus and/or can’t get to the store easily. Let’s be creative in connecting with each other.
Give. I’m going to assume most of you reading this understand the command of God to give generously and faithfully to the local church you call home. Most mature Christians give a minimum of 10% of all they earn. Our church is not very big but because so many are spiritually mature our finances are solid. We generate enough each month to cover salaries, operational expenses, missions support and so on. Let’s keep doing this. Some of us may lose our jobs and not be able to give for a while. Others may get less hours and have to give less. Because we aren’t gathering on Sundays we won’t be bringing in the normal random cash offerings from guests. So more than ever, it’s important for those of us who continue to receive a salary, to give faithfully. This is not a time to get fearful and start hoarding. That also applies to toilet paper, by the way.
Trust in the Lord. This encouragement actually connects with the previous one. The reason Christians stop giving when the economy is shaken—as they did during the 2007-08 recession—is fear. They forget God is in control. They start freaking out and taking matters into their own hands. Let’s not do that. Now is a time to put our theology to use. We believe that God holds all things together (Col 1). We believe God orchestrates all things for His good pleasure (Eph 1). We believe that all things work together for good (Rom 8). It is fitting to be concerned about this pandemic and to take precautions seriously. That’s wisdom. We aren’t casual and passive about everything either saying, “Oh well, there’s nothing we can do, God’s will is being done.” No, no, no!!! We should be alarmed and awake and active. But ultimately we trust that our God is God and He is Sovereign over all the earth. He is behind all this for eternal purposes. There’s no place for panic, fear, anxiety and worry. Our God has us under the shelter of His wing. He is shaking the earth and causing her to tremble, but we must remember that He is for us. We are the apple of His eye. Even if He is disciplining us it is for our good (Heb 12) as our Father.
Proclaim Him. Everybody and their grandmother seems to be on their “soapbox” right now proclaiming their message to the world regarding this pandemic. That’s fine, we have freedom of speech in America. But this is not a time for Christians to get quiet. Oh, that we’d be like the men of Issachar who understood the times! Where are the prophets who can discern what is happening and speak it out boldly? I’m afraid many Christians are going to crawl into their self-quarantine bubbles and binge-watch Netflix. I’m worried many Christians are going to fall into dullness, overeating and oversleeping during this critical moment. This is a time to shout from rooftops and from social media platforms and call people to turn to the Lord God. This is a time to herald to the nations that there is no other name under heaven that can help but Jesus. This is a time to strengthen our feeble knees and weak arms (Heb 12) and proclaim the excellencies of King Jesus. People are desperate for answers. People are groaning for solid ground. People are feeling their fragility and mortality. We should always be gentle and respectful, but may we not be silent during this time. Let’s find ways to make this glorious gospel known that has the power to transform people!
I could keep going with other exhortations but hopefully this will give you a nice little kick. The enormous motivation we usually get from gathering on Sundays and in small groups we cannot rely on right now. All the more reason we need to make every effort possible to draw strength and grace from what is available. Let’s dig deep, my friends. May we shine like stars in this dark season for the glory and fame of Jesus.
-Scott