Got Your ‘Attention’ Yet? [v255]

MAY 2020

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NOTE: There’s a couple of FANTASTIC ‘analyses’ of the Coronavirus pandemic from a biblical viewpoint at the end of the “RESOURCES” section below.

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The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus has virtually ‘shut down’ the entire world, and is spreading the fear of death and economic collapse worldwide. Has God got your ‘ATTENTION’ yet?

For the past 30 years, I have been in the advertising and marketing industry trying to get the ‘ATTENTION’ of business ‘prospects’ to sell my clients’ products and services to them.

Probably the most ‘attention-getting’ advertisements are the ones that are done for the Super Bowl every year (or at least the most money spent to show them). Here’s 25 that were selected “the best of all time.” [ A few other “best of” are in the “Articles” section below ].

[ Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIfa6880iQQ ].

 

GETTING A ‘PROSPECT’S’ ATTENTION
In those over 30 years, I have essentially been about ‘capturing’ and ‘keeping’ a person’s attention, with the goal of them purchasing a product or ‘signing up’ for a service.

Accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath said in their N.Y. Times best-selling book “Made To Stick,” “The first problem of communication is getting people’s attention.” Time Magazine said the book is “For anyone with good ideas who wants to capture an audience.” So then, what is the best way to capture a person’s attention?

 

How to ‘Capture’ a Person’s Attention
Well, long-term success in advertising depends on winning attention. PR expert Steve Rubell said that, “Attention is the most important currency that anybody can give you. It’s worth more than money, possessions or things.”

Ben Parr, the author of the book, “Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention,” agrees with Rubell and suggests that there are seven ‘triggers’ that call people to attention:

1) Automaticity: Sensory cues like these to direct our attention automatically, like someone firing a gun into the air. (It’s a safety and survival mechanism that helps us react faster than our brains can think).
2) Framing: A classic 1970s study found that if you expose subjects to the same statement repeatedly, they will start to believe it is true
3) Disruption: We pay special attention to anything that violates our expectations. This is because we have an innate need to figure out whether the incident signals a threat or a positive development.
4) Reward: The prospect of capturing these things makes us pay attention, and rewards we can touch, experience, or even just visualize have a greater impact on our attention
5) Reputation: Consumers consistently rate experts as the most trusted spokespeople, more than CEOs or celebrities—the decision-making centers of our brains slow or even shut down while we are receiving advice from an expert
6) Mystery: The Zeigarnik effect, named after the Soviet psychologist who discovered it, says that we dislike uncertainty and will actively try to reduce it by any means possible
7) Acknowledgment: Our need for validation and empathy from others is one of our most vital needs and if you create that feeling for anyone whose attention you’d like to capture, and they will ‘repay’ you

 

However, there are many obstacles in the ‘path’ to gaining someone’s attention, even if you have the best product, service, or information on the planet. Here then are some common ‘obstacles’ to gaining a prospect’s attention:

– The relentless proliferation of available products, services, and information
– Increased and increasingly better competition
– The multiplying methods of distribution
– Buyer sophistication
– Information overload
– The desire for instant gratification

These are all ‘roadblocks’ an advertiser faces in the attention-getting game, so one has to be really good at showing readers why their limited attention should be directed at them.

 

There are a few attention-grabbing strategies that can help the reader see the message the way the advertiser is hoping to portray it: Storytelling, descriptions, personal experiences, and case histories that will put the prospect in the right ‘position’ to understand the message.

Making the message personally interesting or perceptually meaningful can grab attention, bring clarity, and help it ‘slip’ right into the prospect’s awareness.

Emotion is also a great way to make the message personal. Emotion also comes with the ‘triple bonus’ of adding clarity, giving clients a reason to talk about you and your business, and triggering the circuits in the brain that activate behavior and decisions. Emotional messages get attention and are better than logic is at ‘holding on’ to attention.

The thing is, these days, the online advertiser has ONLY 2.7 SECONDS to grab someone’s attention! (It’s 5-7 seconds for a website). Just think of the amount of time it took you to read that last sentence—about two to three seconds. Most prospects will know within those first precious moments whether or not they will continue reading or “click-thru.”

Vision and neuroscience studies show that there are special ‘stimuli’ that capture attention immediately and automatically—even when the reader is not paying attention (subconsciously):

– Salience (Color; Orientation; Size)
– Motion (Animation; GIFs; Blurred photos)
– People (Faces; Bodies; Body Parts)
– Animals (Features)
– Spatial Cues (Eye gaze; Pointing; Arrows; Directional Words)
– High Arousal (Threat)
– Unpredictability (Novelty)
– Self-reliance (Name; Face)
– Goal-relevance (Goal-directed)

 

Now, once the advertiser has managed to capture the reader’s attention, they can’t ‘waste it’. It’s like the first blow of a “One-Two punch” combination. If you don’t land the second blow quickly, you’re not going to get the “KO” (I mean KO in a good way!). The advertiser needs to make sure that a the second ‘punch’—the actual information or message for which you grabbed her attention in the first place—is worthwhile! If it is valuable to the reader, you’ve paved the way for easy entry into their attention, and have ‘primed’ them for additional details. However, if it isn’t valuable, it will be that much more difficult to capture their attention the next time, as the prospect’s brain has already ‘filed’ your information in the “not worth my attention” ‘folder’.

 

Marketers in today’s always-connected, information-rich world face an enormous challenge: A consumer’s brain can hold only so much information before it becomes fatigued. A person’s attention span is unavoidably scarce, and marketers are fighting big odds to reach and engage their audiences.

By definition, a limited resource has value, making it a ‘currency’. This economic concept, called “attention economics,” treats human attention as a scarce commodity because a person only has so much of it. Moreover, the more information that is available, the more expensive attention becomes.

 

Marketers can either ‘purchase’ or ‘earn’ consumer attention. When marketers pay for advertising to appear, they have control over its message, location, and timing. Digital marketing has tons of new ‘channels’ available, like Social Media ads, paid search (SEM), Chatbots, video ‘hosting’ sites (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), and personalized e-mail. (In 2019, 77% of Americans were online every day).

On the other hand, 83% of consumers surveyed by Nielsen report that they trust a friends’ or a family members’ recommendations, and 66% trust consumer opinions posted online. These are forms of ‘earned’ marketing. The message, location, and timing of earned media are not controlled by marketers since it occurs when individuals or media share their thoughts on a brand. (A great example of this was the ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge”). When consumers themselves are sharing information about a brand or organization, the brand has clearly captured their attention.

 

So, to maximize ‘earned’ marketing, there needs to be two key ‘ingredients’: High-quality content, and effective distribution/segmentation.

High-quality content encompasses valuable content with attention-grabbing words. This content provides significant value either in the form of information or entertainment. Effective distribution/segmentation then reaches those customers who are most likely to share the marketing message.

All this is done, of course, to convert attention into purchase behavior. Once marketers have a viewer’s attention, how do they persuade them to buy, download, or otherwise ‘convert’? It is said that effective attention to ad content leads to persuasion. If attention is retained, then there is a high probability the information will be shared by consumers—in effect creating brand ‘ambassadors’ who are excited to share the advertiser’s content within their social circles, generating earned marketing. (Apple is one of the best at this). When this viral “advertising symbiosis” exists, the advertiser’s earned marketing power will increase in a systematic, low-cost way.

Attention-grabbing marketing that inspires emotion and prompts consumers to share can become valuable experiences for the consumer, prompting them to buy!

 

Now let’s take a look at some specific techniques that use knowledge of how the mind works in order to grab people’s attention and hold it long enough to deliver your message:

– Generate that initial spark of interest
– Eyes and attention are powerfully drawn to movement
– Faces of other people instantly draw and hold our attention
– Use vivid colors and bolding, which really pop out to the viewer, for ‘calls-to-action’
– Tapping into the unconscious mind can be a powerful method of gaining instant attention
– By evoking emotions, you open the minds of your audience, and engage their willingness to explore and learn
– Create powerful emotional responses is through the use of imaging and visuals
– Video incorporates as many senses as possible
– People only pay real attention to salient cues, while disregarding substantial amounts of information regarded as trivial. (People simply do not pay attention to information irrelevant to them. Example: It is highly likely that you cannot even recall most of the words on your toothpaste packaging, despite having seen dozens or hundreds of tubes of the stuff.)
– Don’t overload your audience with trivial details! (unimportant ‘background noise’)
– Empathy is a powerful technique which produces positive feelings in your audience
– Clearly explain how your solution addresses the situation and your audience will recognize the value (Demonstrate expertise)
– Communicate that your organization is open to conversation and feedback of all sorts
– People are far more likely to pay attention to ‘relatable’ messages, because they matter more to them.
– Cues are really only the pieces of information that you know your audience will find most important
– Demonstrating contrast is another effective technique for capturing attention (‘Before’ and ‘After’ shots – ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’, ‘Do’s’ versus ‘Don’t’s’, ‘Risky’ versus ‘Safe)
– Helping Your Audience Help Themselves (present them is of real and honest value)
– Make it easy for them to find, and you empower them to get their business done with minimal hassle
– People don’t like is being tricked or manipulated; if you use these techniques to direct people towards the information they do not value, they will fight back against this negative user experience by tuning out your message entirely. There is no faster path to losing your credibility and trust than this.

 

With a passion for the economics of attention, Harvard Business School Associate Professor Thales Teixeira has conducted research and published findings on how to leverage this limited resource. He promotes a scientific rigor to allow for a dependable, repeatable process that helps marketers engage more effectively with their audiences. His studies have centered largely around on-air and online video ads, but his findings are relevant to capturing attention with omnichannel and retention marketing strategies and on consumers’ mobile phones, where attention is even more fragmented.

Teixeira has calculated the cost of attention to have jumped seven- to nine-fold in real terms since 1990, making it the most dramatic business expense increase in the last 25 years. The solution? Teixeira gives some suggestions on how they can capture attention in a cost-effective way. [ The marketing theory of “niche plus heat” details one of the effective ways to capture attention through targeted and personalized campaigns ].

– Avoid Overly Prominent Branding
– Immediately Create A Positive Emotional Feeling, Such As Joy
– Build An Emotional Roller Coaster
– Surprise Consumers, But Don’t Shock Them
– Target Viewers Who Will Share The Message

Marketers can combine the repeatable rigor of a scientific approach with the understanding of human emotion uncovered in Teixeira’s research to create a successfully attention-grabbing earned marketing campaign.

 

How to ‘Keep’ a Person’s Attention
Once you have successfully captured the attention of your users, you need to understand how to hold on to it and prevent them from tuning you out. People have developed both conscious and subconscious mechanisms to literally filter out sensory input they deem of little value. When people find their attention drawn to information they proceed to evaluate and then discard as useless or irrelevant, they notice, and begin to ‘fight back’ through tuning out.

One of the best ways to ensure your promotional messaging is relevant to your audience is by using “contextual advertising” (When you do ‘intrude’ on someone with a commercial message, at the very least you are ensuring it is relevant to the topic they are interested in at the moment.)

 

Be mindful of maximum sustained attention span: the max for commercial/promotional messaging is 60 seconds (Explainer videos, product intros and the like should be kept short and sweet.) The thing is, users’ attention spans are decreasing year by year.

 

Critical information must be presented to people in a way that ‘demands’ attention. However, truly critical information has to be presented to people in a way that breaks the mental ‘model’ they have constructed. Sometimes a marketer must be as ‘in your face’ as possible. (Notifications that pop-up and cover the entire screen, requiring a button press to dismiss is one way this can be accomplished.)

Ultimately, success in holding attention is defined by the QUALITY of your content. If your content is interesting and valuable and provides a positive benefit to your audience, they will spend more time with it. Relevancy is everything!

 

How to ‘Move’ a Person to Action
Customer-centered optimization is all about getting your customer to say, “Whoa, this company gets me. This is exactly how I feel,” or “This is exactly what I’m looking for.” You want to evoke everything that the customer IS feeling right then, and also WANTS to feel.

You can see an emotion-centered approach in ads from successful companies like Nike, LEGO, or Dove. Their ads don’t center their products or feature talking points about how their shoe, toy blocks, or shampoo is better. Their ads focus on the EMOTION of finding your inner self or becoming a better version of yourself.

A great example is the video ad by Dove called “I’m Fine.” In the animated clip, a young black girl stands with one foot on the top of the edge of a pillar and her other foot on top of another pillar. She’s among rows of gray pillars, on which are gray statues of girls three times her size, holding up smartphones and taking selfies. The sky is pink and orange like a sunset. The video caption says, “Are we all imitating imitations.” Dove has found that they need to make the customer the ‘hero’ of the story, briefly talk about their product’s benefits, but focus on making people ‘feel’ their emotions.

Nike doesn’t talk about the ‘specs’ of their shoes or other products, but about finding “your greatness.” Nike shoe ads show an image of the runner customers wants to ‘be’.

LEGO ads don’t talk about building a castle, a car, or a tower. They talk about how the kids who play with LEGOs are more confident and happier. They have a better future because they’re filled with pride and fun. As a parent, you’re like, “Heck yeah, I want that for my kids. Let’s go get some of those LEGOs!”

 

Color psychology is also used to affect our emotions and to grab people’s attention. However, the emotional message of colors varies depending on a person’s gender, age, and culture. As an example, in Western cultures, white is the color most used for a wedding, whereas parts of Asia, white is the color of mourning, and a bride would wear red! A proper understanding of a culture’s color morés is crucial for getting the ‘right’ attention!

 

Now, for a product, maybe like a dress, show someone wearing it in a specific place for a specific reason. You want to show not only the product but the ‘outcome’ of using it. You can show the feeling of those ‘dreams’ coming true at a party or during a moonlight walk.

 

When considering marketing services, the images need to portray those before-and-after feelings. Instead of marketing product features, you have to market yourself and your team’s ability to get the job done. Marketing a sunny disposition and a history of great customer service is a bit tougher than plastering product specifications on a brochure.

Now, don’t despair. People are constantly on the hunt for a good service business. No matter the type of service, customers are looking for reputable and reliable providers. All you need to do is to ‘connect’ with them, and there are plenty of cost-effective ways to make that possible. Here are seven great techniques to market your service business:

– Reel In Customers With Incentives
– Stay in Touch
– Make Use of Social Networking
– Focus on Word-of-Mouth
– Connect With the Community
– Get in the News
– Compete Based on Value, Not Price

Ultimately, the success of your marketing campaigns will be dictated by the quality of your offerings and your ability to communicate that quality to your target market. Not all marketing techniques will work with every target market, so test your methods until you find an effective strategy, and go big on that strategy until it stops working of something even better comes along.

 

Aristotle described the objective of the persuasive argument as moving people to action, not necessarily to be correct about something. He said, “Just being interested in progress.”

“Influence Methods” can help you move people to take action, and then stay committed to that course of action. Here’s a list of things to consider, broken up between short- and long-term actions:

To Achieve Short-term Action:
– Use statistics
– Cite credible sources
– Reference policies, standards or rules
– Establish urgency or scarcity
– Demonstrate pain and gain
– Build alliances
– Use social proof
– Use reciprocity
– Encourage commitments and consistency
– Use contrasts
– Make ideas tangible

To Establish Long-term Commitment:
– Identify shared values and principles
– Connect to higher-level goals
– Build rapport and trust
– Like and be likable
– Request their assistance or advice
– Be influenceable
– Lead by example

 

As I mentioned, a LOT of content gets published every day. So, the marketer should always ask themselves these questions while preparing content:

– Without your audience taking action, will this content have any impact on their lives?
– Does your content drive people on to the next step of the buyer’s journey?
– Does it give rise to the kind of engagement you seek?

One method that plays a ‘key’ role in answering all these questions is the “call-to-action.” In other words, if you want your audience to do something, then you’ve got to ‘stir’ something in them before they’ll follow through.

Now, while calls-to-action are important, as I have mentioned, what happens BEFORE the “call” is MORE important. You need to evoke an emotional response that will make them want the outcome you describe and to act on that want.

There are seven essential content ‘secrets’ that seem to achieve that response:

– Create a halo effect that naturally helps your audience place trust in you

– Tell a story that is so vivid they can see themselves achieving the outcome

– Craft your message so that it is clear and so that people can easily understand it. The message should remove confusion and be clear on what to do next.

– Inspire enough curiosity that will help them realize that your proposed course of action will result in the answers and outcomes they seek.

– Create a realization that they are fighting for a cause that like-minded people also rally around.

– Create momentum through your content, which should naturally spark an emotional response amongst people and the desire to follow through on your call to action.

– Aim for a “Win-Win”

 

Know that emotion is critical to ‘stirring’ your audience and driving strong engagement with your content. Marketing messages need to create a sense of urgency in consumers- minds so they are motivated to act.

An excellent way to get the attention of consumers and make them move to action is to tie your messages to a specific time frame or deadline. Particularly effective is short-term promotions: “For a limited time only;” “While supplies last;” “Available to the first 20 callers;” “One-day sale.”

 

Dr. Tait Martin, a researcher and authority on communications and behavior, suggests that there are “four levers for moving people” to take action:

1. Feeling. “Everything we ask people to do has an emotional component to it,” Martin says. You can’t just reason people into doing something—you have to appeal to their primal, emotional side. This brings to mind the words of the legendary psychologist-marketer Clotaire Rapaille, who said the “reptilian portion” of our brain is ultimately in the driver’s seat in our decision-making.

2. Function. “What’s the purpose of what you’re asking people to do?” he asks. “If it’s not explicit, it’s likely not going to happen.” The audience has to understand why taking a specific action is helpful to their (and your) lives and agendas.

3. Compatibility. Martin asks, “Does what you’re asking for fit into the lives of the people whom you want to take action?” If it doesn’t seem to fit in a logical and organic way into their lives, it again will likely not happen.

4. Cost. “What resources are needed to make things happen?” he asks. He says this can be money, time, ego, reputation, or other forms of capital.

Dr. Martin concludes by saying that, “If your message properly takes these four levers or factors into account, you have a great opportunity to move people in a new direction.”

 

Most of us (in Western culture), see between 4,000 and 10,000 messages per day! These messages include ads as well as tweets, emails, calls, and text messages. We’re constantly being bombarded with content. So, for the marketer, the important thing is to make your ‘story’ and images about the prospect’s desired outcome, not your own!

 

GETTING A ‘PERSON’S’ ATTENTION
It’s been said that ‘bad’ news gets a person’s attention faster and more intensely than ‘good’ news does. Motivational speaker Tony Robbins has said, “People will do more to avoid pain than they will do to gain pleasure.”

Bad ‘News’
“I’ve got some good news and some bad news.” I’ve got to believe that you’ve undoubtedly said that before (or heard it said). Whether you’re a parent, a kid, a teacher, a doctor, or a writer trying to explain something they might have ‘missed’ on, you’ve had to deliver information—some of it positive, some of it not—and may have opened with this ‘two-headed’ approach.

But which piece of information should you introduce first? The good news or the bad news? Well, many of us like to lead with the positive, but it turns out that goes against what psychologists are discovering about human nature. It’s been said that it’s best to lead with the ‘BAD’ NEWS FIRST.

 

To understand why, let’s switch perspectives—from me to you. Suppose you’re on the receiving end of my mixed news, and after my “I’ve got some good news and some bad news” windup, I append a question: “Which would you like to hear first?”

Think about that for a moment. Chances are, you have opted to hear the bad news first. Multiple studies have found that roughly four out of five people “prefer to begin with a loss or negative outcome and ultimately end with a gain or positive outcome, rather than the reverse.” Our preference, whether we’re a patient getting test results or a student awaiting a mid-semester evaluation, is clear: bad news first, good news last.

We know we like to hear the bad news first, but somehow we don’t understand that other people feel the same.

Given a choice, human beings prefer ‘endings’ that elevate. Scientists who study timing have found—repeatedly—what seems to be an innate preference for happy endings. We favor sequences of events that rise rather than fall, that improve rather than deteriorate, that lift us up rather than bring us down. Simply knowing this inclination can help us understand our own behavior and improve our interactions with others.

 

Social psychologists Ed O’Brien and Phoebe Ellsworth wanted to see how endings shaped people’s judgment, so they packed a bag full of candy and headed to a busy area on the University of Michigan campus. They set up a table and told students they were conducting a taste test of some new varieties of Hershey’s Kisses that contained local ingredients. A research assistant—who didn’t know what O’Brien and Ellsworth were measuring—pulled a chocolate out of the bag and asked a participant to taste it then rate it on a 0-to-10 scale.

Then the research assistant said, “Here is your next chocolate,” and gave the participant another candy. Then asked them to rate that one. The experimenter and the participant did the same thing again for three more chocolates, bringing the total number of candies to five. (The tasters never knew how many total chocolates they would be sampling.)

The crux of the experiment came just before people tasted the fifth chocolate. To half of the participants, the research assistant said, “Here is your next chocolate.” But to the other half of the group, she said, “Here is your last chocolate.” The people informed that the fifth chocolate was the last—that the taste test was ending—reported liking that chocolate much more than the people who knew it was simply next. In fact, people informed that a chocolate was last liked it significantly more than any other chocolate they’d sampled! They chose chocolate number five as their favorite chocolate 64% of the time (compared with the “next” group, which chose that chocolate as their favorite 22% of the time). The researchers wrote, “Participants who knew they were eating the final chocolate of a taste test enjoyed it more, preferred it to other chocolates, and rated the overall experience as more enjoyable than other participants who thought they were just eating one more chocolate in a series.”

Screenwriters understand the importance of endings that elevate, but they also know that the very best endings are not always happy in the traditional sense. Often, they’re bittersweet. “Anyone can deliver a happy ending—just give the characters everything they want,” wrote screenplay guru Robert McKee. “An artist gives us the emotion he’s promised… but with a rush of unexpected insight.” That often comes when the main character understands an emotionally complex truth.

John August, who wrote the screenplay for the 2005 version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” suggests this sophisticated form of elevation is the secret to the success of Pixar films such as “Up,” “Cars,” and the “Toy Story” trilogy. He said, “Every Pixar movie has its protagonist achieving the goal he wants, only to realize it is not what the protagonist needs. Typically, this leads the protagonist to let go of what he wants (a house, the Piston Cup, Andy) to get what he needs (a true yet unlikely companion; real friends; a lifetime together with friends).” Such ‘emotional’ complexity turns out to be central to the most elevated endings (Just like advertisements!).

 

Researchers Hal Hershfield and Laura Carstensen teamed up with two other scholars to explore what makes endings meaningful. In one study, they approached Stanford University seniors on graduation day to survey them. To one group, they gave the following instructions: “Keeping in mind your current experiences, please rate the degree to which you feel each of the following emotions,” and then gave them a list of 19 emotions. To the other group, they added one sentence to the instructions to raise the significance that something was ending: “As a graduating senior, today is the last day that you will be a student at Stanford. Keeping that in mind, please rate the degree to which you feel each of the following emotions.”

The researchers found that at the core of meaningful endings is one of the most complex emotions humans experience: poignancy, a mix of happiness and sadness. For graduates and for everyone else, the most powerful endings deliver poignancy because poignancy delivers significance. One reason we overlook poignancy is that it operates by an upside-down form of emotional physics. Adding a small component of sadness to an otherwise happy moment elevates that moment rather than diminishes it. “Poignancy,” the researchers write, “seems to be particular to the experience of endings.”

The best endings don’t leave us happy. Instead, they produce something richer—a rush of unexpected INSIGHT, a fleeting moment of TRANSCENDENCE, the possibility that by discarding what we wanted, we’ve gotten WHAT WE NEED. Endings offer good news and bad news about our behavior and judgment. (I’ll give you the bad news first, of course!). Endings help us encode a lesson learned, but they can sometimes twist our memory and cloud our perception by overweighting final moments and neglecting the totality.

 

But endings can also be a positive force. They can help energize us to reach a goal. They can help us edit the nonessential from our lives. They can help us ‘elevate’—not through the simple pursuit of happiness, but through the more complex power of poignancy. Closings, conclusions, and culminations reveal something essential about the human condition: In the end, WE SEEK MEANING.

 

GLOBAL ‘WAKE-UP’ CALL

Coronavirus Pandemic
The rapid spread of the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) or “COVID-19” has prompted government, business, and civil society to take dramatic action—canceling events large and small, restricting travel, and shutting down major segments of the economy on which nearly all of us depend.

It’s been suggested that we should all take this opportunity to take a look at virtually every aspect of life. Some of the ‘major’ I’ve noticed being mentioned are:

– A global health care system/preparedness
– Development of preventions/vaccines
– Food distribution
– Supply chain strategies
– More ‘resilient’ economies
– More ‘connected’ financial systems
– The world of work
– The world to go ‘digital’
– International cooperation
– New challenges in education

 

Economists estimate the economic fall out from the COVID-19 virus pandemic could approach $10 trillion dollars, or around 1/8 of the GLOBAL GDP—and this might just be the beginning!

Now, even though 99.983% of the people who have been infected with the COVID-19 virus RECOVER from it, there is still mounting fear. The implications of this are frightening to people because it’s taken their life out of their control.

For many people, they have been living in a ‘bubble’ of false comfort and denial—that society had reached the point all civilizations seek: ‘insulation’ from all natural hazards. However, that bubble has been ‘burst’, and we are finding that the diseases we appeared to have banished are storming back into our lives. Antibiotics are ceasing to be effective, and infectious diseases we have comfortably forgotten about again can become deadly threats.

 

But, crisis moments also present the opportunity to create more sophisticated and flexible use of technology, have less polarization between people, and develop a revived appreciation for life’s ‘simple pleasures’.

At this point, no one knows exactly what will come, but here’s what some of the changes today’s “thinkers” expect to happen in our society in the short-term (the coming months) and in the long-term (the coming years).

– Working from home will be the new normal
– Personal interactions become dangerous
– Say goodbye to handshakes, and casual hugs and kisses
– A reinvigorated patriotism
– A decline of polarization
– A return to faith in subject experts
– Less individualism
– Religious worship will look different
– Education will go virtual
– Restaurants become ‘ghost’ kitchens linked with delivery services
– New kinds of reforms
– Regulatory barriers to online tools will fall
– A healthier digital lifestyle
– A boon to virtual reality
– The rise of telemedicine
– A shift in the point-of-care
– Strengthening family care
– Government becomes Big Pharma
– Science to become more important
– Congress will go virtual
– Artificial intelligence as a necessary tool
– Big government will make a comeback
– Government service regains its cachet
– A new civic federalism
– America will become a nation of savers
– The rules we’ve lived by won’t all apply
– Surveillance as an ongoing public health measure
– Cybercrimes will increase (as will security)
– Revived trust in institutions
– Expect a political uprising
– Electronic voting goes mainstream
– More restraints on mass consumption
– Stronger domestic supply chains
– Large cities may become passé
– The migration boom will come to an end
– The inequality gap will widen
– A hunger for diversion
– More sustainable solutions to many things
– Less communal dining—but maybe more cooking
– Family violence will probably intensify
– Your new travel document: The immunity passport
– A revival of parks
– Forced to revise our very conception of “change.” The paradigm will shift.
– The tyranny of habit no more

Now, these are from a variety of people, a variety of viewpoints, and have different degrees of chance that they will happen. But, the COVID-19 pandemic has definitely brought to the fore many things to contemplate in the near future.

However, for most people, this is a FRIGHTENING time, with many cities and even entire countries being ‘LOCKED DOWN’. Since many are done with the “hunny-do” list—completed weeks ago—they are watching the headlines (some obsessively) and wondering, “What is going to happen next?”

The uncertainty surrounding this Coronavirus pandemic is, for some, the hardest thing they’ve even had to handle, and are FEARFUL of how they (or their family) might be impacted, or how bad things might get in general—and that makes it all too easy to ‘CATASTROPHIZE’ it into overwhelming dread and panic.

 

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
Fear is a powerful emotion. Sometimes it is an overpowering feeling that takes control of the mind and makes one desire what is irrational. It sometimes takes control of the will and makes people behave in ways that are inexplicable. Fear can create all kinds of responses: everything from cowardice to heroism, aggression to passivity, reason to confusion, and clear thinking to total panic. Fear can lead a person to have a ‘wholesale’ change in what one thinks, feels, and does.

Now, there are the ‘normal’ fears that all of us have, and most have the capacity to deal with them properly. Most also have the ability to ‘properly’ fear certain things for the sake of self-preservation and the protection of others (i.e. a train coming full speed just about to get to the railroad crossing, which you had thought about actually crossing a moment ago). There are fears that everybody has, like the fear of disease, injury, loss, and death—which are usually handled somewhat adequately by most people.

A phobia, however, is fear greatly ‘exaggerated’. It is fear that disables a person, and is sometimes uncontrollable. It is fear that it totally takes control of a person such that they cannot function normally. Sometimes such a phobia leads to paranoia, panic attacks, and various kinds of deviant and antisocial behavior.

People fear all kinds of things, but rarely are they afraid of what they ‘really’ OUGHT to be afraid of!

 

Uncertainty/Calamity/Trouble
We’re in a time of massive upheaval. There are so many things outside of our control, including how long the pandemic lasts, how other people behave, and what’s going to happen in our communities. That’s a tough thing to accept, and so many of us respond by endlessly searching the Internet for answers and mulling over all the different scenarios that might happen. But, as long as we’re focusing on questions with unknowable answers and circumstances outside of our personal control, this strategy will get us nowhere—aside from feeling drained, anxious, and overwhelmed.

When you feel yourself getting caught up in fear of what might happen, try to shift your focus to things you CAN control. For example, you can’t control how severe the COVID-19 outbreak is in your city or town, but you CAN take steps to reduce your own personal risk (and unknowingly to others) such as washing your hands frequently, staying home, avoiding crowds, social distancing, exercising, getting plenty of sleep, and eating a healthy diet.

Uncertainty is all around us, and never more so than today. The current COVID-19 pandemic has heightened uncertainty over the economy, employment, finances, relationships, and of course, physical and mental health. Yet as human beings, we crave security. We want to feel safe and have a sense of control over our lives and well-being. Fear and uncertainty can leave you feeling stressed, anxious, and powerless over the direction of your life. It can drain you emotionally and trap you in a downward spiral of endless “what-ifs” and worst-case scenarios about what tomorrow may bring.

We’re are different in how much uncertainty we can tolerate in life. Some people seem to enjoy taking risks and living unpredictable lives, while others find the randomness of life deeply distressing. But, all of us have a limit. If you feel overwhelmed by uncertainty and worry, it’s important to know that you’re not alone—many of us are in the same boat at this time. It’s also important to realize that no matter how helpless and hopeless you feel, there are steps you can take to better deal with uncontrollable circumstances, alleviate your anxiety, and face the unknown with more confidence.

 

Disease/Illness
A diagnosis of cancer, heart disease, or the Coronavirus can be devastating. But there are ways to cope with the emotional distress and preserve your quality of life.

A serious health problem can disrupt all aspects of your life, whether it’s a chronic or life-threatening illness, such as cancer, or a major health event such as a stroke, heart attack, or debilitating injury.

Many serious health problems seem to develop unexpectedly, upsetting your life out of the blue. You may feel overwhelmed by waves of difficult emotions—from fear and worry to profound sadness, despair, and grief—or just numb, frozen by shock or the feeling that you’ll never be able to cope. The emotional upheaval can make it difficult to function or think straight, and even lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

But, whatever your diagnosis or emotional response, it’s important to know that you’re not powerless. There are steps you can take to better cope with your new situation, ease the stress and mental anguish that often accompany serious illness, and find a way to navigate this challenging new journey. Don’t make the ‘mental’ stress be more damaging than the disease itself! ‘Plan’ to live, NOT to die!

 

Job Loss/Financial Collapse
Whether you’ve been laid off, downsized, forced to take early retirement, or lost your job because of the Coronavirus, losing your employment is one of life’s most stressful experiences. Aside from the obvious financial anguish it can cause, the stress of losing a job can also take a heavy toll on your mood, relationships, and overall mental and emotional health.

Our jobs are often more than just the way we make a living. They influence how we see ourselves, as well as the way others see us. Even if you didn’t love your job, it likely provided you a social outlet and gave a structure, purpose, and meaning to your life. Suddenly finding yourself out of work can leave you feeling hurt, angry, or depressed. You might be questioning your identity, grieving all that you’ve lost, or feeling anxious about what the future holds.

Depending on the circumstances of your unemployment, you may feel betrayed by your employer, powerless over the direction of your life, or blame yourself for some perceived shortcoming or mistake. The stress and worry can feel overwhelming. But no matter how bleak things seem right now, there IS hope! While the stress of losing a job can seem overwhelming, there are a few things you can do to take control of the situation:

– Allow yourself to grieve
– Involve your family for support
– Reach out to friends and co-workers
– Find other ways to define yourself
– Get moving to relieve stress
– Eat well to keep your focus
– Maintain balance in your life

With time and the right coping techniques, you can come to terms with these setbacks, ease your stress and anxiety, and move on with your working life.

 

In addition to concern about yourself, also spend some of your time giving to others in need. Studies have found that just thinking about doing something for someone else increases the endorphins and helps you to face down your fears.

When we go through the loss of material things, it forces us to look at the reality that material things aren’t really that important. Consider putting more focus than you currently are on the ‘spiritual’ things. The difference between the ‘eternal’ and the ‘temporal’ tend to come into play when all of the ‘material’ things you depend upon on are put in jeopardy and/or taken away.

 

Isolation/Depression
Sheltering in place can disrupt our routines and challenge our ability to tend to responsibilities, such as work and caring for loved ones. Understandably, we may become nervous or uncomfortable when sheltering in place.

Understanding typical reactions to sheltering in place helps us recognize them and better cope:

– Anxiety, particularly when separated from loved ones
– Uncertainty regarding how long we will need to shelter in place
– Concerns for the physical safety of ourselves and others
– Confusion or frustration regarding questions left unanswered by public officials or the media
– Guilt about not being able to fulfill responsibilities, such as work, parenting or caring for dependents
– Feelings of boredom or isolation
– Thoughts of blame, worry or fear
– Concerns about meeting obligations and lost income
– Problems making decisions or staying focused on topics
– Changes in appetite or sleep patterns

 

Now, feeling alone and being lonely are two totally different things. Triggered by the absence of companionship, ‘loneliness’ causes a level of isolation that can damage your mental health and well-being.

So, to alleviate some of the loneliness, consider blocking out some time to work on ‘creative’ projects that get to focused off thinking about your problems. When one spends too much time in isolation, our minds can sometimes wander down a ‘rabbit hole’ of negative thinking. Don’t fall into this trap. Reaching out is crucial.

So, make sure to ‘connect’ to people however you can—whether by e-mail, texting, phone calls, ’Skyping’ (FaceTime) with a single location, or ‘Zooming’ with multiple locations (possibly all over the world!).

In addition to that, do activities you enjoy—eat a good meal, read, listen to music, take a bath, do a puzzle, or play a game with the family. Be creative!

Also monitor your physical health needs. Eat, rest, take regularly prescribed medications, and avoid alcohol or substance use.

Now, it’s smart to remain informed, however, take care not to become overexposed, listening to news reports 24/7. Excessive or repeated exposure to media can increase feelings of stress, uncertainty and fear, ESPECIALLY in children!

Maintain a sense of hope and positive thinking. Consider keeping a journal where you write down things you are grateful for or that are going well. Focus on positive actions you can take right away. Hold a ‘picture’ in your mind of the best possible outcome. Focusing on what you CAN DO will help you cope with this new reality.

 

Because of the “sheltering in place” edicts to “flatten the curve” of the Coronavirus, some people—mostly the elderly—react to the isolation with heightened anxiety and/or descend into despair or depression.

Depression is a serious but treatable disorder that affects millions of people, from young to old and from all walks of life. It gets in the way of everyday life, causing tremendous pain, hurting not just those suffering from it but also impacting everyone around them.

A depressed person may be experiencing any number of difficult emotions, including helplessness, frustration, anger, fear, guilt, and sadness. For a ‘normal’ person, these feelings can be dealt with. However, for a clinically depressed it is not, and can become overwhelming very quickly—sometimes even leading to attempting suicide.

Three months into the Coronavirus pandemic, medical experts are saying that the country is on the verge of another health crisis, with daily doses of death, isolation, and fear of the future generating widespread psychological trauma—and the U.S. is ill-prepared to respond to it, with some clinics already on the brink of collapse. Federal agencies and experts warn that a historic wave of MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS is approaching: depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide.

Because of the increased isolation of the “sheltering in place” edicts, the elderly are most affected because this is ‘pilling on’ to their current ‘suffering’ and the combination has become unbearable for them. They attempt suicide only because they don’t see any other option to stop the ‘pain’.

So, what drives individuals to take their own lives? Well, blinded by feelings of self-loathing, hopelessness, and isolation, a suicidal person can’t see any way of finding relief except through death. But despite their desire for the pain to stop, most suicidal people are deeply conflicted about ending their own lives. They wish there was an alternative to suicide, but they just can’t see one.

[ NOTE: If you are feeling very DEPRESSED, visit SAMHSA’s website (https://www.samhsa.gov/) or call their toll free 24-hour Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 ].

[ NOTE: If you’re thinking about SUICIDE, please consider reading “Are You Feeling Suicidal?” (https://www.helpguide.org/articles/suicide-prevention/are-you-feeling-suicidal.htm). However, if you are totally overwhelmed or feel like you want to harm yourself or others, call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) RIGHT AWAY! (To find a suicide helpline outside the U.S., visit iasp-pain.org or Suicide.org) ].

 

FEAR OF DEATH
Why do we fear death? It’s something we know that, sooner or later, we will all have to face, so why are some of us more afraid of it than others? What is it, exactly, that scares us about death?

Woody Allen famously quipped, “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

Humans must constantly deal with an internal conflict: the basic desire to live against the certainty of death. It emphasizes one’s self-consciousness drive to achieve personal goals, but motivated by the awareness of mortality.

There are many rational things to worry about when we contemplate our own death—perhaps foremost among those is the concern about how our surviving loved ones will cope emotionally and materially without us. But many of our worst fears about death are less realistic and based more on how we imagine death to be.

In modern Western society, most people have little direct experience of death, and we don’t like to talk about the subject. Our society is organized in such a way that the dead are quickly removed from us, and those traditions that do encourage viewing the dead do so only after careful cosmetic preparation by specialized morticians, often resulting in the dead looking more like an elegant wax model replica of the once-living person. Attendance of children at funerals and cemeteries is generally not encouraged, adding to the sense of dreaded unfamiliarity with death with which many of us grow up with.

For most people, the terror of the actual process of dying probably involves a fear of physical pain. It also probably involves fearful incomprehension of the seemingly mysterious process by which the consciousness that is our “self” is extinguished, or fades away.

Physical pain arises from damage to our living tissue. Since death is the ultimate destruction of our living tissues, we naturally assume that death must be the ultimately painful experience. Since nobody who has actually died can tell us what it felt like physically, we naturally have a terror of dying.

The Greek philosopher Epicurus, wrote: “Why fear death when we can never perceive it?” The Roman Epicurean philosopher Lucretius later pointed out that our state of non-existence for the eternity of time after our death is the same state as for the eternity of time before our birth. Hmmm.

 

Psychologists posit that people with higher self-esteem are better at managing the fear of death, while people with lower self-esteem are more easily intimidated by death-related situations. Others suggest a theory of “separation” highlights an early trauma reinforced by an awareness of mortality later in life. Even others say that it can actually have a positive effect, causing individuals to appreciate the ‘insignificant’ things in life a lot more, or become more goal-oriented.

Drs. Patricia Furer and John Walker, who summarized their findings in an article published in the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, advise a six-step “cognitive-behavioral intervention” in the case of individuals dealing with death anxiety.

– Exposure to fears
– Reducing reassurance-seeking behavior
– Reviewing personal experiences
– Switching focus to enjoying life
– Developing a healthy lifestyle
– Preventing anxiety relapse

Identifying your specific death-related fears could help you to tackle them pragmatically. Here are seven ‘popular’ reasons for the fear of death:

– I could no longer have any experiences
– I am uncertain as to what might happen to me if there is a life after death
– I am afraid of what might happen to my body after death
– I could no longer care for my dependents
– My death would cause grief to my relatives and friends
– All my plans and projects would come to an end
– The process of dying might be painful

As people reach their 50s, it’s common to start worrying about their mortality. Many begin to think about the fact that they may have fewer years ahead of them than behind. Some may even come to fear death, even if they are physically fine.

So, here are a few tips, based on the advice of people over 50, who have conquered their fear of dying:

– Learn to Accept That Death is Natural: Find comfort in the fact that you are not the only one who will experience this. Everyone does!

– Choose to be Grateful: Life is a precious ‘gift’, so accept death as the final giving of yourself.

– Review Your Contributions: Be glad that you were able to guide and affect others’ lives in the ways that you did

– Take Control of Your Life: The fear of death is often the fear of not living on your own terms. The more you embrace life, the less frightened you will feel about giving it up when the time comes!

– Focus on Living Well
Simple things that you can do to live a healthier and more positive life. Explore your passions. Write a “bucket list” with all of the amazing things that you want to do before you die. If you are busy living, you won’t have time to worry about dying.

– Plan for Your Passing
Many people feel a sense of relief when they get their affairs in order—even if they statistically have many decades of healthy life ahead of them. They know that, should the unexpected happen, their wishes will be clear and their legacy secure.

– Settle in Your Mind Who God Is: Consider reading the Bible to help you tackle the age-old question of is there a Heaven and a Hell, and what you need to do to get to Heaven.

Those who have conquered their fear of death say it’s simple: “Just focus on living authentically, passionately, and well. A fear of death cannot take root in the heart of a person who is truly satisfied with their life.”

 

Mortician Caitlin Doughty, for instance, founded “The Order of the Good Death,” which is a collective of professionals from all walks of life who are dedicated to informing the public about death-related practices, and encouraging people to “stare down [their] death fears.”

Doughty suggests picking up to two reasons that we strongly identify with as our personal rationale for fearing death, and taking pragmatic steps to address them.

As a society, we are so keen to avoid thinking about the end of life that we have started obsessing over ways of artificially preserving life with cryonics and “augmented eternity” (which is a project that aims to create “digital heirs” able to reason and respond in a similar way to their human “originals”).

There is no clear-cut way of dealing with the thought of our own or others’ mortality, and yet we must do it if we are to lead productive lives. What are your thoughts? Is death best confronted with your eyes wide open?

 

Calming/Overcoming the Fear of Death
Awareness of our mortality can be a profound challenge to our self-image of being an all-important, indispensable, independent entity in the universe, or it can fill us with a sense of the preciousness and fragility of this opportunity—understanding the real value of a life. It can inspire us and motivate us to live life to the fullest, with a sense that we should not waste our days and to experience, to learn, to grow, to connect, and to contribute to those around us and those who will follow us.

Psychiatrist Irvin Yalom put it, in “Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death,” “The way to value life, the way to feel compassion for others, the way to love anything with greatest depth is to be aware that these experiences are destined to be lost.”

Our mortality and finitude remind us of the urgency of living here and now, with full engagement in life and with a dedication to those around us. When death comes for us, let it find us among the ones ‘really’ LIVING!

[ FYI: View this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post for a smattering of “last words” of some famous people: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/ones-last-words-v232/ ].

 

THE ‘VACCINE’
At this time, every virologist in the world worth their ‘salt’ is working day and night to try to develop a ‘PHYSICAL’ vaccine for the Coronavirus. (As of the end of April 2020, the World Health Organization says that there are three vaccine candidates in clinical testing, and 67 potential vaccines in the preclinical phase. Experts say a vaccine for the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, could take at least a year to a year and a half to be proven safe, effective, and made widely available.)

However, there is ONLY ONE ‘SPIRITUAL’ vaccine available for the world, and that would be JESUS!

[ For more details about why Jesus is the ‘only way’ to God and Heaven, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-only-way-v253/ ].

 

Jesus IS THE ‘Cure’
The ‘bad’ news is that you are a sinner deserving of death. The ‘good’ news is that Jesus came to earth to DELIVER YOU from the fear of death! (2 Corinthians 1:10a).

The Bible also says the sting of death is sin. It’s because of sin that we dread death. You may have never thought of it this way, but deep in our psyche is this horror of stepping into eternity unprepared to meet God. Most people suppress these thoughts, or they never manifest until they’re faced with a life-threatening situation.

The Bible says that, “through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” [ Hebrews 2:14c-15 ].

In other words, the death of Jesus on the Cross was the ‘propitiation’ for all our sins. He died ‘in our place’ so that we never have to experience ‘real’ death. Those who look in faith to Him and what he did by way of the Cross and Resurrection, are ‘delivered’ from death’s power to destroy them. Jesus said to those who believe in Him, “Because I live, you shall also live” [ John 14:19c ].

So, the believer, by faith, understands that Jesus took the punishment for his sins on the Cross. His sins have been dealt with, paid for, atoned for, forgiven, and forgotten. So for the believer, death is but a home-going to Heaven without any fear of the Judgment of God! (which non-believers WILL Face!).

There’s a story that tells of a pastor, of a small church, that inadvertently bumped his hand against a window in the church building. On the other side of the windowpane was a large nest of nasty, aggressive wasps. Immediately dozens of those menacing pests swarmed the window to try to get at him, but not a one could touch him. Why? Well, because between him and them was the windowpane. They could still buzz at him and scare the wits out of him (and make me ‘hit the dirt’, since I am allergic to wasps!), but they would never be able to sting and harm him.

Jesus’ atonement and Resurrection is ‘between’ the believer and the harm of death. That’s why the Scriptures cry out, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?… But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55, 57). [ A verse that I want proclaimed at my funeral! ].

E. H. Hamilton wrote a beautiful poem about death for the believer:

“Afraid? Of what?
To feel the spirit’s glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace?
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid – of that?
Afraid? Of what?

Afraid to see the Savior’s face?
To hear his welcome, and to trace
The glory gleam from wounds of grace?
Afraid – of that?”

 

Now, nowhere in the Bible does it encourage us to view death itself as a good thing—it’s NOT! It’s HORRIBLE! Anyone who has watched loved ones die can attest to its hideousness. Death is our mortal ‘enemy’ (1 Corinthians 15:26).

However, for the believer, death is gain! (Philippians 1:21). Because in that most horrible, most evil moment in ALL of time—he death of the Son of God Himself— Jesus conquered our great enemy when He rose from the dead (Romans 4:25; Revelation 1:18), and will ultimately destroy death forever! (1 Corinthians 15:26).

In fact, so powerful, so complete is Jesus’ defeat of death, that He speaks of it as if Christians no longer even experience it: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” [ John 11:25-26 ].

It isn’t death itself that is precious or a ‘gain’ for the believer, it’s THE Resurrection and the Life, Who has removed death’s sting and swallowed it up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-55), in whom we are receiving an eternal inheritance beyond our wildest dreams (Ephesians 1:11), and in whose glorious presence we will experience unsurpassed joy forevermore (Psalm 16:11). Jesus is our GREAT GAIN in death!

 

The Coronavirus has ‘stoked’ many peoples’ fear of death—and the Bible says that it should also stoke the unbeliever’s fear of the Judgment of God for their sins!

BUT, there is a choice before all of us. God invites us to ‘receive’ His Son Jesus as their Savior and then be free of fear, free of the fear of death, and free of the fear of Judgment.

The believer can confidently say they are ‘fearless’ in regard to any Coronavirus fear—or any other future ‘pandemic’. There is nothing they can do to the believer that Jesus won’t ‘overrule’ and ‘overturn’ on the Last Day.

 

That is What ‘Easter’ is All About!
On “Good Friday” Jesus’ death on the Cross seems to be really ‘bad’ news, and THEN He was then buried in a tomb and a very large stone was placed in front of the opening (with a Roman guard also keeping watch in front of it). BUT, the ‘good’ news came on that Sunday morning when Jesus ROSE from the dead!

The meaning of Easter is that the Son of God paid the ‘price’ for all our sins and rose again to reconcile us to God (Romans 4:25) and DEFEAT DEATH!

Easter means that our greatest ‘enemy’, death, has been conquered, that all of our sins have been forgiven, and we have been ‘made right’ with God.

Easter means that the same great power that raised Jesus from the dead now works in us who believe (Ephesians 1:19).

Easter means the poor in spirit will possess the Kingdom of Heaven, the mourners will be comforted, the meek will inherit the earth, the seekers of righteousness will be filled, the merciful will find mercy, and the pure in heart will see God (“The Beatitudes” – Matthew 5:3-8).

Easter is good ‘news’ for the poor, freedom for the ‘prisoners’, and recovery of sight for the blind. [ For more details: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/are-you-blind-v252/ ].

Easter means that the Gospel—God’s “Emancipation Proclamation”—should be heralded far and wide, and ‘offered’ to all humanity.

Easter means that ‘Love’ is stronger than death, and that ‘Love’ gave His only Son (John 3:16) for His children (Romans 8:34) to be able to be with Him for eternity in Heaven.

Easter means there is hope for ALL of us, after all. “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).

 

“FEAR NOT”
The most oft-repeated command in the Scripture is “fear not” (more than 300 times in most English-language translations of the Bible), and for those who are followers of Jesus, they can TAKE COMFORT in one critical, all-important truth. They are ‘children’ of God, “born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” [ John 1:13 ]. That means that they ‘belong’ to God, and have been ‘given’ eternal life (John 3:16; John 5:24). Because of this, believers DON’T NEED TO WORRY! We are SAFE ‘in’ Him for eternity!

 

The Bible tells us plainly, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell” [ Matthew 10:28 ]. That is, the only ‘proper’ fear the believer should have is a healthy, respectful, loving ‘fear’ (awe) of the magnificent power of God. This leads to what the believer will experience as God’s precious children: a true and unrelenting SENSE OF PEACE. (The word “peace” also appears more than 400 times throughout the Bible.)

Jesus wanted to allay His disciples’ fears, so He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” [ John 14:27 ].

 

The thing is, this promise of ‘comfort’ has been given by God for a very long time—all throughout the Old Testament. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” [ Isaiah 41:10 ]. Here, God reassures His people that not only will He help them through their trials with Babylon, and that promise is good for us today—in troubles, persecution, and even for the Coronavirus.

 

God also reassured a frightened Joshua that, even though the situation he was in appeared dire, God will fight Israel’s battles with and for them as they enter the Promised Land. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” [ Joshua 1:9 ]. Today, we still can cling to this verse knowing that God offers the same promise to His children when it comes to things like the Coronavirus. Don’t be scared. He is WITH YOU!

The ever ‘confident’ King David also had time when he had to ‘surrender’ to God’s utter authority and ability to protect him. “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” [ Psalm 27:1 ]. It’s a powerful verse to hold in our hearts when we’re tempted to worry about the Coronavirus or any other trouble we face. We can have total peace, for God is IN CONTROL.

God calls His people to a “Kingdom mentality,” in which we focus our faith and hope on Him, and TOTALLY TRUST His ability to handle all our needs. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” [ Matthew 6:34 ]. Jesus tells us that simple creatures like birds do not worry about the future, and God takes perfectly good care of them. Why should we, His ‘children’, expect anything less? We are loved by God, and we don’t need to worry about what will happen to our bodies, our family, the economy, or any other earthly concerns. We just need to TRUST God and be at peace that our daily concerns are ‘covered’.

You see, being anxious about these things—that’s a mark of the ‘pagans’. The Gentiles are worried about these things, because they don’t have a heavenly Father who cares for them, who knows their needs, and who is sovereign to meet every one of them. But believers do! Worry is UNBELIEF!

The Apostle Paul then assures believers of the ‘proper’ response to any situation is to pray to God for help. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 4:6-7 ]. He says that when we give God our fears, we WILL receive an abiding peace in return!

Now, notice what the text does not say. Paul does not say, “In everything let your requests be made known to God, and God will grant all your requests, summarily removing you from every anxiety-producing situation in your life.” No! He says as you humbly and faithfully call out to God for rescue, trusting Him in His sovereignty to bring to you what is best, even in the midst of your trying circumstances, THEN the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds from sinful anxiety. Got it? This is NOT a promise that God will change our circumstances. This is a promise that God will CHANGE US, will give us grace to endure, and will keep us, even in the midst of trouble! God’s promise is NOT to eliminate your trials, but to teach the believer to trust Him ‘in’ the trial and experience the peace that He promises in the midst of the trial.

The thing is, the Apostle Paul wrote this while being chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day for much of the previous two years, awaiting his trial before a psychopath who would decide whether or not to execute him!

 

As Christians, we know God works in all things, good and bad: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” [ Romans 8:28 ]. So then for us, His ‘children’, He can transform things meant for evil and chaos (even the Coronavirus!) into good, furthering His heavenly Kingdom here on earth!

The Apostle John tells us that when Jesus was preparing His disciples for His leaving this world and reunite with the Father, He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” [ John 16:33 ]. The disciples didn’t really know exactly what this meant at this time, but they ‘cherished’ these words after Jesus’ ascension into Heaven.

Whatever it be, a financial downturn, famine, natural disasters, or a disease like the Coronavirus, the believer is ‘wrapped’ in the safe, protective, and loving ‘arms’ of Jesus! The world might be full of trouble, and it is ‘affecting’ us, but Jesus has ‘OVERCOME’ the world, and through Him, so have we! You don’t need to worry about your future, it’s in God’s ‘hands’!

 

Another thing Jesus ‘insinuated’ in His instructions to His disciples was that you will have enough trouble today without ‘PROJECTING’ trouble that may never come in the future! If you knew ALL of what was going on in just ‘your’ neighborhood—that little ‘postage stamp’ that you live in—you probably would be a bit to a lot fearful. In addition to that, because of 24/7 media, we literally ‘carry’ the trouble of everyone on the planet these days (depending on how much media you ‘ingest’). This has ‘overexposed’ us so that the burdens become utterly overwhelming and debilitating, and in some cases, unbearable, and even clinically depressing (as I discussed previously).

If you knew the future, it would rob you of your present joy, because you would live in constant fear. You don’t want to know you’re going to get cancer in three years. You don’t want to know that your child is going to get killed in an auto crash. You don’t want to know that your wife is going to leave you next year. You don’t want to know that you are going down in a plane crash tomorrow. You don’t want to know that. You wouldn’t be able to live with that now. It would steal ALL your joy!

By God’s mercy, He only lets you know what you need to know, and what you need to know is this: God is ‘marked’ by compassion, kindness, grace, mercy, forgiveness, fatherly love and care for His own ‘children’ (Psalm 103). THAT’S what you need to know! God says, “Trust Me, I will work all things together for good to those that love Me.”

 

Through our fears, God wants to teach us to trust Him. Most lessons are much more enhanced and much more intense and much more effective when we’re in ‘trouble’. We don’t learn a lot when everything’s going well. We start listening when we’re at the end of our ability to control something, when life’s getting away from us, when forces beyond us have taken over (the Coronavirus). Only then do we become a little more eager to listen. Has God GOT YOUR ‘ATTENTION’ yet?!!!

 

Some of you think that all of what is said here is ‘impossible’ for you, and some of you have begun to despair—even more than you already are. Well, you are correct, it is impossible ‘outside’ of a ‘saving’ relationship with Jesus! Apart from a vital ‘union’ with Jesus—entered into by grace through faith alone—none of this is possible! Jesus Himself said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” [ John 15:5 ].

BUT, in a ‘union’ with Jesus, this kind of peace IS ATTAINABLE! Jesus says to all, with His outstretched ‘arms’, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” [ Mathew 11:28 ]. He also warns to “Enter through the narrow gate” [ Mathew 7:13 ], since He is “the way, and the truth, and the life”—the ONLY ‘way’ to get to Heaven!

So, if you are an unbeliever, this just might an opportune time to crystalize that ‘union’ with Jesus by sincerely REPENTING of your sins, genuinely BELIEVING that Jesus is your ’substitute’ for the penalty for those sins, and then you will be FORGIVEN of all of your sins, have a RECONCILED relationship with God the Father, and will be ‘given’ ETERNAL LIFE in Heaven with Him!

[ For more details on “entering through the narrow gate,” read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/two-choices-one-way-v254/ ].

 

I think author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar summarized it well when he said, “Fear is nothing more than ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’. We have two choices; forget everything and run or face everything and rise.”

Pastor and author John MacArthur writes, “People become worried, anxious, and fearful because they do not trust in God’s wisdom, power, or goodness… Thankful prayer brings release from fear and worry, because it affirms God’s sovereign control over every circumstance, and that His purpose is the believer’s good.”

Pastor and author Mike Riccardi offers this prayer about expressing a confident trust in God to provide:

“Lord, I find myself in a set of circumstances that I just cannot navigate on my own. I am entirely insufficient within myself to do a thing about them. But in the depth of my need, I call out to You who are perfectly sufficient in precisely the ways in which I am insufficient. Where I am weak, You are strong. Where I am helpless, You are powerful. And because You are the only One sufficient to supply my need, I come to You and ask for Your grace and peace.”

 

English preacher Charles Spurgeon models this kind of thankful prayer that is the antidote to anxiety: “‘Lord, I am poor. Let me bless You for my poverty and then, O Lord, will You not supply all my needs?’ That is the way to pray.” Spurgeon continues, “‘Lord, I am ill. I bless You for this affliction, for I am sure that it means some good thing to me. Now be pleased to heal me, I beseech You!’ ‘Lord, I am in a great trouble, but I praise You for the trouble, for I know that it contains a blessing though the envelope is black-edged! Lord, help me through my trouble!”

Protestant Reformer Martin Luther put it succinctly when he said, “Pray, and let God worry.”

 

Jesus ‘Overcame’ the Fear of Death!
As I mentioned when discussing what Easter is all about, Jesus, once and for all, ‘DEFEATED’ DEATH, so the believer doesn’t have to ‘fear’ it any longer! The even better news is that, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” [ Revelation 21:4 ].

This ‘destruction’ of our last enemy, death, will come in God’s ordained time. Until then, He watches over His people, holding them close. He is ‘near’ to them right now. He knows their sorrows. One day there will be a renewal of the entire created order, a new heaven and earth will be brought forth/transformed by God, and this new place will know NO SIN!

God will reverse the curse of sin, which has spread over everything in Creation—bringing with it disease, destruction, and suffering. But since Jesus has overcome sin and death, He has secured a place for the believer in the ‘refuge’ of God Almighty. He will wipe away every tear on that ‘Day’ and suffering and sickness will be no more!

When all seems dark and lost, when we begin to lose hope and tremble beneath our fear, we can have peace in the light and hope of Jesus. One day, suffering will end, and God will wipe away our tears. We are safe with Him. Have courage and take comfort in these promises from God. He is far more powerful than any virus, and the believer ‘belongs’ to Him.

 

For the believer, they can KNOW FOR SURE that God has final and decisive control over how and when they die (even though Satan has some ‘secondary’ role to play). They are ‘immortal’ until God decides to bring them ‘home’—until God’s work for them is done!

So, as a believer, you’re NOT at the mercy of Satan. You are NOT at the mercy of nature (like the Coronavirus). You are NOT at the mercy of man’s carelessness or evil. You are rock-solid SECURE in God’s omnipotent ‘hands’ and you will not die except at His decision!

Jesus died to secure God working all things for good (Romans 8:28), graciously giving us all things (Romans 8:32), and make us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” [ Romans 8:38-39 ].

So, the believer can say to ‘death’, “Go ahead and make my day!” If you let me live, I will honor Jesus by my life. If you take away my life, I get to personally experience my Savior in Heaven—how glorious that would be! The Apostle Paul said, “For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” [ Philippians 1:23-24 ]. The believer CAN’T LOSE!

 

The Folly of Worry
‘Planning’ for tomorrow is good, but ‘worrying’ about it is sin—because your anxiety about the future is really ‘doubt’ in God’s sovereign control!

Worry also ‘paralyzes’ a person. It ‘hijacks’ their focus and forces them mentally into tomorrow, occupying their mind with doubts about details they cannot control. God says to apply today’s resources to today’s needs or you will lose today’s joy.

Lack of joy is also a sin for God’s people. “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” [ Psalm 118:24 ]. Today is all you really have, for God permits none of us to live ‘in’ tomorrow until it turns into today. Reformed Christian author Jay Adams, who developed “Nouthetic Counseling,” wrote this about those who struggle with anxiety:

“Tomorrow always belongs to God… Whenever we try to take hold of it, we try to steal what belongs to Him. Sinners want what is not theirs to have, and thereby destroy themselves. God has given us only today. He strongly forbids us to become concerned about what might happen… Worriers not only want what has been forbidden, but also fail to use what has been given to them.” Realize that God gives you strength one day at a time (your “daily bread” – Mathew 6:1). He gives you what you need, when you need it. He doesn’t encumber you with excess ‘baggage’.

 

Believers are PROMISED eternal life in Heaven with God after they finish what God made them for! So, they should not be worried! They need to enjoy each day as best they can, and know that the trouble of this life will be ‘SUPERSEDED’ by the “glory to come” (Romans 8:18).

 

Addressing a Lack of Faith
It is a ‘SIN’ to fear COVID-19 if you are Christian! Whether it is plague, war, persecution, or loss of property—the trials of this life make as more like Jesus (Romans 8:29), and ‘fitting us’ us for the Heavenly realm.

The Apostle Paul exhorts believers to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). This is a contrast between truth and perception—what we know and ‘believe’ to be true, and what we ‘perceive’ to be true. The main reason why so many Christians struggle with a lack of faith is that they follow their ‘perceptions’ of what is true (what’s happening ‘around’ them – circumstances), rather than what we ‘know’ to be true by faith (what’s happening ‘inside’ them – the Holy Spirit). A person can’t “see” any of the great truths of Christianity, and, therefore, they struggle with a lack of faith. As a result of this lack of perception, their lives often do not reflect the fact that we really believe what we claim to believe.

Although there are many reasons for this phenomenon among believers, the main reason they struggle with faith is that they DON’T ‘TRULY’ KNOW the God in whom they profess to have faith. The more intimately we know someone and the more time we have seen them “in action,” the more likely we are to believe what they say.

The same is true in their relationship with God. If God is essentially a ‘stranger’ to them, they are less likely to believe what He has said in His Word, the Bible. The only cure for this is to spend more time in God’s Word to get to know Him better.

Now, the ‘world’ (unbelieving culture) and the Devil often distract them from belief. In addition to that, the believer still has their sinful nature, which they have to struggle with on a daily basis. These things all afflict us and cause us to struggle with faith.

That is the Apostle Paul said, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17), to remind the believer that they must constantly remember what Jesus has done for them, and what their response should be. Faith is built up as the Gospel is continually ‘preached’ to the believer.

Consider the example of the Israelites in the Old Testament. God had performed great miracles in rescuing His chosen people from slavery in Egypt—the Ten Plagues, the pillar of smoke and fire, and the crossing of the Red Sea. God brings His people to the foot of Mount Sinai, gives them the Law and makes a covenant with them. No sooner does He do this than the people begin to grumble and lose faith! With Moses gone up on the mountain, the people convince Aaron, Moses’ brother, to construct an idol (against God’s clear prohibition) for them to worship (Exodus 32:1-6). They were no longer walking by faith, but by sight. Despite all the clear miracles God did in their redemption, they lost faith and began to go on their perception (You might be thinking to criticize them for what they did, but we today do the same things!).

That is why God instructed the new generation of Israelites before going into the Promised Land to continually remind themselves of what He had done for them: “And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” [ Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ]. God knows that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38), and so He commands His people to be in constant ‘remembrance’ of these things.

So, the believer needs to heed the example of the disciple Thomas. When he heard the stories of Jesus’ Resurrection, he wouldn’t believe them. He said he would have to see Jesus with his own two eyes and touch His wounds. Mercifully, Jesus accommodated Thomas’ lack of faith by making an appearance to him and allowing Thomas to see and touch Him: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Unbelievers today echo Thomas’ sentiment: “Unless I see Jesus face to face, I will not believe,” but the believer needs to continually keep in mind Paul’s exhortation, “to walk by faith rather than sight” and the writer to the Hebrews instructed that, “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” [ Hebrews 11:6 ].

Faith is believing the Word of God and ‘acting’ upon it, not responding to our ‘perceptions’!

 

A ‘PROPER’ FEAR
In the natural world, the list of things that cause people fear and anxiety is nearly endless. Most are normal and healthy and don’t interfere with normal functioning. However, ‘extreme’ fears and phobias can be debilitating. Some common excessive fears are very common widely accepted, some as even ‘normal’—like “acrophobia,” the fear of heights, or “nyctophobia,” the fear of the dark. Others are less common but very real to those who experience them, such as “barophobia,” fear of gravity, or “aphenphosmphobia,” the fear of being touched.

The point is that we label a wide range of responses as “fearful.” Some are appropriate and healthy while others are not. Appropriate fear is healthy. Our bodies have the ability to respond to things that can cause us harm and pain.

Fear is what makes you run from a burning building. Fear is what makes you slow down when you come to a dangerous curve. Fear is what keeps you from grabbing a poisonous rattlesnake.

So, an appropriate fear is not about living ‘IN’ fear. It means having a ‘healthy respect’ for reality and things that could ‘possibly’ happen.

 

‘Fear’ God’s Wrath!
“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” [ Hebrews 10:31 ]. Now, THAT is something people ought to be afraid of! If people are going to have a ‘phobia’—if they’re going to have an uncontrollable, debilitating, disabling, exaggerated, unconquerable fear—let it be the fear of falling into the ‘hands’ of the living God!

Jesus warned, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” [ Matthew 10:28 ]. To ‘fear’ God is to live in the reality of His holiness, His sovereignty, and His judgment of sin. It is to love God, to respect Him, to reverence Him, to adore Him, to hold Him in awe, and to worship Him. Refusing to do this is at the core of man’s prideful rebellion. This can only be done by loving His Son the Savior (John 5:23).

 

Until a person understands the ‘HOLINESS’ of God, that person can never know the depth of their sin. The Bible says the everyone ought to be ’SHAKEN TO OUR ROOTS’ when they imagine themselves against the backdrop of God’s holiness.

Sadly, these days, there is way too much ‘shallowness’ with regard to God’s holiness. Our relationship to God has become TOO ‘CASUAL’. In the modern mind, God has become almost human, so affable and ordinary that we don’t understand His holy indignation against sin. It is only by His grace that we breathe each breath. He has every reason to take us ‘out’, because the ‘wages’ of our sin is death (Romans 6:23). Too many people approach God with a casual familiarity that borders on blasphemy!

We should be OVERWHELMED by our own sinfulness and consequently consumed with a sense of HOLY TERROR. I am certain that if the people today who claim to have seen God really saw Him, they wouldn’t be lining up to get on the latest Christian talk show; they’d be lying prostrate on the ground, grieving over their sin! (like Isaiah did 6:1-5).

A ‘true’ Christian comes into the ‘presence’ of God with a healthy but soul-shattering fear. God does, after all, punish sin, even in those who are redeemed. “Whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives” [ Hebrews 12:6 ]. Hebrews 12:28 goes on to say, “Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

The word translated “serve” from the Greek is “latreuo,” a word for worship. The writer is talking about acceptable worship, and he lists two key elements: “reverence and godly fear.” Note the reason he gives for such worship: “For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).

“Godly fear” is the sense of profound awe and intimidation as one tries to grasp the holiness of God and His power to destroy (His holy reaction against sin).

Remember, the Bible says that the believer not only live their lives before the ‘eyes’ of a HOLY God, but that His Holy Spirit dwells within them, too. Being ever mindful of God’s presence is vital if we’re going to live lives that glorify Him.

The Bible says that it is God who casts Satan and all fallen angels and all impenitent, unbelievers into Hell. I mean, it’s natural for any of us to fear somebody taking our lives. We all take great security precautions these days so somebody doesn’t come into our world, into our room, into our house and take our life. We all understand that. BUT, much, much more important is to fear the One that you can’t ‘lock out’. Fear the One that you can’t restrain, the One who can both take your life and send you to hell forever! FEAR GOD!

 

The prophet wrote all about this in the Old Testament. Joel wrote, “Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty” [ Joel 1:15 ]. He then said, “For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible” [ Joel 2:11 ].

The prophet Nahum wrote, “Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the heat of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by Him” [ Nahum 1:6 ]. NOBODY will survive!

 

So then what is the importance of all of this for us today? Well, if you’re an unbeliever, BE WARNED! You are, “storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” [ Romans 2:5 ]. You are accumulating a debt which God will pay you back with His wrath! This is your FOREWARNING! If you know the truth of the saving Gospel, and you reject it and go on sinning willfully, the only thing you can look forward to is a terrifying expectation of JUDGMENT!

God will not forever tolerate sin—and He will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7-8). BUT, even in the midst of His wrath He always is merciful (Habakkuk 3:2), in addition to being patient, “not wishing any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9b).

That patience and mercy is evident throughout the Bible. When God announced judgment on a world filled with wickedness in the form of a global flood, He waited for 125 years for Noah to tell the people what was going to happen, and that they needed to repent!

 

Now, just to be clear, repentance is not only a ‘turning’ FROM sin, but it is a ‘turning’ TO Jesus for salvation. Even though we are guilty, even though our sins earn us eternal punishment from God, even though we are helpless to earn forgiveness with God and establish our own righteousness before Him, even though God is a just judge who must punish sin, God is GRACIOUS to sinners and He has devised a plan to save sinners like us who don’t deserve it!

God treated Jesus as if He had committed the ALL the sins of His people—though, in fact, He committed none of those sins. Then He ‘charged’ the sins of all those who would ever believe to Jesus’ ‘account’, laid the burden of the guilt of our sin upon His ‘shoulders’, and caused Jesus to pay the penalty that our sins deserved.

So then, it’s by FAITH ALONE in Jesus that you will be ‘infused’ with His righteousness, and will be given eternal life in Heaven!

 

Most of us tend to trivialize our sins or desperately hide them under a ‘cloak’ of proud self-righteousness. However, NOTHING is hidden from the pure and holy ‘eyes’ of God (Proverbs 15:3). He sees EVERY ‘secret’ transgression. Even the best of us have a multitude of sins, and each one of them requires the wrath of God’s justice to fall upon them. So, ‘FEAR’ GOD and ‘get right’ with Him before it’s too late!!! [ FYI: A prayer of repentance is below ].

 

‘Fear’ the Coming Tribulation!
Some people spent vast amounts of money and time ‘prepping’ for a coming day when suddenly, completely, and without warning, the world will experience a total blackout—no electricity, no mobile phones, no ATM, no Internet, no TV, no emergency services—Nothing!

It’s all in preparation for a day that is forecasted by experts (Stephen Hawking, Dr. Michio Kaku, and others) when the economy will ‘crash’, the world will lose power, communications will go dark, and society will collapse in chaos with mass riots and warfare. (It’s estimated there are three million ‘preppers’ in the United States alone.)

[ FYI: For more details on what is being said about mankind’s ‘destiny’, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/mankinds-destiny-v247/ ].

 

The ‘end of the world’ is understandably fearful. Our world is shuddering with conflicts in the Middle East, plagues and infectious diseases, cyber warfare, and the proliferation of destructive chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. It seems that the global economy is hanging by a thread, and the foundations of morality are collapsing like an ‘imploding’ old building.

The thing is, I do agree with the experts that we are living in the last days, but for very different reasons. I believe that we are in the time of the ‘buildup’ to the “RAPTURE” of the Church (more details: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/blessed-hope-v245/) and the ‘precursor’ of the “GREAT TRIBULATION,” which leads to “Armageddon” (more details: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/final-tribulation-v246/). It is my strong conviction that everyone should take reasonable precautions, and be as prepared as possible for these coming days.

 

The thing is, the opportunity to ‘MISS’ GOING THROUGH the most horrific time in earth’s history is fading fast for unbelievers. I agree with the many prophecy experts that the “return” of Jesus is EMINENT, and He is coming back to judge the unbelieving world! (Matthew 25:31-46).

Based on what the Bible describes, the world teeters on the brink of final disaster. However, God is graciously offering people another chance to repent. He will snatch those who heed the warning from the fire of judgment (Jude 23), and transfer them from Satan’s kingdom of darkness into the soon-to-be manifest Kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13).

However, most people don’t ‘like’ that characterization of God. They think God as a benign ‘grandfather’ who is this all-time ultimate, cosmic good guy, with an unlimited ‘vending machine’ of good ‘gifts’ for all who ask.

Well, Jesus had a very different description of how people will feel about God during the Great Tribulation: “Men will faint from fear” (Luke 21:26). A fear so overpowering that they will be LITERALLY scared to death!

The word “faint” (“apopsuchō” in the Greek), appears in the Bible only in that verse. It means “to die.” People will die from sheer terror, because they will realize they have fallen into the ‘hands’ of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). It is finally His ‘Day’ of wrath, and it is so terrifying that it will literally ’stop’ their hearts!

Then those who survive the initial fear, will cry out for the rocks to “crush them to death” before they have to face God! (Revelation 6:16)—as if that could be a means of escape. So, what is it that could cause this level of panic? It is referred to as the sixth “Seal” judgment being ‘opened’ and foisted upon the earth.

“And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

“And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” [ Revelation 6:12-17 ].

 

This is the CULMINATING day which all the previous five Seal judgments prior have been increasingly terrible warnings: the rise of an Antichrist; worldwide war; famine; pestilence; and persecution of Christians—terrifying, inconceivable, and devastating! All this is showing just the beginning of God’s “burning anger.”

The thing is, this is just the first ‘set’ of judgments related to the final fury of God’s wrath. There are still two more ‘sets’ (of seven) of tribulations coming after these, that continue to increase in terror and devastation!

[ To get a better description of what is propelled to happen, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/final-tribulation-v246/ ].

 

Having studied the Book of Revelation (which described the “End Times” and “Armageddon”) intensely for over a decade, the only thing I continue to come away with after reading it is that YOU DON’T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE TRIBULATION!!!

 

Pay Attention to God’s Commands
A bit of a shocking example was when King David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:5-15). It had been in another location for over 20 years.

This is a BIG DEAL—a really special moment for the Jews. So, they set the Ark of God on a cart to transport it back to Jerusalem. The thing is, this IS NOT the way God had instructed them to do it!

When the cart came to the “threshing floor,” the oxen stumbled and the Ark started to fall off the cart. Hoping to push the Ark back onto the cart, Uzzah put out his hand and touched the Ark. God struck him down dead—instantly—for the ‘error’!

You may say, “Wow! Why did God kill him for the good intention of wanting to steady the Ark?” Well, primarily because God was VERY CLEAR that it was to be “CARRIED” by priests and not to be placed on a cart and drug by animals. Secondly, biblical scholars also note that ‘sinful’ man is NOT ALLOWED to be ‘in’ (or touch) God’s presence, and that it would have been just okay if the Ark was to ‘touch’ the dirt, since it IS NOT ‘sinful’.

 

God’s expectations might seem ‘EXTREME’ to you but that is one of the ‘issues’ humanity has. We don’t understand the HOLINESS of God, and we think it should be okay to not ‘fully’ obey God’s instructions then not be punished for our errors. We think, God is ‘supposed’ to be merciful.

Well, God IS MERCIFUL (He sent His Son Jesus to this earth to die for our sins), but He can’t allow ANY ’error’ to go unpunished. God takes ‘accountability’ very seriously. “Every transgression or disobedience [will] receive a just retribution” [ Hebrews 2:2b ].

 

More important than just our errors, God wants us to PAY ‘ATTENTION’ to His Word and NOT NEGLECT our salvation: “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” [ 1 Peter 1:19 ].

 

‘WHO’ IS RESPONSIBLE?
So, who is ‘RESPONSIBLE’ for the Coronavirus? The Devil, man, or God?

 

The Devil
Most of the time when something ‘bad’ happens, most people blame it on the Devil. (The older folk will remember Flip Wilson saying, “The Devil made me do it!”). So, is the Devil responsible for the Coronavirus? Well, it’s certainly possible (and we don’t know for sure) since he does try to inflict harm on people, especially believers.

The Devil’s power is tremendous. He is a tyrant and dominates unredeemed humanity. All human beings have been ‘defeated’ by the Devil just as our ancestor Adam was defeated. The Devil deceives minds, ‘blinds’ them, and persuades the human race to hate God. No human can stand against him. Man has become the ‘slave’ of the Devil. However, he is a defeated foe (defeated at the Cross when Jesus suffered the penalty for sin and rose from the dead).

So, it is definitely possible the Devil was ‘responsible’ for the Coronavirus, but the thing is, he can only do what God ALLOWS him to do. Even if Satan, on his divine ‘leash’, has a hand in our suffering and death, he cannot hurt us without God’s permission and limitation (Job 1:12; Luke 22:31; 2 Corinthians 12:7). In the end, it is right for us to say to the Devil what Joseph (a “type” of Jesus) said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). [ See “God’s Sovereignty” below for more details on this ].

 

Man
It’s important to understand that we humans are ‘responsible’ for our sins. God created everything “very good” and we ‘messed it all up’. Originally, there was no death, suffering, or disease. In fact, most bacteria and viruses in today’s ‘fallen’ world do not cause diseases, but have specific good purposes. Scientists are finding that viruses seem to have an important role in the transfer of genetic information. So, there were no Coronavirus-caused diseases in the “very good” world God created.

So, humanity’s sin resulted in death, disease, and suffering. Because of this, some viruses and bacteria now cause diseases. Thus a disease-causing Coronavirus is not God’s fault—it’s our fault.

“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” [ Romans 8:22 ]. The whole creation was brought under a curse because of Adam’s sin (and our sin ‘in’ Adam). This curse will be removed in the eternal ‘state’ when Christ will restore the creation to the way it was in the beginning. BUT, for now, our sin ‘causes’ the Creation to be disease-laden.

 

God
Could God be allowing the Coronavirus situation as judgment? Well, yes that is possible, although we can’t say for sure. Throughout the Old Testament, there are many examples of God using various means, including pestilence, to bring judgment on people because of their wickedness, and there is definitely much wickedness in our world today. So God would be perfectly righteous to judge us with something like this.

But some people say, “Isn’t God all about love? How could He be responsible for something so horrible?” Well, not only is God ‘loving’, but He is also ‘just’—so He cannot ‘wink’ at sin.

 

So then, who is really ‘responsible’ for the Coronavirus pandemic? Well ultimately, GOD IS ‘RESPONSIBLE’, since He is ‘sovereign’ over all. God flooded the whole world, but it was because of the abhorrent wickedness of man. He also destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, again for man’s horrendous wickedness. But, probably the most extreme judgment ever—the crucifixion of Jesus Christ—was, again, for man’s odious wickedness.

Yes, God did indeed orchestrate these events, but with one reason in mind: to bring about people’s REPENTANCE and to bring them back to Him—I believe, something the Coronavirus pandemic is ‘primarily’ intended to do.

So, when people say that nothing ‘bad’ could ever come from God, well that’s just nonsense. “God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day” [ Psalm 7:11 ].

 

God’s Sovereignty
Nothing is uncertain about God’s activities as he has a definite plan and purpose about man and the ‘end’ of it all. NOTHING is accidental!

The Bible teaches that there is no such thing as ‘chance’. Jesus expresses God’s sovereignty in this way: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” [ Matthew 10:29-31 ].

Not one sparrow falls but by God’s plan and knowledge! Not one virus ‘grows’ but by God’s plan. This is God’s meticulous sovereignty—whether we live or die—this serves His holiness, righteousness, goodness, and wisdom. Know that, as a believer, you are not God’s dispensable ‘pawns’. You are His valued ‘children’, “of more value than many sparrows.” God has determined everything leading to a determined certain end. “So then He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills” [ Romans 9:18 ].

The Apostle Paul tells of God’s sovereignty by comparing Him to a potter: “Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” [ Romans 9:19-21 ]. God, the “Creator,” has the ABSOLUTE ‘RIGHT’ to do with His creation as He sees fit! (Just as you would if YOU were the potter and didn’t like what you had made—you could decide to ‘remake’ it).

 

We cannot grasp the ultimate working of God’s ‘mind’. The prophet Daniel said it this way: “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’” [ Daniel 4:35 ].

 

Now, God’s sovereignty is not diminished in the midst of the bitter providence of this Coronavirus pandemic. The same sovereignty that could stop the Coronavirus, yet doesn’t, is the very sovereignty that sustains the believer in and through it. For me, knowing this makes ALL the difference.

God is all-governing and all-wise. God’s sovereignty is the secret to experiencing the ‘sweetness’ of Him even during His bitter providences.

The Coronavirus was ‘ordained’ by God. He governs it. He will end it. This is not a season for ‘sentimental’ views of God. He is trying to GET OUR ‘ATTENTION’!

Pastor John Piper, looking at Romans 8:28 said, “All things work together for good,” and he wrote this: “All things includes the fall of sparrows, the rolling of dice,”—these are all from biblical texts—“the fall of sparrows, the rolling of dice, the slaughter of His people, the decisions of kings, the failing of sight, the sickness of children, the loss and gain of money, the suffering of saints, the completion of travel plans, the persecution of Christians, the repentance of souls, the gift of faith, the pursuit of holiness, the growth of believers, the giving of life and the taking in death, and the crucifixion of His Son.”

God says, “My counsel shall stand. I will do all My pleasure. Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will do it” [ Isaiah 46:11 ]. This is not to say that God ‘creates’ evil like COVID-19 (which may be just the earth ‘groaning’ from the “Fall”). This is to say that God is NOT overwhelmed by evil, but that God CONTROLS evil to His own ends and purposes, which are all righteous and glorious.

 

The point of all this is that all of God’s decrees are UNCONDITIONAL and SOVEREIGN. In no way are any of God’s decrees dependent, in any sense, on what humans might or might not do. As pastor and theologian R.C. Sproul used to say, “There is not one maverick molecule outside of God’s domain.”

 

WAKE-UP ‘CALL’!
As I have already said, I believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has been ‘ALLOWED’ by God so that He might GET OUR ‘ATTENTION’.

 

God is ‘Warning’ Us!
As I mentioned, God is sovereign, and that means the current Coronavirus was let loose with His ‘permission’. The Devil may have been the ‘agent’, but God is the One ‘controlling’ it.

So then, what exactly is God trying to say to us? Well, I believe that one, He is warning us of IMPEDING JUDGMENT, and two, He is ‘begging’ the world to come to REPENTANCE. The Bible teaches that God never pours out His wrath without warning because He does “not wish that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and salvation” [ 2 Peter 3:9c ].

 

God seems to warn in two different ‘ways’. First, He raises up ‘prophetic’ voices who identify the sins of the people and issue a ‘call’ for them to repent. Then, if they dismiss the prophets and refuse to repent, God will send ‘remedial’ judgments, again, for the purpose of calling people to repentance.

 

Ever since the mid-1970s, God has been raising up prophetic voices around the world, calling people to repentance. (Additionally, He has been sending remedial judgments to get people’s attention in order to ‘motivate’ them to repentance).

Take our nation for example. In Dr. David Reagan’s book, “God’s Prophetic Voices to America,” he identified 13 “prophets” God has raised up to call our nation to repentance. The four ‘voices’ from the past are Peter Marshall, David Wilkerson, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and Francis Schaeffer. The nine current ‘voices’ are Donald Wildmon, Erwin Lutzer, David Jeremiah, William Koenig, Jan Markell, Albert Mohler, Jr., Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, and Jonathan Cahn.

Since America, as a nation, has continued to turn a ‘deaf ear’ to their pleas for repentance and their warnings of impending destruction, God has sent ‘remedial’ judgments like the Vietnam War, Hurricane Katrina, wildfires, ungodly leaders, and now the COVID-19 pandemic—that all killed multiple thousands of people and ravaged our economy.

Remedial judgments have also been occurring around the world. Consider, for example, the wildfires in Australia, the locust invasion in Africa, the epidemic of earthquakes along the Pacific “ring of fire,” and now also the Coronavirus.

Americans have responded to remedial judgments like 9/11 with patriotism, but too prophetic voices like David Wilkerson with mocking. However, God is not calling for expressions of national greatness, He is calling for REPENTANCE!

Do you think it was just a coincidence that God allowed the 9/11 terrorists to attack the two symbols of American pride—the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.—representing our ‘wealth’, and our ‘military power’?

The thing is, God’s ultimate judgment on America just might be the ‘destruction’ of our economy. Why? Well, because the real ‘god’ of America is the “almighty dollar.”

We have become a thoroughly materialistic society and the ‘true’ God is going to destroy our false one! We can be thankful that the true God is very patient, otherwise, He would have destroyed us long before now (like He did in 586 BC, by ‘using’ the Babylonians to totally destroy the Jewish Temple and cart off millions as slaves for 70 years).

In like manner, our nation has turned its ‘back’ on the very One who has blessed us beyond any nation that has ever existed. We are now a nation in open, hostile rebellion against God and His Word.

We have kicked God out of our schools and the public arena. We are in the process of confining religious freedom to the home and church buildings. We continue to murder babies in the womb. We have given legal approval to the “Sexual Perversion Movement.” We are in the process of outlawing speech, which will soon include quoting certain verses of the Bible or speaking out about specific sins. Worst of all, we have churches all across our land who are getting ‘in bed’ with the world because they are more interested in seeking the approval of people than God.

The Christian poet, Kay Hedger, described President Bill Clinton with these powerful words written in her book, “The Parched Soul of America”: “A draft-dodging, drug ‘exhaling’, sodomy protecting, shady dealing, tax raising, child exploiting, baby killing, feminist pandering, religion robbing, border betraying, gun confiscating, military reducing, womanizer becomes Commander-in-Chief and the nation gets a leader who reflects the true condition of its heart.”

I think it is very interesting that in that same book, in the section devoted to the probable payoffs for our sins, there was this poem about disease, “Fatal Resistance” (originally published in 1994):

“Bacteria that defies
all known treatment
creates a medical disaster
of global proportion
And ushers in a post-antibiotic era

Leading scientific authorities
are incapable of helping
a people
who stubbornly refuse
to fear God”

 

Even though God is slow to anger, He will, by no means, leave the guilty unpunished! The Apostle Paul tells us how God responds to this kind of rebellion against Him and His Word (in Romans chapter one). He steps back and lowers the nation’s hedge of protection, allowing evil to multiply—envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossiping, slandering, insolence, arrogance, and boastfulness. Today, America’s ‘major’ evils are probably abortion, homosexuality, same-sex ‘marriage’, and the coming transgenderism. America has ‘celebrated’ these, but I’m thinking God is ‘WEEPING’.

However, we are not alone. Europe has essentially rejected Christianity, and Christians in many other countries are being persecuted and slaughtered (especially in the Middle East).

Our world is a ticking ‘time-bomb’, and most are oblivious to the fact that the wrath of God is ABOUT TO BE ‘POURED OUT’! Pastor Adrian Rogers, once said, “The world is growing gloriously dark.” Prophecy expert Jan Markell likes to put it: “The world is not falling to pieces; rather, the pieces are all falling into place.”

 

For believers, the good ‘news’ is that God has promised that He WILL NEVER FORSAKE THEM. To me—and many prophecy experts—the signs of the times CLEARLY INDICATE that we are on the ‘threshold’ of the “Tribulation,” which means believers are about to be called home to Heaven in what is called the “Rapture”!

Pastor Robert Jeffress, likes to point out that, “When the darkness deepens, the light of Jesus will shine more brightly, like a diamond on a black cloth, and more and more people will be drawn to Jesus and be saved.”

Meanwhile, as the ‘darkness’ deepens, for those of us who are believers, the Bible tells us that we must serve as “salt and light,” stand for God and His Word, and refuse to give in to the demands of a pagan society, REGARDLESS OF THE ‘COST’!

We must be ‘beacons’ of hope, pointing people to the God of hope while urging them to put their hope in their only Hope—Jesus, the Son of God—who is soon returning to take His ‘Church’ home, to Heaven, with Him!

 

The Coronavirus is God’s ‘THUNDERCLAP’ for all of us to repent and ‘realign’ our lives with Him.

The Coronavirus is not unique as a call to repentance. In fact, all natural disasters—whether floods, famines, locusts, tsunamis, or diseases—are God’s painful and merciful ‘summons’ to repent.

 

God’s Judgments
I am convinced that the Coronavirus is a ‘remedial’ judgment of God upon the whole world—and a ‘call’ to ALL peoples to repentance before the return of Jesus.

Many people will ‘balk’ at my statement. The suggestion that God is doing this is absolutely repugnant to them. They say, “A loving God would never do this! He would never send a disease upon the earth that would claim tens of thousands of lives!”

Well, when I read about the redemption of Israel from Egypt by ten plagues (Exodus 12), and the last one ‘slaughtered’ every firstborn child in Egypt, or during Korah’s rebellion when 14,700 people died as a result of the plague that God ‘sent’ (Numbers 16), or even when the Israelites were in Shittim and the plague that God had ‘sent’ killed 24,000 (Numbers 25), this is NOT NEW!

The thing is, God is not ‘shy’ about HIS ROLE in things like this. He said, “See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life” [ Deuteronomy 32:39 ]. He then said, “I forming light and create darkness, causing prosperity and disaster; I am Yahweh, who does all these things” [ Isaiah 45:7 ]. Then God gets even more explicit: “If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not Yahweh done it?” [ Amos 3:6 ].

So, Scripture makes clear that God is sovereign and ‘RESPONSIBLE’ for all things, and if a ‘calamity’ occurs in a city—let alone worldwide—He has done it. HOWEVER, God in His mercy never pours out His wrath without warning. As I have briefly shown in this post—and have shown in detail for the PREVIOUS HALF-DOZEN POSTS—that we are on the ‘THRESHOLD’ of the “TRIBULATION,” a time when God will focus His unmitigated wrath on the rebellious nations of the world, including our own. BUT, most people will simply go about their business as usual, ignoring the fact that God is warning of His IMPENDING WRATH (something I’m trying to make as many people aware of before it happens!!!)

Dr. David Reagan of the “Christ in Prophecy” ministry, notes that as we face the remedial judgments God is inflicting upon the earth, let us keep in mind the comforting words of Psalm 91:

“1) He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2) I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!”
3) For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.
4) He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5) You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day;
6) Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7) A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you.
8) You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
9) For you have made the LORD, your refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10) No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.
11) For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.”

[ FYI: There is a dramatic reading of Psalm 91 in the “Articles” section below ].

 

There are many examples of remedial judgments in the Bible that involve natural disasters. Take, for example, the plagues with which God afflicted Egypt (Exodus 7-12), there were severe droughts (1 Kings 17-18), and the book of Joel tells about a locust invasion (Joel 1:4, 15-16). God has continued throughout history to use signs of nature to call nations to repentance. Remedial judgments are designed to have great shock value in order to capture people’s attention and force them to think with an eternal perspective.

Specifically, concerning the United States, we were founded as a “Christian nation,” committed to Christian values—and God greatly blessed us. BUT, in the 1960s, we began to ‘thumb our nose’ at God as a cultural revolution was launched. Our society quickly descended into a ‘cesspool’ of sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, abortion on demand, legalized gambling, rampant blasphemy, and a flood of pornography. We adopted a hedonistic lifestyle, calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

 

Now, God is all about grace, mercy, and love, BUT, He is also about holiness, righteousness, and justice. The ‘balanced’ view of God is presented by the prophet Nahum. Speaking of God’s grace, he wrote: “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him” (Nahum 1:7). However, Nahum also warned that the same God is One who is righteous and holy and who will not tolerate sin (Nahum 1:2-3):

God takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies (all unbelieving humans). However, He is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished (Nahum 1:3).

 

However, all natural calamities are a ‘product’ of man’s sin! The original creation was perfect. Natural calamities are a result of the curse that God placed on the creation in response to Man’s sin. (However, when Jesus returns, the curse will be lifted and natural calamities will cease.)

So, do all natural calamities represent remedial judgments of God? No, most are just ‘products’ of the natural processes of our weather systems.

Then how can we determine when a natural calamity is a remedial judgment? One important factor is the timing of the event as it relates to the sins of the nation. Another factor is the magnitude of the event. Remedial judgments are designed to have great shock value in order to CAPTURE PEOPLE’S ‘ATTENTION’ and force them to think with an eternal perspective. The most important factor is God’s Spirit witnessing to the spirits of those to whom He has given the gift of prophecy. They will be motivated to speak forth with a united voice.

 

God put the physical world under a curse so that the physical horrors we see around us—in diseases and calamities—would become a vivid picture of how horrible sin is. In other words, physical evil is a parable, a drama, a ‘signpost’ pointing to the moral outrage of rebellion against God.

Because, in man’s present condition—‘blinded’ by sin—we cannot see or feel how ‘repugnant’ sin is to God. Hardly anyone in the world feels the horror of preferring other things over God. Who loses any sleep over our daily ‘belittling’ of God by neglect and defiance?

But, oh, how we feel our physical pain! How indignant we can become if God touches our bodies! We may not grieve over the way we demean God every day in our hearts, but let the Coronavirus come and threaten our bodies, and He has our attention. Or does He?

Physical pain is God’s ‘trumpet blast’ to tell us that something is dreadfully wrong in the world. Disease and deformity are God’s ‘pictures’ in the physical realm of what sin is like in the spiritual realm.

Calamities are God’s previews of what sin deserves and will one day receive in judgment a THOUSAND TIMES WORSE!

 

I’m just trying to show how repugnant, how offensive, and how abominable it is to treat our Maker the way we do—to ignore Him, distrust Him, demean Him, and give him less attention in our thoughts than we give to our hair (especially when having it cut during the Coronavirus ‘lockdown’ was national news).

We may cry out to ‘escape’ the penalty of sin. But will we see the moral ‘ugliness’ of our sin? If we don’t, it will not be because God has not provided vivid portrayals of it in physical misery—like the Coronavirus.

Therefore, God is mercifully ‘SHOUTING’ to us in these days: WAKE UP! What’s going to happen is FAR MORE DANGEROUS than the Coronavirus!

 

So, yes, some people will be infected with the Coronavirus as a specific judgment from God because of their sinful attitudes and actions. However, if a believer is judged, it is for ‘purifying purposes, not ‘punishment’.

If we ‘come’ to Jesus, we can know that our suffering is not the punitive judgment of God. We can know this because Jesus said, “Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” [ John 5:24 ]. The Apostle Paul said, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” [ Romans 8:1 ]. It is discipline, not destruction. “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives” [ Hebrews 12:6 ].

 

So, not all suffering is owing to the specific judgments of God on specific sins. Nevertheless, God sometimes uses disease to bring particular judgments upon those who reject Him and give themselves over to knowingly sin.

 

Just remember the ‘reason’ for God’s judgments is SIN, and that we ALL ‘DESERVE’ sickness and death—even eternal punishment—for the sins we commit EVERY DAY. But none of us wants to hear that.

We fill our lives with distractions and diversions and endless entertainment to ‘snuff out’ the testimony of our conscience that we are accountable to God as our Creator. We have rebelled against Him and we deserve to die for it. The Coronavirus is, in part, God shaking us out of our stupor by saying, “Death is certain, so prepare!” It’s a picture of how heinous and horrible sin against God is. It’s because our sin ‘blinds’ us to the dreadfulness and ugliness of sin.

Pastor and author John Piper summarized it well:

“Hardly anyone in the world feels the horror of preferring other things over God. Who loses any sleep over our daily belittling of God by neglect and defiance? But, oh, how we feel our physical pain! How indignant we can become if God touches our bodies! We may not grieve over the way we demean God every day in our hearts. But let the coronavirus come and threaten our bodies, and he has our attention. Or does he? Physical pain is God’s trumpet blast to tell us that something is dreadfully wrong in the world. Disease and deformity are God’s pictures in the physical realm of what sin is like in the spiritual realm. … Calamities are God’s previews of what sin deserves and will one day receive in judgment a thousand times worse. They are warnings. They are wake-up calls to see the moral horror and spiritual ugliness of sin against God. Would that we could all see and feel how repugnant, how offensive, how abominable it is to treat our Maker with contempt, to ignore him and distrust him and demean him and give him less attention in our hearts than we give the style of our hair.”

God is saying—through the Coronavirus—that the sin that has cursed the earth is dreadfully disgusting, and the death that it leads to is certain. In addition to that, He is saying that life is uncertain. Not only that death is coming, but that we don’t have any idea when it’s going to come. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” [ Proverbs 27:1 ]. Don’t flatter yourself by speaking about your future plans, even for the next day. You have no idea what tomorrow will bring!

The Bible says that your life is like a “mist that vanishes in a moment” [ James 4:14 ]. A breath of air on a winter day. You exhale, you see a puff of steam, and a moment later it’s gone. What FOLLY it would be for that puff of steam to boast of its longevity!

God is saying that you are ENTIRELY ‘DEPENDENT’ upon His will. He is using this COVID-19 pandemic to ’strip away’ any illusion of control you have over your life—let alone your eternal destiny!

You can take precautions, but you can’t control whether or not you contract the Coronavirus. You might stay in your house for twelve months. You might conduct all your business electronically. You might have people do your grocery shopping for you, or do it online and have it delivered. You might take every precaution known to man, and you know what can happen? You can contract the virus from the asymptomatic delivery driver who doesn’t even know he has the disease!

Even if you do manage to avoid the Coronavirus, you will die someday. A short 100 years from now, each and every one of us will have passed from this life into eternity—and we will be in ONE OF TWO ‘PLACES’: in eternal rest and blessedness with Jesus in HEAVEN, or in eternal punishment and torment, separated from God in HELL. Don’t delude yourself with the notion that you’re the master of your fate and the captain of your soul. This crisis is the loud ‘TESTIMONY’ of Almighty God that you are NOT IN CONTROL—that your life is like a breath on a cold day that vanishes in a moment.

God is trying to WAKE YOU UP from the fantasy-land of autonomy by painting a vivid ‘picture’ right in front of your eyes: that death is certain, and that life is uncertain—that death is coming, and you don’t know when it’s coming. So you ought to order your life as if death may come at any time, rather than by living as if death will never come at any time!

 

But death is not all there is. Not only is death certain, and life is uncertain, but JUDGMENT IS COMING! He’s telling us that our ‘court date’ is coming. You are on the way to Judgment Day, and you know that you’re guilty!

Jesus is saying, “Settle out of court! Settle your case with God before you ever get to the judgment!” Because when you stand before Him as your Judge, clothed in the filthy ‘rags’ of your own sins—devoid of the pure ‘robe’ of the righteousness that God requires of all those who would stand in His presence (that believers have)—He is going to cast you into the ‘prison’ of Hell until you’ve paid what you owe! Which will NEVER happen! It’s a fate WORSE than death!!!

God is saying—in fact, ‘screaming’ at us—“Look at the signs! Discern the signs of the times!

God has ‘allowed’ the Coronavirus so that you might REPENT and BELIEVE in Jesus, and so NOT PERISH for eternity!

 

The Meaning of ‘Calamity’
Some people ask, “Why does God allow these ‘bad’ things to happen?” Well, I’m thinking that is the wrong question. I’m thinking it should be, “Why doesn’t God allow them to happen more often or even fatally?” (Remember, we all are ‘sinners’ deserving of death – Romans 6:23). It’s all because of GOD’s MERCY!

A crowd had surrounded Jesus and were wondering about a couple of incidents that had just occurred (Pilate had just mingled blood with their sacrifices and a tower had just fallen, killing 18 people – Luke 13:1, 4). They asked, “What is the meaning of these events? Were they an act of God’s specific judgment for specific sins?” Well, Jesus’s answer was just amazing. He draws meaning from these disasters that relate to everyone, not just the ones who died. In both cases, he says, “No, those who were murdered by Pilate and those who were crushed under the tower were not worse sinners than…YOU.”

You?! Why does Jesus bring up their sin? They weren’t asking for his opinion about their own sin. They were curious about the others. They wanted to know what the disasters meant for the victims, not for them.

Well, that is what makes Jesus’ answer so amazing. In essence, He was saying that the meaning of these disasters is for EVERYONE. The message is REPENT OR PERISH! He says it twice for emphasis (to be sure they really ‘got it’): “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3), then “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5).

 

What was Jesus doing? He was ‘redirecting’ the people’s thinking. The astonishment that prompted these people to query Jesus originally was misplaced. They were astonished that people were murdered so “cruelly” and crushed so “meaninglessly” (in their ‘eyes’). However, Jesus says, “What you ought to be astonished at is that YOU were not the ones murdered and crushed. In fact, if you don’t repent, YOU yourselves will meet a judgment like that someday!” Whoa!

From this, I infer that God has a merciful message in ALL such disasters: We are all sinners, bound for destruction, and disasters are a gracious summons to repent from our sins and believe ‘in’ Jesus for their ‘atonement’.

Jesus turned from the dead to the living and essentially said, “Let’s not talk about the dead; let’s talk about YOU! This is more urgent. What happened to them is really about YOU. Your biggest ‘issue’ is not their sin, but YOUR SIN!” Again, I think God’s message for the world during this Coronavirus pandemic is REPENT while there’s still time!

So then, why would Jesus ‘threaten’ us with perishing? Well, I think that we all have exchanged the ‘treasure’ that God is for lesser things we love more (Romans 1:22-23), and we all have treated Jesus as less desirable than money, entertainment, work, leisure, friends, and family. He is the INFINITE ‘VALUE’ that we have scorned!

Author and lay theologian C.S. Lewis explained it this way: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” Have you stuck your head into the proverbial ‘sand’?

 

The Bible tells us that even MORE DIFFICULT TIMES are ahead, such as we can hardly imagine. COVID-19 should be a wake-up call as to what lies ahead—a relatively small-scale warning to a complacent world of what is to come unless we amend our ways, turn from immoral behaviors, and stop rejecting our Creator. It is no coincidence that our world is being turned upside down at the very time when we have turned morality on its ‘head’!

Medical breakthroughs, economic stimulus programs, and social distancing may bring temporary relief to our troubled world, but these only treat the ‘effects’ of our problems—not the causes. Troubles will continue to pile upon troubles until we turn to the only One who can give real solutions. In biblical language, it is time for us individually and collectively to humble ourselves and REPENT OF SIN. Any other solution is a mere ‘band-aid’ being applied to a severed artery!

 

Is the Coronavirus in Biblical Prophecy?
I don’t think we can necessarily say that with confidence that the Coronavirus is a ‘specific’ event mentioned in biblical prophecy since if we look to history, there have been many plagues, pestilences, and flus that we’ve experienced dating back to the early 1900s when the Spanish Flu took out almost 100 million people. We’ve also seen the Swine Flu, Ebola, the Bird Flu, and all sorts of other diseases that have happened with greater deaths. BUT, I do think we can say that it is definitely a ‘WARM UP’ for the “End Times.”

 

Even secular writers have recognized the phenomenon. Take, for example, Michael Snyder who maintains a blog called “The Economic Collapse.” He recently wrote:

“Over the last several decades, have we ever seen a year start as strangely as 2020 has? Global weather patterns have gone completely nuts, large earthquakes are popping off like firecrackers, it looks like the plague of locusts in Africa could soon develop into the worst in modern history, and a massive plague of bats is severely terrorizing parts of Australia. On top of all that, African Swine Fever is wiping out millions upon millions of pigs around the globe, the H1N1 Swine Flu is killing people in Taiwan, there have been H5N1 Bird Flu outbreaks in China and in India, and the H5N8 Bird Flu has made an appearance at a poultry facility in Saudi Arabia.

Of course the coronavirus outbreak which is causing people to literally drop dead in the streets in China is making more headlines than anything that I have mentioned so far, and it could potentially turn into a horrifying global pandemic that kills millions of people…

I have been repeatedly warning that the time of “the perfect storm” is upon us, and many others have also been using this terminology to describe what we are now facing.

Basically, we have entered a period of time when we will be dealing with one terrible crisis after another, and all of these challenges will collectively create a horrific nightmare that will just continue to intensify as time rolls along.”

 

Many people shrug their shoulders and say, “What else is new? There have always been tornados, hurricanes, and earthquakes.” What they overlook is that Jesus said these signs would be like “birth pains” (Matthew 24:8). That means they will increase in frequency and intensity the closer we get to Jesus’ return.

[ For more details on the ‘signs of this age (“birth pains”) view these two previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” posts:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/final-tribulation-v246/ ;
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/last-generation-v249/ ].

 

Pastor and author John MacArthur gives us a summary of the kinds of things that will happen on this earth during the Tribulation Period: “Crops and other vegetation will be devastated throughout the world, those who depend on on the sea for food will suffer famine, a third of the world’s shipping will be destroyed, countless people will be poisoned from contaminated water supplies, and calendars seasons, and tides will be thrown out of kilter. The physical and emotional agony will be so excruciating that men will gnaw “their tongues because of the pain” (Rev. 16:10). ‘Their torment ‘will be’ like the torment of the scorpion when it stings a man,” and ‘men will seek death and will not find it; and they will long to die and death flees from them’ (9:5-6).” WOW! I wouldn’t want even my ‘enemy’ to go through that!!!

 

For the FIRST TIME EVER, we are living in a day when all these “signs” are happening all at the same time, with natural calamities becoming ever more intense. However, some simply dismiss them in a cavalier manner by saying, “What else is new? These things have been happening for centuries.” However, as I have already mentioned, Jesus said that the signs in the end times would be like “birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8), meaning they will INCREASE in FREQUENCY and INTENSITY. That is just what has been happening in the past few decades!

 

Setting the ‘Stage’ for the “End Times”
Is God shaking us up, to wake us up, so that we look up? I think so!!!

The Apostle Paul picked up on Jesus imagery of “birth pains” and referred to them as “the groanings of the creation” (Romans 8:22), and also the believer’s “inward groaning” as we “eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). Then all the miseries of disaster and disease (like the Coronavirus) will be just a passing memory!

My point is this: Jesus wants us to see that the “birth pains” (including the Coronavirus) are ‘ALERTS’ that He is coming soon and that we need to be ready: “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” [ Matthew 24:44 ].

 

You don’t have to be a prophecy ‘expert’ in order to sense what Jesus said about the “End Times” is unmistakable today. But, oh, how many people are NOT AWAKE! For all their frenzied activity, they are SOUND ‘ASLEEP’ in regard to the coming of Jesus—and the Coronavirus is a merciful WAKE-UP ‘CALL’ to be ready!

[ For more details on how to be ‘awake’, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/being-a-watchman-v250/ ].

 

Even before COVID-19 became the biggest public health crisis to hit the globe in decades, enormous swarms of locusts the size of major cities were devouring crops throughout eastern Africa, across the Middle East, and even in some parts of Asia. Now, a new generation that officials are describing as “20 times bigger” has emerged, and the devastation that this new generation of locusts is causing is extremely alarming!

These colossal locust swarms can travel up to 90 miles a day, when they descend upon a field they can literally eat everything there in as little as 30 seconds! This new generation of locusts has been spotted as far south as Congo, as far north as Iran and as far east as India. In other words, the food supplies of BILLIONS OF PEOPLE are at risk! NEVER BEFORE have we seen so many catastrophic threats to the global food supply emerge at the same time.

 

It appears that THE PERFECT ’STORM’ is now upon us, and I anticipate that global events will continue to accelerate in the months ahead.

The thing is, we still have a ways to go before we get to the type of famines described in the Scriptures, but it certainly looks like the ’STAGE’ IS BEING SET for the “End Times.” The top 10 ‘signs’ to look out for to determine if we are in the “last days”:

1: False Messiahs (Luke 21:8)
2: Wars (Luke 21:9-10)
3: Earthquakes (Matthew 24:7)
4: Famines (Mark 13:8)
5: Pestilences (Luke 21:11)
6: Fearful events (Luke 21:11)
7: Signs in the sky (Luke 21:11)
8: Persecution of Christians (Luke 21:12-19)
9: Jerusalem surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20-24)
10: Return of Jesus (Luke 21:25-29)

For a bit more detail, Dr. David Reagan, of “Christ in Prophecy Ministries,” has come up with 50 reasons grouping into six categories that he says indicates we are “living on borrowed time”:

– The Signs of Nature (Most intense earthquakes, storms, and famines in history)
– The Signs of Society (Increased humanism, materialism, hedonism, and sexual perversions)
– The Spiritual Signs (Increase in cults, false christs, heresies, skepticism, apostasy, and occultism)
– The Signs of World Politics (Increase in wars, and the desire of a global government)
– The Signs of Technology (Nuclear weapons, computers, and the Internet)
– The Signs of Israel (Returning to its land and become a State)

[ More details about all six of these “signs” by Dr. David Reagan, visit: https://christinprophecy.org/articles/50-reasons/ ].

 

The BIGGEST ‘SIGN’ of the “End Times” is the return of Israel to her land (in 1948). Because of that, I and all prophecy experts believe that we are in the “11th hour”—and many say, in the last few ‘minutes’ before ‘midnight’. I and many also say that this is possibly the ‘LAST’ GENERATION!

[ FYI: For more details on what the scientists use as their end-of-times’ indicator (the “Doomsday Clock”), view this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/final-tribulation-v246/ ].

[ For more details on what the Bible says about the “Last Generation,” view this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/last-generation-v249/ ].

This, in turn, means the “RAPTURE” of the Church is IMMINENT—the ‘event’ that is described in the Bible when Jesus will come for His Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), both the living and the dead, to deliver them from this world before the wrath of God is poured out in the Tribulation period (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

[ For more details on the “Rapture,” read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/blessed-hope-v245/ ].

 

Biblical prophecy says plagues are coming in the End Times “Tribulation,” and I believe that COVID-19 is a just a ‘preview’ of what’s to come. The Tribulation plagues will be MUCH MORE HORRIFIC!

In the Book of Revelation (regarding “End Times”), it describes Jesus ‘releasing’ the famous “Four Horsemen,” which represent false religion, war, famine, and DISEASE at the end of this present age (Revelation 6:1-8). The end-time ‘ride’ of these horsemen will reach a TERRIFYING CLIMAX in the days leading up to the return of Jesus.

As mentioned, there have been plagues and other disasters throughout history, but FAR WORSE ONES are prophesied to come. The fourth “Horseman”—riding a sickly, pale horse—is called “Death” (Revelation 6:8), and he represents the coming of a disease and plague that has never experienced before (Matthew 24:4-7). The ‘ride’ of these Horsemen will continue into the Great Tribulation and will climax in the deaths of ONE-FOURTH of the earth’s population! (Based on 2020’s population, that would be about 2 BILLION PEOPLE!).

Sadly, even after such plagues are released on earth—including other great disasters—many survivors will STILL NOT REPENT of their wickedness! (Revelation 9:20-21; 16:9, 11).

THANKFULLY, before humanity destroys itself, Jesus will return “with healing in His wings”! (Malachi 4:2).

 

So, are you listening? DO YOU EVEN CARE? Are you ‘SCOFFING’ at all the prophetic voices and the remedial judgments I mentioned?

The thing is, the “Four Horsemen” of the Apocalypse may be training on some ‘race track’ somewhere! I can almost hear their ‘hoofbeats’!

 

“Convergence”
All of the different end times ‘signs’ are coming together for the first time ever—“converging”—clearly indicating that we are living in the ‘season’ when Jesus will return to take all His believers, past and present, back with Him to the “place” He has prepared for them in His Father’s ‘house’ (John 14:2-3).

Jesus prophesied that the Jews would be dispersed from Jerusalem and be led captive among all the nations (Luke 21:24). But, then He added that one day they would return to re-occupy Jerusalem, and when that happens, the end-time events will occur that will lead to His return. The even more amazing thing about this is that the prophet Isaiah foretold of this 700+ years before Jesus lived: “In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” [ Isaiah 11:11-12 ].

The worldwide regathering of the Jews began in ‘earnest’ at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1900, there were only 40,000 Jews in Palestine, but by the end of World War II, their number had risen to over 600,000. Today, there are more than 7.1 million in the Land who have come from all over the world. This means that there are now more Jews in Israel than were killed in the Holocaust. The prophet Jeremiah said that when history is completed, the Jewish people will look back and conclude that their worldwide regathering was a GREATER ‘MIRACLE’ than their deliverance from Egyptian captivity! (Exodus 1:1-13:16).

Intricately linked to their regathering is what most experts say is the end times’ “cornerstone’ prophecy”—a “great phenomenon” that happening just 72 years ago—the re-establishment of the State of Israel, which occurred on May 14, 1948.

Again, the prophet Isaiah tells of this, too: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?” [ Isaiah 66:8 ]. Well, as we saw in 1948, yes it can!

Also, the fact that Israel has been ‘reborn’ in the EXACT SAME piece of real estate that it was scattered from 2,000+ years ago would be amazingly significant, but it’s even more so since the Bible says, “You know when this happens, this is going to begin the generation that’s going to see all these things come to pass” [ Matthew 24:34 ]. Even though there are a few interpretations of the word “generation” (“race,” the Jews or “sinful humanity”), most scholars think that it means that within the lifetimes of the actual people who are experiencing all of the end times ‘signs’ will experience His return.

[ FYI: For more details about this being the “last generation,” read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/last-generation-v249/ ].

 

In addition to returning to the Land, Ezekiel tells us that the physical land would go from desolation to bounty: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited” [ Ezekiel 36:33-35 ]. If you don’t know, Israel it is like a ‘garden’ over there today, with them being THE EXPERTS worldwide on soil reconditioning and water conservation.

Another amazing thing, that has never happened before is that the Hebrew language, which was ‘dead’ for over 1,800 years, has come back again (Zephaniah 3:9). The only known language to ever have been ‘resurrected’ and put back into daily use!

This tiny nation (no bigger than New Jersey), so happens to be the ‘focus’ of world politics. All the nations of the world are coming against Israel over the issue of the control of the nation’s capital, the City of Jerusalem. Even though the United States has put its embassy there and is encouraging other nations to do the same, the Vatican wants the city to be put under its control, the United Nations wants it to be internationalized, the European Union is determined to divide it between the Arabs and the Jews, and the Arabs want all of it. Israel says they will never surrender any of it.

The thing is, this was also prophesied by Zechariah in 520 BC: “And it shall come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; and all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it” [ Zechariah 12:3 ].

 

These and many other signs that relate to Israel are really important, since the Jews are God’s prophetic ‘time clock’. What I mean by this is that the Bible often ties a prophesied future event with something that will happen to the Jews. The Bible instructs us to watch the Jews, and when a prophesied event concerning them occurs, then we can be sure that the next prophesied event will also occur.

Add to all this the tremendous increase in a global economy in the past 30-40 years (which global government and global religion can’t be far behind) and the meteoric increase in technology (which the Bible prophesies all will happen in the last days), it really looks like we are in that FINAL ‘SEASON’ of this earth the ‘way’ it is now.

To me, it seems that the EVIDENCE IS OVERWHELMING. We are living in the days when all of these things have even been possible in the past 2,000 years, let alone actually happening concurrently. It seems to me that God is ‘shouting’ from the heavens, “JESUS IS COMING SOON!”

 

In 1969, Billy Graham wrote, “We see the storm clouds gathering and events taking place that herald the second coming of Jesus Christ.”

Now, we cannot know the exact day and hour of Jesus’ return. He stated point-blank: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” [ Matthew 24:36 ]. However, since the previous 10 signs I mentioned above—and many others Jesus provided throughout the Gospels—are happening more frequently and with increasing intensity, the believer can know that they are now living in the ‘season’ of Jesus’ return! “Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door” [ Matthew 24:33 ].

 

No Longer Fearful!
In a time of widespread fear of death because of the Coronavirus pandemic, people are searching for peace, health, and security. But are they searching in the right place, and are they seeking them from the ‘proper’ source?

When people across the United States were first told to practice “social distancing” and avoid large groups, many reacted by “panic buying”—emptying store shelves of all sorts of items they thought they might need while in isolation.

Out of fear, people rushed to grab what they could, while they could. Meanwhile, the few who had planned ahead—who already had a few weeks of emergency supplies stored for just such a time as this—were able to react more calmly. But how many of these people remembered to claim the most valuable ‘supplies’ of all?

The “supplies” I’m talking about are the ‘promises’ found throughout your Bible. They are God’s ‘gift’ to you, and they can give you what all the material things in our world cannot. Unlike a store’s shelf, God’s supplies are inexhaustible—and their value is BEYOND MEASURE!

 

As you read your Bible, you will discover God’s promises, which include the blessings of physical ‘security’—but also so much more. Just some of God’s promises to His ‘children’ (believers) are:

– To answer our prayers (Matthew 7:7-8)
– To fulfill all our needs (Philippians 4:19)
– To guide our lives (Proverbs 3:5-6)
– To give us our heart’s desires, if we delight in Him (Psalm 37:4-5)
– The ability to endure trials (1 Corinthians 10:13)
– The gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Luke 11:13)
– The gift of His love (Romans 5:5)
– Forgiveness of our sins upon repentance (Acts 2:38)
– Eternal life (1 John 2:25)

 

One of the MOST ‘PRECIOUS’ promises—yet one of the most overlooked—is found in the book of Philippians. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 4:6-7 ]. Yes, God wants you to pray about your wants and your needs, but also He wants you to thank Him for the many blessings He has provided.

A closet filled with toilet paper may give some people a sense of security. For others, security may come from their stock portfolio or bank balance. However, even those who have achieved some physical security face a vital question: What have they gained? Will they become like the rich young ‘ruler’ (Matthew 19) who valued his wealth more than God?

Jesus’ followers seek an eternal treasure—the Kingdom of God. Jesus promised, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” [ Matthew 6:33 ]. Those who seek physical, material treasures often fail in their search. But, if we seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, then we will find the GREATEST ‘TREASURE’ of all—HIM—in addition to PROMISING TO PROVIDE us with ALL we ‘need’.

 

When you are TRULY SEEKING God’s will, He WILL ANSWER your prayers. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” [ Matthew 7:7-11 ].

Of course, we must do our ‘part’. We need to “seek” and “knock.” For example, are you now searching for a new job since you lost your previous one because of the COVID-19 pandemic? Then, yes, pray for a job. However, God will also expect you to research potential employers and make some phone calls!

 

The Bible also compares God’s Kingdom to a valuable pearl: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it” [ Matthew 13:45-46 ]. The pearl of great price represents spiritual riches and eternal life. Human beings are still learning the hard lesson that no amount of material wealth will provide lasting happiness.

[ For more details on finding that ‘pearl’ (Heaven), read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/two-choices-one-way-v254/ ].

 

God has promised His Kingdom, not to those who have great financial resources, but rather to those who LOVE HIM. Though they may be ‘poor’ in the eyes of this world, those who are rich in faith have ‘TRUE’ WEALTH—the true treasure of God’s will and wisdom! They are seeking God’s way in their lives, and God’s way is the true treasure, as we read in the book of Proverbs: “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” [ Proverbs 2:1-6 ].

Those who receive the treasure of godly wisdom are receiving a wonderful promise that can change their lives—and their eternity. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” [ 2 Peter 1:2-4 ].

Yes, God has given us great and precious promises. God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” [ Ephesians 3:20 ]. However, if we disobey God, reject His guidance and His mercy, we might actually “quench” His help to us (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

 

One of the other amazing promises God gives to His children’ is an UNSHAKABLE PEACE—even during a fearful time like these with the Coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s a question for you: Would you like to have a guaranteed, well-founded, justifiable, God-given, God-sustained freedom from fear and anxiety—an unshakable peace—and also have an abiding contentment? Of course, you would! (It was a ‘rhetorical’ question). Who wouldn’t want that!

Well, YOU CAN lay a rightful claim to these treasures! It is crystal clear in God’s Word that He offers a life of fearlessness and peace! “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” [ Hebrews 13:6 ].

The Apostle Paul emphasized this peace by proclaiming, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 4:6-7 ].

The old hymn, “God Will Take Care of You” written by Civilla D. Martin says it well:

“Be not dismayed what-e’re be-tide, God will take care of you.
Beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart does fail, God will take care of you.
When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you.

All you may need he will provide, God will take care of you.
Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you.”

 

So, to ‘CLAIM’ these promises, you MUST BE A BELIEVER! Consider reading the third chapter of John when Jesus was talking about how this can happen to one of the highest-ranking Pharisees (a ruler of the Jews) named Nicodemus. Jesus presented to him what it means to become “BORN AGAIN”!

 

‘TREASURE’ IN YOUR TRIALS
Perhaps you have seen the bumper sticker: “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade!” It’s easier said than done, but the basic philosophy is sound. Troubles in life are something we all have to deal with, but is there a way we can deal with them that won’t give us a ‘nervous breakdown’?

Well, first off, it has a lot to do with your ‘expectations’—what you want out of life, and what you think you ‘deserve’. When we go through trials, we begin to build endurance, patience, and perseverance. Sometimes it’s only when we come to the end of ourselves that we’re able to release those trials to God and say, “God this is too big for me. I can’t deal with it.” Then, we begin to see the power of God in our lives and, amazingly, we find joy in the midst of it! Author C.S. Lewis called it “Surprised by Joy.”

 

Do you know the difference between a priceless diamond and a common lump of coal? Well, the diamond is a lump of coal that has endured intense pressure. The trouble it endured made it priceless! The Apostle Paul said, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” [ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ].

Even though we all know that an olive will not yield its virgin oil until it is crushed, and delicious grapes cannot make new wine until they are crushed, we still WONDER WHY, since we always try to do the ‘right’ thing, that so many ‘troubles’ inflict us.

[ For more details on how to have joy during your trials, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/having-joy-through-trials-v198/ ].

 

Why, God, Why?
We all want to understand why, if God is all love, He allows mankind to suffer so much from disease. Could He not increase our body’s immune defenses to fight off the occasional pandemic? Then, what about cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and hundreds of other debilitating and deadly afflictions? What kind of God would bring such suffering upon mankind?

The place to start answering these questions is with us, humans. Consider the many afflictions that we know are human-induced and totally preventable. We have known, for decades, that cigarette smoking caused lung cancer and a host of other afflictions. People who are overweight, who get little exercise, and who have a diet high in sugar and carbohydrates are at greater risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. Excessive alcohol consumption contributes to cirrhosis of the liver and makes us more vulnerable to injury and death. Now, despite this widespread knowledge, how many stop smoking, start exercising, and change their diets? So, isn’t it time to stop blaming God for our sicknesses when it is clear that, for many of us, some of our own decisions are making us sick?

BUT, what about killers such as SARS, MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19? Surely, we are innocent victims of those—right?

Well, there is no doubt that the viruses causing these illnesses are non-discriminatory, striking people who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time through no fault of their own. However, surprising as it may be to many, the ‘source’ of these contagions is known and preventable. Laying aside the question of whether this Coronavirus escaped from a “wet market” or a “Biosafety Level-4” lab, we know that Horseshoe Bats are ‘reservoirs’ for Coronaviruses. If these bats were left in their native environment, they probably would have eaten, and SARS and MERS would have been prevented, and COVID-19 would be the disaster that never happened!

 

Perhaps it is time to stop blaming God and to start looking in the ‘mirror’. But rather than change habits that cause our problems, it is far more tempting to take the easy way out and play the “victim” card.

God declared to the ancient nation of Israel, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you” [ Exodus 15:26 ]. Note that the nation was to “diligently” listen to God and follow “all His statutes.” While they obeyed, God kept His promise to them!

 

The Believer Will Have ‘Tribulations’
As the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns continue, many families are struggling with the loss of loved ones, economic devastation, and fear about what the future holds. Many ask, “Why would a good and loving God allow us to go through such tribulations?” After all, doesn’t loving us mean He wants our lives to be easy and comfortable? Well, no, it doesn’t.

Many popular ‘pastors’ claim that God only wants you to be “healthy and wealthy.” But that’s nothing short of a FALSE GOSPEL. The Bible says that hard times WILL COME, and believers are NOT exempt.

The Bible clearly teaches that God loves those who are His ‘children’, and He “works all things together for good” for us (Romans 8:28). That means that the trials and tribulations He does ‘allow’ in our lives are part of the working together of all things for good—essentially the ‘divine’ purpose to grow the believer more and more into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

The way trials accomplish this is explained by the Apostle Peter: “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” [ 1 Peter 1:6-7 ].

Trials develop godly character, and that enables us to “rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” [ Romans 5:3-4b ].

Scripture is full of examples of godly individuals who endured personal suffering and lack, but still saw God’s provision in and through it.

– Abraham, Jacob and their families all experienced famine
– David hid in caves, running from King Saul, who wanted to kill him
– The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, cold, naked, and without food
– Jesus, Someone who NEVER SINNED, was crucified!

The “faith chapter” of your Bible, Hebrews 11, tells us of God’s faithful servants who persevered in their faith despite dangers and obstacles all around them. What did they have in common? They were “strangers and pilgrims” in a society that mostly neglects or rejects the true God (Hebrews 11:13), and in turn, ‘made it’ to Heaven!

 

So, if Scripture teaches explicitly that believers will face hardship, how can we be comforted and trust in God? Well, by turning to the ‘promises’ of God!

Here are just some of the promises of God and some of his attributes that you can cling to and be strengthened by no matter what trial you are facing:

– God promises He will continue to work out His GOOD PLAN in and through this. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” [ Isaiah 55:8 ]. In addition to that, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” [ Romans 8:28 ].

– God promises to be intimately INVOLVED and to ‘walk’ with the believer through their trials, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” [ Psalm 23:4 ].

– God promises to keep believers SAFE. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

– God promises to give us the GRACE we need to endure. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

– God promises to PROVIDE for all of a believer’s basic necessities. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

 

The words to the great hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” were penned over 100 years ago by a man suffering from poor health who never had much in the way of money or material possessions, but he LIVED the verses he based the song on: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” [ Lamentations 3:22-23 ]. He also said, “Great is God’s faithfulness, no matter the circumstances!”

 

Have you ever been told by a park’s guide that the journey will be tough but it will be well worth it? Then, after a couple of hours of rocky trails, sweltering heat, bugs, and aching feet—all uphill—you want to turn around and go back. He continues to encourage by continuing to say that it will be well worth the effort. Another hour passes and you are feeling like you are going to pass out, when the guide stops at a shaded ‘rest stop’—just in time for you.

He then says that y’all need to get started again, so you can get to the intended place in time. After another hour or so, you tell the guide you are just about to ‘collapse’ when, just after going around the next corner you see it, the most gorgeous waterfall display you have ever seen—but that’s not all. Just a few minutes later, the geyser shoots up over 100 feet in the air, spraying a soothing mist on top of your entire group. The guide then says that he was sorry that he had to push us so hard for so long, but he knew that the geyser spouted only once a day, and he wants us to be able to experience it. He hopes that all the effort was worth it (especially since the trek back to base camp was going to be downhill all the way!).

This is a simple illustration of why I think God (the guide) takes us through trials for—He knows what’s in store for you if you persevere and overcome the tribulations. Jesus said that in the world the believer WILL have tribulation, but take heart, He has ‘OVERCOME’ the world (John 16:33).

The Apostle Peter said, “Don’t be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” [ 1 Peter 4:12 ]. The Apostle Paul also encouraged the believer by saying, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” [ 2 Corinthians 4:17 ].

 

It’s important to note—especially in times like today with the Coronavirus—that, for the believer, this is NOT their ‘home’, they are bound for a ‘paradise’ for eternity! These 80-100 or so years on this ‘groaning’ planet is just the ‘preparation’ for what “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him” [ 1 Corinthians 2:9 ].

If you’re facing trials right now, you still CAN have joy while your tears flow. You CAN rejoice in the midst of pain. You CAN be courageous even when your strength fails. Because your Savior, Jesus Christ, took on your ALL YOUR sorrow, pain, and weakness on the Cross. Now, even your darkest struggle is part of His GOOD PLAN to draw you closer to Him. This trial—or any others in the future—can’t remove you from His love!

 

Discipline
Now, just as a good parent disciplines their child when they do wrong, so does the believer’s Heavenly ‘Father’ do the same when they disobey. God disciplines the one He loves and chastens everyone He accepts as His ‘child’ (Hebrews 12:7).

God sometimes uses trials and difficult circumstances to get a believer’s attention, and Scripture is what primarily serves as the ‘instrument’ of correction, as the ‘voice’ in your ears to correct, to console, to rebuke, and to train [ if you read your Bible aloud ;^D ]. This is fatherly “discipline.” Notice how close the word discipline is to another biblical word, “disciple.” The trials we face are divinely designed to mature us so that we become better disciples and more like His Son, Jesus.

The thing is, God’s discipline is for ‘believers’ only. It is only for “disciples” of Jesus. No doubt, unbelievers can also learn a lot through the hard knocks of life, and as a result, they might become better people because of the trials. But life’s hard knocks don’t ‘sanctify’ them. They aren’t being made into Jesus’ disciples through suffering. God’s discipline toward His children, however, is sanctifying. His discipline is love in action, for He loves us, not by ‘spoiling’ us, but by ‘correcting’ us. He is making us disciples.

If God’s ‘voice’ of discipline is ‘ringing’ in your ears—perhaps because of this Coronavirus—you would be wise to bid ‘good-bye’ to unbelief, break ties with sin, and leave behind without regret your wayward habits, attitudes, grudges, questions, or self-pity. Do that, and TRUST in God along with it, learning to pray, “Lord, your will, not my will, be done” [ Luke 22:42 ]. Because a believer’s will is to do the will of the Father.

 

Responding to the Coronavirus
What has happened over the last few months seems surreal. Seeing empty store shelves and massive lines to buy hand sanitizer and toilet paper seems like something out of a movie. With the ongoing daily reports of skyrocketing unemployment rates and poverty levels, testing failures, and speculation over treatments, it’s no wonder people are fearful as we head into the next phase of living with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lockdowns have driven conversations about the “new normal.” Some employees continue to work from home, but over 40 million have ‘lost’ their jobs (May 2020 new unemployment applications). Many believe that things will never go back to exactly the way they were.

 

The USA Today Health reports, “As the number of confirmed cases grows, so too does the nation’s collective uncertainty. Psychologists and public health experts say anxiety is high, and it’s largely fueled by a feeling of powerlessness.”

Pandemics fuel our fears. Although there are precautions we might take, there’s no guarantee that we can avoid the threat. There’s no assurance that we won’t be affected.

Again, USA Today Health notes that, “The good news is, for most people, the illness caused by the coronavirus is generally mild and the flu-like symptoms of fever and cough don’t last long. The bad news is the virus is novel and highly contagious, and right now there is no vaccine. The elderly and those with compromised immune systems or chronic diseases can become very sick and in some cases die.”

Novel illness? Highly contagious? No vaccine? Die? VERY SCARY!

Even though the chances of dying from the Coronavirus are relatively low for most, there is still great fear that since it is “novel,” and we have no idea of what the illness will do, feelings of being out of control and the unknown makes us afraid—of death mostly.

 

Now, this will not provide much comfort amid all the Coronavirus fears, but the HARD TRUTH is that people face the threat of DEATH EVERY DAY! Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.” None of us is promised perpetual good health. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow!

SO, moments like the present health crisis have a way of reminding us of what’s paramount: health, security, and family, BUT, for me, might I suggest that THE most important thing should be one’s ‘relationship’ to God, and their FINAL ‘DESTINATION’ at the end of this life!

No one likes to talk about death, but as I mentioned, the prospect of DEATH is probably our GREATEST FEAR. Pandemics—like the Coronavirus—remind us of just how vulnerable we are. Things can worsen and get out of control, but disaster and death can’t always be ‘cheated’.

As was mentioned, while death is something to make us afraid, there’s MUCH MORE that should make us unafraid: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell” [ Matthew 10:28 ].

Might I strongly suggest that you make it a PRIORITY to take this unique ‘time off’ to ‘PLEAD’ WITH GOD to forgive you of your sins and for Him to make you one of His ‘children’!

[ FYI: Consider reading the previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post if you are interested in how to become “born again”: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/ ].

 

God is Doing a ‘New Thing’
For me, one thing God is doing—among a million other things during this Coronavirus pandemic—is forcing the issue of ‘reality’, with a ‘litmus test’ of fear…testing your ‘foundations’. Oh, what a precious gift God is giving to us to discover, while we still have time, that the ‘pillars’ holding up our peace are hollow and made of papier-mâché. This is a precious ‘gift’ MAY NEVER be offered to you again!

Now, I don’t want to arrogantly say, “Never fear anything,” because it is a normal human feeling. But, one should concern themselves about WHY they are fearing (Maybe review the previous discussion on fears would help.) However, it does unearth one’s ‘FOUNDATIONAL’ beliefs.

 

To me, it looks like God is ‘presenting’ glorious, rock-solid, indestructible reasons for not being afraid of what the Coronavirus can do to your health, your family, your business, the economy, or even to Western civilization as we know it. HE IS THE ‘FOUNDATION’ not to fear ANY of this!

So then, you might be asking, “Who is it that can have this well-founded, justifiable, God-sustained freedom from fear and then have unshakable contentment?” Well, let me answer that with one of the most sweeping, all-encompassing, stabilizing, well-known promises in the Bible: “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” [ Romans 8:28 ]. (Before you ask, “Yep, even during COVID-19!”).

 

One of the many things God is doing through this horrific pandemic is that He is ‘saying’ to the world, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:15). But then Jesus goes further elsewhere in the Scriptures: “Do you love me more than anything?” (Matthew 10:37). Jesus was asking the disciples if they loved Him more than their mother, father, or children. SO, do you “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”? [ Mark 12:29b ]. This is the NUMBER ONE thing for you to get ‘settled’ in your soul!

Secondly, I think God is ‘saying’, “…be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election” [ 2 Peter 1:10b].

This COVID-19 pandemic is a ‘wake-up’ question to the world, but especially believers: “Is your life a confirmation that God has called you out of ‘darkness’ into His marvelous light?” (1 Peter 2:9). Are you ‘unafraid’ of what could happen to you, and steadied by unshakable ‘peace’ that only God can give? (Philippians 4:7).

 

If, indeed, God governs “all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11), and if this Coronavirus outbreak, with all its devastation, is in His holy, righteous, good, and wise ‘hands’, then what is He doing? What are His purposes?

Well, I’m thinking two things: To show us who we (humans) are, and to show us who He is.

As humans, we are finite, sinful, culturally conditioned, and shaped (really misshaped) by our genes and personal history. Out of our hearts and minds and mouths come every manner of self-justifying rationalization for our own preferences. So, we would be wise to pay attention to the prophet Isaiah when he says, “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?” [ Isaiah 2:22 ].

What we think—originating in our brains—is of relatively little significance compared to the wisdom of God in His Word. The Bible says that, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool” [ Proverbs 28:26a ], but then continues to say, “…but he who walks in wisdom [God’s] will be delivered” [ Proverbs 28:26b ].

In one of the most popular Proverbs (and my “life verse”), it kind of summarizes what I’m trying to say here: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones” [ Proverbs 3:5-8 ].

Now, concerning God, He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (everywhere at the same time), and omniscient (all-knowing): “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!” [ Romans 11:33 ]. God is always doing WAY MORE than we can see—especially in suffering (and during this Coronavirus pandemic). The Apostle Paul touches on this in his letter to the Romans: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” [ Romans 5:3-5 ]. So, God and His Word are the ‘reality’ we need—the ‘Rock’ under our feet to give us the stability to undergo the ‘storm’ of this Coronavirus pandemic.

 

PERSEVERE!
Perseverance is the ability to keep doing something in spite of obstacles. People who persevere show steadfastness in doing something despite how hard it is or how long it takes to reach the goal.

Perseverance—sometimes called “grit”—is the great ‘leveler’. You don’t have to be the wealthiest, have the most friends, or be the smartest kid in the class, because if you persevere, you most likely will achieve your goals. Napoleon Bonaparte said it well: “Victory belongs to the most persevering.”

 

Victory Over Crisis
Trying to ‘escape’ the Coronavirus shutdown? Well, as you probably have found out, you can’t. You’re in the ‘middle’ of it, and there’s nowhere to go (literally with “sheltering in place” orders).

Many people will spend a lot of energy and time trying to get rid of the anxiety that they are probably experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic by taking some type of action ‘manipulating’ the circumstances. Then there are others that simply won’t deal with it, and go into ‘denial’. Neither of these are ‘healthy’, and will cause more problems in the future. Deep down, this IS NOT about the Coronavirus, IT IS about one’s FAITH—one’s fear and trust ‘levels’. (Which you can review in those areas of this post).

So, I thought I would suggest a few ‘practical’ things for you to consider:

FIRST OFF, try to REGULATE’ your thoughts. Very much limit your social media ’surfing’ and ingesting the latest news coverage. There’s a saying in journalism: “If it bleeds, it leads.” Newscasters are quick to focus on gruesomeness because they know it drives up ratings (especially during this COVID-19 pandemic). However, the Bible tells us to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” [ 2 Corinthians 10:5b ].

Don’t let your imagination run away with you. Keep training your thoughts to dwell on good news.

As boredom pushes us to our Smartphones and TVs, grab a book instead. How about the Bible? The book of Psalms is perfect for times like these.

If you must, search the Internet for good stories coming from the Coronavirus. There are survival stories of those who weren’t “supposed” to recover, including a 104-year-old! According to statistics, this person should be dead, but God doesn’t do ‘math’ our way.

SECONDLY, if you’re healthy and not high risk, look for WAYS TO HELP OTHERS. Fear is a self-focused plague. When we centralize our thinking around others, fear dissipates. The Bible tells us that, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done” [ Proverbs 19:17 ]. Here are a few ideas to consider:

– Call to check on elderly neighbors and friends with chronic health issues
– Run errands for those who can’t get out
– Pray with those in fear over the phone
– Drop off a gift or send a care package to a friend
– Remember the parents of young children. Cooped up kids need activities to keep them busy.

By focusing on others, you stop worrying about yourself—and it allays you fears (Deuteronomy 31:6; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 46:1-3; Psalm 56:3-4; Luke 14:27; 2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:18-19).

THIRDLY, look for THE GOOD God is using the COVID-19 trial for. I can think of a few offhand:

– ‘Forced’ slow down of your bust life
– Greater family ‘connection’ time
– Knowing what your children are learning at ‘school’ (right, ‘teacher’?)
– Disrupted routines (ditching the 9-5 mindset)
– Regulating ‘screen time’
– Being creative
– Decluttering
– Being more ‘restful’
– Meditating (hopefully, with the Bible as your ‘guide’)

 

Reverend Dr. Samuel Wells, the vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, suggests ten practices that can help us be fully ‘alive’ through this time of isolation:

– Resist denial and practice truthfulness
– Resist assuming control and develop patience
– Resist the impulse to be right and discover humility
– Resist anxiety and find courage
– Resist fleeing from yourself and become your own friend
– Resist the suffocation of technology and embrace joy
– Resist the assumption of scarcity and celebrate abundance
– Resist self-centeredness and embody charity
– Resist greed and realize simplicity
– Resist despair and choose hope

Dr. Wells says that our best response to setback, disappointment, and loss is to assess which things last a limited time, and which last forever—and to transfer our energies from the former to the latter. This is the real adaptive work.

Now, what we MUST NOT DO in isolating ourselves from the virus, is ‘isolate’ ourselves from the Holy Spirit! The work of the Spirit cannot be ‘locked down’ and is ESSENTIAL to your ‘sanity’ during this time!

 

Life After ‘Lockdown’
We can all learn to live more simply. In ‘lockdown’, hopefully, we have learned to embrace simpler pleasures—walks in the neighborhood, time in the garden, cooking at home, and an evening with the family—all of which both saved money and bring us closer together as a family. If we continue to consume less, we can both build our savings and be able to give more generously to God’s ‘work’ and to those most ‘affected’ by the Coronavirus crisis.

My prayer for all of us is that we return from this time of ‘reflection’ having rediscovered the essential values of community, caring for those in need, and living more ‘responsibly’—so that we will be able to more readily ‘stand’ before the One who gave us everything and show Him we appreciated it all, and tried to faithfully steward the resources He entrusted to us.

 

Resilience
It is so easy to walk ‘in faith’ when the circumstances of life are all very positive. It is when the circumstances go ‘sour’ that our faith is tested. This happens when the doctor looks you in the eye and says, “I’m sorry, but it’s cancer.” Or maybe it’s a note from a spouse that says, “I no longer love you. I’ve decided to leave.” Perhaps it will be the loss of a job, or the death of a family member, or YOU have the Coronavirus!

The kind of faith that continues to believe and trust even when everything seems to be going wrong is ‘REAL’ faith! It is a faith that IS NOT dependent upon external circumstances, nor is it dependent upon feelings.

So then, what is the ‘key’ to developing this kind of faith that is so desperately needed in these difficult times we face today? Well, the Apostle Paul gives us the answer. “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need” [ Philippians 4:12 ].

What was the secret Paul had discovered? Well, he tells us: “I can do all things through Him, Jesus, who strengthens me” [ Philippians 4:13 ]. The secret is to trust God, remain focused on Jesus, and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that if we will do that, then “God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 4:19 ]. What more could we ask for?

Notice that the promise is to meet our ‘NEEDS’, not to provide every ‘materialistic’ delight that may enter our imagination. In America, I believe we are SOON going to learn the difference in ‘needs’ and ‘luxuries’! As God ‘JUDGES’ our nation, we will learn that we can live without a lot of the ‘toys’ that we consider to be so ‘essential’.

Christians will suffer along with the rest of society. But for those who know how to walk in ‘tough’ faith, there will be a difference. God never promises that His people will be ‘immune’ to His judgments, He ONLY promises that they will never taste the ‘WRATH’ that He will pour out during the Great Tribulation! “But now, thus says the Lord, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! And when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. And when you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you” [ Isaiah 43:1a-2 ].

 

Many years ago, a lady named Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote a poem after her husband observed from the deck of their cruise ship that one sailing ship could travel west and another travel east in the same wind. She wrote, “The Set of the Sails”:

“One ship drives east, and another west
With the self-same winds that blow;
’Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales
That decides the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,
As they voyage along through life;
’Tis the will of the soul
That decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife”

 

In our nation, today, that ‘wind’ is blowing toward immorality, violence, and disrespect toward the sanctity of life.

Observing this phenomenon, Don Wildmon, the founder of the American Family Association wrote: “Jesus went against the wind, and it meant that He ended up on a cross. I think that is what we are afraid of today, we are afraid of a cross. No one likes to be crucified. So, we set our sails the easy way. Many people have decided that they want Christ but not the cross. It is a contradiction. It can never be. The cross is at the very heart of Christianity. Remove it and there is no Christianity at all.”

 

‘True’ faith calls us to set our sails against the ‘wind’. We do that by “keeping our eyes on Jesus.” Thus, we have this instruction: “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” [ Hebrews 12:1-2 ]. The Apostle Paul encouraged us to, “Fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” [ 2 Corinthians 4:18 ]. It’s choosing to take our attention off of our circumstances and place our focus on God. It’s remembering God’s FAITHFULNESS IN THE PAST. It’s remembering His ‘heart’ toward us.

It’s also choosing to see our circumstances as God sees them. It’s replacing our fleshly, human perspective (based upon distorted feelings) with a heavenly, or Kingdom-centered perspective, understanding that God is good. Knowing that God is FOR us and has a GOOD PLAN for our lives. Confident that God will show mercy in the future, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him” [ Lamentations 3:25 ]. It’s all about trusting and ‘entrusting’ ourselves to Jesus.

So, live with an eternal perspective: “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is yet to be revealed to us” [ Romans 8:18 ]. Paul phrased the same idea in different words to another church: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor had the mind of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him” [ 1 Corinthians 2:9 ].

 

In our sufferings, we too may find ourselves vacillating between despair and hope, doubt, and faith. The good news is that God doesn’t require us to be dauntless in the face of adversity, but instead invites us to come to Him with our doubts and concerns. Though our faith may fail at times (as we saw the Apostle Peter’s did), we can trust God to ALWAYS be faithful!

So, if we really do believe that God is sovereign and He will take care of us, then during ‘uncertain’ and ’strained’ times such as these during the Coronavirus pandemic, believers should be manifesting faith, hope, and love! (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Do you have the kind of resilient faith that is necessary to survive this pandemic without resorting to wallowing in self-pity and despair?

 

‘Overcoming’ Fear
The Bible says that putting your trust in Jesus will give you that ability to control your fear of death: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” [ Psalm 23:4 ].

Evangelist Ray Comfort tells a story that illustrates this well:

“If you were in a house and I awakened you and there was smoke everywhere with flames coming under the door, why would you get out of the house? FEAR! You don’t want to be burned to death. So, fear is your friend, not your enemy. It is making you get out of the house and save your life.

This is the same thing with regard to everyone’s sin. We should be fearful of God since sin is really serious to God. So serious that He demands the death sentence as payment for it, because He is holy and pure, and cannot be in the presence of sin…

…So, God is to be feared. But, the Bible says that, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ [ Proverbs 9:10 ], meaning that through the fear of the Lord, men will depart from evil—and the only way you will let go of your sins is to see that you are in danger.

So, I am trying to put the fear of God into you hoping that you will see that fear is your friend, not your enemy—and it would lead you to the foot of the Cross where you would say, ‘God forgive me. Create in me a clean heart. Renew in me a right spirit.’”

[ For more details about ‘overcoming’ trials and tests, view these previous “Lie’s Deep Thoughts” posts:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/having-joy-through-trials-v198/
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-purpose-of-tests-v213/ ].

 

God WILL NOT Give Up on His ‘Children’
The Bible doesn’t talk about the absence of calamity, but God promises His presence in trying times: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” [ Psalm 46:1 ]. When our world is ‘shaken’ we sometimes think that, when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, God has abandoned us, but this is NOT the case!

George Young wrote the song, “God Leads His Dear Children Along” after his home was burned to the ground. Despite this hardship, some of the lyrics of his hymn show that he remained faithful: “Some through the water, something through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood. Some through great sorrow, but God gives us a song in the night season and all the day long.”

[ FYI: A rendition of “God Leads His Dear Children Along” by the “Sons Of The San Joaquin” is in the “Songs” section below ].

 

Poet James Rowe wrote, “God Holds the Future in His Hands,” which says, regardless of our circumstances, we should not “dread the things that are ahead” and though “the burdens may be great, and it can feel like we are plodding through sinking sand,” we can still be CONFIDENT IN GOD! We may not know what will take place tomorrow, but we can know that, “His dear hand guides, and He will be our father still.” We need to remember that God is sovereign over ALL the ‘storms’ (and viruses) of life. Years will come and go, but to Him these “are but an open page.”

Rowe gave this advice in his poem: “Live close to Him and trust His love.” We can be “assured that while on earth we roam,” but whatever comes, He will “guide His children safely home.” God understands each of us, He is our loving ‘Father’, and will guide us “along the best pathway for your life” [ Psalm 32:8b ].

[ FYI: A rendition of “God Holds the Future in His Hands” by Ricky Skaggs is in the “Songs” section below ].

 

When we recognize and acknowledge that God ‘holds’ the future, we can be assured that whatever comes our way, even if it is the worst scenario we can imagine (getting sick with the Coronavirus), God can TRANSFORM it into a blessing! Only when we place our ENTIRE TRUST in God will we have the kind of assurance in our future that God wants us to have.

The Apostle Peter summed up trials by saying (just after he had experienced ‘walking’ on the water), “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” [ John 6:68b ].

 

Christian Security in the Face of ‘Viral’ Fear
As I have been discussing, the world is currently grappling with a threat that has long been discussed and dreaded—the outbreak of a disease that has become a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. However, these kinds of widespread epidemics are really not new—they have occurred throughout human history.

The Old Testament records a huge outbreak of disease as one of the ten plagues that befell Egypt about 3,500 years ago. In the Middle Ages, a widespread outbreak of bubonic plague in Europe killed 25 million. An outbreak of Spanish Flu in 1918, during the last year of World War I, quickly spread worldwide and resulted in more deaths than those who were killed in the war (It is estimated that as many as 40 million people died from the disease worldwide.)

Now, given our global economy and the ease and frequency of international travel, the potential for an explosive outbreak of deadly disease has long been feared and anticipated—as it actually did, in late February 2020, when medical experts began warning of a Coronavirus outbreak that could become a global pandemic (as it has done here in MAY 2020).

All over the world, nations began to shut down their borders, and quickly thereafter, began to institute ‘draconian’ measures to stop the spread of the virus. Normal everyday life changed drastically as businesses were closed down and many people lost their jobs. Those who were able to keep their jobs, worked from home. Almost overnight the world went into “lockdown” mode.

 

The thing is, the Bible teaches that the Creation has been “groaning” under the ‘curse’ (Romans 8:22), and diseases will become even more pronounced prior to Jesus’ Second Coming. Natural disasters will occur with greater severity and frequency as the “End Times” draw near.

As billions of people find their daily lives completely disrupted, hopefully, they will come to recognize the insignificance of most of the things that clamor for their attention. Many people will be motivated to grapple with their own mortality—what the Bible describes as the ‘precariousness’ of this life (Psalm 144:4; James 4:14). When they do, it is my GREAT HOPE that many will REPENT of their sins and BELIEVE ‘in’ Jesus, embracing Him as their Savior and Lord!

 

If you are ‘waiting out’ this epidemic, please know that the ‘Light’ of God’s truth is shining even in this dark moment. ALL of the signs of the times we are witnessing were foretold by Bible prophecy.

Christians are people of hope, and not just hope as an idea or an unattainable wish like “I hope I get a pony for my birthday.” Their hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ—their living and personal Blessed Hope. Or, as hymnist Edward Mote wrote in his hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”:

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

 

[ For more details about what the Bible says is the “Blessed Hope,” view this previous “Life’s Depp Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/blessed-hope-v245/ ].

 

The old adage says it is “darkest just before the dawn.” Well, the Bible affirms that it will indeed grow ‘darker’ before Jesus bursts from Heaven in radiant splendor. That’s why Pastor Adrian Rogers said a lot, “The world is growing gloriously dark!”

Realizing that his time on earth was drawing to a close, the Apostle Paul wrote:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” [ 2 Timothy 4:7-8 ].

Are you a ‘candidate’ to receive the “crown of righteousness” that is mentioned in this passage of Scripture? I HOPE and PRAY SO!

 

One of the benefits of a massive trial like this is the fact there’s a certain sense in which the ‘reset button’ has been pushed in all of our lives. We don’t know what the next chapter’s going to look like, but believers do know this, it will be for their good! (Romans 8:28).

Trials call us to heavenly hope. The Apostle Paul, recognizing the difficulties of this life, encouraged us with this: “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” [ 2 Corinthians 4:16 ]. Paul continues by saying, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” [ 2 Corinthians 4:17 ]. In other words, how you respond to the trial is directly related to your eternal reward: “as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” [ 2 Corinthians 4:18 ].

The Apostle Paul then gives us an idea of what we are anticipating—our heavenly ‘dwelling’: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling” [ 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 ]. When things begin to be ‘stripped away’ from you in this world—even your health because of the Coronavirus—Paul is saying that your FOCUS should ‘shift’ to eternal glory!

 

Finally, here is what all of this means: Neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor sword, nor coronavirus, nor economic collapse, nor total anarchy, nor the end of the world can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35-39).

Come ‘storm’, famine, war, or pestilence, may your ‘song’ be what the hymnist Robert Critchley so aptly wrote:

“When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.”

 

How God’s ‘Children’ Should Respond
Believers can and should respond differently to a global pandemic than unbelievers. Now, just to be sure, I am not implying by that statement that believers get a pass on pain, suffering, or even death. They don’t. They experience all of these same troubling consequences of living in a fallen world. Any suggestion that, “no COVID-19 can come near you” if you are a believer, is blatantly false and unbiblical! Christians are not exempt from disease!

BUT, even though believers may experience some of the same effects of living in a fallen world, they’ve been ‘enabled’ by God to respond to these same difficulties in a different way than those without hope (unbelievers).

 

Believers don’t ‘fear’ like those who have no hope. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). Therefore we do not fear.

The outbreak of COVID-19 provides believers an opportunity to demonstrate where our hope truly lies. Our greatest source of help does not come from a medicine cabinet, food pantry or a roll of bathroom tissue. It comes from the Lord. We have the unique privilege of being the ‘signposts’ for hope and stability in a world of hopelessness and uncertainty. We don’t fear like those who have no hope! (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Believers don’t ‘lose control’ like those who have no hope. In spite of all of our advances in science and technology, a microscopic virus has just reminded all of us that we are not ‘in control’. For the believer, they understand that they were never in control. God, in His sovereignty, rules over all (Psalm 103:9; Isaiah 45:7).

Believers don’t doubt our God’s concern like those who have no hope. As a believer, you have the privilege of relating to God as your “Father.” He knows your needs better than you do (Matthew 6:8). You don’t have to plead or panic to get His attention. He has anticipated all of your needs before you realized you had a need. He cares for you and He invites you to bring your requests to Him (1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6-7).

Believers don’t live in denial like those who have no hope. It doesn’t matter how strong your immune system is, how much hand-sanitizer you use, how many pathogens your face mask can filter out, or what kind of faith you claim to have. Your life is no more than a vapor, and unless it is God’s will to extend the mist of your life, your vapor will vanish (James 4:13-16). [ Don’t believe the ‘false teachers’ who have taught that the Coronavirus can’t touch you as a believer or anyone in your household. If you live with the kind of false hope that you are “virus-proof” Scripture says your “boasting is evil”! (James 4:16).

Believers don’t ‘preserve’ ourselves like those who have no hope. If you truly understand that your life is just a vapor, it really frees you up to use your life for what it was meant for. Believers are placed here to ‘pour out’ their lives in the service of the others (Philippians 2:17).

Now that doesn’t mean that we are free to live irresponsibly (you should still wash your hands, cover your cough, and follow the recommendations of the CDC), but don’t isolate yourselves from people unnecessarily. As believers, we live for the service of others.

Believers don’t ‘focus on ourselves’ like those who have no hope. One of the unfortunate results of a crisis is that people can often become more selfish and self-centered. As believers, we don’t have to give in to the temptation to focus on ourselves. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16).

Believers don’t show ‘partiality’ like those who have no hope. Even though social distancing and temporary bans on travel might be necessary for a time it doesn’t give believers an excuse for permanent social distancing (Matthew 7:12).

Believers don’t ‘limit’ themselves to this life, like those who have no hope. Their hope is not in this life only. The world might have a hope that things will get back to normal, that we’ll find a vaccine and that stock prices will rise again. It’s okay to hope for those things. I hope for those things, but as believers, our hope is NOT LIMITED to this life only! (1 Corinthians 15:9; Titus 3:7).

For the believers who die of COVID-19, the rest of us believers don’t ‘grieve’ like those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The Coronavirus IS NOT the worst thing that can happen to a believer! (2 Corinthians 5:8). Believers who die of COVID-19 are safe in the ‘arms’ of Jesus, and departing to be with Christ is very much better (Philippians 1:23).

 

Now, there is NO PROMISE from Scriptures that the Coronavirus will ‘pass over’ your house if you have faith! Believers are NOT EXEMPT from disease, and we certainly are not exempt from the disruptions that this outbreak has caused. BUT, we have been ‘enabled’ by God to respond to these same difficulties in a DIFFERENT ‘WAY’.

If you are a believer in Jesus, you have a hope that is both sure and steadfast (Hebrews 6:19). Believers have a ‘CERTAIN’ HOPE that is beyond the wishful thinking of the world, and it’s a hope that you need to be ready to proclaim to anyone who asks you to give an account for your hope (1 Peter 3:15). [Just what I am trying to do with this post! ].

 

Confronted with fear, uncertainty and open questions, believers would do well to consider what the Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther suggested.

Historically, Christians were no strangers to epidemics. From the 14th to the 18th centuries, disease outbreaks were part of the ‘rhythm’ of life. Those outbreaks caused by Bubonic plague were particularly dreadful, boasting a fatality rate of 60-90% (for COVID-19, it’s “only” about 1%).

In 1527, plague struck Wittenberg—the university town where Luther lived—prompting classes to be moved to an unaffected town. Yet Luther refused to leave. He chose instead to venture his life on caring for the sick and dying and transformed his home into a makeshift hospital. So when Luther gave advice, he knew the consequences and the fear attending them.

For Luther, God is ‘hidden’ but surely works for our good even in the places we do not expect, including deadly epidemics. The fear of bodily illness and death should drive us to pray and to care for our souls, remembering that this world is NOT OUR ‘HOME’. An epidemic is one of many evils that beset us, and we have to take that seriously; but the greater evil is the evil within (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4). Therefore, responding to an epidemic or any other crisis must involve ‘TURNING’ FROM OUR SINS—chief of which is the selfish love that gives thought first to self, and only secondly, if we can assure our own health and safety, to others.

Luther regarded the epidemic as a temptation that tests and proves our faith and love: “our faith in that we may see and experience how we should act toward God; our love in that we may recognize how we should act toward our neighbor.” Through faith in God and out of love for neighbor, Christians must think first how to contribute to the physical and spiritual care of those who are vulnerable, self-isolated, sick, or dying. Luther wrote, “We must give hospital care and be nurses for one another in any extremity or risk the loss of salvation and the grace of God.”

What does this mean for us during the COVID-19 pandemic? Well, I think that our attitude should be marked by the Christian virtue of “measured concern” (“temperate prudence” in classical terms). Measured, but not panicking. Heeding Jesus’ encouraging warning: “Do not be anxious about your life… Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 6:25, 10:28). Instead of panicking and stockpiling so many masks that there aren’t enough for healthcare workers, or so much pasta and toilet paper that others can’t find any, we should be asking, “How can we as the “Church” (and I as an individual) help those in need?”

COVID-19 reminds us that lasting contentment, security, and happiness is not to be found in this present world, but in the world to come. As the theologian Augustine of Hippo (“Saint Augustine”) put it:

As ‘we are saved by hope’, so we are made happy by hope. Neither our salvation nor our beatitude is here present, but ‘we wait for it’ in the future, and we wait ‘with patience’, precisely because we are surrounded by evils which patience must endure until we come to where all good things are sources of inexpressible happiness and where there will be no longer anything to endure. Such is to be our salvation in the hereafter, such our final blessedness.” [ From his book, the “City of God” ].

 

The words of a Christian hymn by Johnson Oatman, Jr. also does a great job of expressing what I’m trying to say here:

“When upon life’s billows
You are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged,
Thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings,
Name them one by one,
And it will surprise you
What the Lord has done.”

 

Pastor and author Michael Youssef says this about the ‘distinction’ a believer should have: “Our greatest distinction between those who know and love Jesus and those who don’t is the level of worry that we have about life but when those who love Jesus become anxious it is because we have a temporary amnesia we have forgotten who is our Heavenly Father is.”

A survivor of the Nazi concentration camps—and STRONG believer—Corrie ten Boom, courageously showed how a believer is DIFFERENT by how she acted in those camps. She reminds us that, “Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strength.”

So, for the believer, worry is not our ‘friend’, and panic is not our ‘way’. King Solomon reminds us that, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10). May it never be said that God’s people are governed more by fear than faith!

Remind yourself continually that it takes the same amount of energy to worry as to pray. One leads to peace, the other to panic. Choose wisely!

 

Becoming One of God’s ‘CHILDREN’!
The ‘bad’ news is that you are a SINNER deserving of God’s wrath. The ‘good’ news is that you CAN become a ‘child of God and ‘AVOID’ His coming WRATH!

All of us are sinners. There are NO exceptions. We all have exchanged the glory of God’s worth and beauty and greatness for things we enjoy more (Romans 1:23). This is a shameful dishonor to God, whether we feel it or not. We therefore are deserving of punishment. Our dishonoring of God’s glory makes us worthy objects of His holy wrath. The Bible says we are “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). Which means that God would be holy and righteous to withhold His goodness from us.

HOWEVER, God doesn’t want ANYONE to go to Hell!: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” [ 2 Peter 3:9 ].

God then tells the believer to, “Always be ready to tell everyone who asks you why you believe as you do. Be gentle as you speak and show respect. Keep your heart telling you that you have done what is right” [ 1 Peter 3:15-16a ].

So, the following is a way of explaining the ‘good news’ of SALVATION using verse from the Book of Romans in the Bible. In Christian ‘circles’, it is called the the “ROMANS ROAD.” Although God’s plan for human “salvation” is communicated throughout the entirety of the Bible, this collection of verses in the Apostle Paul’s epistle offers a clear and structured ‘roadmap’ to becoming “born again” and “saved.”

 

Although many people believe they will go to Heaven because they have lived a ‘good’ life, done charity work, have been baptized as a child, attended church, or treated others fairly, the Bible declares that NONE OF US can live up to God’s ‘PERFECT’ standards of righteousness. Therefore, we need a ‘roadmap’ to God that doesn’t rely on anything we do, but rather, relies on the ‘gift’ of HIS GRACE alone!

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
We must acknowledge God as the Creator of everything, accepting our humble position in God’s created order and purpose:

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” [ Romans 1:20-21 ].

THE ‘PROBLEM’:
We must realize that we are sinners and that we need forgiveness. None of us are worthy under God’s standards:

“There is not one righteous, not even one” [ Romans 3:10 ].
“For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” [ Romans 3:23 ].
“For the wages of sin is death…” [ Romans 6:23a ].

THERE IS HOPE ‘IN’ JESUS:
God gave us the way to be forgiven of our sins. He showed us His love by giving us the potential for life through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ:

“…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [ Romans 6:23b ].
“But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” [ Romans 5:8 ].

SINNER’S ‘RESPONSE’:
If we remain sinners, we will die. However, if we repent of our sins, confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you are saved and have eternal life:

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” [ Romans 10:9-10 ].
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ Romans 10:13 ].

THE ‘RESULT’:
Justified sinners can now enjoy peace with God, no longer separated from Him by sin. Determine in your heart to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life today!:

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand” [ Romans 5:1-2 ].
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” [ Romans 8:1 ].

 

So, for the believer, this can be a helpful ‘shorthand’ version of what the Gospel is when talking with an unbeliever.

For the UNBELIEVER, if you are experiencing an ‘angst’ deep down in your soul, God may just be ‘calling’ you to become one of His ‘children’! If so, in your own words, ‘sincerely’ repent of your sins and ask God to forgive them. Then, if you can say this honestly, assert that you truly believe that Jesus died on the Cross as your ‘substitute’ for your sins, and He rose from the dead to give you eternal life. Finally, genuinely commit the rest of your life to serve Him.

 

[ NOTE: If you are ‘struggling’ with what exactly to say, don’t worry about it. God knows what you are thinking! Just tell Him what you are feeling in your ‘gut’. If you would like something to guide you, use the paragraph below, or use the “Prayer of Repentance” at the end of this ‘section’.

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

 

If you decided to ‘receive’ Jesus, WELCOME to God’s ‘family’! Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to ‘follow up’ on our commitment with the following:

– Tell another believer about your new faith in Christ
– Get baptized when you can
– Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
– Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Get ‘connected’ to a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support your growth in the faith
– Find a local, bible-believing church where you can worship God ].

To get to Heaven, one MUST be “born again.” Pastor David Jeremiah explains this with something he calls “Biblical Mathematics”:

“If you have been born once physically, you are going to have to die twice. You will die physically and spiritually. But, if you get born twice, you will only have to die once.”

So, if you get born both physically and spiritually, you will only have to die physically. However, you might not even have to die physically if Jesus comes back for you at the “Rapture”!

Therefore, the best thing is to have two ‘birthdays’ if you want to have only one death! You need to have two birthdays if you want to be “born again” and be on your way to Heaven!

 

Peace In Your ‘Storms’
A great biblical illustration of how one can have peace in the midst of a ‘storm’ (like COVID-19) is found in a story about the time when the disciples were in a great storm that hit the Sea of Galilee.

After the apostles had rowed many miles over a nine- to twelve-hour period, and a sudden squall came up and they were desperately seeking to get their storm-buffeted boat to the safety of the lake’s western shore.

After making little headway for hours, the apostles saw through the swirling storm a figure walking effortlessly on top of the water, not having any problem walking against the powerful winds and waves. “They were frightened” and thought they saw a ghost. By suspending the laws of nature, Jesus gave the apostles dramatic proof that He is the Creator and Controller of the universe (Colossians 1:16).

Jesus knew of His companions’ situation long before it developed. Therefore when the storm arose waited awhile before going to the apostles (just as He waited several days after Lazarus’ death before going to Bethany). In both cases He could have acted much sooner or He could have performed a miraculous remedy from a distance—just as He did when He healed the Centurion’s son (Matthew 8:13). Of course, Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’s death or the rising of the storm from even occurring. But Jesus’ omniscience allowed Mary and Martha, as well as the disciples, to sense EXTREME NEED before He offered assistance. He knew infinitely better than His servants that this would mature their faith in Him.

Because of the nighttime storm, their exhaustion from hours of rowing, and their general fear of the wind and waves, the apostles did not initially recognize Jesus on the water. In their human panic, the disciples could not help but cry out in fear.

The thing is, Jesus was testing the apostles’ faith, but He also understood their weaknesses and wanted to protect them from harm. So, His simple statement, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid,” instantly calmed their panic and caused them to recognize it was Jesus.

Now, Jesus did not offer any lengthy explanation of what He was doing or why He hadn’t come sooner—and He wasn’t walking on water to show the apostles how to do that—His purpose was simply to show His loving protection and willingness to do whatever necessary to rescue His followers. His miraculous walking on water was not essential to the rescue, but it was a vivid lesson of the power and extent of divine protection, and a permanent reminder that Jesus can and will act on behalf of His followers—WHATEVER is needed!

The lesson for the apostles in the storm is the same one for us: there is NO REASON for God’s ‘children’ to fear! He’s GOT THIS!

All believers can know that the place of protection and security is not necessarily the place with the best situation, but it is the place of obedience to God’s will.

Undoubtedly they were overjoyed to see that the figure on the stormy waters was actually Jesus. The ever-eager Peter could be faulted for everything from brashness to cowardice, but he also did many things out of love, courage, and faith. He truly loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him to the fullest. Peter sensed the comfort and relief of Jesus’ presence, and he wanted to be as close to Him as possible. Peter’s love for Jesus was imperfect (like all of ours), but it was genuine.

Jesus, displaying the greatest of compassion, commanded Peter to come to Him on the water, and was greatly pleased that Peter wanted to join Him. Jesus always accepts and builds upon a Christian’s weak faith. With much patience and care He takes a believers’ love and, through sufferings and trials as well as blessings and triumphs, molds that love into more perfect conformity to His divine love.

Jesus’ telling the ‘leader’ of the apostles to “Come!” was surely a loving order. The Apostle John declares, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love” [ 1 John 4:16 ]. It is God’s nature to love His own with an infinite, unqualified, unchanging, and perfect love, and believers most fully reflect the love of God when they are loving, especially to one another. “If someone says, ‘I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom lie has not seen” [ 1 John 4:20 ]. Peter’s love for Jesus was sincere, but he did not grasp the extremity of what he was about to attempt.

Can you just visualize the scene with me? I’m thinking that the other disciples were probably saying, “Seriously, Peter? What the heck are you doing?!” Yep, Peter was just ‘crazy’ enough to do it.

So he climbs out of the boat and starts WALKING ON THE WATER! But, the wind was blowing very hard and the waves were really high. Did he not realize how treacherous the weather was? Nope, he didn’t, because his eyes were ‘FIXED’ on Jesus.

HOWEVER, suddenly, he realizes, “Wait! What the heck am I doing?!” Peter lost his ‘focus’ and his eyes weren’t FIXED on Jesus anymore—and he begins to sink. He cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and I imagine screams something like, “Peter?! Look at Me! Lock eyes ON Me, Peter. Right here!” (I can see Jesus taking his pointer and middle finger and pointing them toward His eyes.)

After Peter started walking, he then became too concerned about what was going on around him. Too concerned about the wind and the waves. He lost his focus, and fell. So Jesus has to pluck Peter out of the lake, and take him back to the boat. (I’m not criticizing Peter at all, since he was the ONLY one of the disciples that tried doing it!). Jesus says, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

When Jesus climbed into the boat, the wind died down—immediately. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Peter walked on water—truly a miracle! But, it ONLY happened when Peter KEPT his eyes on Jesus. The moment Peter looked at the circumstances—the winds, the waves, and the water—he began to sink, and had to cry out for Jesus to save him. The lesson here is that when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, he began to have doubts and he let ‘circumstances’ terrify him. BUT, when he kept his focus on Jesus, he could do ‘miraculous’ things.

The moral of the story is, when we keep our ‘eyes’ on Jesus we have nothing to worry about—for He knows our every need. During such times, such as these, of uncertainty like job losses, home mortgage failures, stock market drops, recessions, droughts, floods, sickness, and catching the Coronavirus, Jesus knows our propensity to worry about things, and will help the believer ‘get over’ it. When we worry about the future we are borrowing trouble from tomorrow and ruin today!

 

Yes, Peter’s faith wasn’t strong enough at that point not to keep him walking on top of the water (but it would be after Jesus ascended in Heaven!). The thing is, bolstered by a genuine love for Jesus, it was better than no faith at all (At least he did not cower in the boat as the others did!) Peter DID make an ‘attempt’ to JOIN HIS MASTER, as every believer should also do!

Sometimes, it’s the same with you and me. But here’s the thing, Jesus was there to help Peter up and He’s there to HELP YOU UP, too! FIX YOUR ‘EYES’ on Jesus, and keep them there! No matter what is going on around you! He will never leave or forsake the believer. He is author and perfecter of your faith. He will never waste your pain. He will pick you up when you fall. Every good thing comes from Him.

When we get frustrated, anxious, or frightened during trials, the Devil tempts us to question God’s providence in allowing such difficulties. If we focus on our circumstances rather than God, we will begin to ‘sink’ like Peter did. But God’s abundant resources are available to us, just as they were for Peter.

Years later, Peter would write, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” [ 1 Peter 1:6-7 ].

 

The apostles’ worshipful reaction to Jesus’ miracles on the lake demonstrated their true discipleship. Their behavior showed they ultimately loved Christ more | than anything else, even life itself (Matthew 10:38-39; Luke9:23-24; John 12:25). Only genuine disciples are willing to submit to Jesus’ lordship in everything—even if it means persecution or even death.

On the other hand, false disciples by definition are not receptive to the demands of real discipleship that the Lord sets forth, and when “affliction or persecution arises because of the word,” or “the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word” (Matthew 13:21-22), such people reveal their true allegiances and forsake Jesus.

Threats of terrorism, crime, job insecurity, and the COVID-19 all rob millions of peace, serenity, and cause nervous breakdowns. Especially during these troubled times when people’s ‘hearts’ are literally failing themselves because of fear.

God doesn’t want us to live with fear. He wants us to “be still and know that I am God” [ Psalm 46:10 ]. Jesus declared, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” [ John 14:27 ].

Pharmacies sell tranquilizers by the millions of pounds every year to try to give people some ‘felling’ of peace. The thing is, that kind of ‘peace’ if short-lived and fleeting. What is needed is Jesus’ peace, and to ‘gain’ it, all one needs to do is repent of their sins, believe in Jesus as one’s Savior, and surrender their lives to Him. One will find that, even during ‘tribulation’ (like the Coronavirus), they will experience a peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

Do you need a ‘dose’ of this kind of peace today? Then just ‘look’ to Jesus. He will ‘impute’ His peace more and more as you continue to trust his more. Whatever your problem(s), fix your ‘eyes’ on Jesus, and peace will ‘flood’ your soul! Jesus says, “Come unto Me all you who are weary, and I will give you rest” [ Matthew 11:28 ].

 

This poem, “Restore” by Bob Benson, is very appropriate for all of us as we face the pandemic in this nation.

“When life caves in, you do not need reasons,
You need comfort.

You do not need answers;
You need someone.

And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation;
He comes to us with His presence.

We are always seeking the reason;
We want to know why.

Like Job, we finally want God to tell us
just what is going on.

But God does not reveal His plan,
He reveals Himself.

He comes to us with warmth when we are cold,
Fellowship when we are alone.
Strength when we are weak,
Peace when we are sad, and
Bread when we are hungry.

He is with us on our journeys.
He is there when we are home,
He sits with us at our table.
He knows about funerals and weddings and commencements and hospitals and jails and unemployment and labor and laughter and rest and tears.

He knows because He is with us.
He comes to us again and again.”

 

Evangelist and author Ray Comfort has a really good perspective on all of this: “A man who doesn’t believe he is drowning will not seek to be rescued. But, if he understands that he is about to die, he will become desperate.”

If you are an UNBELIEVER, you have reason to worry! You are ‘CUT OFF’ from Jesus and He WILL NOT help you! So, if you are ‘concerned’ about today, tomorrow, and your eternal future, the solution is to REPENT of your sins and BELIEVE ‘in’ Jesus—become ‘born again’. Then Jesus will keep His ‘eyes’ ON YOU!

[ FYI: For more details on having the assurance of Heaven and eternal life, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/knowing-assurance-v243/ ].

 

SUMMARY

WHY COVID-19?
So, why would God allow the Coronavirus pandemic? Millions are suddenly asking that question right now—believers and non-believers alike—which, for me is a ‘good’ thing, since God is on their minds.

Well, primarily, God desires for all people to “GLORIFY HIM”: “I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not yield my glory to another, nor share my praise with false gods” [ Isaiah 42:8 ]. The Psalmist said, “I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever” [ Psalm 86:12 ]. The Apostle Paul said, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” [ 1 Corinthians 10:31 ]. The Apostle John said, in the very last book of the Bible: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” [ Revelation 4:11 ]. The Westminster Confession says that, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” So to do that we but earnestly seek Him and find Him, discovering Who He is (Jeremiah 29:13; Acts 17:26-28).

God desires us to sense our own weakness and neediness so that we put our TRUST in Him (2 Corinthians 12:9). God desires people to FEAR Him with proper reverence and awe (Proverbs 9:10), and to LOVE Him more than their own lives (Matthew 10:37; John 12:25). We are also to show GRATITUDE for our Savior by loving and helping fellow humans, especially the suffering (Romans 15:1; James 2:14-17).

God also desires to shift our focus and affection away from this temporary, troubled world, to ETERNAL LIFE in Heaven (Colossians 3:1-2; Hebrews 12:1-2). To essentially get their attention off themselves and onto Him! (Back to ‘glorifying’ Him).

WAKE-UP ‘CALL’
The rapid spread of the novel COVID-19 has prompted government, business, and civil society to take dramatic action—canceling events large and small, restricting travel, and shutting down major segments of the economy on which nearly all of us depend.

As has always been, times of trouble are a prime motivation for us to consider our mortality and hopefully get to an ‘understanding’ of God and then ‘store up’ treasures in Heaven rather than clinging to treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19-20; Colossians 3:1-3), and to be good stewards of those blessings God gives us in this life (Luke 16:11; Matthew 25:14-30). God wants us to trust Him absolutely, knowing that our times are in His hand (Psalm 31:15).

Ultimately, it is the poor and hurting who seek God, not the rich and comfortable. It is danger and calamity that turn men to their Savior, not health and wealth (see Mark 2:17). It is suffering that wakes us to our true need. C. S. Lewis put it this way: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Life for all people means facing suffering, death, and their eternal destiny. Even if we develop immunity to COVID-19, we can’t escape the fact of trouble in the world. What’s best for us, in any situation, is to seek God: “Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:2).

FEAR OF DEATH
The Coronavirus has ‘stoked’ many peoples’ fears of uncertainty, calamity, illness, job loss, financial collapse, and isolation, but primarily of DEATH—and the Bible says that it should also stoke the unbeliever’s fear of the JUDGMENT of God for their sins! The ‘bad’ news is that you are a sinner deserving of death. The ‘good’ news is that Jesus came to earth to DELIVER YOU from the fear of death! (2 Corinthians 1:10a).

THE ‘VACCINE’
On “Good Friday” Jesus’ death on the Cross seems to be really ‘bad’ news, and then He was then buried in a tomb and a very large stone was placed in front of the opening (with a Roman guard also keeping watch in front of it). BUT, the ‘good’ news came on that Sunday morning when Jesus ROSE from the dead!

The meaning of Easter is that the Son of God paid the ‘price’ for all our sins and rose again to reconcile us to God (Romans 4:25) and DEFEAT DEATH!

PROPER FEAR
Appropriate fear is healthy. Our bodies have the ability to respond to things that can cause us harm and pain.

Fear is what makes you run from a burning building. Fear is what makes you slow down when you come to a dangerous curve. Fear is what keeps you from grabbing a poisonous rattlesnake.

So, an appropriate fear is not about living ‘IN’ fear. It means having a ‘healthy respect’ for reality and things that could ‘possibly’ happen.

Sadly, these days, there is way too much ‘shallowness’ with regard to God and His holiness. Our relationship to God has become TOO ‘CASUAL’. In the modern mind, God has become almost human, so affable and ordinary that we don’t understand His holy indignation against sin. It is only by His grace that we breathe each breath. He has every reason to take us ‘out’, because the ‘wages’ of our sin is death (Romans 6:23). Too many people approach God with a casual familiarity that borders on blasphemy!

We should be OVERWHELMED about our own sinfulness and consequently consumed with a sense of HOLY TERROR. I am certain that if the people today who claim to have seen God really saw Him, they wouldn’t be lining up to get on the latest Christian talk show; they’d be lying prostrate on the ground, grieving over their sin! (like Isaiah did 6:1-5).

A ‘true’ Christian comes into the presence of God with a healthy but soul-shattering fear. God does, after all, punish sin, even in those who are redeemed. “Whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives” [ Hebrews 12:6 ]. Hebrews 12:28 goes on to say, “Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

THE TRIBULATION
The ‘end of the world’ is understandably fearful. Our world is shuddering with conflicts in the Middle East, plagues and infectious diseases, cyber warfare, and the proliferation of destructive chemical and biological and nuclear weapons. It seems that the global economy is hanging by a thread, and the foundations of morality are collapsing like an ‘imploding’ old building.

The thing is, I do agree with the experts that we are living in the last days, but for very different reasons. I believe that we are in the time of the ‘buildup’ to the “RAPTURE” of the Church and the ‘precursor’ of the “GREAT TRIBULATION,” which leads to “Armageddon.” It is my strong conviction that everyone should take reasonable precautions and be as prepared as possible for the coming days.

The thing is, the opportunity to ‘MISS’ going through the most horrific time in earth’s history is fading fast for unbelievers. I agree with the many prophecy experts that the “return” of Jesus is EMINENT, and He is coming back to judge the unbelieving world! (Matthew 25:31-46).

Based on what the Bible describes, the world ‘teeters’ on the brink of final disaster. However, God is graciously offering people another chance to repent. He will snatch those who heed the warning from the fire of judgment (Jude 23), and transfer them from Satan’s kingdom of darkness into the soon to be manifest Kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13).

The “Tribulation” is God ‘POURING OUT’ HIS WRSTH on sinful, wayward, rebellious humans, and the fear so overpowering that they will be LITERALLY scared to death! “Men will faint from fear” (Luke 21:26).

People will die from sheer terror, because they will realize they have fallen into the ‘hands’ of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). It is finally His ‘Day’ of wrath, and it is so terrifying that it will literally ‘stop’ their hearts!

Then those who survive the initial fear will cry out for the rocks to “crush them to death” before they have to face God! (Revelation 6:16)—as if that could be a means of escape!

All of the different end times ‘signs’ are coming together for the first time ever—“converging”—clearly indicating that we are living in the ‘season’ when Jesus will return to take all His believers, past and present, back with Him to the “place” He has prepared for them in His Father’s ‘house’ (John 14:2-3).

Having studied the Book of Revelation (which described the “End Times” and “Armageddon”) intensely for over a decade, the only thing I continue to come away with after reading it is that YOU DON’T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE TRIBULATION!!! The ‘REAL’ trouble is COMING!!!

OVERCOMING FEAR
The most oft-repeated command in the Scripture is “fear not” (more than 300 times in most English-language translations of the Bible), and for those who are followers of Jesus, they can TAKE COMFORT in one critical, all-important truth. They are ‘children’ of God, “born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” [ John 1:13 ]. That means that they ‘belong’ to God, and have been ‘given’ eternal life (John 3:16; John 5:24). Because of this, believers DON’T NEED TO WORRY! We are SAFE ‘in’ Him for eternity!

As I mentioned when discussing what Easter is all about, Jesus, once and for all, ‘DEFEATED’ DEATH, so the believer doesn’t have to ‘fear’ it any longer! The even better news is that, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” [ Revelation 21:4 ].

Threats of terrorism, crime, job insecurity, and the COVID-19 all rob millions of peace, serenity, and cause nervous breakdowns. Especially during these troubled times when people’s ‘hearts’ are literally failing themselves because of fear.

God doesn’t want us to live with fear. He wants us to “be still and know that I am God” [ Psalm 46:10 ]. Jesus declared, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” [ John 14:27 ].

CHRISTIAN SECURITY
The Bible doesn’t talk about the absence of calamity, but God promises his presence in trying times.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” [ Psalm 46:1 ]. When our world is ‘shaken’ we sometimes think that when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances that God has abandoned us, but this is not the case.

One of the MOST ‘PRECIOUS’ promises, yet one of the most overlooked, is found in the book of Philippians. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 4:6-7 ]. Yes, God wants you to pray about your wants and your needs, but also He wants you to thank Him for the many blessings He has provided.

Believers are PROMISED eternal life in Heaven with God after they finish what God made them for! So, they should not be worried! They need to enjoy each day as best they can, and know that the trouble of this life will be ‘SUPERSEDED’ by the “glory to come” (Romans 8:18).

Christians are people of hope, and not just hope as an idea or an unattainable wish like “I hope I get a pony for my birthday.” Their hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ—their living and personal “Blessed Hope.”

Come ‘storm’, famine, war, or pestilence, may your ‘song’ be what the hymnist Robert Critchley so aptly wrote:

“When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.”

PEACE
One of the other amazing promises God gives to His children’ is an UNSHAKABLE PEACE—even during a fearful time like these with the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Apostle Paul emphasized this peace by proclaiming, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 4:6-7 ].

The words of a Christian hymn by Johnson Oatman, Jr. does a great job of expressing what I’m trying to say here:

“When upon life’s billows
You are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged,
Thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings,
Name them one by one,
And it will surprise you
What the Lord has done.”

So, for the believer, worry is not our friend, and panic is not our way. King Solomon reminds us that, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10). May it never be said that God’s people are governed more by fear than faith! The book of Hebrews says, “Keep your eyes on Jesus.”

Remind yourself continually that it takes the same amount of energy to worry as to pray. One leads to peace, the other to panic. Choose wisely.

BECOME A ‘CHILD’ OF GOD
All of us are sinners. There are NO exceptions. We all have exchanged the glory of God’s worth and beauty and greatness for things we enjoy more (Romans 1:23). This is a shameful dishonor to God, whether we feel it or not. We therefore are deserving of punishment. Our dishonoring of God’s glory makes us worthy objects of His holy wrath. The Bible says we are “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). Which means that God would be holy and righteous to withhold His goodness from us.

HOWEVER, God doesn’t want ANYONE to go to Hell!: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” [ 2 Peter 3:9 ].

So, the following is a way of explaining the ‘good news’ of SALVATION using verses from the Book of Romans in the Bible. In Christian ‘circles’, it is called the the “ROMANS ROAD.” Although God’s plan for human “salvation” is communicated throughout the entirety of the Bible, this collection of verses in the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans offers a clear and structured ‘roadmap’ to becoming “born again” and “saved.” Read the following: Romans 1:20-21; Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 10:9-10; Romans 10:13; Romans 5:1-2; Romans 8:1.

For the UNBELIEVER, if you are experiencing an ‘angst’ deep down in your soul, God may just be ‘calling’ you to become one of His ‘children’! If so, in your own words, ‘sincerely’ repent of your sins and ask God to forgive them. Then, if you can say this honestly, assert that you truly believe that Jesus died on the Cross as your ‘substitute’ for your sins, and He rose from the dead to give you eternal life. Finally, genuinely commit the rest of your life to serve Him. [ A “Prayer of Repentance” is just below ].

LIFE AFTER ‘LOCKDOWN’
We can all learn to live more simply. In ‘lockdown’, hopefully we have learned to embrace simpler pleasures—walks in the neighborhood, time in the garden, cooking at home, and an evening with the family—all of which both saved money and bring us closer together as a family. If we continue to consume less, we can both build our savings and be able to give more generously to God’s ‘work’ and to those most ‘affected’ by the Coronavirus crisis.

My prayer for all of us is that we return from this time of ‘reflection’ having rediscovered the essential values of community, caring for those in need, and living more ‘responsibly’—so that we will be able to more readily ‘stand’ before the One who gave us everything and shows Him we appreciated it all and tied to faithfully steward the resources He entrusted to us.

GET YOUR ATTENTION
For the past 22 years, I have been a ‘born again’ Christian trying to GET THE ‘ATTENTION’ of people to help them understand what the Bible says about becoming “SAVED”—having one’s sin forgiven, being reconciled with God, and being sure that they will go to Heaven after they die. [ This is why I have been doing this blog for the past 22 years! (as of 2020) ].

I believe that we are right at the ‘THRESHOLD’ of the GREAT TRIBULATION. All the signs of the times are “converging.”God’s fundamental purpose in this pandemic is to draw people to REPENTANCE that they might BE SAVED. Even when God ‘pours out’ His wrath, His fundamental purpose is always to bring people to salvation—and many people are sitting at home right now, probably thinking about eternity, and they never thought about it before!

God’s ‘bottom line’ lesson is “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Because God is sovereign, He could stop this. He could have stopped it from ever beginning. He could have contained it to China. He could stop it tomorrow.

Death comes without warning, and it could come to you during this Coronavirus pandemic! Death comes to anybody and everybody. It will come to you and you can’t control when it comes to you. Everybody’s going to die. That’s the message. That’s the point, so repent of your sin and believe in Christ. Simple message.

 

Everybody’s living on ‘borrowed time’. The most universal gift of common grace is time, time to repent, time to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, “today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

 

COVID-19 reminds us that lasting contentment, security, and happiness is not to be found in the present world but in the world to come. As Augustine put it:

“As ‘we are saved by hope’, so we are made happy by hope. Neither our salvation nor our beatitude is here present, but ‘we wait for it’ in the future, and we wait ‘with patience’, precisely because we are surrounded by evils which patience must endure until we come to where all good things are sources of inexpressible happiness and where there will be no longer anything to endure. Such is to be our salvation in the hereafter, such our final blessedness.”

 

Prophecy expert Terry James commented about this by saying, “To avoid being terminally and eternally ill because of this terrible, spiritual virus, confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for your sins. Believe then in your spiritual heart that He rose from the dead. Do this and you have God’s Word on it. You are now saved” (Romans 10: 9-10).

 

Jesus warned us not to be found sleeping when the Master (Jesus) arrives without warning (Mark 13:36). The Coronavirus is God’s WAKE-UP ‘CALL’ to those who have been sleeping. Make sure YOU’RE NOT ASLEEP!

 

Have I got your ‘ATTENTION’ now?

 

[ Excerpts from: David Jeremiah; David Reagan; Tom Moore; Nathan Jones; John MacArthur; Allen Parr; John Piper; Jack Hibbs; Avery Foley; Ken Ham; Paul Washer; J.D. Farag; Shannon Genrich; Jack Wellman; Ray Comfort; Laurie Coombs; Todd Wagner; Sabrina Beasley McDonald; Ralph Lewis; Dr. Mirjam Schilling; Mark H. Creech; Marcia Hoeck; Cydney Goldberg; Andrew Kucheriavy; Talia Wolf; Michael Stelzner; Vinay Koshy; Rob Asghar; J. Mark Beach; George Monbiot; Margaret Manning; Gerald E. Weston; Watt Ciesielka; Richard F. Ames; Ray Comfort; J. Mark Beach; Mike Riccardi; Terry James; Jeanne Segal; Melinda Smith; Lawrence Robinson; Daniel H. Pink; Wayne Schoeneberg; Gary Dull; Red Cross ]

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CORONAVIRUS “PRAYERS”

“The Misery of Hell”
Dear sinner, heed this message. Pray that prayer from the depths of your heart. Trust in this Gospel. This is what God is saying through the Coronavirus.

Because if you reject this Good News, you will die in your sins. You will go into the terrors of eternal punishment. And the bewilderment and the dread and the agony that will confront you in that place will be horrific. It will be unspeakable. And you will curse yourself for how foolish you had been to sit within earshot of the message that leads to life—the message that would have safeguarded you from coming to such a wretched place as that. And you will remember March, April, and May of 2020, when there were no sports, when bars and restaurants and gyms and beaches were closed, when churches were closed, when groceries were scarce, and when everybody walked around in masks and gloves. You will remember.

And you will think about this time when the threat of disease and death was so real, so palpable, so thrust from the realm of the merely theoretical into the realm of reality and into the forefront of your mind. And you will curse yourself. You will curse your carelessness and your foolishness.

You’ll say, “Oh, miserable wretch that I am! Oh, naive and heedless fool that I was! All the signs were there! The reality of my mortality was thrust upon my consciousness! Coronavirus taught me that death was certain, that I was not in control of when death would come! And yet I put it out of my mind! I medicated myself into a stupor with drugs or alcohol! I distracted myself and numbed my mind with ceaseless unprofitable entertainment! I ignored the warnings! I mocked the preachers! Damned fool!—I rejected Jesus Christ! And now I’ve come to this place of bitterness and agony and torment—and oh, what I wouldn’t give now just to hear one word of that blessed Good News that I so despised in my life!”

The Glory of Forgiveness
Dear friend, what can I say to you, but that I do not want that for you. God Himself does not want that for you. And so He has sent physical, tangible, unmistakable reminders like worldwide disease to remind you that death is certain, that life is uncertain, that judgment is coming, and that unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Turn from your sins. Confess your guilt before this Holy God. Own that you have broken His law, that you have offended His holiness, that you deserve the prison of eternal punishment for your crimes. And abandon every hope of paying that debt in your own strength, out of your own resources. Turn away from all your so-called “good works” by which you would seek to bribe the Judge for entry into heaven—realizing that all your righteous deeds in the sight of God’s perfection are like filthy rags (Isa 64:6). And put all your confidence, all your trust, all your hope for righteousness in the courtroom of God in the doing and the dying of Another. Put your hope and confidence for righteousness in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the world’s only Savior, the only Mediator between God and man.

Trust not in your righteousness to avail with you before God; trust in Jesus’ righteousness. Put off your filthy rags of sin. Be done with the fruitlessness of sin. And put on the pure-white robe of Christ’s obedience, offered to you freely who would just receive it with an empty hand. Cease from all your self-efforts to atone for your sins, and trust in Christ’s atonement for sins, when He bore the wrath of God in the place of His people on the cross.

And if you do that, you will be saved. You will be rescued from the coming judgment. You will have eternal life—free from the curse of sin, from the decay of disease, from the scourge of death—in eternal blessedness on a new earth, where there is no more death, no more mourning, no more tears, no more pain (Rev 21:4).

Dear friend, Almighty God has sent this virus, and has shut down the world, to bring you this message of salvation. Don’t squander this opportunity. Don’t waste the Coronavirus. Don’t delay another moment. Come to Christ in repentance and faith, and live.

[ Mike Riccardi ]

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“Prayer of Blessing in a Time of Pandemic”

How can we bless in times of disease,
we who are natural spreaders, our lives
dedicated to pandemics of health—
holding back is strange to us. We are huggers,
hand shakers, kissers of both cheeks. Our
greetings are stunted in this plague.

We are crossers of paths, of borders, we
embed ourselves, many of us.
We are foreign bodies,
we long to be pathogens of purity.

How do we bless in these days?

We bless as we always have—with
love balanced on wisdom,
in defiance of both negligence and fear.

So I bless you—
spreaders of the gospel in Jesus’s name,
with noses sensitive to opportunity,
able to discern accurately where
love must be applied in our neighborhoods,
in our atmospheres.

I bless you in Jesus’s name with the easy
breath of God’s Spirit, wholesome,
pure, and deeply good,
who comforts and drives
us to comfort, who
ministers and drives us to minister.

I bless you in Jesus’s name with the
wisdom of your lives—that they will be
neither wasted nor left unspent.

And may God, who inhabits all times
both before and after safety,
before and after illnesses,
before and after death,
advance his Kingdom.
May it be a breath of healing in our world,
the natural exhale of the gospel
that we spread.

[ Dan Erickson ]

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‘PRAYER’ OF REPENTANCE
In the Bible, there is a parable that Jesus told about a Pharisee and a tax collector praying in the Temple. He notes that the tax collector didn’t even dare to lift his eyes toward Heaven as he prayed. Instead he “beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner’”—and Jesus said that the tax collector “went home justified,” he had been “born again” and ‘reconciled’ by God. (Luke 18:9-14).

If you are ‘sensing’ something like that right now, let me strongly encourage you to HUMBLE YOURSELF, CRY OUT to God, and PLEAD for Him to mercifully ‘SAVE’ YOU! None of us have a ‘claim’ on our salvation, nor do we have any ‘works’ that would cause us to deserve it or earn it—it is purely a gift of Divine grace—and all any of us can do is ask. So, CONFESS YOUR SINS and acknowledge to God that you have no hope for Heaven apart from what He provides through Jesus.

There is no ‘formula’ or certain words for this. So just talk to God, in your own words—He knows your ‘heart’. If you are genuinely sincere, and God does respond to your plea, one will usually have a sense of joy and peace.

Jesus said, “He that comes to Me, I will not cast out” [ John 6:37 ].

[ FYI: This is a great sermon on the “Call to Repentance” by John MacArthur from his book “The Gospel According to Jesus”: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-22/the-call-to-repentance
(Transcript: http://www.spiritedesign.com/TheCallToRepentance-JohnMacArthur(Jul-27-2019).pdf) ].

[ NOTE: If you have ‘tasted the kindness of the Lord’, please e-mail me—I would love to CELEBRATE with you, and help you get started on your ‘journey’ with Jesus! ].

 

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RESOURCES:

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“Throughout the book, Parr keeps readers engaged, amused and focused, proving that the science of Captivology works.” – Success Magazine

“Sensible… Spryly written… [Captivology] is a worthwhile read, if you can concentrate your mind.” – Financial Times

“Parr gets it: To succeed in a world where attention is scarce, captivating audiences at every level is a skill that everyone needs. Captivology will show you how to capture other people’s attention, whether you are teacher, entrepreneur, musician, or simply a dreamer with a big idea.” – Adam Braun, New York Times bestselling author of The Promise of a Pencil)

“The Internet has made it easier to communicate but also more challenging to be heard. Ben Parr’s Captivology applies recent discoveries in psychology and neuroscience to the attention economy so that anyone can rise over the crowd and stand out.” – Craig Newmark, founder, Craigslist)

https://www.amazon.com/Captivology-Science-Capturing-Peoples-Attention/dp/0062324195/

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“The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads”
By: Tim Wu

From Tim Wu, author of the award-winning The Master Switch ( a New Yorker and Fortune Book of the Year) and who coined the term “net neutrality”—a revelatory, ambitious and urgent account of how the capture and re-sale of human attention became the defining industry of our time.

Feeling attention challenged? Even assaulted? American business depends on it. In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of messaging, advertising enticements, branding, sponsored social media, and other efforts to harvest our attention. Few moments or spaces of our day remain uncultivated by the “attention merchants,” contributing to the distracted, unfocused tenor of our times. Tim Wu argues that this condition is not simply the byproduct of recent technological innovations but the result of more than a century’s growth and expansion in the industries that feed on human attention. From the pre-Madison Avenue birth of advertising to the explosion of the mobile web; from AOL and the invention of email to the attention monopolies of Google and Facebook; from Ed Sullivan to celebrity power brands like Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump, the basic business model of “attention merchants” has never changed: free diversion in exchange for a moment of your consideration, sold in turn to the highest-bidding advertiser. Wu describes the revolts that have risen against the relentless siege of our awareness, from the remote control to the creation of public broadcasting to Apple’s ad-blocking OS. But he makes clear that attention merchants are always growing new heads, even as their means of getting inside our heads are changing our very nature–cognitive, social, political and otherwise–in ways unimaginable even a generation ago.

“A startling and sweeping examination of the increasingly ubiquitous commercial effort to capture and commodify our attention…We’ve become the consumers, the producers, and the content. We are selling ourselves to ourselves.”
—Tom Vanderbilt, The New Republic

“An erudite, energizing, outraging, funny and thorough history…A devastating critique of ad tech as it stands today, transforming “don’t be evil” into the surveillance business model in just a few short years. It connects the dots between the sale of advertising inventory in schools to the bizarre ecosystem of trackers, analyzers and machine-learning models that allow the things you look at on the web to look back at you…This stuff is my daily beat, and I learned a lot from Attention Merchants.”
—Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

“Illuminating.”
—Jacob Weisberg, The New York Review of Books

https://www.amazon.com/Attention-Merchants-Scramble-Inside-Heads/dp/0385352018/

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“Got Your Attention?: How to Create Intrigue and Connect with Anyone”
By: Sam Horn

Did you know:

• Goldfish, yes, goldfish, have longer attention spans than we humans do?

• One in four people abandons a website if it takes longer than four seconds to load?

Imagine if there were ways, in a world of impatience and INFObesity, to quickly intrigue busy, distracted people and earn their interest, trust and buy-in?

Imagine if there was a process for pleasantly surprising decision-makers and convincing them you’re the right person for the job, position, project or contract?

You don’t have to imagine it, Sam Horn has created it. Sam’s innovative techniques have helped her clients close deals and raise millions of dollars and will be your “secret sauce” to getting funded, hired, elected, promoted or referred.

https://www.amazon.com/Got-Your-Attention-Intrigue-Connect/dp/1626562504

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“May I Have Your Attention, Please? Your Guide to Business Writing That Charms, Captivates and Converts”
By: Mish Slade

Let’s not mince words here: most business writing is tedious, pompous and bereft of the tiniest sliver of personality.
It’s near impossible for customers to cut through the “innovative solutions” and “passion for customer service,” and find out who can actually give them what they need.

For the business owner who’s willing to do something different, though, it represents a major – and inexpensive – competitive advantage.

May I Have Your Attention, Please? lays out 12 simple principles that allow business owners – even those with no writing experience – to attract and enchant their dream customers. With clear and concise explanations of what works and why, and examples of the best and worst text out there, you’ll have all the tools you need to turn readers into buyers into raving fans.

Give your writing skills an instant upgrade
In this short book, you’ll learn:

-Simple techniques to turn your dull-as-dishwater business marketing into “can’t resist” copy – even if you don’t think of yourself as a “good writer.”
-How to make price irrelevant and be the only choice for your ideal customer – by changing nothing except your copywriting.
-The business writing “rules” you should revel in breaking.
-Why copying your competitors is a dangerous waste of time… and what to do instead (without spending hours searching for ideas).
-The easily avoidable mistakes that are turning your customers off – even if they don’t know it.
-A simple framework to help you blast through writer’s block and know exactly what to say in any piece of writing.
-How to “read your customers’ minds,” and get them looking for reasons to buy from you.

Who is this book for?
Business owners looking to breathe more life into their website, content marketing or sales materials.
Employees who want to gain a new skill and have more impact in their work.
Anyone who has something great to offer – but is struggling to get the message across.

https://www.amazon.com/Attention-Business-Writing-Captivates-Converts/dp/0993497217/

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“You’ve Got 8 Seconds: Communication Secrets for a Distracted World”
By: Paul Hellman

You made a great point — but did anybody hear it?

Probably not, warns high-stakes communication expert Paul Hellman. The average attention span has dropped to 8 seconds.

So whether you’re presenting to a large audience, meeting one-on-one, talking on the phone, or even sending an email, you’ve got to engage others fast, before they tune you out , , , maybe forever.

Your challenge: to get heard, get remembered & get results.

Through fast, fun, actionable tips, You’ve Got 8 Seconds explains what works and what doesn’t, what’s forgettable and what sticks. With stories, scripts, and examples of good and bad messages, the book reveals three main strategies to get heard in a noisy world:

FOCUS: Design a strong message–then say it in seconds.

VARIETY: Make routine information come alive.

PRESENCE: Convey confidence and command attention.

You’ll discover practical techniques, including the Fast-Focus Method™, which the author uses to help senior executives make their messages stick; how to stand out in the first seconds of a presentation; and 10 actions that spell executive presence.

The next time you speak, others will either tune in or tune out. You’ve got 8 seconds–make them count!

https://www.amazon.com/Youve-Got-Seconds-Paul-Hellman-ebook/dp/B01N7POJO4/

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“Capture My Attention: How to stand out online with creative content”
By: Jordana Borensztajn

“… really good advice, organised in a way that I can understand it. This is an awesome book.” – Judy Carter, humourist and author of The Comedy Bible.

Every minute, every hour, every second, millions of people around the world are posting, commenting and chronically oversharing online. So, how can you make your brand stand out among all this chaos? You need creative content.

Capture My Attention is your complete guide to creating online content that will attract attention and make you stand out from your competitors.­­ Entertaining and engaging, this definitive guide is designed to make you laugh while providing you with hands-on strategies and techniques, plus workbook-style exercises, to instantly generate captivating content for your professional or personal brand. 
This book will teach you about:

– What creativity is, and how to apply it to your online content
– Overcoming creative fear
– The power of emotion in online content
– Finding your brand voice and using it
– Enhancing your content with visuals
– Incorporating storytelling for impact
– Adding humour to your content toolkit
– The drivers that fuel online sharing
– Boosting your own creativity
– Lessons from top creative thought-leaders
– And much more

Capture My Attention’s practical, step-by-step approach to getting creative proves that no matter your skillset or background, everyone is capable of creating compelling content that can cut through the madness of the online world.

https://www.amazon.com/Capture-My-Attention-creative-content-ebook/dp/B07N1FJVD2/

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“Break Through the Noise: The Nine Rules to Capture Global Attention”
Tim Staples and Josh Young

The odds of getting a video onto YouTube’s front page are 1-in-2,000,0000, but Tim Staples, founder and CEO of Shareability, knows how to make the algorithms of Youtube, Google, Facebook and Instagram work for you – and he has the results to prove it, with a thriving business that has gotten their videos onto YouTube’s front page an amazing 25 times. Here he shows savvy marketers, entrepreneurs, and online celebrity wannabes how they, too, can develop clever videos that amass millions of views.

Staples outlines a nine-step approach that anyone can use to launch their product or service without having to invest a fortune.

Case studies featured in the book include how Shareability launched ROC Headphones, a multi-million-dollar global brand, with a viral video of Cristiano Ronaldo in disguise without spending a nickel on traditional advertising; how they used babies to create the most successful social video ever about the Olympic Games; how they propelled a small pet food company from obscurity to an IPO on the power of two viral videos; and how they helped Cricket Wireless become the most shared brand in the wireless space beating telco powerhouses like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.

https://www.amazon.com/Break-Through-Noise-Capture-Attention/dp/1328618560/

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“Never Be Boring Again: Make Your Business Presentations Capture Attention, Inspire Action and Produce Results”
By: Doug Stevenson

Never Be Boring Again is unlike other books on presentation skills because it focuses on strategic storytelling for business professionals. It targets speakers, trainers, entrepreneurs, salespeople and executives and teaches them how to choose, craft and deliver a story that makes a point, teaches a lesson or sells a product. It introduces a breakthrough approach from a dynamic new voice.

https://www.amazon.com/Never-Boring-Again-Presentations-Attention/dp/0971344094/

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“Be Not Afraid: Overcoming the Fear of Death”
By: Johann Christoph Arnold

Fear of accidents or acts of terror, illness or dying, loneliness or grief – if you’re like most people such anxieties may be robbing you of the peace that could be yours. In Be Not Afraid, Johann Christoph Arnold, a seasoned pastoral counselor who has accompanied many people to death’s door, tells how ordinary men, women and children found the strength to conquer their deepest fears. Drawing on stories of people he has known as pastor, relative or friend, Arnold shows how suffering can be given meaning, and despair overcome. Interspersed with anecdotes from such wise teachers as Mother Teresa, Henri Nouwen, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Arnold’s words offer the assurance that even in an age of anxiety, you can live life to the full and meet death with confidence.

https://www.amazon.com/Be-Not-Afraid-Overcoming-Death/dp/0874869161/

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“Fear of Dying: How to Overcome the Fear of Death in Order to Fully Enjoy Life”
By: Juri Hansen

To most of us, the thought of death and the idea of what happens after life on earth is unsettling at best. Some people can easily shake off this fear of the unknown, instead using the certainty of death as motivation to make the most out of life while it lasts. But the fact that nobody has definitive answers for questions about death can seem terrifying to other people. Their fear of death causes a sort of emotional paralysis, whereby the quality of their life actually suffers because the fear is so great that it renders them unable to fully enjoy life and all that it has to offer. If you are among those who fear death and have trouble shaking the fear off, then this book can help. I’m going to provide you with no-nonsense methods of facing your fear, recovering your zest for life, and regaining control of your present. Since there’s no point in worrying about what is yet to come, let’s get started so that you can soon be able to fully appreciate the here and now.

https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Dying-Overcome-Death-Order/dp/153287412X

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“Coronavirus and Christ”
By: John Piper

“This is a time when the fragile form of this world is felt. The seemingly solid foundations are shaking. The question we should be asking is, Do we have a Rock under our feet? A Rock that cannot be shaken―ever?”
―John Piper

On January 11, 2020, a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reportedly claimed its first victim in the Hubei province of China. By March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization had declared a global pandemic. In the midst of this fear and uncertainty, it is natural to wonder what God is doing.

In Coronavirus and Christ, John Piper invites readers around the world to stand on the solid Rock, who is Jesus Christ, in whom our souls can be sustained by the sovereign God who ordains, governs, and reigns over all things to accomplish his wise and good purposes for those who trust in him. What is God doing through the coronavirus? Piper offers six biblical answers to that question, showing us that God is at work in this moment in history.

https://www.amazon.com/Coronavirus-Christ-John-Piper/dp/1433573598/

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“Corona Crisis: Plagues, Pandemics, and the Coming Apocalypse”
By: Mark Hitchcock

In Corona Crisis, professor Mark Hitchcock shares how the current coronavirus outbreak is related to the vivid, end-time biblical prophecies about plagues, pestilences, and pandemics.

– Jesus listed “pestilences in various places” as a sign of his coming (Luke 21:11).
– In the prophecy of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, the fourth rider kills one-fourth of the earth with pestilence and the “wild beasts of the earth.”
– Many believe that “wild beasts” refers to plagues that come from animals, as we’ve seen in recent decades with AIDS, SARS, MERS, the bird flu and swine flu, and now COVID-19.

Hitchcock believes the coronavirus is not the fulfillment of these events that will occur during the tribulation period but a foreshadowing of what lies ahead. Corona Crisis puts the current situation in perspective in relation to previous plagues, like the Spanish flu, while giving an overview of the major signs of the end times.

The book also discusses how the rise of globalism contributes to the spread of plagues. In our global environment, events can happen suddenly that send shock waves around the world.

https://www.amazon.com/Corona-Crisis-Plagues-Pandemics-Apocalypse-ebook/dp/B0865R4QRZ/

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“Where is God in a Coronavirus World?”
By: John C. Lennox

How belief in a loving and sovereign God helps us to make sense of and cope with the coronavirus outbreak.

We are living through a unique, era-defining period. Many of our old certainties have gone, whatever our view of the world and whatever our beliefs. The coronavirus pandemic and its effects are perplexing and unsettling for all of us. How do we begin to think it through and cope with it?

In this short yet profound book, Oxford mathematics professor John Lennox examines the coronavirus in light of various belief systems and shows how the Christian worldview not only helps us to make sense of it, but also offers us a sure and certain hope to cling to.

Here’s why John Lennox wrote the book:
“This book consists of my reflections on what we are experiencing right now. I started writing it a week ago, and things have changed quickly since then and no doubt will do again…I would invite you, the reader, to view the book like this: we are sitting in a coffee shop (if only we could!) and you have asked me the question on the book cover. I put down my coffee cup and attempt to give you an honest answer. What follows is what I would try to say in order to convey some comfort, support and hope.”

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Coronavirus-World-John-Lennox/dp/1784985694

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“Why the Coronavirus: Is God Still Good”
By: Peter Kerr

Humanity is faced with the coronavirus pandemic, and everyone wants to know what it means. Just as in previous disasters, many people are turning to God while others are blaming God. How can there be a good God who loves people and is all-powerful and yet He does nothing to stop this disease? This book gives a direct answer to this question and explains where evil comes from and why God seems to not intervene. If you have ever asked “why are we being struck with the coronavirus” or any other type of disaster, this short book is for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Coronavirus-Still-Good-Pearls-ebook/dp/B086SDV6C8/

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“The Coronavirus Plague: A Clarion Call to All Christians: Seeing the Light when others see Darkness”
By: Samuel O. Wilson

“The Coronavirus Plague: A Clarion Call to All Christians” is a book for the hour. In times like this, where fears are growing, what can we do as Christians? What lessons can we glean from the situation? How can we grow our faith and not our fears? What message is behind the coronavirus disease that we are not getting? The information that you are getting from the media, how are you processing them? One thing is sure, this too shall pass, but how do we face the situation as Christian soldiers? This is a book for you to strengthen your faith and open the eyes of your spirit to see the light at a time when everyone else sees darkness. While others see the loss, you can see the gains of these dark hours, especially in your journey with God. While the coronavirus is causing havoc, economic crises and natural disasters are also staring at us. Is your faith failing? Why are all these challenges? How can you face this hour and still maintain your relationship with God? Find out!

https://www.amazon.com/Coronavirus-Plague-Clarion-Christians-Darkness/dp/B086GDBNH6/

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“Did God Send the Coronavirus COVID-19?”
By David A. Reed

God tells us to repent and pray “whenever I send epidemics among my people.” (2 Chron. 7:13) The author does NOT claim to have received a supernatural message answering that question. But the Bible will tell you enough information on this topic, to allow you to form an intelligent opinion on the matter for yourself. And this book attempts to gather, distill and assemble together for easy reading, most of the Bible passages that you will need.

https://www.amazon.com/Did-God-Send-Coronavirus-COVID-19/dp/B086B4HQ22/

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“Jesus Is Lord Over The Coronavirus”
By: Christopher Roberts

Back in 2019, God placed two words on my heart. The first word was that the world was about to go through a trial of unimaginable proportions – although God did not specify exactly what this trial would entail. The second word was then when we came out of the trial, we would enter a golden age of opportunity. I am certain this golden age of opportunity could very well last for a decade – if not a whole generation. I have never regarded myself as a prophet, therefore, I thought that the word was nonsense – imagine my surprise when the world was overtaken by the Coronavirus. Because I am now convinced that God’s word about the pandemic was true, I am equally certain that we will enter this golden age of opportunity that will be similar to that which the United States of America’s went through in the 1950s and onwards – but, many parts of the world will also benefit from such an age of prosperity. I have, therefore, written this small book to encourage you during times of disaster – such as the Coronavirus pandemic. I pray that each short chapter will provide you with comfort and hope that Jesus is Lord – no matter what disaster hits us.

https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Lord-Coronavirus-Christopher-Roberts/dp/B086G2HVGT/

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“A Christian Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic”
By: Jake Provance and Keith Provance

The Coronavirus Pandemic has struck fear, anxiety,and worry in the hearts of millions world wide. Only through God and His Word can you find the peace you desire. In this book you will find inspiration and encouragement to help navigate through this Coronavirus Pandemic crisis.Narratives and prayers on fear, worry, anxiety, discouragement, how to navigate a crisis, and more! Includes inspiration and encouragement from Christian leaders and an extensive practical guidebook by major medical experts on how to keep you and your family safe. A special section covers COVID-19 Myth Busters to reveal what is true and what is not true concerning the virus.

https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Response-Coronavirus-Pandemic/dp/1949106373/

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“Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World”
By: Max Lucado

When it comes to anxiety, depression, and stress related illnesses, America is the frontrunner. Thankfully, there’s a practical prescription for dealing with these issues. Anxious for Nothing, from New York Times bestselling author, Max Lucado, provides a roadmap for battling with and healing from anxiety.

Does the uncertainty and chaos of life keep you up at night?

Is irrational worry your constant companion?

Could you use some calm?

If the answer is yes, you are not alone. According to one research program, anxiety related issues are the number one mental health problem among women and are second only to alcohol and drug abuse among men. Stress related ailments cost the nation $300 billion every year in medical bills and lost productivity. And use of sedative drugs like Xanax and Valium have skyrocketed in the last 15 years. Even students are feeling it. One psychologist reports that the average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s. Chances are, you or someone you know seriously struggles with anxiety.

Max writes, “The news about our anxiety is enough to make us anxious.” He knows what it feels like to be overcome by the worries and fear of life, which is why he is dedicated to helping millions of readers take back control of their minds and, as a result, their lives.

Anxious for Nothing invites readers to delve into Philippians 4:6 7. After all, it is the most highlighted passage of any book on the planet, according to Amazon:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In the characteristic tone of his previous books like You’ll Get Through This and Fearless, Max guides readers through this Scripture passage and explains the key concepts of celebration, asking for help, leaving our concerns, and meditating. He has also written a companion children’s book I’m Not A Scaredy Cat showing kids, in a fun way, that godly bravery can get them through any fears or worries.

Stop letting anxiety rule the day. Join Max on the journey to true freedom and experience more joy, clarity, physical renewal, and contentment by the power of the Holy Spirit. Anxiety comes with life. But it doesn’t have to dominate your life.

https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Nothing-Finding-Chaotic-World/dp/0718096126/

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“Anxious for Nothing: God’s Cure for the Cares of Your Soul”
By: John MacArthur

Stress has become part of our daily lives. We worry about our jobs, our relationships, and our families. And while there’s no lack of remedies for anxiety, no solution seems to offer true peace of mind.

John MacArthur, Jr. believes that peace is not only possible, it’s a divine mandate. Drawing from a rich legacy of teaching and ministry, MacArthur puts aside cultural cures to uncover the source of our anxiety and stress. Based on solid Biblical insights, Anxious for Nothing shares how we can overcome uncertainty, defeat doubt, and be truly worry-free.

This revised and updated edition includes a guide for both personal and group study and features discovery questions, suggestions for prayer, and activities, all designed to connect life-changing truths with everyday living.

https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Nothing-Cares-Macarthur-Study/dp/1434702979/

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“Fear Not (Message of Hope During Coronavirus Outbreak Book 13)”
By: Charles Spurgeon

Fear Not is a message of meditation based on the Bible and written by one of the most important Christian writers of all time.
A devotional message of faith and hope for you.

Charles Haddon (CH) Spurgeon,19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher.
Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the “Prince of Preachers”.

He was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist , defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day.

It is estimated that in his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people,Spurgeon was the pastor of the congregation of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years.

He was part of several controversies with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and later had to leave the denomination.
In 1867, he started a charity organisation which is now called Spurgeon’s and works globally. He also founded Spurgeon’s College, which was named after him posthumously.

Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an autobiography, commentaries, books on prayer, devotionals, magazines, poetry, hymns and more.

Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were translated into many languages during his lifetime. Spurgeon produced powerful sermons of penetrating thought and precise exposition. His oratory skills held his listeners spellbound in the Metropolitan Tabernacle and many Christians have discovered Spurgeon’s messages to be among the best in Christian literature.

https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Message-During-Coronavirus-Outbreak-ebook/dp/B0846W1N93/

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“Coping With Confinement During COVID-19: Couples Edition”
By: A.H. Christian

You can make it through this crisis.

This period of isolation, or confinement will come to an end, even if today we aren’t certain when that end will be. This book is full of practical ideas for how you and your partner can make it through the process of quarantine and social distancing without being miserable.

Learning the three pillars of this new situation we are all dealing with: Communicating, Reducing Tension and Staying Engaged in Life, this guide will give you easy to apply real world advise that will help you not just survive, but thrive as a couple during trying times.

https://www.amazon.com/Coping-Confinement-During-COVID-19-Couples/dp/B086PPHT19/

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“No Fear of the Storm: Why Christians Will Escape All the Tribulation”
By: Tim LaHaye

Christians today have more evidence that Christ could come in our lifetime than any generation past. This book outlines the hope of the pre-Tribulation rapture theory, and helps prepare you for the last days before Christ’s return.

https://www.amazon.com/No-Fear-Storm-Christians-Tribulation/dp/0880707887

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“Victory Over Life Crisis”
By: Dr. Larry Durant

The author shares personal testimonies of how his faith caused a supernatural change in his life. Crisis are inevitable, we all will be challenged with a catastrophe at least once in our life. This book gives the reader how to come out of overwhelming odds and what will seem like a dead end situation. Dr. DuRant tells some of his life traumatic challenges, such as; being blind, bilateral amputee (ran over by a train), drug and alcohol addictions, and betrayal. He tells us how through the Word of God and walking in faith he overcame those tremendous challenges. You won’t be able to put this book down. God has the power and the love for his people to enable us to overcome life crisis. If God can bring this man from living in the streets, being incarcerated, to success and a man of god, he can enable you to have victory in & over “your” crisis.

https://www.amazon.com/Victory-Over-Crisis-Larry-Durant/dp/1483415740/

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“Fear Not!: Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective”
By Ligon Duncan

“Fear Not!, which covers extensively all aspects of death, including what happens to believers immediately after death, the resurrection, the final judgment and then the eternal state…This is a book to inform and encourage every Christian. All of us will be edified by its pages. It is my pleasure to commend it to every Christian reader.” Jerry Bridges (in the foreword)

https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Not-Afterlife-Christian-Perspective/dp/1845503589/

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“What Are You Afraid Of?: Facing Down Your Fears with Faith”
By: David Jeremiah

For many people, worry, anxiety, and fear are constant companions: fear of death, fear of danger, fear of disease. And too often, these fears are crippling, keeping us from the life God has called us to live.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, says Dr. David Jeremiah. As Christians, we have been given all we need in order to face down even the most frightening, unexpected, and overwhelming obstacles in life.

In his new book, What Are You Afraid Of? Dr. Jeremiah explores the top ten fears that are holding so many of us back from the life God has called us to live and shares the supernatural secrets for facing down these fears with faith

https://www.amazon.com/What-Are-You-Afraid-Facing/dp/1414380461

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“God’s Wake-up Call”
By: Ervin H. Hershberger

“My bags are packed, I am ready to go.” These were the words of Ervin N., Hershberger when he was asked how he was. He was a man of prayer and a man of the Book. This book reflects his life. He saw this work as his last testament on Earth. Upon hearing of his death, the publisher wondered where the manuscript was. His daughter looked for it but could not find it. The day following his funeral it showed up at the publisher’s mailbox with Hershberger’s final corrections. God’s Wake-Up Call represents a summary of Hershberger’s lifetime of study in the book of Hebrews. The applications to the contemporary scene are pertinent and much needed in the church today. The book reveals the author’s deep concern that people understand the need to follow God fully. In ten penetrating chapters, the author warns, instructs, and admonishes the reader in the most holy faith. He who earnestly reads is wise.

https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Wake-up-Call-Ervin-Hershberger/dp/0971705496/

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“Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death”
By: Søren Kierkegaard

Walter Lowrie’s classic, bestselling translation of Søren Kierkegaard’s most important and popular books remains unmatched for its readability and literary quality. Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death established Kierkegaard as the father of existentialism and have come to define his contribution to philosophy. Lowrie’s translation, first published in 1941 and later revised, was the first in English, and it has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to Kierkegaard’s thought. Kierkegaard counted Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death among “the most perfect books I have written,” and in them he introduces two terms–“the absurd” and “despair”–that have become key terms in modern thought. Fear and Trembling takes up the story of Abraham and Isaac to explore a faith that transcends the ethical, persists in the face of the absurd, and meets its reward in the return of all that the faithful one is willing to sacrifice, while The Sickness Unto Death examines the spiritual anxiety of despair.

Walter Lowrie’s magnificent translation of these seminal works continues to provide an ideal introduction to Kierkegaard. And, as Gordon Marino argues in a new introduction, these books are as relevant as ever in today’s age of anxiety.

https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Trembling-Sickness-Unto-Death-ebook/dp/B00DPJ8F5U/

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“God Isn’t Quarantined: 15 Devotions for People in Tight Quarters”
By: Maggie White

Grow in Faith During Quarantine and Isolation
Quarantine can be a time of great opportunity—a chance to see our faith grow deeper and stronger. ~ Maggie White

What if being quarantined resulted in better relationships with God and others? What if you could grow spiritually and personally while being cooped up and isolated? What if you could find purpose in your isolation?

Not only is all this possible—it’s within reach! In fact, author Maggie White’s God Isn’t Quarantined: 15 Devotions for People in Tight Quarters will help you discover biblical reasons for quarantine, the power of isolation, and how to maintain your connection with the body of Christ.

White explores several examples of quarantine in the Bible and shares what purpose they served in people’s lives. She also discusses how isolation can be beneficial in your personal and spiritual life. Finally, you will learn ways to continue connecting with your brothers and sisters in Christ even though you’re physically separated.

Topics discussed include:

– Jesus’s Quarantine
– Noah in Isolation
– Stillness and Knowing God
– Perfect Peace
– Seeing God

Through it all, White reminds us that a time of isolation can be the catalyst in our lives for deep growth that results in knowing God in deeper ways. This devotional book is perfect for anyone searching for meaning during a time of quarantine and offers special features for including children and teens too.

Scroll up and purchase your copy of God Isn’t Quarantined: 15 Devotions for People in Tight Quarters and begin your journey to experience God in a whole new way.

https://www.amazon.com/God-Isnt-Quarantined-Devotions-Quarters-ebook/dp/B086HCZ9C4/

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“You’ll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times”
By: Max Lucado

Though these unprecedented and challenging times may bring a load of uncertainty and fear that feels too heavy to bear, God gives us this promise: You’ll get through this.

In You’ll Get Through This, pastor and New York Times bestselling author, Max Lucado offers sweet assurance, “Deliverance is to the Bible what jazz music is to Mardi Gras: bold, brassy, and everywhere.” Whether you find yourself in the pit of financial downturn, job loss, health crisis, or relationship stresses, God has a plan and a pathway forward for you.

Max reminds readers God doesn’t promise that getting through trials will be quick or painless. That certainly wasn’t the case for Joseph who was tossed in a pit by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongfully imprisoned, forgotten and dismissed, but God ultimately used the intended evil against Joseph for a greater purpose.

In this book, Max will help you:

Find comfort that you are God’s child and God cares deeply for you.
Remember that God is near you and has never left you.

Take courage that God will restore even the most painful circumstances and use them for good.

With the compassion of a pastor, the heart of a storyteller, and the joy of one who has seen what God can do, Max explores the story of Joseph and the truth of Genesis 50:20. What Satan intends for evil, God redeems for good.

https://www.amazon.com/Youll-Get-Through-This-Turbulent/dp/0718031512/

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“Expecting to See Jesus: A Wake-Up Call for God’s People”
By: Anne Graham Lotz

Expecting to See Jesus―the expanded edition of I Saw the Lord―is the result of Anne Graham Lotz’s life lived in the hope of Jesus’ return. As you journey with her through the pages of the Bible, you’ll come to realize why she lives her life expecting to see Jesus at any minute. And, she wants to make sure you and all other Christians are ready for that moment when your faith becomes sight. Anne knows from personal experience that it’s in the busyness of our days, as we’re drifting in comfortable complacency, that we most need a wake-up call―a jolt that pushes us to seek out a revival of our passion for Jesus that began as a blazing fire but somehow has died down to an ineffective glow. In Expecting to See Jesus, Anne points out the biblical signs she sees in the world all around us and shows how you can experience an authentic, deeper, richer relationship with God in a life-changing, fire-blazing revival.

https://www.amazon.com/Expecting-See-Jesus-Wake-Up-People/dp/0310333857/

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“Shelter in God: Your Refuge in Times of Trouble”
By: Dr. David Jeremiah

Shelter-in-place orders around the world have people questioning, “Does God see us? Can he help us through this nerve-racking time? Dr. David Jeremiah shares through psalms that God is always walking beside us. Now is the time to Shelter in God.

Renowned pastor and teacher Dr. David Jeremiah believes comfort can be found in the Psalms, both now during the coronavirus pandemic and during all of life’s greatest challenges. This newly collected volume will show how finding refuge in God is always our safest place. Shelter in God offers hope in a time of uncertainty and relief to people who are experiencing real troubles and fear.

Find ways to worship in times of trouble,
experience prayer in pressure,
show grace when you are at your wits’ end, and
with God’s help, triumph over trouble.
Shelter in God is an invaluable source of help and encouragement for people facing major obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Portions of Shelter in God were previously included in Dr. Jeremiah’s classic When Your World Falls Apart.

https://www.amazon.com/Shelter-God-Refuge-Times-Trouble/dp/0785241221/

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“Why Fear Death?”
By: Curtis W. Coleman

“How can I overcome the fear of death?”

“How can I stop being afraid of dying?”

“What happens when I die?”

“Where do I go when I die?”

Can we know what will happen to us when we die? In Why Fear Death?, author Curtis Coleman answers yes! Leveraging his college and seminary training in the original biblical languages and his experience building a successful international biotechnology company, Coleman masterfully weaves the Bible, modern science, and popular culture into a tour de force that demystifies death and argues that the fear of dying can be defeated by knowing what many have argued is unknowable. For most people, the thing they most treasure is staying alive on earth. As a result, they live their entire lives in bondage to fear of physical death.

Coleman argues compellingly that we can confidently know what happens when we die, and we can know where we will go when we die. We can choose to have the information that can eliminate the fear of death.

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Fear-Death-Curtis-Coleman/dp/1512776556/

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“The Mortification of Sin”

CHRISTIAN READER,— I shall in a few words acquaint thee with the reasons that obtained my consent to the publishing of the ensuing discourse. The consideration of the present state and condition of the generality of professors, the visible evidences of the frame of their hearts and spirits, manifesting a great disability of dealing with the temptations wherewith, from the peace they have in the world and the divisions that they have among themselves, they are encompassed, holds the chief place amongst them. This I am assured is of so great importance, that if hereby I only occasion others to press more effectually on the consciences of men the work of considering their ways, and to give more clear direction for the compassing of the end proposed, I shall well esteem of my lot in this undertaking. This was seconded by an observation of some men’s dangerous mistakes, who of late days have taken upon them to give directions for the mortification of sin, who, being unacquainted with the mystery of the gospel and the efficacy of the death of Christ, have anew imposed the yoke of a self- wrought-out mortification on the necks of their disciples, which neither they nor their forefathers were ever able to bear. A mortification they cry up and press, suitable to that of the gospel neither in respect of nature, subject, causes, means, nor effects; which constantly produces the deplorable issues of superstition, self-righteousness, and anxiety of conscience in them who take up the burden which is so bound for them.

What is here proposed in weakness, I humbly hope will answer the spirit and letter of the gospel, with the experiences of them who know what it is to walk with God, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace. So that if not this, yet certainly something of this kind, is very necessary at this season for the promotion and furtherance of this work of gospel mortification in the hearts of believers, and their direction in paths safe, and wherein they may find rest to their souls. Something I have to add as to what in particular relates unto myself. Having preached on this subject unto some comfortable success, through the grace of Him that administereth seed to the sower, I was pressed by sundry persons, in whose hearts are the ways of God, thus to publish what I had delivered, with such additions and alterations as I should judge necessary. Under the inducement of their desires, I called to remembrance the debt, wherein I have now for some years stood engaged unto sundry noble and worthy Christian friends, as to a treatise of Communion with God, some while since promised to them;* (*Since the first edition of this treatise, that other is also published) and thereon apprehended, that if I could not hereby compound for the greater debt, yet I might possibly tender them this discourse of variance with themselves, as interest for their forbearance of that of peace and communion with God. Besides, I considered that I had been providentially engaged in the public debate of sundry controversies in religion, which might seem to claim something in another kind of more general use, as a fruit of choice, not necessity. On these and like accounts is this short discourse brought forth to public view, and now presented unto thee. I hope I may own in sincerity, that my heart’s desire unto God, and the chief design of my life in the station wherein the good providence of God hath placed me, are, that mortification and universal holiness may be promoted in my own and in the hearts and ways of others, to the glory of God; that so the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be adorned in all things: for the compassing of which end, if this little discourse (of the publishing whereof this is the sum of the account I shall give) may in anything be useful to the least of the saints, it will be looked on as a return of the weak prayers wherewith it is attended by its unworthy author,

[ John Owen ]

Download Free PDF: https://www.monergism.com/mortification-sin-believers-ebook-1

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“Church of Cowards: A Wake-Up Call to Complacent Christians”
By: Matt Walsh

What Would You Surrender for God?

Christians in the Middle East, in much of Asia, and in Africa are still being martyred for the faith, but how many American Christians are willing to lay down their smartphones, let alone their lives, for the faith?

Being a Christian in America doesn’t require much these days. Suburban megachurches are more like entertainment venues than places to worship God. The lives that American “Christians” lead aren’t much different from those of their atheist neighbors, and their knowledge of theology isn’t much better either.

Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire exposes the pitiful state of Christianity in America today, lays out the stakes for us, our families, and our eternal salvation, and invites us to a faith that’s a lot less easy and comfortable—but that’s more real and actually worth something.

The spiritual junk food we’re stuffing ourselves with is never going to satisfy. As St. Augustine said over a millennium ago, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. Only God Himself can make our lives anything but ultimately meaningless and empty. And we will never get anywhere near Him if we refuse to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

This rousing call to the real adventure of a living faith is a wake-up call to complacent Christians and a rallying cry for anyone dissatisfied with a lukewarm faith.

https://www.amazon.com/Wide-Road-Matt-Walsh/dp/1621579204/

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“Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action”
By: David Ray Griffin

Probing disturbing questions that beg for a response from the Christian community, distinguished scholar of religion and popular writer David Ray Griffin provides a hard-hitting analysis of the official accounts of the events of September 11, 2001. A tireless investigator, Griffin has sorted through enormous amounts of government and independent data and brought to the surface some very unsettling inconsistencies about what really happened. In this, his latest book, he analyzes the evidence on 9/11 and then explores a distinctively Christian perspective on these issues, taking seriously what we know about Jesus’ life, death, and teachings. Drawing a parallel between the Roman Empire of antiquity and the American Empire of today, he applies Jesus’ teachings to the current political administration, and he explores how Christian churches, as a community intending to be an incarnation of the divine, can and should respond.

https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Faith-Truth-behind-Reflection/dp/0664231179

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“Pandemic Resources”

As our world faces COVID-19, many are tempted to worry and despair. Issues of conflict at home are exacerbated, and the abused face great risk as they shelter-in-place with their abusers. Suicide rates in certain communities have jumped, and many people grieve the loss of loved ones. Yet, God’s Word is not silent on any of these issues. God’s Word reveals to us His powerful truths to confront even the most difficult circumstances we face on this earth. Below, explore relevant resources ACBC has released for free to minister to you (and those you love) during this time.

[ Association of Certified Biblical Counselors ]

Resources: https://biblicalcounseling.com/pandemic-resources/?fbclid=IwAR0F2uXizVgXtICEOvIdmwr0Ux3VC4qlIDItQphn2_TsjOLiJqiU1Df4xmo

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“The End Times: A Guide to Bible Prophecy and the Last Days”
By: Britt Gillette

Terrorism. Mass shootings. Drug resistant superbugs. Everywhere you look, it seems as though the end is near. Is it? What does the Bible say?If you’ve ever wondered what will happen in the end times, this is the book for you. In simple language, you’ll learn what the Bible says about the last days and why it matters to your life. In The End Times, you’ll get answers to pressing questions, such as:• What is the Tribulation? And what will it bring?• Who is the Antichrist? And what will he be like?• What is the rapture? And when will it happen?• What is the mark of the beast? And who is the man behind it?• How will the world end? And much more…Once you finish reading this book, you’ll have a full grasp of the people, places, nations, and events pivotal to the end times. You’ll learn who the key figures and personalities are, what major events are set to take place, and God’s purpose in planning it all. Learn what the Bible says, and you’ll gain new insight into current events. Most of all, you’ll gain an inner peace that comes from knowing God’s plan and purpose for your life.

https://www.amazon.com/End-Times-Guide-Bible-Prophecy/dp/1699432872/

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“Living on Borrowed Time: The Imminent Return of Jesus”
By: David Reagan

Dr. David Reagan answers the following questions and many more concerning the signs of the times that point to the soon return of Jesus. Can we know the date when Jesus will return? Can we know the season of His return? What are the key biblical signs of His return? What signs, if any, have already been fulfilled? Are there any signs that are unique to our day and time? What is the most convincing sign of the Lord s soon return? A unique feature of the book is a prophecy forum composed of 22 Bible prophecy experts who reply to 11 questions concerning the biblical signs of the times that are supposed to signal the imminent return of Jesus. Experts included are: Daymond Duck, Gary Fisher, Jim Fletcher, Ray Gano, Al Gist, Phillip Goodman, J.R. Hall, Mark Hitchcock, David Hocking, Ken Humphries, Terry James, Nathan Jones, Jack Kinsella, Tim LaHaye, Jan Markell, Caryl Matrisciana, Don McGee, Dennis Pollock, Ron Rhodes, August Rosado, Bill Salus, and Brian Thomas.

https://www.amazon.com/Living-Borrowed-Time-Imminent-Return/dp/094559321X/

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“A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble”
By: Paul David Tripp

Fifty-two meditations on Psalm 27 instruct and encourage believers to worship God through the ups and downs of life.

Psalm 27 is a psalm of trouble and worship, of difficulty and beauty, of the evil of people against people, and of the mercy of God. Because of its honesty about life in this fallen world, Psalm 27 speaks into the life of every believer. At the same time it places joyful and self-sacrificing worship right next to the trouble that is the psalm’s background theme. This juxtaposition makes Psalm 27 unique, interesting, practical, challenging, and encouraging.

A Shelter in the Time of Storm takes readers through this roller-coaster-ride of a psalm in fifty-two brief and engaging meditations. These meditations are designed to fill hearts with a patient hope that grows stronger as the trouble-spotted days go by. Reflection questions at the end of the chapter make these meditations thought-provoking and practical.

https://www.amazon.com/Shelter-Time-Storm-Meditations-Trouble/dp/1433505983

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“The Parched Soul of America: A Poet’s View of Our National Decay”
By: Leslie Kay Hedger and David R. Reagan

https://www.amazon.com/Parched-Soul-America-Poets-National/dp/1563840782

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“Puritan-related Material on Plagues and Pestilences”

Below you will find some bibliographical links to works by the Puritans (and other Reformed preachers) that will feed you with much helpful material for the times in which we live (No, I have not read them all!) Though not every detail will relate to our COVID-19 days, much that is written here will set us on a solid biblical foundation.

[ Joel Beeke ]

Article: http://www.joelbeeke.org/2020/03/puritan-related-material-on-plagues-and-pestilences/

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“The Gathering Storm: Secularism, Culture, and the Church”
By: R. Albert Mohler, Jr

The president of Southern Seminary reveals how secularism has infiltrated every aspect of society and how Christians, equipped with the gospel of Jesus Christ, can meet it head on with hope, confidence, and steadfast conviction.

A storm is coming. Western civilization and the Christian church stand at a moment of great danger. The storm is a battle of ideas that will determine the future of Western civilization and the soul of the Christian church. The forces we must fight are ideologies, policies, and worldviews that are deeply established among intellectual elites, the political class, and our schools. More menacingly, these ideas have also invaded the Christian church.

From threats to religious liberty and redefinitions of marriage and family to attacks on the sacredness and dignity of human life, the perils faced by the West and the church are unprecedented. How should Christians respond to this challenge? The Gathering Storm provides the answer, addressing each dimension of culture and showing Christians how to give an answer for the hope that is within them and how to contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints.

https://www.amazon.com/Gathering-Storm-Secularism-Culture-Church/dp/1400220211/

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“The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism”
By: Timothy Keller

A New York Times bestseller people can believe in—by “a pioneer of the new urban Christians” (Christianity Today) and the “C.S. Lewis for the 21st century” (Newsweek).

Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics, and even ardent believers, have about religion. Using literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, Keller explains how the belief in a Christian God is, in fact, a sound and rational one. To true believers he offers a solid platform on which to stand their ground against the backlash to religion created by the Age of Skepticism. And to skeptics, atheists, and agnostics, he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God.

https://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism/dp/1594483493/

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“The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment”
By: Jeremiah Burroughs

Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition. When [the saints] perform actions to God, then the soul says: ‘Oh! that I could do what pleases God!’ When they come to suffer any cross: ‘Oh, that what God does might please me!’ I labour to do what pleases God, and I labour that what God does shall please me: here is a Christian indeed, who shall endeavour both these. It is but one side of a Christian to endeavour to do what pleases God; you must as well endeavour to be pleased with what God does, and so you will come to be a complete Christian when you can do both, and that is the first thing in the excellence of this grace of contentment.Now this is a mystery to a carnal heart. They can see no such thing; perhaps they think God loves them when he prospers them and makes them rich, but they think God loves them not when he afflicts them. That is a mystery, but grace instructs men in that mystery, grace enables men to see love in the very frown of God’s face, and so come to receive contentment.

A godly man in the midst of the waves and storms that he meets with can see the glory of heaven before him and so contents himself. One drop of the sweetness of heaven is enough to take away all the sourness and bitterness of all the afflictions in the world. We know that one drop of sourness, or one drop of gall will make bitter a great deal of it; but if you put a spoonful of gall into a cup of sugar, it will embitter that. Now it is otherwise in heaven: one drop of sweetness will sweeten a great deal of sour affliction, but a great deal of sourness and gall will not embitter a soul who sees the glory of heaven that is to come.My brethren, the reason why you have not got contentment in the things of the world is not because you have not got enough of them-that is not the reason-but the reason is, because they are not things proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that is capable of God himself. Oh, that we could but convince men and women that murmuring spirit is a greater evil than any affliction, whatever the affliction!

Now I say that a heart that has no grace, and is not instructed in this mystery of contentment, knows of no way to get contentment, but to have his possessions raised up to his desires; but the Christian has another way to contentment, that is, he can bring his desires down to his possessions, and so he attains his contentment….The world is infinitely deceived in thinking that contentment lies in having more than we already have. Here lies the bottom and root of all contentment, when there is an evenness and proportion between our hearts and our circumstances. That is why many godly men who are in low position live more sweet and comfortable lives than those who are richer. I find a sufficiency of satisfaction in my own heart, through the grace of Christ that is in me. Though I have not outward comforts and worldly conveniences to supply my necessities, yet I have a sufficient portion between Christ and my soul abundantly to satisfy me in every condition.

Table of Contents
1. Christian Contentment Described
2. The Mystery of Contentment
3. How Christ Teaches Contentment
4. The Excellence of Contentment
5. The Evils of a Murmuring Spirit
6. Aggravations of the Sin of Murmuring
7. The Excuses of a Discontented Heart
8. How to Attain Contentment

Free Download: https://www.monergism.com/rare-jewel-christian-contentment-ebook

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“The Sinfulness of Sin”
By: Ralph Venning

The just vindication of the Law of God, and no less just accusation and condemnation of the sin of man.

SIN, The Plague of Plagues, was first published in 1669, four years after the Great Plague of London. The author wrote: “As to the sinfulness of sin, I have indeed handled it most fully, as it is against man’s good and happiness.”

‘Was then that which is good made death to me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.’ (Romans 7.13)

Being about to treat of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, it is not only expedient, but necessary that I preface and premise certain things:

(1) That God made all things very good (Genesis 1:31). They were all endowed with the perfections which were suitable to their several beings, so that none of them could find fault with or complain of God, as if he had owed them any thing or had made them defective.

(2) Yet of these the two most eminent and principal degrees of creatures quickly degenerated. Some of the angels sinned, and kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation (Jude 6). And by giving way to their subtle insinuations, the man Adam, who was a common person, sinned also (Genesis 3). And thus ‘by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned’ (Romans 5.12).

(3) As to the angels that fell, God left them irrecoverable. For God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (2 Peter 2.4), and has reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day (Jude 6). Christ Jesus, the Mediator and Redeemer, took not on him angels, or, as it is in the margin, takes not hold of angels (Hebrews 2.16). But it pleased God to pity man; his saving grace and loving-kindness have appeared to man, and that, in Christ Jesus (Titus 2.11; 3.4). His delight was with the sons of men, the habitable parts of the earth (Proverbs 8.31), and therefore he took on him the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 2.16).

(4) This doctrine of God our Saviour, the Gospel-doctrine, supposes that man is a sinner. It is a faithful saying, and worthy of the best and all acceptance and reception, that Christ Jesus came into the world (on this very errand and for this purpose) to save sinners (1 Timothy 1.15). The doctrine of repentance supposes also that man has done amiss (Matthew 9. 13). The doctrine of faith in another for righteousness and hope concludes man to be without righteousness and hope in himself (Ephesians 2.12,13). The end of Christ’s sending the Holy Spirit was that he might, in the first place, convince of sin (John 16.8).

These things being so, beside others which might be considered, it cannot but be extremely useful to let men see what sin is: how prodigiously vile, how deadly mischievous, and therefore how monstrously ugly and odious a thing sin is. Thus a way may be made

(1) For admiring the free and rich grace of God.

(2) For believing in our Lord Jesus Christ.

(3) For vindicating the holy, just and good law of God, and his condemnation of sinners for breaking it.

(4) For hating sin, and repenting for and from it, thereby taking a holy, just and good revenge on it and ourselves.

(5) That we may love and serve God at a better rate than we ever did in the little and short time of innocence itself.

(6) And, lastly, that this black spot may serve to set off the admirable, incomparable and transcendent beauty of holiness.

And now to the text itself, which may have this for its title: The just vindication of the Law of God, and no less just accusation and condemnation of the sin of man. Its connexion with what precedes is as follows: the Apostle had said that the commandment which was ordained to life, he found to be unto death. Hence an objection is raised, in verse 13: Seeing the commandment is good, how then can it be unto death? ‘Was that which was good made death to me?’ To this he answers:

(1) By way of negation and abhorrence, ‘God forbid!’ Far be it from me or anyone else to think so! No! By no means! To find fault with the law would be to find fault with God. The law is not to be blamed. What is, then? for something is to be blamed.

(2.) To this he answers, by way of affirmation and accusation, that sin is the true cause of death. The commandment condemns, or is death to man, not of itself, but because of sin. Hereby sin appears–not only like itself, but itself–sin, yea sinful, yea exceeding sinful sin; not in a disguise, as it is when committed, but in its own lively colours, or as we should rather and more appropriately say, its dead and deadly colours.

It is, he says, ‘Hamartia’, sin in the abstract, and that is reiterated and repeated for certainty and assurance, as Pharaoh’s dream was. It is sin, it is sin, and this sin is ‘Hamartolos’, sinful or a sinner; it is nothing else but sinning and sinful sin. It is masculinely and vigorously sinful–for though Erasmus concludes that this conjunction of masculine and feminine in the Greek is the Attic dialect, others think that the Apostle brings in sin as if it were a person. In verses 17 and 20 he says: ‘It is not I, but sin’, as if it were a person. Unless we may read it as Faius does: that the ‘Hamartolos’, the sinner, might become sin; this is the same sense as the objection made in verse 7, Is the law sin?; that is, Is it criminal and guilty? But, however we read it, we are sure of this, that it denotes the malignant, pestilent and pernicious nature and operation of sin, its own name being the worst that can be given to it. Yet, as if this were not meaningful enough, it is so Kath huperbolon, exceeding, above measure, excessively, or in the highest degree sinful. For a hyperbole is an extraordinary and the highest degree of speaking. The Arabic version has it superans excessum; it is extremely, indeed beyond all expression, sinful.

I may illustrate the scope and meaning of all this by a common occurrence: It is as if a criminal said to the judge, Oh, my Lord, how cruel and unmerciful you are to condemn me to die! No, says the judge, it is not I, it is the law. I am only the mouth of the law. No, says the law, it is not I, it is sin. If you had not sinned, I would not have condemned, for ‘the law is not against the righteous’ (1 Timothy 1.9). No, against such there is no law (Galatians 5.23), no condemnation from it. You may then in me, as in a glass, see what a deadly, destructive and killing thing your sin is. Every mouth must be stopped, there is no room for complaint against God or his law, for, like all others, by becoming guilty you have fallen short of the glory, and are subject to the judgment of God (Romans 3.19-23). So, by the commandment, sin appears to be a desperate, malignant thing, the proper, true and only cause of man’s condemnation and death.

From this brief yet clear account of the text and context, the following truths are deducible:

1. The law of God as a whole and in every part is good. It is not only not sin, i.e. not culpable or criminal (verse 7), or only just (verse 12), or spiritual (verse 14), but good (verses 12,13) It is good, not only in itself, but relatively in its institution with respect to man, for it was ordained to life (verse 10).

2. This good law, when transgressed, makes man over to death. Patience, that temperate and harmless thing, if abused, turns to rage and fury. So the law, good though it be, when abused condemns and kills.

3. Though the law condemns man’s fault, and man for his fault, yet still the law is good and not to be blamed. The law is as good as ever it was; it is to be justified by man, even when it condemns man. Man had no reason to break the law, and he has none to find fault with the law, though it binds men over to death for breaking it.

4. It is not the law, but sin, that works man’s death and ruin. Sin aims at no less, and if grace does not prevent, it will end in no less, for the end and wages of sin is death (Romans 6.21,23).

5. Sin works man’s death and destruction by that which is good, namely, the law. When sin has used man to break the law, it uses the law to break man, to undo him by condemnation and death.

6. Sin is therefore exceedingly sinful and wicked. It is most immeasurably spiteful, poisonous and pernicious, because it kills men. And not only so, but it kills them by that which is good, and was appointed to man for life; it turns food into poison. Ut agnoscatur quam sceleratus peccator sit hoc peccatum, et quam pestifera res, dum per mandatum rem solutiferam, exserit virus suum (In order that it may be recognised how vicious is the sinner, and how pernicious the matter, this sin, while through the commandment yielding a healthy result, produces its own poison), Clarius. This is like the horrid and cursed wickedness our stories tell us of, whereby a King was wickedly poisoned by the Cup of Blessing.

7. Lastly, sin by the commandment appears to be excessively sinful. If we look on this through the microscope-glass of the law, it will appear a most hideous, devilish and hellish thing, the most wicked, mischievous, virulent, villainous and deadly thing that ever was. Sinful sin! Worse than the Devil! More will be said of this later.

I will not pursue any of these divisions separately, for I shall have occasion enough to speak of each and every one of them in handling the sinfulness of sin, in relation to which I intend to observe the following order, showing:

(1) What sin is, the thing so much and so deservedly evil spoken of. None can speak well of it, but they who speak ill of it, for they speak best who speak the worst of sin.

(2) In what the sinfulness of sin especially consists: So we may lay open not only its effects but also its nature.

(3) What witness and evidence there is to make good this indictment and charge against sin, that it is so vile and abominable, so sinful, as the Apostle calls it.

(4) And what use and improvement is to be made of the doctrine of sin’s excessive sinfulness.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHAT SIN IS

THE SINFULNESS OF SIN
– Sin’s Contrariety to God
– Sin’s Contrariety to Man
– Sin is Against Man’s Present Good, in this Life
– Man’s folly is shown to be great in three ways
– Examples of man’s folly
– Sin is Against the Good of Man in the Life to Come
– Damnation
– Objections
– The Torments of Hell
– the Devil, conscience, and God

THE WITNESSES AGAINST SIN
– God himself bears Witness Against Sin
– Angels Bear Witness Against Sin
– The Witness of Men
– The Whole Creation Witnesses Against Sin
– The Law Witnesses Against and Condemns Sin
– The Gospel Also Bears Witness Against and Condemns Sin
– The Witness of Sin Itself
– Objection
– To Conclude

APPLICATION AND USEFULNESS OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE PLAGUE OF PLAGUES
– Sin is the Worst of Evils
– Inferences From the Sinfulness of Sin Against God
– inferences from the Contrariety of Sin to the Good of Man
– Exhortation and Counsel

CONCLUSION

Free Download: https://www.monergism.com/sinfulness-sin-ebook

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“All Things for Good”
By: Thomas Watson

There are two things, which I have always looked upon as difficult. The one is—to make the wicked sad; the other is—to make the godly joyful. Dejection in the godly arises from a double spring: either because their inward comforts are darkened, or their outward comforts are disturbed. To cure both these troubles, I have put forth this ensuing treatise, hoping, by the blessing of God, that it will buoy up their desponding hearts, and make them look with a more pleasant aspect. I would prescribe them to take, now and then, a little of this Cordial: “all things work together for good to those who love God.” To know that nothing hurts the godly, is a matter of comfort; but to be assured that all things which fall out shall cooperate for their good, that their crosses shall be turned into blessings, that showers of affliction water the withering root of their grace and make it flourish more—this may fill their hearts with joy until they run over!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If the whole Scripture be the feast for the soul (as Ambrose says)—then Romans 8 may be a dish at that feast, and with its sweet variety may very much refresh and animate the hearts of Gods people. In the preceding verses the apostle had been wading through the great doctrines of justification and adoption, mysteries so arduous and profound, that without the help and conduct of the Spirit, he might soon have waded beyond his depth. In this verse the apostle touches upon that pleasant string of consolation, “we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God.” Not a word but is weighty; therefore I shall gather up every filing of this gold, that nothing will be lost.

In the text there are three general branches.

First, a glorious privilege. All things work for good.

Second, the people interested in this privilege. They are doubly specified. They are lovers of God, they are called.

Third, the origin and spring of this effectual calling, set down in these words, “according to His purpose.”

I. First, the glorious PRIVILEGE. Here are two things to be considered:

1. The certainty of the privilege—”We know.”

2. The excellency of the privilege—”All things work together for good.”

1. The CERTAINLY of the privilege: “We know.” It is not a matter wavering or doubt. The apostle does not say, “We hope, or conjecture.” “We know that all things work for good.” Hence observe that the truths of the gospel are evident and infallible.

A Christian may come not merely to a vague opinion, but to a certainty of what he holds. As axioms and aphorisms are evident to reason, so the truths of true religion are evident to faith. “We know,” says the apostle. Though a Christian has not a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the gospel—yet he has a certain knowledge. “We see through a glass darkly” (1 Cor. x3:12), therefore we have not perfection of knowledge; but “we behold with open face” (2 Cor. 3:18), therefore we have certainty. The Spirit of God imprints heavenly truths upon the heart, as with the point of a diamond. A Christian may know infallibly that there is an evil in sin, and a beauty in holiness. He may know that he is in the state of grace. “We know that we have passed from death to life” (1 John 3:14).

He may know that he shall go to heaven. “We know that if our earthly tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1). The Lord does not leave His people at uncertainties in matters of salvation. The apostle says, “We know. We have arrived at a holy confidence. We have both the Spirit of God, and our own experience, setting seal to it.”

Let us then not rest in skepticism or doubts—but labor to come to a certainty in the things of religion. As that martyr woman said, “I cannot dispute for Christ—but I can burn for Christ.” God knows whether we may be called forth to be witnesses to His truth; therefore it concerns us to be well-grounded and confirmed in it. If we are doubting Christians, we shall be wavering Christians. Whence is apostasy, but from incredulity? Men first question the truth, and then fall from the truth. Oh, beg the Spirit of God, not only to anoint you, but to seal you (2 Cor. 1:22).

2. The EXCELLENCY of the privilege. “All things work together for good.”

This is as Jacob’s staff in the hand of faith, with which we may walk cheerfully to the mount of God! What will satisfy or make us content, if this will not? All things work together for good. This expression “work together” refers to medicine. Several poisonous ingredients put together, being tempered by the skill of the apothecary, make a sovereign medicine, and work together for the good of the patient. So all God’s providences being divinely tempered and sanctified, do work together for the best to the saints. He who loves God and is called according to His purpose, may rest assured that everything in the world shall be for his good. This is a Christian’s cordial, which may warm him—and make him like Jonathan who, when he had tasted the honey at the end of the rod, “his eyes were enlightened” (1 Sam. xiv. 27). Why should a Christian destroy himself? Why should he kill himself with care, when all things shall sweetly concur, yes, conspire for his good? The result of the text is this—all the various dealings of God with His children, do by a special providence turn to their good. “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant” (Psalm 25:10). If every path has mercy in it, then it works for good.

We shall consider, first, WHAT things work for good to the godly; and here we shall show that both the best things and the worst things work for their good. We begin with the best things.

—–

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Best Things Work for God for the Godly
The Worst Things Work for Good
Why All Things Work for Good
Of Love to God
The Tests of Love to God
An Exhortation to Love God
Effectual Calling
Exhortations to Them that are Called
Concerning God’s Purpose

Free Download: https://www.monergism.com/all-things-good-ebook

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“Praying Through Scripture When Anxiety Strikes”

9 Scriptures

[ Bible Study Tools ]

Free Download: https://s3.lightboxcdn.com/vendors/a063a0ee-4813-4514-a981-3a55fbca096a/uploads/85894a52-d30e-42aa-ac84-44b9975346ab/anxietyguide_ib.pdf

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“Is It Real?”

Many people today have a false sense of security—they feel confident they’re on the way to heaven when they’re not. But for those who aren’t sure whether their faith is genuine, few questions are as agonizing or as important as this: How can you know for certain that you belong to Christ?

In this booklet, John MacArthur outlines eleven biblical tests of authentic salvation, equipping you to answer a vital question: Is my salvation the real thing?

Find out what the Bible says about genuine faith, and discover the blessing of assurance that God’s Word offers to His people. Fill out the form below to request your free copy of John’s booklet Is It Real?

[ John MacArthur ]

Request FREE Booklet: https://www.gty.org/broadcasts/freeoffer/B2013

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“Coronavirus: Special Analysis”

Ken Ham invites you to get your copy of: “Coronavirus: A Biblical and Practical Guide: 10 Biblical Principles & Practical Tips for Christians in the COVID-19 Pandemic”

– BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES:
#1: THE PANDEMIC REMINDS US OF OUR MORTALITY
#2: DISEASE & DEATH ENTERED CREATION THROUGH SIN
#3: HOW JESUS DEALT WITH THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING
#4: GOD WILL PROVIDE FOR OUR NEEDS DAY BY DAY
#5: GOD HAS THE RIGHT TO JUDGE THE WORLD

– PRACTICAL TIPS

– TRUST GOD DURING THE PANDEMIC

– WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CORONAVIRUS? GOD, MAN, OR THE DEVIL?

FREE Book Offer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=xb5LwTkjaGw

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“SHARING GOD’S HOPE IN COVID-19 CRISIS”

Find encouragement in God’s Word and practical ministry instruction to help others.

[ Billy Grapam Evangelistic Association ]

Resources: https://lp.billygraham.org/gods-hope-in-crisis/

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“Shelter in God: Your Refuge in Times of Trouble”
By: Dr. David Jeremiah

Shelter-in-place orders around the world have people questioning, “Does God see us? Can he help us through this nerve-racking time? Dr. David Jeremiah shares through psalms that God is always walking beside us. Now is the time to Shelter in God.

Renowned pastor and teacher Dr. David Jeremiah believes comfort can be found in the Psalms, both now during the coronavirus pandemic and during all of life’s greatest challenges. This newly collected volume will show how finding refuge in God is always our safest place. Shelter in God offers hope in a time of uncertainty and relief to people who are experiencing real troubles and fear.

– Find ways to worship in times of trouble,
– Experience prayer in pressure,
– Ehow grace when you are at your wits’ end, and
– With God’s help, triumph over trouble.

Shelter in God is an invaluable source of help and encouragement for people facing major obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Portions of Shelter in God were previously included in Dr. Jeremiah’s classic When Your World Falls Apart.

https://www.amazon.com/Shelter-God-Refuge-Times-Trouble/dp/0785241221/

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NOTE: Here’s a couple of FANTASTIC ‘analyses’ of the Coronavirus from a biblical viewpoint:

“Coronavirus and Christ”
By: Pastor John Piper

On January 11, 2020, a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reportedly claimed its first victim in the Wuhan province of China. By March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization had declared a global pandemic. In the midst of this fear and uncertainty, it is natural to wonder what God is doing.

In Coronavirus and Christ, John Piper invites readers around the world to stand on the solid Rock, who is Jesus Christ, in whom our souls can be sustained by the sovereign God who ordains, governs, and reigns over all things to accomplish his wise and good purposes for those who trust in him. Piper offers six biblical answers to the question: “What is God doing through the coronavirus?”

1) God is giving the world in the coronavirus outbreak, as in all other calamities,
a physical picture of the moral horror and spiritual ugliness of God-belittling sin.

2) Some people will be infected with the corona- virus as a specific judgment from God because of their sinful attitudes and actions.

3) The Coronavirus is a God-given wake-up call to be ready for the second coming of Christ.

4) The coronavirus is God’s thunderclap call for all of us to repent and realign our lives with the infinite worth of Christ.

5) The Coronavirus is God’s call to his people to overcome self-pity and fear, and with courageous joy, to do the good works of love that glorify God.

6) In the Coronavirus, God is loosening the roots of settled Christians, all over the world, to make them free for something new and radical and to send them with the gospel of Christ to the unreached peoples of the world.

God is reminding us that He is ‘AT WORK’ in this moment in history!

Video Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgfu6JLB_XE

Audiobook (Read by the author John Piper): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St8NlULiuvo

Free Downloads (MP3; Epub; Mobi; PDF): https://www.desiringgod.org/books/coronavirus-and-christ

Pastor John’s final prayer:

Father,

At our best moments, by your grace, we are not sleeping in Gethsemane. We are awake and listening to your Son’s prayer. He knows, deep down, that he must suffer. But in his perfect humanity, he cries out, “If it is possible, let this cup pass.”

In the same way, we sense, deep down, that this pandemic is appointed, in your wisdom, for good and necessary purposes. We too must suffer. Your Son was innocent. We are not.

Yet with him in our less-than-perfect humanity, we too cry out, “If it is possible, let this cup pass.” Do quickly, O Lord, the painful, just, and merciful work you have resolved to do. Do not linger in judgment. Do not delay your compassion. Remember the poor, O Lord, according to your mercy. Do not forget the cry of the afflicted. Grant recovery. Grant a cure. Deliver us—your poor, helpless creatures—from these sorrows, we pray.

But do not waste our misery and grief, O Lord. Purify your people from powerless preoccupation with barren materialism and Christless entertainment. Put our mouths out of taste with the bait of Satan. Cut from us the roots and remnant of pride and hate and unjust ways. Grant us capacities of outrage at our own belittling of your glory. Open the eyes of our hearts to see and savor the beauty of Christ. Incline our hearts to your word, your Son, and your way. Fill us with compassionate courage. And make a name for yourself in the way your people serve.

Stretch forth your hand in great awakening for the sake of this perishing world. Let the terrible words of Revelation not be spoken over this generation: “Yet still they did not repent.” As you have stricken bodies, strike now the slumbering souls. Forbid that they would remain asleep in the darkness of pride and unbelief. In your great mercy, say to these bones, “Live!” And bring the hearts and lives of millions into alignment with the infinite worth of Jesus.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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“What’s the Comfort If the Coronavirus Is Judgment?”
[ Response to Criticism of his new book, “Coronavirus and Christ”]

Audio Transcript

Hello, everyone! Well, Pastor John’s new book, Coronavirus and Christ, is now available in 20 languages, including American Sign Language, and is soon to be in 29 total languages, with the potential for even more languages to be added in the future. It’s been very encouraging to see how fast the book has been translated and how far it has reached across the world in such a short time.

Here in the States, we’ve seen pastors buying cases of the book and putting them on a table outside the front of their church building so that members could drive up throughout the week and take a free copy. We’ve seen family and friends posting links to the free book and the free audiobook online. It’s been amazing to watch the DG community help us spread the word online and offline. So many encouraging updates have been arriving by the day.

But of course, not all the updates have been positive. This week, a major news outlet reported on the book in a story of a US Army chaplain under fire for commending the book. Senior Army Chaplain Col. Moon H. Kim — the US Army’s command chaplain based in South Korea — apparently passed along an email to the Coronavirus and Christ book. He passed it along to fellow military chaplains, commending the book to them — and for it got severely criticized. So criticized, there’s now a call for him to be disciplined and even possibly court-martialed.

In a letter to the secretary of defense, published online, from an organization called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, the foundation accuses the chaplain of “an absolutely egregious and deplorable act.” It says that in sharing the book, he gives a “full-fledged endorsement and validation of what the book espouses and proclaims.”

The letter recommends that Kim be “officially, swiftly, aggressively, and visibly investigated and disciplined in punishment for his deplorable actions,” that is, for commending your book to fellow chaplains. Because what you write is, the letter says, “unmitigated drivel.”

The letter to the secretary of defense is remarkable because of how much of your book it actually quotes — at least ten citations in the letter. As you read this response, what do you think of how you are quoted and interpreted? And is the letter a fair interpretation of your book?

Well, Tony, some of it is. I think it would be fair to say that some of my views about what the Bible teaches, even rightly understood, the author of that letter hates; he hates what I think. “They are,” he says, “incendiary,” “bigoted,” “vulgar” — not just because he misunderstands, but, in part, because he does understand, and that’s how he thinks and feels about some of what the Bible teaches. For example:

The truth of Romans 5:16 that not only some death, but all death — including yours, Tony, and mine — is the result of God’s judgment on the human race because sin entered the world.

That God is sovereign over the coronavirus, and sends it and ends it when he wills.

That homosexual intercourse is a sin.

That the coronavirus is a call for repentance to all of us — all of us — to bring our lives into alignment with the infinite worth of Jesus.

I think the author of that letter considers all of those views as wrong, and that’s putting it mildly. I mean, his language is very colorful. I consider all of those views to be true because they are what the Bible teaches, and therefore, they’re very valuable to know. So, I think it’s not just that he misunderstands, but that he gets some things right in those quotes, and he just doesn’t like them. Period.

Examine Yourselves
Yeah. And obviously there are places where the author of this letter gets your meaning wrong. Take us through those areas.

Well, I see at least three things that the letter and the interview with one of the news outlets gets wrong about the book. For example, when I say that “some people will be infected with the coronavirus as a specific judgment from God because of their sinful attitudes and actions” (Coronavirus and Christ, 69), he assumes that I know who those people are, or at least what kind of people they are. But here’s what I write on page 72. And if anybody wants to just check it out, pages 69–72 are the real ones he’s after, and you can go look. But here’s what I say in the summing up of that little chapter.

The coronavirus is . . . never a clear and simple punishment on any person. The most loving, Spirit-filled Christian, whose sins are forgiven through Christ, may die of the coronavirus disease. But it is fitting that every one of us search our own heart to discern if our suffering is God’s judgment on the way we live.

“The most loving, Spirit-filled Christian, whose sins are forgiven through Christ, may die of the coronavirus disease.”TweetShare on Facebook
In other words, God does judge people with sickness. That’s very clear from 1 Corinthians 11:32, and there it’s even talking about Christians. But John Piper or you or anybody else can’t determine from outside who is experiencing the coronavirus as judgment in a punitive sense, and who’s experiencing it, say, as purification, or who’s experiencing it for other reasons that God may have. My point was that God does do all of these things, and all of us should do sober-minded self-assessment to discern — as well as we can — what God’s purposes are in all that happens to us. And I take the Bible, the Christian Scriptures, as the main guide in these things. The author of this letter apparently doesn’t, and there’s the big canyon between our worldviews.

‘Never Clear and Simple’
Yeah, that’s a really important point. You said there were three misunderstandings. It seems that one of those obviously is the question of homosexuality.

Right. You could say, probably, that that issue is a specific instance of the first misunderstanding. As far as I can see, the author of that letter wants to say that Piper thinks every person who engages in homosexual acts and who gets the coronavirus is being punished by God for those acts. And my response is “Well, no, it’s not that simple.”

For sure, in Romans 1:27 the Bible says that living in homosexual behavior is sometimes punished by God with a “due penalty,” which could be a disease, but not always. And sometimes disease comes not as punishment, but as a merciful wake-up call that results in repentance and reconciliation and hope. God’s ways are simply more complex than the letter acknowledges.

So, I say again, from page 72, “The coronavirus . . . is never a clear and simple punishment on any person.” It may be punishment; it may not be. And our prayer should be that all of us experience our suffering as redemptive, not punitive.

I suspect though, Tony, that this clarification won’t even come close to satisfying the author of this letter, since he considers it drivel and vulgar to even suggest that God controls this disease and would judge anyone with it.

Greater Than All Our Sin
In the Christian Post interview, one of the rhetorical questions the author of the letter poses, as a kind of unanswerable argument against your view, is this: “What are you supposed to tell a couple that has a gay child who also has COVID? ‘Well, this is your due penalty?’ It’s just horrible and wrong.” How would you answer that?

Well, actually, that is the third mistake I was referring to earlier. He thinks that if you believe what I do, you can’t possibly have any good news for someone who is dying of a disease that came to them because of their sin.

Now, that’s the objection in this letter I care about most. Actually, it wasn’t in the letter; it was in the interview. And that’s the one I care about most. When I read that, I thought, “Okay, even though he states this sarcastically or cynically, as though there couldn’t possibly be any answer to it, I want to take that question seriously, because it’s a very good pastoral question.”

But his viewpoint about what I think, or would be able to say, is so wrong. It’s wrong at the very point where God’s sovereign grace shines most brightly. Two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, the Jewish king Herod, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, the angry crowds, the brutal soldiers — all of them — combined to kill Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

But here’s the all-important fact: Crucifixion is a horrible thing, especially when it’s done to the most innocent person that ever lived and the most glorious person that ever lived. And that horror was not a random historical event. The Bible says in Acts 4:27–28 that God predestined it and his hand brought it to pass. Why? Because he loved his enemies. He loved them. I should say, he loved us, all of us who are his enemies, enough that he didn’t spare his own Son — his only, infinitely loved Son — but gave him up for us (Romans 8:32). That was love when that happened, according to Romans 5:8: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

In other words, we have the best news in the world for someone who has lived in a homosexual lifestyle or practiced homosexual behaviors and who is dying of COVID-19. And it’s the same news that I would bring to any other sinner who is dying of COVID-19, including myself. It is what I want to hold onto when I die, perhaps of COVID-19, being old like I am with compromised lungs. I’m not out of this thing yet. Maybe I’ll be on my deathbed, and I’ll be bringing all of my thousands of sins before the Judge of the universe. What am I going to do? And my answer is that I’m going to hold onto the very same message — the grace, the good news — that I’m going to bring to the person that this author says I don’t have anything to say to.

The thief on the cross, who had spent a lifetime in sin, just hours before he died, looked over to Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42–43). Are you kidding me? I mean, this has got to be a bolt of lightning out of the blue. “Can that possibly be true, Jesus? Are you really going to forgive, in this split-second before I die, all of my sins?” That’s how great God’s grace is for those who repent and trust him.

Best News in the Hardest Moments
So, Tony, I hope the world hears that we have spectacularly wonderful news for all sinners who are dying — however they are dying, whatever they are dying from, whatever sins they have committed. And the news in a nutshell is this: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Turn to Jesus Christ. He died for sinners like you and me. Trust him, and you can know that your suffering is not the punitive judgment of God. You can know this, and you can know this as you die: I’m not being punished now; I won’t be punished later.

“The very heart of Christianity is that, through Christ, God rescues guilty sinners.”TweetShare on Facebook
How can you know that? Because Jesus said in John 5:24 these amazing words: “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” That thief on the cross, while he was hanging on the cross, passed from death to life. A dying person, any dying person, can know the sweet voice of God in Romans 8:1: “There is . . . now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

So, this letter to the secretary of the army asks, “Where’s the pastoral care and comfort in that belief?” — namely, Piper’s belief and the belief of this accused chaplain. “Where’s the care and comfort in that?” And then he answers, “There is none.” That’s what he says: “There is none.”

My response is “Sir, no. You are profoundly wrong. We have the best news in the world for the hardest moments in the world — the best care, the best comfort. The very heart of Christianity is that, through Christ, God rescues guilty sinners. That’s me and you and all of us. Through Christ, God rescues guilty sinners from his own wrath.” Romans 5:9: “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by [Christ’s] blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” That’s what God sent Christ to do: rescue us from his own righteous punishment.

Amen. That is the best news in the world, and it’s what motivates us even now to do ministry during this hard time. “We have the best news in the world for the hardest moments in the world.” Amen. Thank you, Pastor John.

[ John Piper ]

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“Coronavirus Reflections”

A number of people have asked me to share my thoughts on the Coronavirus. I have broken this video into 5 main topics:

1. A Bit of Perspective
2. Is This a Judgment of God?
3. Did God Cause This?
4. Is Coronavirus a Test?
5. Is There Hope?

[ Justin Peters ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv7F237WWZs

 

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“THE SEARCH FOR MEANING” WEBSITE

This site presents discussions on the 12 most commonly asked questions about the Christian faith.

The 12 discussions are accessed by the “tabs” at the bottom of the page. The tabs are numbered 1-12. Roll your mouse over them and you will see the question displayed at the right. Click on the number to select that question.

Within each question (i.e. tabs 1-12), there are subtopics (or dialogues) to select that appear as smaller tabs underneath the numbered tabs. Roll your mouse over them and the title of these topics is also displayed to the right. Click on the open rectangle to select that dialogue.

For each question (1-12), a link to related resources and an optional flowchart is provided. To access this material, click on the respective words, “Related Resources” or “Options Flowchart.”

To play a more detailed discussion of the subject, between two people, select the desired dialogue and click on “Play Audio Dialogue.”

In the upper right-hand corner of the page, there is an icon that looks like binoculars looking at a question mark. Click on this icon to return to the homepage.

In the upper right-hand corner of a “Related Resources” page, there is an icon that looks like some books. Click on this icon to get to an “overview” page that has links to all of the resources for all of the questions. There also are additional “appendices” for most of the questions.

In the upper right-hand corner of a “Flowchart” page, there is an icon that looks like an Org chart. Click on this icon to get to an “overview” page that has links to all of the flowcharts.

http://4vis.com/sfm/sfm_pres/sp_q1_d1_1of10.html

[ Content by: Bill Kraftson and Lamar Smith; Website by Mark Besh ]

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“FRUITS OF THE BEATITUDES” WEB SITE
(The ATTITUDES of Jesus that produce the CHARACTER of Jesus)

CLICK ON THE LINK to view:
http://fruitsofthebeatitudes.org/

FACEBOOK PAGE:
https://www.facebook.com/FruitsOfTheBeatitudes/

[ Mark Besh ]

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[ P.S.: If you would like to investigate further how to pay ‘attention’ to God’s warnings, visit the following link:
http://www.4vis.com/sfm/sfm_pres/sp_q11_d6_1of10.html ].

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ARTICLES:

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“Best Super Bowl Commercials of All Time”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLOvdat94Fg

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“10 Best Super Bowl Commercials 2020”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQmhLOFbRQw

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“Top Five 5-Second Hooks”

Hook, Line and Sinker
The first 5 seconds of your video is critical. It’s the hook that keeps people watching. Grab them, and you’ve given yourself the best chance they will listen to your message. Lose them, and the time and energy you put into your video is wasted with a single ‘skip’.

We’ve put together some of our favourite examples of attention grabbing, funny, and novel 5-second hooks…

Video Examples: https://wooshiivideoagency.com/blog/5-second-hooks

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“The 18 Best Advertisements & Ad Campaigns of All Time”

Without further ado, here they are in no particular order: 18 of the best advertisements of all time and the lessons we can learn from them.

1. Nike: Just Do It.
2. Coke: Share a Coke
3. Absolut Vodka: The Absolut Bottle
4. Anheuser-Busch: Whassup (1999)
5. Miller Lite: Great Taste, Less Filling (1974)
6. Always: #LikeaGirl (2015)
7. Volkswagen: Think Small (1960)
8. Google: Year in Search (2017)
9. Dos Equis: The Most Interesting Man in the World (2006)
10. California Milk Processor Board: Got Milk? (1993)
11. Metro Trains: Dumb Ways to Die (2012)
12. Apple: “I’m a Mac” (2006)
13. Clairol: Does She or Doesn’t She? (1957)
14. De Beers: A Diamond is Forever (1999)
15. Old Spice: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like (2010)
16. Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef? (1984)
17. Procter & Gamble: Thank You, Mom (2012)
18. KFC: “FCK” (2018)

With these ads in mind, start thinking about your brand identity, your brand story, and the things that matter most to your ideal customer. This is the foundation of a great advertising strategy.

Article (Videos): https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-advertisements

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“When People Pay Attention to Video Ads and Why”

What cost has risen the most dramatically for U.S. businesses in the last 25 years? It’s not the cost of health care or taxes, or even executive compensation. It’s advertising, more precisely the cost of commanding consumer attention, which by my calculation has seen a staggering seven- to nine-fold increase in real terms since 1990.

When demand outpaces supply, prices rise. Marketers’ demand for consumers’ attention has grown dramatically in recent years with the proliferation of new brands and products (remember when there was only one variety of Oreo?). The supply of attention, however, can (by and large) only grow with population growth. At the same time, consumers have been armed with all sorts of tools to avoid paying attention to advertisements, including DVRs, ad blockers, and mobile devices that allow them to shift their attention to content of their choosing.

It’s a safe bet that the ad-to-sales ratios of major companies have risen accordingly in the same period, and the rising cost of capturing consumer attention has driven smaller companies without deep pockets to abandoning mass media advertising altogether, with promotions, discounts, and giveaways becoming their favored way to inform consumers about new products.

In this ferociously competitive environment, companies need to know the best practices for capturing and retaining consumer attention. My research suggests that there is no universally applicable approach — what matters most is tailoring advertisements to the appropriate context. The positive side is that the amount of attention that consumers are likely to give to ads, regardless of brand or product, is quite predictable. For instance, people in the cinema tend to pay high attention to ads and trailers. On the other hand, media multitaskers — for example, people who watch TV with a computer in their lap — tend to pay less attention. If they are young and also have a mobile phone by their side, then they pay even less attention. Therefore, the best content for ads depends on the context in which viewers will be exposed to these ads, and the predicted level of attention that they are likely to provide.

Here are four examples for video advertisements that have succeeded partially because they were used in the appropriate context.

Let’s look at these examples in more detail.

When your audience is captive.
Advertising content needs to do two things — engage and persuade. Ads traditionally spent more time doing the latter — in the pre-internet era, the main way people accessed information about new products or brands was through TV advertisements, so they were willing to pay sustained attention to promotional or informational content. With the ubiquity of on-demand information, that’s no longer the case; in general today’s consumers will pay significantly more attention to content designed to entertain them. This holds true for B2B and B2C audiences alike.

The New Tools of Marketing
How leading companies connect with customers.
However, exceptions to this rule still exist. Consider a cinema, where consumers are relatively captive. They sit in a darkened room, leaving is inconvenient and they probably don’t have access to competing content (though even this is changing as norms against smart-phone use in cinemas deteriorate). In this context, advertisers can assume that their audience will pay full attention until the end of the commercial — so they can focus on persuasion and spend more of the ad time imparting product information. Consider the following commercial for Samsung:

This ad does a terrific job of focusing on persuasion by showing the user experience with the product (a voice- and gesture-activated television), and in a meaningful environment, one if which the actor is also watching movies. While not devoid of entertaining content, it also doesn’t shy away from explaining exactly how the product is used, even narrating its benefits and prominently showing the brand.

When your audience starts off paying attention.
Unlike cinema-goers, people who watch television have plenty of available alternatives. They can change the channel, pick up their smart phone, walk into the kitchen to have a snack, or even pause and then fast-forward through commercials. In an experiment over the internet, I played a subsample of 88 video ads for various food and beverage products — and told participants that they could skip any ad that they chose. I filmed the participants’ faces. Using an algorithm to measure their facial reaction, I was able to gauge the time and intensity of emotional engagement each ad elicited. I then asked participants in the study to buy a confectionary product, and was able to correlate their purchasing choices to how intensely each advertisement engaged their attention.

The following ad for Pepsi, “Love Hurts,” resulted in the highest rate of sales conversion despite not being the most engaging.

It’s an entertaining ad, and therefore it unsurprisingly outperformed ads that did not elicit a strong a reaction in my study participants, who often decided to skip such ads before they finished. But interestingly, it was not the most entertaining advertisement of the bunch, either. It turns out that if you make an ad too emotional sales will suffer — consumers focus on the content and don’t register the persuasive information. There is a sweet spot between too boring and too entertaining, and “Love Hurts” found it. Also, notice that the entertainment begins after the first reveal of the Pepsi Max brand. My research shows that entertainment presented after the first exposure of the brand always improves purchases while entertainment presented before the brand always diminishes it.

When your audience does not start off paying attention.
It’s a truism of advertising that good television ads grab their audience’s attention in the first five seconds. But sometimes your audience isn’t even watching your ad to begin with, so instead you need to capture their attention over the course of the ad — for instance, when a television is on in the background during the typically busy “early evening” time slots, when younger audiences make up the bulk of viewers (they are inveterate multitaskers), or when your advertisement will play in the middle of a “pod” of commercials. This advertisement for Target Australia managed to do just that.

The music is inviting. The images are colorful. And the use of stop-motion animation makes it eye-catchingly disjointed and artsy. Eventually, the video draws you in. Notice how it waits until the very last second to provide information about the brand or product and, when it does, the information is minimal—the brand and url for Target.

I examined the second-by-second web browsing of 100,000 households and found that immediately after this ad aired, the Target Australia website saw a spike in visitors of 30% percent in less than one minute, which was sustained for a full two minutes. And given that a typical ecommerce site such as Target has a 2 to 9% visitation-to-sales conversion rate, this spike translated into a quick and sizable return-on-investment.

When your audience is completely distracted
There are some contexts in which an audience’s attention will be so divided that trying to capture it is a fool’s errand. Display advertising in Times Square in Manhattan is a good example — only already strong brands have a chance of making an impression in such a noisy environment, and it will likely be a weak one. In such instances, however, there may be solution — viral advertising, but not the standard way.

Few categories have commercials that are as highly skipped as batteries. People are just not interested in what many perceive to be a commodity. Yet, Duracell managed to make a battery advertisement into a viral sensation with almost 16 million views on YouTube alone (12 million in just two weeks). My research shows just what a jackpot this was: less than 0.6% of video ads get 1 million or more total views on YouTube.

The ad has a lot going against it. It starts slow. It shows the Duracell brand early on (after only 30 seconds!). And it stars Kevin Jorgeson, a mountainclimber unknown to most Americans. So how did Duracell do it? A viral ad can be “engineered” by reaching out to influencers, well-connected bloggers, internet personalities and opinion leaders to have them be the initial distributor to their online audiences. Obviously this has a cost relative to the “post and pray” of pure organic viral marketing. But the benefit is that these influencers start the “snowball” rolling. In effect, this approach transforms viral from earned media into a form of paid media.

In the case of the Jorgeson ad, Duracell got the ad in the hands of mountain climbers and outdoors enthusiasts as a way to engage them to help distribute the video to their acquaintances and followers. Mountain climbing has a strong culture with trusted sources of expertise. If you receive a video shared from one of these influencers, chances are you will be more open to sitting through the 90 seconds, even after you see a Duracell brand a third of the way through.

For advertising to work, it has to attract attention before it does anything else. That task is much more complicated and expensive than in past because people’s attention spans are shorter and more brands compete for attention. Today’s marketers must think in a two-step model: Entertain people to grab their attention; only then turn to your advertising needs by providing relevant information. Marketers should start their media buying strategy by understanding the attention potential of each media and context—only then will they know how much time and effort to spend on each step.

[ Thales S. Teixeira ]

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“How To Build an Ad That Grabs Attention in 2 Seconds or Less”

There’s a war brewing on our televisions. It’s not a climactic battle from “Game of Thrones,” but one between the companies providing the content. Streaming platforms from Disney, Apple, NBC, CBS, and HBO, among others, strive to plant a flag on the mountain that Netflix once peaked.

And how will this battle be fought? With more and more competitors entering the fray, the essential strategy lies in capturing consumers’ attention.

The same is true for competition in any industry or market. After all, there’s no sense in trying to build customer loyalty — or even attempting a sale — if no one is looking. The first step is always to turn eyes toward your business.

Quick Takeaways:

Marketers are constantly complaining of waning attention spans, but have themselves to blame for incessant push marketing. Worse, there are few things that intrigue customers, thanks to information overload.
You can influence customers by grabbing their attention for as little as two seconds.
The nature of your target audience is changing. Your messaging needs to change accordingly.
Offer future value if you want to build a loyal customer base.
The Attention Economy
Customer attention is finite and fleeting. It’s difficult to capture and even harder to keep.

With customer interactions occurring increasingly on the internet, the amount of time that brands have to capture attention in an advertisement is incredibly small. The average ad on Facebook is viewed for only 2.5 seconds by desktop users. On mobile, that number drops to a mere 1.7 seconds.

A fair number of companies try to work around this by gaming the system, from using unskippable ads to deploying frequent, unnecessary notifications on mobile apps. But these methods only cause consumers to change their behavior in an effort to avoid intrusive advertising. They delete apps, develop “banner blindness,” and focus more on finding an escape than engaging with the ad in front of them.

“Brands often want to be all things to all people, and in our age of fractured attention, vague messaging is easy to scroll past without a second thought,” notes Hamish McCollester, senior vice president and group creative director for RAPP LA. “This means that great creative is more important than ever, as it takes skill and ingenuity to articulate a brand’s story and tell it compellingly in the blink of an eye.”

The Instant Spark
Your best option is to distill your business’s pitch into a single, clear message. It’s a tough task, but it’s what our new attention economy requires.

Although capturing consumer attention may seem difficult, it’s not impossible. In fact, even low amounts of attention bring returns for a brand. You really just have to get a consumer from pre-attention to low attention. According to Nielsen research, even 2 seconds of attention can increase recall, raise brand awareness, and inspire purchase intent. Good thing marketers have 2.5 seconds to work with!

So how do you perform that distillation and craft a message that can inspire and draw consumers in a flash? These few steps will get you started:

1. Rethink your target.
You won’t catch and keep attention if your messages are irrelevant to viewers. It’s possible that your messaging is going to the wrong eyes while sending signals that would put off your most valuable demographics.

Women over 40, for example, often feel both overlooked and misunderstood by brands and advertisers. Despite having major influence over household spending, this market segment is frequently targeted by ads for de-aging makeup and wrinkle reducers — and little else. This could be due to a lack of representation in marketing teams, as well as a fundamental misunderstanding by brands.

Sparkling Ice is one brand that’s bucking the trend and looking more closely at its potential customer base. By testing and studying shopper behavior, the company made connections between who was buying its product and what other services or lifestyle choices were on their minds. This led Sparkling Ice to target groups such as women on the Weight Watchers program or those pursuing the popular keto diet — specific, nuanced demographics that would be likely to appreciate the company’s message.

2. Engage emotions.
The most engaged and loyal customers are those who develop an emotional connection with a brand. According to Harvard Business Review, these emotionally connected customers have about twice the value to brands compared to customers who are simply satisfied with their purchase.

Why can’t this same emotional connection help an ad grab audience members’ attention?

Halo Top has managed it. While much of the company’s growth has come from word-of-mouth influence, the minimal advertising that got the ball rolling had a decidedly emotional through-line. The ice cream company’s ads contain a comical, yet heart-tugging, take on eating as a respite from the pain of adulthood, a topic that resonates deeply with its Millennial target audience.

3. Offer future value.
Loyalty programs are often viewed simply as a way to keep current customers coming back, but they can also bring in new customers. Most importantly, they encourage customers to share data with a company and tell friends and family about the brand, according to Prizelogic’s “Incentivized Engagement Report.”

The data companies receive from those loyalty programs can help them build more accurate customer profiles. In turn, this helps them create better, more targeted ads. Ulta Beauty, which has a loyalty program with more than 31 million active users, reached $6.7 billion of revenue in 2018. That represented a 14 percent increase from the year before. The data Ulta gleaned from existing customers improved the quality of its ad game; the regular additions of new perks kept the word-of-mouth conversations going.

Attention spans aren’t waning. It’s just that there’s more out there — more shows, more news, and more brands — vying for our attention. Rise above the noise with a clear message and an emotional connection to the right audience, and you’ll capture the attention you need.

[ Tiffany Delmore ]

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“You Have 2.7 Seconds to Grab Someone’s Attention, No Pressure”

Forget gone in 60 seconds, when it comes to a cold email you have a teeny tiny fraction of that time to grab someone’s attention. Think of the amount of time it took you to read the title to this article—about three to five seconds. Most likely you knew within those first precious moments whether you were going to click through, or peace (rude).

Now imagine that you are a high-level executive who is bombarded by thousands of emails a day. The amount of time you have to read through unsolicited emails is limited. Lucky for you, according to a study conducted by Staples, high-level executives read an average of 575 words per minute (take their test here, it’s fun, and let us know in the comments how you did), which means you might have a slightly longer shot at impressing them. But it’s still a flash. Let’s call it three seconds.

So what do you do? Here are six steps to ensure that your recipient reads all the way to the bottom. [more…]

[ Creative & Cultivater ]

Article: https://www.createcultivate.com/blog/2016/2/16/wtf-you-have-27-seconds-to-grab-someones-attention

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“10 Ways To Capture Someone’s Attention (In 30 Seconds Or Less)”

You are one person in several billion. It’s easy to slip into feelings of insignificance or to feel like you’re just one quiet person among far too many to be noticeable. With all that going on, how can you capture someone’s attention?

Well, there’s good news! As it turns out, these feelings of smallness don’t mean you aren’t an interesting person with lots to offer. The trick is learning to showcase that from the beginning, so people find you attractive, too – and fast, before their attention spans run out!

[ Power of Positivity ]

Article: https://www.powerofpositivity.com/capture-someones-attention-30-seconds-or-less/

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“7 Techniques for Capturing People’s Attention”

The person who can capture and hold attention is the person who can effectively influence human behavior. What, we may ask, is a failure in life? Obviously, it is a person without influence; one to whom no one attends: the inventor who can persuade no one of the value of his device; the merchant who cannot attract enough customers into his store; the teacher whose pupils whistle or stamp or play tricks while he tries to capture their attention; the poet who writes reams of verse which no one will accept.

[ Brett & Kate McKay ]

Article: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/7-techniques-for-capturing-peoples-attention/

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“How to Attract Customer’s Attention?”

As an entrepreneur or small-business owner, you already found yourself in a position where one of the essential activities in your job is to attract more and more potential customers for your business. You will always need to attract customer’s attention.

You need them, even you already have customers. They will never be enough for your small business. Because of that, your job is to work to attract customer’s attention continuously.

Although it might look easy, the process will require more efforts.

You have a business. You have a product or service, and now you need someone to hear, see, feel that you are here and ready to solve their so terrible, so boring and so annoying problems for customers.

The first step is to attract them. Although this will not guarantee success for your business, however, it is the first step that you must take from your side as an entrepreneur.

In this post, I would like to mention several possible rules that you can implement when it comes to your efforts in attracting your potential customers.

7 Steps to Attract Customer’s Attention

1. Plan how you can attract customers for business. Sometimes you can’t plan everything, but you will implement much more systematic approach if you plan various ways and opportunities to attract your potential customers.

2. Use different channels to attract them. For different businesses, there will be different channels. It is an excellent try to test different channels to attract the attention of your potential customers.

Social media platforms are essential today. Facebook is the largest platform, so use following six steps to create your Facebook campaign strategy.

3. Give attention to get attention. If you give your attention to your potential customers, it is more likely that you will get their attention reciprocally.

4. You don’t need secrets, inform your potential customers about everything vital to them. The competition will discover me. Also, they will copy my work. The competition will know about my work. Although the statements can still be possible, you need to take the risk because the potential customers can’t give you their attention without attracting theirs real pain points and emotions.

5. Be unique, do not copy. You can study and analyze your competitors, but do not copy them. You want to be unique. Uniqueness is the best way to attract your potential customers.

You will need to build a strong brand around your small business. Here are three ways how you can increase the brand awareness of your company.

6. Be realistic. It is not important what you think, it is more important what your customers think. You need to be realistic about them.

7. Stop talking and start listening. Listening will tell you what the other side wants to achieve, and if you know that, and you hit them in their real “wants” you will have their attention.

You need more and more customers for your business. Don’t lose your time without the systematic approach to attract customer’s attention.

[ Sutevski Consulting ]

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“Attention Grabbers: 5 Essentials to Make Your Marketing Stand Out”

Even if you rarely pay attention to marketing, I’m confident you’ve heard this fact (or a variation): the average American sees or hears 3,500+ advertising and marketing messages a day.

As I write, I’m in New York City and I probably see well over 5,000 messages during my waking hours.

Here in the Big Apple, it seems every space anyone can see is available: sides of buildings… stairs on the subway… bus shelters… taxi interiors… elevator walls… restaurant bathrooms… jackets… beer glasses (I’m told).

Here’s an example from the turnstiles on the New York subway.

[more…]

Scott Martin ]

Article: https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/attention-grabbers

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“What Makes Someone Leave A Website?”

Attracting a potential customer is hard enough. Grabbing their interest and retaining them is even more difficult. It’s important to design your site so that user frustration is kept to a minimum, thereby maximizing customer retention. Below are some examples of what not to do when designing your website. Information sourced from: econsultancy.com, bx.businessweek.com, usability.gov and forrester.com.

[ Neil Patel ]

Click on the link below to view the infographic.

Article: https://neilpatel.com/blog/leave-a-website/

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“‘In These Uncertain Times,’ Coronavirus Ads Strike Some Repetitive Notes”

Companies strive to assemble ad messages in response to the pandemic

A parody ad deploys variations on ‘these uncertain times,’ a stock phrase used in advertising during the coronavirus pandemic.

The most common elements of coronavirus advertising are familiar by now: Piano music, images of empty streets, voice-overs that invoke “these uncertain times,” and company promises to be there for consumers.

But that approach is getting repetitive, and risks appearing insincere, some in the ad industry say.

Sean Haney, a digital marketer at a software company, made an ad compilation called “Every Covid-19 Commercial Is Exactly the Same” after noticing similarities as he worked from home with the television on in the background. “Within about a week, ad nauseam I heard the same things, the same piano music, and felt like these were all derivative,” he said.

The execution is understandable given companies’ fear of striking the wrong tone and the constraints on production during stay-at-home orders, Mr. Haney said. “It’s not so bad,” he said. “It’s only when you see it all at once, all mashed together, you’ve got to say we’ve got to do something different.”

His video has been noticed. “I sent it to all my chief creative officers around the world saying we’re only four weeks into this but this chapter’s been told,” said Susan Credle, global chief creative officer at the ad agency FCB Worldwide Inc., part of the Interpublic Group of Cos .

Marketers have raced to respond to the coronavirus, first by pulling campaigns that it rendered obsolete, and then by creating ads addressing the new circumstances. They are sincere, but moving quickly without the benefit of being able to shoot new creative, Ms. Credle said.

“Not only us, but many categories of advertisers were switching to advertising that clearly demonstrated empathy,” said Fiona Carter, chief brand officer at AT&T Communications, the AT&T Inc. unit that includes its wireless and broadband operations.

Coronavirus ads may picture a lot of empty streets and first responders, but that comes from a good place, Ms. Carter said.

AT&T’s ads also have described its response to the pandemic, such as providing connectivity to temporary hospitals and mobile-testing sites.

Right Messaging
Here is what respondents said when askedwhat companies should include in ads duringthe coronavirus pandemic:

– Serviceadjustments(changes to hours, etc.)
– How companies are helping
– Steps such as cleaning
– Actions to protect workers
– Acknowledging the situation/expressing concern
– Deals
– PSA messages
– Community efforts

When people were asked what they preferred in advertising during the pandemic, only 10% said they wanted marketers to acknowledge the situation or express concern, according to Morning Consult, a data-intelligence company that conducted a survey of 2,200 American adults on March 28 and 29.

The most popular response, from 44% of respondents, was for ads to include information on companies’ service adjustments and updates, including store closures or new online options. Indicating what the advertiser is doing to help during the pandemic ranked second, at 24%.

But consumers are still getting a heavy dose of concern from some brands, and not only on TV. “I did a search in my inbox for ‘uncertain times’ and got more than 50 results,” said Nick Lange, creative director at Nurture Digital Inc., a digital video agency.

“It seems like these companies see an opportunity to start a conversation or gain awareness by acting concerned,” he said.

In response, Mr. Lange and several colleagues made an ad for a fictional browser extension that automatically modifies outgoing marketing emails with phrases like “uncertain times.”

“It feels like there’s a template, like a tragedy template,” said Samantha Geloso, a copywriter in New York who created a parody of coronavirus marketing. “Things are pretty crazy right now,” her spoof ad says. “Maybe you’re a little scared. We are too. Scared of losing sales.”

Reebok
✔
@Reebok
Stay healthy while working from home! Tell us what at-home equipment you have and we’ll customize a workout you can do from the comfort of your living room.💪

10:17 AM – Mar 13, 2020
41 people are talking about this

Marketers and agencies would do best if they focused on solving problems and left most of the messaging for another day, Ms. Geloso said. She pointed to the example of Reebok, which used its Twitter account to ask people what fitness equipment they have at home and replied with customized workouts.

“Now more than ever, to quote every commercial ever, you can actually stop emotionally manipulative montages and use your resources for good,” she said. “It can be even a small problem.”

Marketers have the chance to move past the somber notes of their initial coronavirus advertising, said Ms. Carter, the AT&T executive.

AT&T lightened its tone in a recent ad about distance learning, replacing the piano soundtrack of its earlier commercials about coronavirus with “School Days” by Chuck Berry. It also said the company created a $10 million fund to support distance-learning tools, curriculum and resources for educators and families.

“As people settle into the stay-at-home and pause life, people are ready for more optimism and more forward-looking stories,” Ms. Carter said.

[ Nat Ives ]

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“A Third of Americans Now Show Signs of Clinical Anxiety or Depression, Census Bureau Finds”

A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

When asked questions normally used to screen patients for mental health problems, 24% showed clinically significant symptoms of major depressive disorder and 30% showed symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. [more…]

Article: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-third-of-Americans-now-show-signs-of-clinical-15295858.php

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“Coronavirus Outbreak Is A Wake-Up Call Showing How Unprepared We Are”

A disease in a remote part of the world can be in your backyard tomorrow. But though each outbreak captured the attention of the public and the politicians, as fears subsided, complacency set it.

[ Newsweek – February 14, 2020 – “This Outbreak is a Wake-Up Call” ]

Article: https://www.newsweek.com/2020/02/14/issue.html

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“Why COVID-19 is Likely to Change Globalization, Not Reverse It”

WHY WE WROTE THIS
Can the world’s fabric be undone? Some nationalists point to the coronavirus as a reason to seal borders and bring manufacturing home. But business experts say the benefits of trade are undiminished.

The Spanish moss-draped oaks and brick-laid city squares of the American South’s low country are undoubtedly romantic. After all, some 8,000 weddings – lace-wrapped opening chapters of new lives – take place throughout the region every year.

But for many Americans looking to get hitched this year, it is starting to feel like someone dropped the wedding cake.

Heavily dependent on Chinese dressmakers who toil in well-lit factory floors from Wuhan and beyond, the $78 billion U.S. wedding industry is facing turmoil unlike any it’s ever seen. Waiting times for dresses have gone from six months to who knows when. Chinese suppliers have sent out apologetic but blunt notices that back orders could last for months.

The COVID-19 crisis comes at the absolute worst time: Late winter is when shopkeepers like Mia Mayer make nearly their entire year’s profit as nervous young women and their families waltz in and out of the changing booths.

“This is our world now,” says Ms. Mayer, who has sold over 1,000 dresses at her lacy boutique, That Dress, in Rincon, Georgia, since opening in 2012. “Wedding dresses, the decorations, the linen – all that stuff comes from China. The truth is, I never thought about this risk. You think about a decline in business, but that’s something that you can do something about. Now, there is no fix. There is no Plan B.”

For some seniors, virus is shifting their views of Trump
The upheaval in the realm of weddings is just one example of a severe shock – a possibly transformative jolt – that is now rippling through an interconnected world economy.

And marriage ceremonies may be an apropos image to keep in mind. As stock markets totter – exchanges plunged around the world Monday, and NYSE trading was temporarily halted – the coronavirus emergency seems to be testing whether a “wedded” global economy will hold together or fall apart.

Globalization under fire
The test comes as the very idea of “globalization” – long vaunted as a path to shared prosperity for richer and poorer nations alike – has already come under assault in the realms of public opinion, public policy, and even economics.

Some nationalists in Europe and the U.S., already predisposed against unfettered trade, are now pointing to the virus as an added reason to seal the borders and bring factories back home.

The vast majority of business experts say the real lesson of the new coronavirus outbreak is, if anything, the very opposite. They don’t foresee any wholesale retreat from today’s web of far-flung commercial ties among nations, or benefits in doing so. Still, they expect the virus outbreak will alter the patterns of trade, perhaps in ways that have a local as well as a global character.

“Any reasonable board member would expect a CEO to be responding with greater supply redundancy and be prepared to pay for it,” says Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “To the extent that this crisis appears to be heading toward a global phenomenon, it is a nudge toward a different, more diversified globalization rather than less globalization.”

Workers wearing face masks rope a container ship at a port in Qingdao, China, Feb. 11, 2020. Many Chinese factories halted production in February due to efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Global ripple effects are expected in industries from auto parts to pharmaceuticals, as the Chinese factories work to restart.
Indeed, supply-chain specialist Rolf Zimmer in Germany says his clients are looking to make their supply networks more resilient, not more insular.

“This [epidemic] may end up as a great ‘teaching moment’ where we see that multilateral cooperation is essential,” says Richard Baldwin, an international economist at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

“Or it may be seized upon by nationalists as an excuse to further restrict trade and immigration,” which would hurt nations that go that route, he writes via email.

Decline in poverty
Economists generally say that, while it’s true that trading relations come with risks, the benefits of economic connections tend to far outweigh the costs.

Decades of rising container-ship commerce and falling trade barriers, after all, have done much to drive a historic decline in poverty rates, most notably in Asia but spanning the world. In the process, median incomes in advanced nations like the U.S. have gone up, not down.

Yet the change has been uneven. Coupled with the trend of rising automation, globalization has created pockets of desperation when factories close. And, particularly in the new millennium with China’s full-tilt entry into global markets, the sheer pace of these changes has sown political upheaval. Donald Trump’s successful anti-establishment presidential run in 2016 and the British public’s vote to leave the European Union are, in part, signs of the social strain.

The coronavirus emergency is globalization’s latest test. Some world leaders say it’s vital for nations to meet the crisis by collaborating across boundaries on both health and economic matters.

“There is a common enemy, [and] we need to fight in unison,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said in a recent public appearance.

For many workers and corporations, the economic side of that fight isn’t about lofty ideals. It’s about coping, here and now, with dents in both supply and demand.

In Italy, the economic toll of the coronavirus is visible in the sheer emptiness. It’s audible in the eerie quiet.

“It’s dead. There are no tourists,” says Gianni, owner of a small pizzeria in the center of Rome.

He has reduced the amount of pizza he makes each day, but he still can’t sell it all. “I’m worried that I’m not going to be able to pay the rent,” he says.

Due to a spike in cases, Italy is among the world’s hardest hit. On Monday night, the government took the extraordinary step of banning public gatherings throughout the country and asking people to stay home except for work or emergencies.

Yet parallel challenges are emerging around the world: unfilled airplanes, half-vacant malls, and canceled public events or business conferences.

Who supplies the suppliers?
Even far from the world’s biggest ports, in the tiny landlocked nation of Lesotho in southern Africa, the ripples are significant. In an industrial district of the low-slung capital, Maseru, some 40,000 people work in garment factories, churning out sweatshirts and skinny jeans for American brands like Levis, Walmart, and Costco. The industry is the nation’s largest private employer.

“Orders are already beginning to slow down,” says Bahlakoana Shaw Lebakae, founder of the United Textile Employees, a workers’ union.

Why? The textiles used by factories in Lesotho come from China. The logjams there mean that U.S. buyers are suddenly cautious purchasers.

“The textile industry here is already hanging by a thread,” Mr. Lebakae says, because it is reliant on a precarious American trade deal called the African Growth and Opportunities Act, which allows duty-free sales in U.S. markets.

Business leaders and officials worldwide are scrambling for solutions. But a videoconference isn’t always an adequate substitute for a business trip, which are harder to arrange these days. Finding alternative suppliers, whether of wedding dresses or microchips, isn’t easy.

Consider the closure of one parts factory in Codogno, Italy, an area affected by the outbreak. The shutdown is temporary, but it means that auto assembly plants across Europe, from Jaguar Land Rover and BMW to Renault and Peugeot, could be left short of crucial components.

“This coronavirus is a wake-up call. It’s, ‘Wow. We are much more vulnerable than we thought,’” says Mr. Zimmer in Germany, chief solutions officer at Riskmethods, which provides software to help companies manage supply chain risks.

A sea gull commands a view of the Colosseum amid plummeting tourism in Rome, March 7, 2020. Italy is a focal point of the coronavirus emergency in Europe, and the nation’s economy is at risk of falling back into recession. By curbing travel and fueling uncertainty, the epidemic is affecting global consumer spending, not just producer supply chains.

It’s not that manufacturers haven’t thought about the need for resilience before. Many got a similar wake-up call in 2011 from an earthquake in Japan and floods in a Thai center of hard-drive production. But risks to supply networks may lie beneath the surface.

Even if a manufacturer has multiple suppliers, Mr. Zimmer cautions, what happens when those suppliers all rely on a single source for a key material?

Supply-chain experts say the worst of the China-related disruptions isn’t being felt in Western factories yet, due to the lag time of shipments arriving. The flow of global goods from pharmaceuticals to electronics hinges on two unknowns: How long will it take for Chinese factories to get back up to speed, and how many other producers around the world will face interruptions due to the virus?

“We’ve told companies to keep a lot of cash, and to make sure that you have a lot of stock of goods that are at high risk of stopping up,” says Christopher Parmo, chief operating officer of Verdane, a Europe-wide private equity firm that owns about 100 tech companies.

Deglobalization forces
Yet the outbreak could be more than just an alarm-bell to diversify supplier networks. It might contribute to a broader reshaping of the global economy.

On the one hand, it promises to accelerate “telemigration,” or the globalization of desk jobs that are becoming increasingly digital, argues Professor Baldwin, author of a 2018 book on the future of work. Already, the outbreak has prompted companies such as Twitter and JPMorgan Chase to ask thousands of employees to work from home. It’s not a long leap from such steps into a next phase of globalization, in the service sector.

Domestic telecommuting “is the thin edge of the wedge for international telecommuting,” he says.

On the other hand, if companies rethink their global footprints, several forces may nudge them to focus closer to home rather than further afield. The years since the 2008 financial crisis have already been marked by what some observers call deglobalization – a slowdown in the growth of trade and a rebound in protectionist measures such as tariffs worldwide.

“The virus adds to other reasons why firms are already rethinking their logistics,” writes Vicky Redwood of the forecasting firm Capital Economics, in a late-February report.

Beyond protectionist policies, those reasons include:

Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced when freight-transport distances are shortened.
National security may be enhanced by moving important production homeward.
It’s easier to customize products and respond to shifting consumer preferences when factories are close to the shoppers they serve.
Rising automation is making labor costs a smaller factor in deciding whether to locate plants in high- or low-wage nations.
“Machines just repeat what they’re supposed to do, precisely,” says Harald Malmgren, a longtime presidential adviser and consultant to corporations on trade-related issues. “They work night and day. They don’t go on strike.”

Yet even if a trend toward more localized production accelerates, as Dr. Malmgren expects, it won’t happen overnight. And it doesn’t imply an incoming tide of jobs to nations like the U.S., if service-sector jobs simultaneously become more globally “traded” and automated.

The virtues of trade
And whether the overall arc of globalization bends upward or downward, the major economic takeaway may be for nations to avoid having “all eggs in one basket.”

“China isn’t the problem. Lack of diversification is the problem,” says Belinda Archibong, an assistant professor of economics at Barnard College in New York. In Africa, “lack of regional, intra-Africa trade is the problem.”

That’s a long-standing discussion within the continent. “Maybe this crisis is going to force us to trade more amongst ourselves,” says Blandina Kilama, an economist and senior researcher at Research on Poverty Alleviation, a Tanzanian think tank.

In the U.S., John Melin is an eyewitness to the virtues of trade. Brown & Haley, the candy company where he is president and chief operating officer, has seen a rising share of its Almond Roca sales coming from overseas.

China is a big source of that demand, which helps keep the firm’s 175 employees near Tacoma, Washington, employed. Mr. Melin and his team are working hard to keep the sales flowing and to pin down some alternative suppliers for packaging.

“Part of the health of our country​ and our​ ​high standard of living comes from the fact that people fly on ​B​oeing​ ​airplanes around the world​,​ and people buy i​P​hones around the world​,​ and people a​dm​ire the values and institutions of the ​United ​States,” he says. That integration with the world “brings more good than bad.”

In Germany, Yorck Otto similarly sees globalization as here to stay, and probably for the better.

“No, this wheel cannot be turned back,” says Dr. Otto, president of a business association representing small and medium-sized companies.

“The global supply chain will continue to get better and better every day. This globalization will be refined, and hopefully it will be also covered under new humanitarian laws and regulations so that the world can be a little bit better through globalization,” he says. “I’m not a great fan of kids sitting in Bolivia digging into soil to get materials to make batteries, for example.”

For now, back at the bridal shop, Ms. Mayer doesn’t know of too many alternative materials for the dresses she needs.

The supply predicament will likely push business toward do-it-yourself weddings, used wedding dresses on eBay, and a reevaluation of price points to consider American dressmakers, if they can keep up with demand.

“I’m sure [COVID-19] will get figured out in time,” says Ms. Mayer. “But in our world, time can make or break you. It’s scary. It’s your livelihood.”

[ Mark Trumbull ]

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“Death Anxiety: The Fear That Drives Us?”

Death is something that we all, sooner or later, have to face. But how do we respond to it? Why are some of us more afraid than others? And what is it, exactly, that scares us about death? We offer an overview of theories related to death anxiety, and what you can do to address it.

To a greater or lesser extent, it is likely that we are all scared of death – whether it be the thought of our own cessation or the fear that someone we love might pass away. The thought of death is not a pleasant one, and many of us avoid such morbid musings, naturally choosing to focus on what life has to offer, as well as on our own wishes and goals, instead.

Yet, as Benjamin Franklin once famously wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” so it is no surprise that death-related worries sometimes take us by storm.

Fear of death is sometimes referred to as “thanatophobia,” deriving from the Ancient Greek words “Thanatos,” the name of the god of death, and “phobos,” meaning “fear.”

Notably, thanatophobia – which is called “death anxiety” in a clinical context – is not listed as a disorder in its own right in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Still, this rarely spoken-about anxiety has the potential to seriously affect people’s lifestyles and emotional health.

Thanatophobia: Natural or trauma-driven?
Thanatophobia was first tackled by Sigmund Freud, who did not consider it to be fear of death, as such. Freud thought that we cannot truly believe in death as a real occurrence, so any death-related fears must stem from unaddressed childhood trauma.

But it was the theory put forth a little later by an anthropologist called Ernst Becker that ended up informing most current understandings of death anxiety and its causes. Becker believed that death anxiety comes naturally to all people who find the thought of death and dying unacceptable.

That is why, he argued, everything everyone does – the goals we set, our passions and hobbies, and the activities we engage in – is, in essence, a coping strategy, and that these are things we focus on so we that need not worry about our eventual death.

Becker’s work gave rise to “terror management theory” (TMT), which posits that humans must constantly deal with an internal conflict: the basic desire to live against the certainty of death. TMT emphasizes individuals’ self-consciousness and their drive to achieve personal goals, motivated by the awareness of mortality.

Also, according to TMT, self-esteem is key for the degree to which individuals experience death anxiety. People with high self-esteem are better at managing fear of death, while people with low self-esteem are more easily intimidated by death-related situations.

Some newer approaches suggest a “middle way” between TMT and another theory referred to as “separation theory,” which highlights the importance of early trauma, reinforced by an awareness of mortality later in life.

Another recent approach to understanding and explaining death anxiety is that of “post-traumatic growth theory” (PTG). According to PTG, going through a distressing event – such as the death of a loved one or receiving a worrying health diagnosis – can actually have a positive effect, causing individuals to appreciate the small things in life a lot more, or to become more goal-oriented.

Death anxiety as a disorder
Although it is likely that we will all be worried about death or a death-related situation at some time in our lives, death anxiety is only pathological when it reaches extreme levels, disrupting the normal lifestyle of an individual.

One account of death anxiety – as reported by a man’s worried wife – emphasizes how this kind of fear can become obsessive and get out of control.

“The fear is specifically of death (not pain or dying as such) and the emptiness of it (he’s not religious) and the fact that he will no longer be here. […] this is an irrational, emotional fear that he has trouble controlling. Recently it has got worse – he’s not sure why – but it has made him feel panicky and the thoughts have been straying into the daytime.”

Who is afraid of death?
Dr. Robert Kastenbaum has reviewed various psychology theories and studies related to the concept of death, outlining which populations are most likely to express a persistent fear of death. Drs. Patricia Furer and John Walker summarize the findings in an article published in the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

Women are more likely than men to experience death anxiety, and this tends to peak twice: once in their 20s and again in their 50s.

The majority of individuals are afraid of death. Most people tend to fear death, but they usually only exhibit low to moderate levels of anxiety.

Women tend to be more afraid of death than men. Additionally, a newer study has found that while death anxiety seems to surface in both women and men during their 20s, women also experience a second surge of thanatophobia when they reach their 50s.

Young people are just as likely to experience death anxiety as elderly people.

There appears to be some correlation between a person’s educational and socioeconomic status and reduced death anxiety.

No association has been found between religious engagement and reduced death anxiety.
Specialists argue that more often than not, death anxiety does not come on its own, and that it is instead accompanied by another type of mental health disorder (such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder).

Other studies show that people exhibiting health anxiety, or hypochondriasis, are also affected by death anxiety, as it naturally correlates with an excessive worry about health.

CBT for death anxiety
At present, specialists tend to recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to people who face severe death anxiety. CBT is based on discussions and exposure, and it is often used to treat depression and many different kinds of anxiety and phobias, such as the fear of flying.

Drs. Furer and Walker advise a six-step “cognitive-behavioral intervention” in the case of individuals dealing with death anxiety.

1. Exposure to fears
Willing exposure to places and things associated with fear of death could help to counteract unhelpful mental habits.
Individuals seeking to reduce their death anxiety must be convinced not only to express their fear explicitly, but also to identify what exactly it is that scares them about death, and whether there are any situations or places – such as funerals or cemeteries – that they tend to avoid so as not to trigger their fear.

Drs. Furer and Walker suggest “exposure (both in vivo and imaginal) to feared themes related to death,” since facing elements associated with the individual’s particular form of anxiety is an important part of CBT.

2. ‘Reducing reassurance-seeking behavior’
This step targets the individual’s tendencies to obsessively check their own body for alarming changes, to speak to mentors or respected peers seeking emotional reassurance regarding their death-related worries, and to have an abnormal reliance on idealized health and emotional aids, ranging from supplements to superstitious behavior.

To prevent these unhelpful behaviors, Drs. Furer and Walker suggest “postponing the target behaviors, gradually decreasing their frequency, or simply stopping the behavior altogether” through “response prevention homework.”

3. Reviewing personal experiences
It is also important to review the individual’s “personal experiences with death,” such as having witnessed the death of a loved one or being faced with their own or someone else’s life-threatening illness.

“Helping [them] move toward more balanced views of these issues,” Drs. Furer and Walker explain, “may help them cope more calmly with the prospect of death.”

4. Switching focus to enjoying life
Next, the individual should clearly identify their “short-, medium-, and long-term goals,” to be able to focus on what they want to achieve in life and how best to enjoy their experiences, rather than obsess over their fear of death.

5. ‘Developing a healthy lifestyle’
The therapist must also identify and address any consistent sources of stress for the person facing death anxiety, or any other “unhealthy aspects of their lifestyle” that are potentially aggravating the fear.

6. Preventing anxiety relapse
Finally, Drs. Furer and Walker acknowledge that, even after initial successes in diminishing death anxiety through CBT, many people experience a relapse. To prevent this from happening, they say that it is crucial to help each individual “develop coping strategies” for challenging situations that might re-trigger death anxiety, such as sudden illness or an emotional crisis.

Fighting death anxiety from home
Recently, professionals from the funeral industry, as well as even laypeople interested in tackling death anxiety-related issues, have set up resources to help other people deal with thanatophobia.

Mortician Caitlin Doughty, for instance, founded The Order of the Good Death, which is a collective of professionals from all walks of life who are dedicated to informing the public about death-related practices, and encouraging people to “stare down [their] death fears.”

A similar initiative that has picked up steam over recent years is the Death Cafe, a project that allows people from all over the world to organize meetings wherein they explore themes of death. The Death Cafe’s objective is “to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.”

In order to face death anxiety, however, one must first understand what it is, more specifically, that they fear about death. In one classical paper on thanatophobia also cited by Doughty, seven possible reasons for fear of death are indicated.

Identifying your specific death-related fears could help you to tackle them pragmatically.
I could no longer have any experiences.
I am uncertain as to what might happen to me if there is a life after death.
I am afraid of what might happen to my body after death.
I could no longer care for my dependents.
My death would cause grief to my relatives and friends.
All my plans and projects would come to an end.
The process of dying might be painful.

Doughty suggests picking up to two reasons that we strongly identify with as our personal rationale for fearing death, and taking pragmatic steps to address them.

If we are afraid, for instance, that someone depending on us might be left in a financial crisis after our death, then we should take steps to ensure they are provided for in that situation.

In her view, being able to “unpick” the elements of our death anxiety and facing them separately can help us to regain our calm and be less bothered by our fears.

Face it or evade it?
Death and fear of death are often difficult topics to broach, especially when even healthcare professionals are unsure of how to talk about it or are also affected by it.

As a society, we are so keen to avoid thinking about the end of life that we have started obsessing over ways of artificially preserving life – such as cryonics, or “augmented eternity,” which is a project that aims to create “digital heirs” able to reason and respond in a similar way to their human “originals.”

There is no clear-cut way of dealing with the thought of our own or others’ mortality, and yet we must do it if we are to lead productive lives. What are your thoughts: is death best confronted with your eyes wide open?

[ Medical News Today ]

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“Facts to Calm Your Fear of Death and Dying”

You may already have endured things as physically hard as, or worse than, dying.

Woody Allen famously quipped, “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

There are many rational things to worry about when we contemplate our own death—perhaps foremost among those is the concern about how our surviving loved ones will cope emotionally and materially without us. But many of our worst fears about death are less realistic and based more on how we imagine death to be. This article is about those unfounded fears.

In modern Western society, most people have little direct experience of death, and we don’t like to talk about the subject. Our society is organized in such a way that the dead are quickly removed from us, and those traditions that do encourage viewing the dead do so only after careful cosmetic preparation by specialized morticians, often resulting in the dead looking more like an elegant wax model replica of the living person. Attendance of children at funerals and cemeteries is generally not encouraged, adding to the sense of dreaded unfamiliarity with death with which many of us grow up.

Fear of pain

There’s no reason to expect that the actual process of dying is any worse physically than what you or other still-living people have already previously experienced.

For most people, the terror of the actual process of dying probably involves a fear of physical pain. It also probably involves fearful incomprehension of the seemingly mysterious process by which the consciousness that is our “self” is extinguished, or fades away.

Let’s deal first with our fear of a painful death. We are all afraid of pain. We have all had much experience of physical pain, some more than others, and we are quite likely to have witnessed more extreme pain and agony in others than we have experienced ourselves. All this makes us fear pain. Physical pain arises from damage to our living tissue. Since death is the ultimate destruction of our living tissues, we naturally assume that death must be the ultimately painful experience. Since nobody who has actually died can tell us what it felt like physically, we naturally have a terror of dying.

But in fact, rationally and from a medical point of view, there is no particular reason to suppose that the intensity of pain (or other forms of discomfort or impairment) from various causes of death is greater than the intensity of pain from various illnesses and injuries that we ourselves may already have previously experienced, or the pain that others have experienced and survived to tell the tale. Furthermore, dying in and of itself does not necessarily involve painful processes—some forms of death are painful and others are not. And many acute injuries are actually more painful afterward (in people who survive them) than they are at the moment of injury.

However, not to sugar-coat this subject—certainly many of the people who have survived more extreme forms of agonizing injury or illness would never want to re-experience it, and some are psychologically traumatized by the experience for a long time afterward (bear with me—we are talking just for a moment about worst-case scenarios). There’s every reason to expect that the pain and suffering are just as bad if not worse for those who survived such injury or illness than those who died. Yet even the most traumatized survivors have in very many cases gone on to live fulfilling lives and are able to talk about the experience.

So, while we certainly wish to never experience such a thing, even in the worst of our nightmarish death scenarios the actual pain in and of itself is something that can certainly be endured and survived, as shown by our fellow human beings. The extent of the human capacity to endure suffering is often very surprising. And what we have just spoken about are the most extreme cases of pain and suffering, not the more common scenarios.

Cessation of consciousness1

What about the process by which our self-aware consciousness and the entirety of our subjective experience abruptly ends? Since death, from a biological point of view, entails a complete and utter extinguishing of consciousness, being dead will not feel like anything—no more so than you felt, say, a year before you were born. There simply will be no you to do the feeling (It can be hard for us egotistical creatures to imagine that the world exists independently of whether we ourselves exist to experience it).

As evolutionary psychologist Jesse Bering reminds us, “Consider the rather startling fact that you will never know you have died. You may feel yourself slipping away, but it isn’t as though there will be a ‘you’ around who is capable of ascertaining that, once all is said and done, it has actually happened.”2 This point was made some 2,300 years ago by the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who wrote: “Why fear death when we can never perceive it?”3 The Roman Epicurean philosopher Lucretius later pointed out that our state of non-existence for the eternity of time after our death is the same state as for the eternity of time before our birth.

Apart from the nightly experience of falling asleep (especially deep, dreamless sleep), the actual process of losing consciousness due to injury or illness, as well as induced by anesthesia4, whether sudden or gradual, is an experience that many of us have had. There is no reason to think that the experience of temporarily losing consciousness is any different from the experience of permanently losing consciousness, in terms of how the actual process of slipping away feels.

People may feel themselves losing consciousness, only if it is gradual, but nobody actually experiences unconsciousness itself, unless they are in a light state of unconsciousness with partial awareness, or dreaming. Indeed, people who have been resuscitated after technically being dead for a few minutes do not describe the experience of how it felt as they were losing consciousness any differently compared with those who lost consciousness from other, transient causes. And why should they?

So our sense that the process of dying is something completely alien from any living human’s experience is actually mistaken. We have a pretty good sense of what dying feels like, either from our own first-hand experience or from the accounts of others (accounts of living people, no need for a séance! No magical beliefs are required in this exercise of reality-checking reassurance). And once one has actually died, being dead doesn’t feel like anything whatsoever, obviously. There’s simply no you to do the feeling.

Grabbing life by the horns

Awareness of our mortality can be a profound challenge to our self-image of being an all-important, indispensable, independent entity in the universe. Or it can fill us with a sense of the preciousness and fragility of this opportunity, the value of a life. It can inspire us and motivate us to live life to the fullest, with a sense that we should not waste our days—to experience, to learn, to grow, to connect, and to contribute to those around us and those who will follow us.

Or, as the psychiatrist Irvin Yalom put it, in Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death: “The way to value life, the way to feel compassion for others, the way to love anything with greatest depth is to be aware that these experiences are destined to be lost.”5

Our mortality and finitude remind us of the urgency of living here and now, with full engagement in life and with dedication to those around us. When death comes for us, let it find us among the living.

[ Ralph Lewis M.D. ]

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“Death and the Coronavirus”

A meditation for the plague
‘Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully,” wrote Samuel Johnson, whose mind, without fear of hanging, was concentrated on death throughout his life. Johnson concentrated on death with, in a word, “terror.” He thought, mistakenly, that he was not a good enough Christian, and that nothing pleasing awaited after his demise. None of us is to be hanged in a fortnight, either, but, these days, with the plague of the coronavirus upon the land, all our minds are concentrated on death. Turn on the television or radio, national or local, and one discovers that the dread virus is topics 1 through 896. News of the increased number of people who have the virus, the numbers of those who, locally, nationally, and internationally, have died from it, is inescapable.

Two of Pascal’s best-known passages come into play in connection with the coronavirus. The first has it that “all of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” The second speaks to the human condition: “Imagine a number of men in chains, all under sentence of death, some of whom each day are butchered in the sight of others; those remaining see their own condition in that of their fellows, and looking at each other with grief and despair await their turn. This is an image of the human condition.” The coronavirus has forced almost all of us, either in enforced or self-imposed quarantine, to sit quietly in our room, and the news of the continuing deaths it is causing — of the obscure and the celebrated — concentrates our minds on Pascal’s dark human condition.

Montaigne, whom one does not think of as a dark writer, felt one couldn’t think too often or too much about death, especially one’s own. He wrote about death in three separate essays — “On Fear,” “Why We Should Not Be Deemed Happy Until after Our Death,” and “To Philosophize Is to Learn How to Die” — and his general point was that we should accustom ourselves to the idea of death, of our own death specifically, in order “to educate and train [our souls] for their encounter with that adversary, death.” Doing so, we would thereby fight free of the fear of death, so that when it does arrive “it will bear no new warning for [us]. As far as we possibly can we must have our boots on, ready to go.” Montaigne wished to die tending his cabbages, but, alas, he was instead the victim, at 59, in 1592, of quinsy, a disease of the throat that can be painful and that, in his case, rendered him speechless at the close of his life.

“So it has come at last, the distinguished thing,” uttered Henry James of death on his own deathbed. Far from clear is what is distinguished about it, death, that most democratic of events, “an old joke,” as Turgenev once referred to it, “that comes to each of us afresh.” Yet if not death generally, then some deaths do seem more distinguished than others. Surely there are good and bad deaths, and sad because unnecessary deaths. A good death for men, most would agree, is one on the battlefield in a war fought for an important cause. The classic good death is thought to be that of Socrates, his principles intact, calmly drinking hemlock in the company of friends. For a woman a good death might be one in which she dies for her children or to stave off the death of others, a death marked by selflessness. A good death is often thought an easeful death, one unaccompanied by pain or mess. A death in one’s sleep at home at an advanced age is for most of us the very model of a good death.

Perhaps the most famous easeful death was that of the philosopher David Hume — famous because James Boswell recorded it in his Life of Johnson. Hume “was quite different from the plump figure which he used to present,” Boswell wrote. “He seemed to be placid and even cheerful. He said he was just approaching to his end.” When Boswell asked him “if the thought of annihilation never gave him any uneasiness,” Hume answered: Not in the least, “no more than the thought that he had never been, as Lucretius observes.” Boswell reported Hume’s calm in the face of death to Samuel Johnson, who retorted: “He lied. He had a vanity in being thought easy. It is more probable that he lied than that so very improbable a thing should be as a man not afraid of death; of going into an unknown state and not being uneasy at leaving all that he knew.”

Sad deaths sometimes seem to constitute the preponderance of deaths. Sad is a death that comes about through malfeasance, foolish misbehavior, accident. Sad it seems to die too soon because of heavy smoking, obesity, drugs, careless driving. (I write “too soon,” but then Balzac, in Cousin Pons, notes that “death always comes too soon.”) A too-early death, in which one is deprived by a large measure of the full share of one’s days, is inherently sad. Too early is any death that falls well below the life expectancy of the day. One thinks of Anton Chekhov, George Orwell, F. Scott Fitzgerald, all of whom died in their forties.

In literature, Tolstoy did death best, whether it was the suicide of Anna Karenina, the prolonged dying of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky after the Battle of Austerlitz in War and Peace, or the insignificant (to all but him) death of Ivan Ilych Golovin in “The Death of Ivan Ilych.” Tolstoy writes: “Besides considerations as to the possible transfers and promotions likely to result from Ivan Ilych’s death, the mere fact of the death of a near acquaintance aroused, as usual, in all who heard of it the complacent feeling that ‘it is he who is dead and not I.’ . . . Each one thought or felt, ‘Well, he’s dead, but I’m alive.’” Ivan Ilych himself cannot confront his fate directly, and for a long stretch he refers to death as “It”: “He would go into his study, lie down, and again be alone with It: face to face with It. And nothing could be done with It, except to look at it and shudder.” As for perhaps the most famous death in English literature, in Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop, Oscar Wilde remarked that “one must have a heart of stone not to read the death of Little Nell without laughing.”

Which brings us back to death by coronavirus — surely one that, by the nature of its accidental, its almost haphazard quality, would be sad indeed. There is no avoiding this blasted virus — “Kung Flu,” an acquaintance of mine calls it — either on the news, on the streets, or in one’s consciousness. Because of it we are advised to avoid social gatherings, eating and drinking in public places, discretionary travel. We are instructed to make up for the time ordinarily spent in these pleasant pursuits by washing our hands throughout the day for no less than 20 seconds each time and the rest of the time trying to remember not to touch our faces. In grocery shops, on the otherwise empty streets, most people one encounters are wearing face masks and blue rubber gloves. If the coronavirus continues for an appreciable time, the man or woman who invents a full-body condom will make a fortune.

The news is utterly dominated by talk of the coronavirus, with only the weather report offering relief. Owing to the virus, sports, that opiate of us male masses, have been eliminated. On every news show, physicians are called in to tell us what to do to elude the virus, what we need to worry and not worry about. Two different friends sent me advice, via YouTube, given by a youngish, overweight M.D. with a ponytail, on how to unpack my groceries safely, which, as he demonstrated, can easily be done if you have, say, 40 or so minutes to give to the project and perhaps an extra quart of disinfectant on hand to do it properly.

In the British Spectator, Theodore Dalrymple, apropos of the coronavirus, makes the distinction between genuine danger and the frisson of danger, the latter being available to us through horror movies, roller coasters, thrillers, the former being true terror, and concludes that the coronavirus entails genuine fear. “A mixture of definite statistics — the absolute or cumulative number of deaths day by day, for example — and projections of present trends indefinitely into the future, together with unknown quantities such as the true rate of mortality and an absence of any sense of proportion,” he writes, “promotes obedience and a trust in authority as the only shield we have.” What we are afraid of, of course, is an all but arbitrary death by germ. “Seven thousand old people have died in Italy, 13,800,000 have not,” Dalrymple writes, “but the 7,000 are infinitely more real to us than the 13,800,000, and further deaths, even at a slowing rate, can only reinforce our fears.” None of us wants to die for no better reason than that we came too close to a stranger carrying the virus or put our hand on an infected counter or package, or an index finger on an elevator button. To do so, not to put too fine a point on it, would be unreasonable.

How would Epicurus (341–270 c.e.), that most reasonable of philosophers, have confronted the coronavirus? Epicurus, contra Montaigne, instructs us to get our minds off death. Not to worry, he advises. After death comes oblivion, in which you will be returned to the state you existed in before you were a child. As for rewards or punishment in the afterlife, perish the thought, for if there is no God or gods, then worrying about His or their judgment is a waste of time. The same goes for pain. Two possibilities here, either it will go away or it will worsen and you will die, upon which benign oblivion will follow. Hey, no problem! Yet why do I see Epicurus, were he alive today, washing his hands yet one more time and checking for his face mask before leaving the house? The man was a philosopher, true, but he was no damn fool.

[ Joseph Epstein ]

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“When You Can’t Shake the Legitimate Fear of Death”

The threat of COVID-19 has forced us to face the fear of death. It has become real: human life is fragile. But you can control the fear.

I understand the arresting power of fear. After my first husband, David, died in a head-on collision, fear of death lingered over me like a dense fog.

Since David died at 37, people felt compelled to share how other young lives were cut short. Many died in vehicles but most were freak accidents. One woman fell through the attic. Another slipped in the shower. One died in a tornado. I heard about cancer, heart attacks, aneurysms, and invisible underlying diseases. The victims were always relatively healthy, not heavy drinkers or daredevils.

I began to wonder how anyone wakes up alive every day.

It became overwhelmingly real that human life is fragile, and death is so often beyond our control.

Worried about my children, I obsessed over dying and experienced panic attacks daily. I conjured up brain tumors, lung cancer, multiple sclerosis—I thought I had it all. I couldn’t sleep at night, wondering if I would wake up the next morning.

My fears didn’t stop with my health. Every time I rounded an overpass or went through a busy intersection, my mind raced through steps of survival if my car, or someone else’s, slid out of control. I prepared for worst-case scenarios. I felt like the Grim Reaper followed me, pointing out all the possible threats to my life.

The fear of death is real
Then my worst fear happened.

I was sitting at a red light. The light turned green, and I pulled into the intersection. But the car approaching from the other side did not stop or slow down. As I watched in my peripheral, I turned my body away from the window and prepared to collide.

I went deaf at the explosive sound of the midsize SUV ramming my door at 50 mph, shattering glass all over me. The impact knocked my own vehicle onto its side.

As I hung suspended from my seat belt, I assessed my condition: No blood. No broken bones. No pain, except a mild seat belt burn across my neck.

That’s when God said to me, “You see? Your life is in the palm of My hand, and no one can snatch it from Me.”

In the coming days, everyone was amazed at my unharmed condition. I should have had broken bones with glass shards in my face and torso. It was a miracle.

And God was teaching me a powerful lesson—the only one in control of my death is God. Not me or anyone (or anything) else. My fear of death was useless.

Fearing the coronavirus
Pastor Erwin Lutzer, author of One Minute After You Die, said, “Everyone has an expiration date. God already knows the day that each one of us is going to die.”

Until I reach God’s expiration date for me, I will not die. That’s why I’m not living in fear of COVID-19. This disease doesn’t decide when I, or my loved ones, die. God does.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be wise. My family acts reasonably (as with any sickness) and uses discernment. We wash our hands and maintain distance with at-risk people.

I realize the coronavirus causes deep fears for many. Some people are coming face to face with the fear of death, maybe for the first time. I have friends with chronically sick kids. My Sunday school teacher has diabetes and heart disease. Several friends are concerned about aging parents and grandparents. It’s overwhelming to think one microscopic bug can end a person’s life within days.

But we sometimes forget we face the possibility of death every day. Car accidents and heart attacks kill more people than the coronavirus. Nevertheless, we keep saying, “Give me the keys, and pass the fried chicken!”

Take it from me, if we start obsessing over everything that can kill us, we won’t live normal lives. We have to learn to trust God with our lives and our deaths.

Controlling the fear of death
Some people are facing extreme fear over COVID-19. The stories range from violent acts to hoarding resources. But there’s a better way to live. Jesus didn’t tell us to huddle down, protect your own, and look out for number one.

That’s how fear reacts. Scripture, on the other hand, tells us love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). So, here are some ways to take control of fear before it controls you.

First, regulate your thoughts.
Please, get off social media, limit news coverage, and stop measuring your life by statistics.

There’s a saying in journalism: If it bleeds, it leads. Newscasters are quick to focus on gruesomeness because they know it drives up ratings. But 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Don’t let your imagination run away with you. Keep training your thoughts to dwell on good news.

As boredom pushes us to smartphones and TV, grab a book instead. How about the Bible? The book of Psalms is perfect for times like these.

If you must go digital, search the internet for good stories coming from the coronavirus. There are survival stories of those who weren’t “supposed” to recover, including a 94-year-old woman (and a 104-year-old!). According to statistics, these people should be dead. But God doesn’t do math our way.

Second, if you’re healthy and not high risk, look for ways to help.
Fear is a self-focused plague. When we centralize our thinking around others, fear dissipates. Some ideas:

Call to check on elderly neighbors and friends with chronic health issues.
Run errands for those who can’t get out.
Pray with those in fear over the phone.
Drop off a gift or send a care package to a friend.
And remember parents of young children. Cooped up kids need activities to keep them busy. My daughter’s friend dropped off a small package of toys and notes of encouragement. My son’s principal encouraged kids to send letters to grandparents. By focusing on others, you stop worrying about yourself.

Third, look for ways God is using the COVID-19 trial for good.
Pray. Ask God to show you His goodness.

I read an article explaining how the gospel always flourishes during times of trouble and fear. Maybe God is setting up a time of worldwide revival. Maybe He’s preparing your heart for a personal revival of your own.

Thank God I’m not in control
My daughter’s Bible teacher said today, “I thank God He’s in control, and I’m NOT.”

I agree. Being in control of every detail and microscopic germ is impossible for us. But nothing is impossible with God.

Sadly, the control we think we have is only a façade. We can wash our hands 100 times a day, disinfect every inch, think we’ve cheated the virus, then drive off in the car and never come home again. That’s what happens when we put our trust in our own control.

But when we trust God to be in control, we can rest easy.

If we get this virus, God can still get us through it. He promised to be with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. We can go to bed knowing God is the Healer, whether that’s on this side of the grave or the other. For the Christian, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

When we believe God’s promises and trust His control, we can face our fear of death, because we know the One who holds our lives in the palm of His hand.

[ Sabrina Beasley McDonald ]

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“Coronavirus and the Fear of Death”

Jeremy Marshall writes: I know absolutely nothing about infectious diseases or how to stop Coronavirus. I have no scientific or medical training.

But I do know quite a bit about the fear of dying. Seven years ago I felt fear when I was told I had cancer. Four and a half years ago I felt intense, sickening, dizzying, overwhelming fear when I was told I had incurable cancer and probably had 18 months to live. I have lived with that awful fear of dying and death since. Yes friends, I am afraid of dying. Aren’t we all?

What’s fear like? Well, fear grew in me very suddenly, a little like way that the threat of Coronavirus has grown. A small cloud “the size of a man’s hand” appears in the far distance (1 Kings 18.44). It seems very small and insignificant. In my case this was a tiny lump on my ribs I found one day in the shower in 2012. In the case of Coronavirus it was a small news story about a strange disease in a place in China none of us had ever heard of. And then, without much warning, suddenly in a few days the cloud has grown and darkened and fills the whole sky, blotting out the sun, lowering over ahead like some fell beast of prey. The storm of fear is on us, ready to overwhelm us.

Fear comes in many forms. It can be fear for ourselves or for our loved ones. Fear can be big or small, laughable or deadly. Fear of running out of toilet paper or fear of gasping for breath in a hospital corridor. Fear is not wrong (and it is interesting that Jesus reproves his disciples for their lack of faith not for their fear). A small child has a “fear deficit” which means they can run into a busy road unless restrained by the parents hand.

But too much fear can be equally problematic and fear of death is a powerful emotion. What did fear of death look like for me? In my book Beyond the Big C I describe it as follows:

The train of life is comfortable…suddenly without warning there is a jolt…it is like being shoved into a parallel universe: once you are in it you cant get back…the Grim Reaper has joined the train and moved into your carriage and is sitting opposite you, regarding you with a cold eye.

What helped me deal with fear? Simple. The presence of God. I have nothing to recommend about me and everything to recommend about someone else—someone who is available as the ultimate answer to fear to anyone who will ask for help.

The best way to illustrate what this is like is in a story from the Bible which I found amazingly helpful in dealing with fear.

That day when evening came, he (Jesus) said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”

Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4.35–41)

Jesus deliberately and with foreknowledge takes his disciples into fear and danger. He goes to sleep while a huge storm arises suddenly, out of nothing and threatens to sink the boat. Fear can arise very suddenly as when the doctor said to me “I’m sorry, but…”—or when we are on a crowded Tube train and someone starts coughing. The disciples are terrified that they are going to die. Things are completely out of control. Water is pouring into the boat and they are sinking and they are desperate. Having exhausted all their human efforts to get back in control, they ultimately also despair, for they finally doubt that even God cares. For us there can be fear also just like the disciples—who rudely say to Jesus “Don’t you care if we drown?”—and we too in fear can often doubt God’s character or even his existence. But in fact God meets us most of all in the storms of life when we have lost control and are afraid.

What can we do when we are afraid? The answer to fear is this: to speak to God and seek to know him more and to seek to experience a much bigger fear, “the fear of the Lord”. If we are afraid of something then the arrival of something infinitely bigger drives out and makes us forget the first fear. Our problem is that we see one fear clearly enough—death—but we don’t see clearly the infinitely bigger God, whom we are told “will swallow up death”.

He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. (Is 25.8)

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15.54–55)

God invites us to fear him, to be in awe of the fact that the Maker of the universe not only knows us but feels for us.

Very comforting is that our Lord, Jesus, never asks us to do something he hasn’t done himself or go through something he hasn’t gone through. He is the trailblazer and we must follow him. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus felt tremendous fear of death. What he did with his fear shows us what to do with ours. He asked God for help and so must we. We tread in his steps. But his way also diverges from ours. He was deserted by God so that we will never be deserted. He lacked the presence of the Father: “My God my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27.46) so that we would never lack his presence.

Most important for us is that I am utterly convinced, if we however feebly we but trust him, that Jesus is and will remain in your and my “boat.” Sometimes our sense of his presence in our boat may be more or less powerful, but the reality of his sailing with us, once he has boarded our vessel, doesn’t change one iota. As the storm of life rages he may appear to be asleep, he may appear to be leaving us to our fears, but in fact he is not. Never! Never!

As we face our fears he gives us help. He comforts us through his word. His word gives us his presence, the personal experience of his reality. Here is his promise:

From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Behold, the Protector of Israel will not slumber or sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day nor the moon by night. The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore. (Ps 121)

We might have accidents, our foot might slip and we often forget things. We might forget to wash our hands. Every day we sleep and pay no attention to anything during this time, for we are oblivious. But happily God is not like us. He is not accident prone. He is watching over our comings and goings with fatherly and tender care “for the eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut 33.27). He promises us that he will never abandon us in our boat for “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Deut 31.6, Heb 13.5). He says “look I am with you always” (Matt 28.20). His very name is Emmanuel which means of course “God with us” (Matt 1.23). This is how we deal with fear: we have him in our boat and we see where we are going. The story ends, does it not, with Jesus bringing the disciples to the other side? He will do the same with us. Eventually we will all die and we might die next week of Coronavirus or we might live to one hundred years old and die peacefully in our bed. We do not know.

But, friends, with absolute certainty this we do know: that if Jesus is on our “boat” then he will bring us all, fears and all, eventually to the other side, where we will all meet him face to face. Then finally all fear will end.

Being afraid is normal. I’m afraid of illness and death. It’s part of being human. It’s also part of being a Christian: God keeps over and over repeating this command to his children “Don’t be afraid” because he precisely knows what we are like and he sympathises with our frailty and fears. “Father-like he tends and spares us/ well our feeble frame he knows”. Amazingly, God in his word specifically promises to deliver us from our fear of death:

Since the children have flesh and blood, he (i.e. Jesus) too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Heb 2.14–15)

For God not only tells us not to be afraid—he gives us the means to control (if not as we are human to wholly eliminate) our fears, for he gives us himself. He gives us his presence because he loves us and by his perfect love he promises us he will drive out our fear. In this life this will always be a partial driving out, as I know very well myself. What’s encouraging is that in the life to come fear and pain and suffering and death (which is the ultimate fear) will themselves be destroyed.

All that is fearful will one day be utterly destroyed. Our storm wracked boat (with the Lord of course still in it) will at last glide into the encircling arms of the heavenly harbour, and then, finally, we will know that we have come ashore, come home to our Father’s house.

If anyone reading this thinks “I’d like some of that: I’d like to know how to experience the presence of the God who drives out fear” then please contact me at jsjmarshall3@gmail.com

[ Ian Paul ]

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“How Many People Die Each Day?”

[ INFOGRAPHIC ]

How Many People Die Each Day?
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, the media continues to rattle off statistics at full force.

However, without a frame of reference, numbers such as the death toll can be difficult to interpret. Mortalities attributed to the virus, for example, are often measured in the thousands of people per day globally—but is this number a little or a lot, relative to typical causes of death?

Today’s graphic uses data from Our World in Data to provide context with the total number of worldwide daily deaths. It also outlines how many people who die each day from specific causes.

Worldwide Deaths by Cause
Nearly 150,000 people die per day worldwide, based on the latest comprehensive research published in 2017. Which diseases are the most deadly, and how many lives do they take per day?

Here’s how many people die each day on average, sorted by cause:

Rank Cause Daily Deaths
#1 Cardiovascular diseases 48,742
#2 Cancers 26,181
#3 Respiratory diseases 10,724
#4 Lower respiratory infections 7,010
#5 Dementia 6,889
#6 Digestive diseases 6,514
#7 Neonatal disorders 4,887
#8 Diarrheal diseases 4,300
#9 Diabetes 3,753
#10 Liver diseases 3,624
Total Daily Deaths 147,118

Showing 1 to 10 of 32 entriesPreviousNext

Cardiovascular diseases, or diseases of the heart and blood vessels, are the leading cause of death. However, their prominence is not reflected in our perceptions of death nor in the media.

While the death toll for HIV/AIDS peaked in 2004, it still affects many people today. The disease causes over 2,600 daily deaths on average.

Interestingly, terrorism and natural disasters cause very few deaths in relation to other causes. That said, these numbers can vary from day to day—and year to year—depending on the severity of each individual instance.

Total Daily Deaths by Country
On a national level, these statistics vary further. Below are the total deaths from all causes for selected countries, based on 2017 data.

[more…]

[ Jenna Ross ]

Article: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-many-people-die-each-day/

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“Christianity Has Been Handling Epidemics for 2000 Years”

Practical theology says care, sacrifice, and community are as vital as ever.

The modern world has suddenly become reacquainted with the oldest traveling companion of human history: existential dread and the fear of unavoidable, inscrutable death. No vaccine or antibiotic will save us for the time being. Because this experience has become foreign to modern people, we are, by and large, psychologically and culturally underequipped for the current coronavirus pandemic.

To find the moral resources to tackle COVID-19, both its possible death toll and the fear that stalks our communities alongside the disease, we have to look at the resources built in the past. For me, that means examining how people of my tradition, Christians, and especially Lutherans, have handled the plagues of the past. And while people of all faiths, and none, are facing the disease, the distinctive approach to epidemics Christians have adopted over time is worth dusting off.

The Christian response to plagues begins with some of Jesus’s most famous teachings: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”; “Love your neighbor as yourself”; “Greater love has no man than this, that he should lay down his life for his friends.” Put plainly, the Christian ethic in a time of plague considers that our own life must always be regarded as less important than that of our neighbor.

During plague periods in the Roman Empire, Christians made a name for themselves. Historians have suggested that the terrible Antonine Plague of the 2nd century, which might have killed off a quarter of the Roman Empire, led to the spread of Christianity, as Christians cared for the sick and offered an spiritual model whereby plagues were not the work of angry and capricious deities but the product of a broken Creation in revolt against a loving God.

But the more famous epidemic is the Plague of Cyprian, named for a bishop who gave a colorful account of this disease in his sermons. Probably a disease related to Ebola, the Plague of Cyprian helped set off the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman world. But it did something else, too: It triggered the explosive growth of Christianity. Cyprian’s sermons told Christians not to grieve for plague victims (who live in heaven), but to redouble efforts to care for the living. His fellow bishop Dionysius described how Christians, “Heedless of danger … took charge of the sick, attending to their every need.”

Nor was it just Christians who noted this reaction of Christians to the plague. A century later, the actively pagan Emperor Julian would complain bitterly of how “the Galileans” would care for even non-Christian sick people, while the church historian Pontianus recounts how Christians ensured that “good was done to all men, not merely to the household of faith.” The sociologist and religious demographer Rodney Stark claims that death rates in cities with Christian communities may have been just half that of other cities.

This habit of sacrificial care has reappeared throughout history. In 1527, when the bubonic plague hit Wittenberg, Martin Luther refused calls to flee the city and protect himself. Rather, he stayed and ministered to the sick. The refusal to flee cost his daughter Elizabeth her life. But it produced a tract, “Whether Christians Should Flee the Plague,” where Luther provides a clear articulation of the Christian epidemic response: We die at our posts. Christian doctors cannot abandon their hospitals, Christian governors cannot flee their districts, Christian pastors cannot abandon their congregations. The plague does not dissolve our duties: It turns them to crosses, on which we must be prepared to die.

For Christians, it is better that we should die serving our neighbor than surrounded in a pile of masks we never got a chance to use.For Christians, it is better that we should die serving our neighbor than surrounded in a pile of masks we never got a chance to use. And if we care for each other, if we share masks and hand soap and canned foods, if we “are our brother’s keeper,” we might actually reduce the death toll, too.
To modern people acquainted with the germ theory of disease, this can all sound a bit foolish. Caring for the sick sounds nice, but it’s as likely to infect others as to save lives. In an intensely professionalized medical environment, should common people really assume a burden of care?

Here, a second element of the Christian approach appears: strict rules against suicide and self-harm. Our bodies are gifts from God and must be protected. Or, as Luther says in his essay on the topic, we must not “tempt God.” The catechism Luther wrote for Christian instruction elaborates on the Fifth Commandment (“Though shalt not murder”) by saying that this actually means we must never even endanger others through our negligence or recklessness. Luther’s essay encourages believers to obey quarantine orders, fumigate their houses, and take precautions to avoid spreading the sickness.

The Christian motive for hygiene and sanitation does not arise in self-preservation but in an ethic of service to our neighbor. We wish to care for the afflicted, which first and foremost means not infecting the healthy. Early Christians created the first hospitals in Europe as hygienic places to provide care during times of plague, on the understanding that negligence that spread disease further was, in fact, murder.

Since religious bodies in South Korea, Singapore, Iran, Hong Kong, and even Washington, D.C., have been at the forefront of coronavirus transmission, this injunction is worth remembering. Motivated by this concern, I have prepared an exhaustive handbook for churches about how they can fortify their services to reduce coronavirus transmission, informed by guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and my experiences working as a missionary in Hong Kong. The first sacrifice Christians must make to care for our neighbor is our convenience, as we enthusiastically participate in aggressive sanitation measures and social distancing.

This kind of humble care for others is a powerful force. I’ve seen it at work in my neighbors in Hong Kong, whatever their beliefs. The ubiquitous surgical masks may not actually prevent infection, but they serve as a visible reminder that we’re all watching each other’s backs. When good sanitary procedure stops being about saving our own skin and starts being about loving our neighbor, it becomes not just life-saving but soul-enlivening.

This brings me to one of the more controversial elements of historic Christian plague ethics: We don’t cancel church. The whole motivation of personal sacrifice to care for others, and other-regarding measures to reduce infection, presupposes the existence of a community in which we’re all stakeholders. Even as we take communion from separate plates and cups to minimize risk, forgo hand-shaking or hugging, and sit at a distance from each other, we still commune.

Some observers will view this as a kind of fanaticism: Christians are so obsessed with church-going that they’ll risk epidemic disease to show up.

But it’s not that at all. The coronavirus leaves over 95 percent of its victims still breathing. But it leaves virtually every member of society afraid, anxious, isolated, alone, and wondering if anyone would even notice if they’re gone. In an increasingly atomized society, the coronavirus could rapidly mutate into an epidemic of despair. Church attendance serves as a societal roll call, especially for older people: Those who don’t show up should be checked on during the week. Bereft of work, school, public gatherings, sports and hobbies, or even the outside world at all, humans do poorly. We need the moral and mental support of communities to be the decent people we all aspire to be.

The Christian choice to defend the weekly gathering at church is not, then, a superstitious fancy. It’s a clear-eyed, rational choice to balance trade-offs: We forgo other activities and take great pains to be as clean as possible so that we can meaningfully gather to support each other. Without this moral support, as the citizens of Wuhan, China, can attest—and perhaps soon the people of Italy—life can quickly become unendurable. Even non-Christians who eschew church-going can appreciate the importance of maintaining just one lifeline to a community of mutual care and support.

Be eager to sacrifice for others, even at the cost of your own life. Obsessively maintain a scrupulous hygienic routine to avoid infecting others. Maintain a lifeline to a meaningful human community that can care for your mind and soul. These are the guiding stars that have shepherded Christians through countless plagues for millennia. As the world belatedly wakes up to the fact that the age of epidemics is not over, these ancient ideas still have modern relevance.

[ Lyman Stone ]

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“Fear Not, Sneer Not: A Healthy Christian Response to COVID-19”

“I hear many whispering, ‘Terror on every side!’” (Psalm 31:13). In times of crisis we often find it easier to identify with the psalmist. We, too, keep hearing of the “terror on every side,” the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) now officially declared a pandemic. The millions of viruses scattered by coughs and sneezes are enemies “who pursue us,” stealing into our homes and lungs and making those they infect “objects of dread” to our closest friends: “Those who see us on the street flee from us.” But the psalmist would have us move past terror to say, “I trust in you, Lord … My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies.”

How do we effect that transition? Seeing SARS-CoV-2 as “the enemy” is how the Chinese people from the early stages of the Wuhan epidemic have united their efforts, and an ancient Chinese saying explains the key to victory against any enemy: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” To know our enemy, and to know ourselves as Christians: with the two together, we can respond intelligently and appropriately as Christians.

Confronted with fear, uncertainty and open questions, we would do well to review the current state of coronavirus research and reflect on what makes a healthy Christian response to this threat.

Nations across the world are taking drastic action: mass quarantines; school closures; sweeping travel bans; sports season suspensions; Broadway shows not going on. Yet many may find these measures mystifying. Are they not disproportionate to the actual threat? Is this not fearmongering?

For many, the comparison with the seasonal influenza is irresistible. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that the flu season to date has seen 350,000–620,000 hospitalisations and 20,000–52,000 deaths. By contrast, Italy — the hardest hit country in Europe — has had only 15,113 cases and 1,016 deaths at the time of this writing. China tallies 80,796 cases and 3,170 deaths.

Why then, is there such stark concern among level-headed, well-informed people? Bill Gates, writing in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, stresses that we face an “immediate crisis”: “COVID-19 has started behaving a lot like the once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about. I hope it’s not that bad, but we should assume it will be until we know otherwise.”

Knowing the enemy
Understanding the virus and the science of epidemics goes a long way toward explaining the decisions that are being made by public health officials. There are three main concerns for medical and public health professionals: the uncertainty, the severity and the rapidity of the virus.

First, the uncertainty: we do not yet fully know our enemy. On 31 December 2019, Wuhan, the largest metropolitan area in China’s Hubei province, reported an epidemic of cases with unexplained low respiratory infections (“pneumonia of unknown etiology”) that had started in the beginning of December. Sequencing results revealed an 82 percent identity with that of human SARS-CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus). The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses therefore termed it SARS-CoV-2, and the disease it causes “COVID-19.”

Coronaviruses frequently infect humans, and many are harmless (they are common culprits of the common cold). However, this century has so far witnessed two other outbreaks caused by deadly forms of coronaviruses. In 2002–2003, SARS-CoV provoked a large-scale epidemic beginning in China and involving two dozen countries with approximately 8,000 cases and 800 deaths. In 2012, MERS-CoV originated in Saudi Arabia and had approximately 2,500 cases and 800 deaths.

So coronaviruses as a group are well known, but the particularities of SARS-CoV-2 are not. It behaves in some ways similarly but other ways differently than these other known coronaviruses, as well as influenza. This makes it difficult to predict how various interventions will reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2. A notable worry is that recent data suggests it may spread days before people become symptomatic. Asymptomatic spread is difficult to control, since people may be contagious before they know to get tested and to self-isolate.

The second leading concern for medical professionals is the severity of infections, combined with the lack of “antiviral” treatments. About 80 percent of people who get COVID-19 will experience only mild symptoms. But 20 out of every 100 require hospitalisation with severe or critical disease, involving respiratory failure, septic shock and/or multiorgan dysfunction. The elderly and people with preconditions are at highest risk of death (in one study, the fatality rate was 8.0 percent in those 70 to 79 years and 14.8 percent in those aged 80 years and older), but even the young may unexpectedly die (on a population level, a 0.2 percent fatality rate translates into tens of thousands of deaths).

For influenza, physicians can administer antivirals that help reduce the severity of infection, and the flu vaccine not only reduces the risk of infection but also its severity if one does become infected. But for COVID-19, the only mainstays of treatments are “supportive,” such as oxygen or artificial respiration for those who are seriously ill and finding it difficult to breathe (some experimental regimens are being tested, but there are no established benefits yet). And there isn’t a vaccine.

Most worrisome for health professionals, however, is the COVID-19 “tsunami” effect, the exponential rapidity of spread. This is a chief reason for the present drastic public health interventions. Without interventions, SARS-CoV-2 will keep spreading until about 70 percent of the population has been infected, at which point “herd immunity” begins protecting the other 30 percent. The more people have been infected and become immune, the harder it is for the virus to spread further because viruses need to find susceptible hosts to reproduce. Fortunately, there are interventions. If everyone adheres to public health advice (wash your hands, self-isolate if you’re sick, avoid unnecessary travel and so on), it is possible that less than 50 percent will get infected. Even so, we must prepare ourselves and our communities for the possibility that 70 percent of us will eventually become infected.

Flattening the curve
Now here’s the rub: If so many people get infected in a short period of time, there isn’t a health system in the world that can handle the influx of seriously sick patients.

Both China and Italy have tragically illustrated this for us. Literally within a day, hospitals in affected areas of Italy were overrun. Soon there were not enough regular beds and not enough respirators for all the patients who did not have COVID-19 but needed intensive care. Such conditions force physicians to make unpalatable choices about who is to receive scarce resources. Lives that could otherwise have been saved may be lost simply because it is impossible to provide ordinary care. There are also healthcare worker shortages, such that physicians from unrelated specialities are being called to help, some of whom have never worked in that area since early in their training. Unfortunately, despite protective measures, physicians and nurses are themselves being infected, which exacerbates the shortages.

In Canada, many hospitals operate near 100 percent capacity — which is to say, nearly all of the beds are already in use. Fortunately, New York City, where there is a growing cluster of infections, announced last week that it had 1,200 spare beds prepared for COVID-19 cases. Yet even that may not be enough if over 1,000 people are getting sick each day, as is currently happening in Italy. China managed to erect two new prefabricated hospitals within days, with beds for over 2,600, but such feats are unlikely even to be attempted in Europe and the Americas.

This brings us to a key principle of managing disease outbreaks: the urgency of “flattening the epidemic curve.” Instead of a sharp day-to-day increase in the number of cases, which would overwhelm local healthcare resources, one aims for a gradual increase in cases. Then, ideally, each patient receives optimal care.

The way to flatten the curve is to reduce the virus’s reproductive number — the number of other people that an infected person infects. At a personal level, we can reduce this number by washing our hands and staying home when sick. At a societal level, we can reduce this number by “social distancing,” which includes cancelling large events, avoiding non-essential travel and limiting social intermingling in general. Very simply, the fewer interactions there are between infected people and susceptible people, the fewer people will get sick. Social distancing has obvious trade-offs, and if and to what extent public health officials are justified in recommending it is not clear. Yet if they need to be initiated quickly, our hospitals still have capacity, instead of in two weeks when their intensive care units are overflowing.

A final important point: COVID-19 has an incubation period of about 5 days (though up to 14 days). That means that we are unavoidably a week behind in knowing how many people currently are infected, who will soon become sick and contagious. So there will always be a delay between the decision to take action and the situation actually improving.

All this and more is involved in knowing our enemy and recognising the real risk of COVID-19: how it spreads, how fast it spreads, how to treat it, and how to prevent it.

Martin Luther’s response — and ours
How, then, are we to understand ourselves? A time-honoured way is looking to the past. Historically, Christians were no strangers to epidemics. Vivian Nutton, the esteemed historian of medicine, writes that from the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries, “A town would experience an epidemic of plague approximately every decade, and a serious devastation once in every generation.” Disease outbreaks were part of the rhythm of life. Those outbreaks caused by bubonic plague were particularly dreadful, boasting a fatality rate of 60–90 percent (for COVID-19, it is “only” 1–3 percent).

In response to these outbreaks, Christians wrote many “flight theologies,” exploring what measures Christians could take in good conscience (whether, for example one may flee a diseased town). Today, the most famous of these flight theologies is Martin Luther’s letter to his friend and fellow pastor Johann Hess, in response to Hess’s question, “Whether it is proper for a Christian to run away from a deadly plague.” Luther himself was no stranger to suffering. He endured the death of many of his family and friends, including some of his own children, and a plethora of personal ailments. Indeed, Hess had to write twice entreating Luther for his thoughts, because Luther was too ill to reply to the first letter.

In 1527, plague struck Wittenberg — the university town where Luther lived — prompting classes to be moved to an unaffected town. Yet Luther refused to leave. He chose instead to venture his life on caring for the sick and dying and transformed his home into a makeshift hospital. So when Luther gave advice, he knew the consequences and the fear attending them.

For Luther, our loving God hiddenly but surely works for our good even in the places we do not expect, including amid the evil of deadly epidemics. The fear of bodily illness and death should drive us to pray and to care for our souls, remembering that this world is not our lasting home. An epidemic is one of many evils that beset us, and we have to take that seriously; but the greater evil is the evil within (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4). Therefore, responding to an epidemic or any other crisis must involve turning from our sins — chief of which is the selfish love that gives thought first to self, and only secondly, if we can assure our own health and safety, to others.

Luther regarded the epidemic as a temptation that tests and proves our faith and love: “our faith in that we may see and experience how we should act toward God; our love in that we may recognise how we should act toward our neighbour.” Through faith in God and out of love for neighbour, Christians must think first how to contribute to the physical and spiritual care of those who are vulnerable, self-isolated, sick, or dying. Only then did Luther permit Christians to make private decisions about whether to flee. In an era without widespread institutionalised healthcare, Luther wrote that Christians are under a divine obligation to fill the gap: “We must give hospital care and be nurses for one another in any extremity or risk the loss of salvation and the grace of God.”

With lives at risk, Luther encourages Christians to find solace in the promises of God. The devil tempts us to “horror and repugnance in the presence of a sick person.” But striking a “blow against the devil is God’s mighty promise by which he encourages those who minister to the needy. He says in Psalm 41, ‘Blessed is he who considers the poor. The Lord will deliver him in the day of trouble’.” Therefore, “whoever serves the sick for the sake of God’s gracious promise … has the great assurance that he shall in turn be cared for. God himself shall be his attendant and his physician, too. What an attendant he is! What a physician!”

What does this mean for us and COVID-19? Our attitude toward COVID-19 should be marked by the Christian virtue of measured concern (“temperate prudence” in classical terms): measured, not panicking but heeding our Saviour’s encouraging warning, “Do not be anxious about your life … Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 6:25, 10:28); and concern, recognising the evil for what it is and not comforting ourselves with falsehoods. Instead of panicking and stockpiling so many masks that there aren’t enough for healthcare workers, or so much pasta and toilet paper that others can’t find any, we should be asking: How can we as a church and I as an individual help those in need?

Those who are researchers or health professionals should take courage in their divine calling to do good research, to seek truth and to care for the sick. Many of us in healthcare have taken oaths: “The health of our patients shall be our first consideration.” It is easy to take valiant oaths in times of tranquillity and bliss. Hardship does not nullify these oaths, but rather emphasises their sacred, inviolable nature. For Christians, there is a special duty to fulfil them, since we have been told, “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’.”

For those of us who do not have special training to participate on the medical front lines, we are called to responsibly play our part in society: in our jobs that help keep our economy going; in our families as parents, children or siblings; in the way we communicate, listen and respond to news; in the way we care for our neighbours, cities and communities. Above all, we are called to pray for and do our best to support good journalism, research and medical care. For Christians, truth is distinctly important. Every Christian has the responsibility to find and rely on accurate sources of information, having nothing to do with either sensationalisers or scoffers.

A website like the Science Media Centre can help one interpret the headlines level-headedly, and every region has its public health bulletins with advice specific to the region. We listen to and respect our public health officials, with the expectation that their recommendations will inevitably be imperfect. Rather than criticising them, we ought to pray for them daily.

COVID-19 reminds us that lasting contentment, security and happiness is not to be found in the present world but in the world to come. As Augustine put it:

As ‘we are saved by hope’, so we are made happy by hope. Neither our salvation nor our beatitude is here present, but ‘we wait for it’ in the future, and we wait ‘with patience’, precisely because we are surrounded by evils which patience must endure until we come to where all good things are sources of inexpressible happiness and where there will be no longer anything to endure. Such is to be our salvation in the hereafter, such our final blessedness.

[ Dr. Mirjam Schilling ]

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“The True Toll Of COVID 19”

[ The Crowhouse ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNyWOVIpAn4

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Christ and the Coronavirus – The Sovereign Goodness of God

INTRODUCTION
As we were contemplating this series, Kyle sent a list of questions he had thought of—some he wondered himself and some he’d heard from others. The one that stood out to me the most is this:

Why has God allowed this deadly virus to infect the world?

There’s a lot packed into that question, certainly more than will fit in this post. And yet I do want to unpack two key aspects of it: 1) The assumption that God is in charge of the world, and 2) The assumption that he is exercising his charge for some moral purpose. In another attempt to help us all think well, and then feel well, and then act well in this extraordinary time, I’d like to briefly consider each of those underlying beliefs about God’s involvement in the pandemic.

The Sovereignty of God

Again, the first assumption in the question above is that God has the power to single handedly cause or prevent or start or stop or slow or otherwise directly effect the coronavirus. No one is asking why Mike Maruska or Kirk Cousins have allowed the coronavirus to infect the world because everyone knows that neither our pastor nor our quarterback are powerful enough to do anything at all about it. Again, the question is, is God really different? Does he really have the ability to control such things.

Several years ago Justin Taylor compiled a simple list of biblical passages describing the things God is said to be sovereign over. I’ve found myself going back to that list many times and for many reasons. I’d encourage you to check it out if you have time. The simple summary of it all, however, is this: God is entirely sovereign (in control) over the entire created world including seemingly random things (Proverbs 16:33), the heart of the most powerful person in the land (Proverbs 21:1), our daily lives and plans (Proverbs 19:21; 20:24), salvation (Romans 8:29-30; 9:15-16), life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39), disabilities (Exodus 4:11), the death of God’s Son (Acts 2:23), evil things (Amos 3:6; Isaiah 45:7), and all things (Ephesians 1:11) including disease (Leviticus 14:34).

The simple fact is that we cannot read the bible well and miss the fact that God is in charge of every aspect of his creation, including the coronavirus. But that leads us to a second question and the second assumption in Kyle’s question: Why would God sovereignly allow such a tragedy?

The Sovereign Goodness of God

The second assumption is that God is not only involved (by either causing it or not stopping it), but that he’s involved for a particular purpose. God’s activity or inactivity are assumed to be tied to a goal or a moral decision. Is that a fair assumption and, if so, what is his goal? There really are only two things God’s Word allows us to say with confidence about this.

First, on the greatest scale and in the most general terms, the bible tells us that God is using the coronavirus for his glory (Isaiah 48:9-11) and the good of his people (Romans 8:28).

Isaiah 48:9-11 “For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Again, the bible tells us that God is always, and in everything working for these two purposes. If we will receive these promises of God, then, we will find rest and peace and freedom to endure every (coronavirus) trial.

And second, as much as we’d like to, we cannot know with any certainty exactly how God will get glory in any particular situation or how a specific event will be for the good of his people. God rarely gives his people the ability to know the inner workings of his plans. He has determined that it is enough for us to know that he will be glorified and we will be helped by everything he does.

Our aim, then, must not be to waste time trying to find out for certain whether this is an exercise of God’s judgment on unbelievers or discipline for Christians or a display of His power or an international call to repentance or an unusual act of mercy (it’s probably some measure of all of those thing and more). Rather, our aim must be to learn to trust in God’s promises and obey his will as he has revealed them to us in his Word. In other words, rather than worrying about exactly why God is doing this or when it will end or what this will mean next year, God’s people need to be seeking God in prayer, fasting, Word, and worship, encouraging one another in (virtual) fellowship, proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth, sacrificially loving the lost, discipling our kids, and … (you get the idea—doing the things God has explicitly called us to regardless of our circumstances).

(For further reading on the sovereign goodness of God in the midst of suffering, consider reviewing THIS SERMON from 1 Peter and THIS SERMON from Ruth.)

CONCLUSION
Because God is sovereign and good in all that he does, including in his oversight of the world’s infectious diseases, let us humble ourselves before him as we stand amazed at his authority and our weakness before it, and then let us give ourselves more fully to obeying all that he has called us to in that same good authority.

THINKING PRACTICALLY
How do we practically lean into God’s sovereignty in this season? Words like sovereignty and providence can seem abstract and big (well, they are big).

Create a thankful journal. As an individual or family, take time to write down the things you are thankful for: Family, church, chocolate cake, playing outside, having enough TP, rain that makes flowers grow, etc.

Look for ways that you are thankful but it may have been the result of difficulty or suffering. If ____ hadn’t happened, I would have never experienced _____.

This could be a regular part of family worship or devotions, or an occasional thing that you pull out when you realize things to be thankful for. As you build a collection of things to be thankful for, it’s a neat way to see God’s provision in our lives. And a powerful way to respond in worship of the LORD who holds all things in his hands.

[ David Vanacker ]

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“Joseph: God’s Sovereignty in Our Trials”

With the fear and uncertainty generated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we consider this series by John MacArthur to be even more timely now than when it was first run six years ago. The following blog post was originally published on May 26, 2014. — ed.

Eleven grim faces stared anxiously at the floor. With eyes on the ground, all their attention was focused on the man at the front of the room. Huddled in tense silence, the eleven knelt before one of the most powerful rulers in the land, knowing he had the authority to execute them.

Dressed in royal garb fitting his office and flanked by guards and servants, the prime minister looked down on these herdsmen as they stooped before him. His long history with these men included vivid memories of pain and rejection.

In the past they had wronged him in unthinkable ways. Now the tables were turned. With a word, he could enact severe retribution on those who betrayed him.

Is that the action Joseph would take against his brothers? Their father Jacob was dead and buried. Now they bowed before their brother, fearful that he might finally seek revenge for their severe cruelty decades earlier.

Minutes felt like hours in the somber anticipation of Joseph’s decision. The brothers braced themselves for the worst. Reuben, the oldest, had long blamed himself for what had happened to Joseph. Judah, too, felt the sting of guilt; he was the one who initially suggested selling Joseph into slavery. But all the brothers—except Benjamin, the youngest—had been involved in that treacherous act. They were all guilty. Was this the day their crimes had finally caught up with them?

When the silence broke, it was not with a voice of angry threats or harsh punishment. Instead, it was the unexpected sound of weeping. Struggling to maintain his composure, Joseph collected himself long enough to release the compassion that was in his heart. The Genesis account records his words:

“Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:19–21)

The Right Perspective

Unlike those who breed a seething hatred and desire for vengeance, Joseph treated his brothers with undeserved favor. But how are kindness and love cultivated in the heart of one so wickedly mistreated? The answer is found in Joseph’s theology—he had a clear understanding of God’s providence. In that moment, with his trials behind him and his brothers before him, Joseph articulated the perspective that summarized the story of his life: God is in control and we can trust Him for the outcome.

As New Testament believers looking back on Joseph’s example, we can see the principle of Romans 8:28 fleshed out in his life: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” As Joseph himself articulated, God intended the trials of his life for the good of his people. Joseph’s suffering was not a punishment for sin, but the means through which God would prepare Joseph for a specific role in His divine plan to save sinners.

God’s Divine Purposes

Joseph couldn’t see it at the time, but there was purpose in his suffering. Betrayed by his brothers, he had the joys of home and the security of his father’s love violently ripped away from him. Without warning, he had become a victim of human trafficking. Surely he wondered why God permitted this to happen. How did this fit with the dreams God had given him?

Joseph was taken down to Egypt, where he was sold as a slave to Potiphar, a chief servant of Pharaoh. However, in the purposes of God and through Joseph’s faithfulness, he quickly rose to a position of prominence in Potiphar’s house. Joseph was so capable and trustworthy that his master gladly put all his possessions in Joseph’s care.

It was God’s providence that placed Joseph in Potiphar’s house. Potiphar served in Pharaoh’s court, which exposed Joseph to royalty and the noble customs of Egypt. Such knowledge would later prove essential. Joseph was also given a unique opportunity to develop his leadership qualities. As a boy he merely reported on his brothers’ activities, but now he was directly managing his master’s resources. That administrative experience would likewise prove invaluable for Joseph’s future. In addition to his exposure and experience, Joseph’s placement in Potiphar’s house ensured that, if he were ever found guilty of a crime, he would be sent to the same place where Pharaoh’s own prisoners were confined (cf. Genesis 39:20). That, too, was crucial to the divine plan.

A False Accusation

Potiphar’s wife began to take an illicit interest in her husband’s Hebrew slave. Scorned by his refusal as he fled from her advances, her sensual desires for Joseph immediately turned into vicious animosity as she grabbed onto his clothing. Her fury raged against Joseph, and she shouted to the other servants in the house. When they found her, she accused Joseph of attempted rape, holding up his garment as proof. For the second time in his life, he was stripped of his clothing. Years before, when his brothers grabbed his robe, he was thrown into a pit. This time, his garment in the hands of Potiphar’s wife would result in his being thrown into prison.

Joseph must have wondered how all these things could be happening to him when he had done nothing to deserve such treatment. In spite of what must have been great temptation to grumble, complain, and get angry, he continually responded by honoring the Lord and doing what was right. While he couldn’t have understood why, Joseph was content that sitting in that prison was exactly where God wanted him.

What About You?

As you look at your life—in both good times and bad—can you see how the Lord has prepared you for certain tasks and responsibilities—how He has used circumstances to accomplish His purposes in your life?

[ John MacArthur ]

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“The Coronavirus Did Not Catch God By Surprise”

This season we’re living in is one full of fear, worry, and anxiety. But where does God exist in this crisis? In this video from The Urban Alternative, Dr. Tony Evans reassures us that God was not caught off-guard by this pandemic and in fact, He is using it to draw His people back to His voice.

[ Tony Evans ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLZesa46Sao

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“Don’t Let Fear Control You During the Coronavirus”

As we face the COVID-19 crisis together, we should trade our fears for trust as we are going through this trial. Now is the time to draw near to God and to draw near to one another, even as we remain physically distant. We hope this message from Tony’s Table will encourage you today.

Did you enjoy this message? If you would like to download two free full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis” by clicking on this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1atT9MJvXQNiZO4iKaVd4tg38r4

[ Tont Evans ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6wZjLZ2ek

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“Is Jesus Asleep in the Boat During this Coronavirus Storm?”

Watch as J.John gives a brief answer to the question ‘Is Jesus asleep in the boat during this coronavirus storm?’ Filmed during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIRr7tej6-g

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“Christ and the Coronavirus – Hope, Not Fear”

INTRODUCTION
The next five posts in this series are all meant to answer one question: What can/should/must Christians do at this time? In other words, Pastor Mike and I are going to offer five different thoughts on how God’s Word calls us to respond to the pandemic and all its implications. As we dive into this, let’s together thank God that he has promised to give us both the will and strength to obey.

HOPE, NOT FEAR
The first response that God’s Word calls Christians to in any trial is to hope and not be afraid. Although the Bible has a good deal to say about both individually, the simple fact is that we cannot really do one without doing the other. We are not truly hoping in God if we are afraid, and we cannot be afraid if we are truly hoping in God. In fact, the presence of one really is the proof of the other. For that reason, I’m going to treat them together here. And from my perspective, doing so well means taking a look at four headings: 1) The Biblical passages, 2) The Biblical definitions, 3) The Biblical object, and 4) The Biblical practice. Let’s quickly look at each.

The Biblical Passages

There are many, many passages in the bible calling God’s people to hope. The Psalms are especially full of them.

Psalm 33:18-19 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

Psalm 42:5 ( see also 42:11; 43:5) Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Psalm 119:43 (see also vs.49, 81, 114, 116, etc.) And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.

The NT book of Romans is also a book filled with passages calling God’s people to hope (5:2, 4, 5; 8:24-25; 12:12; 15:4, 12-13).

Likewise, there are many, many passages in the bible calling God’s people to not be afraid. They are all over Genesis:

Genesis 15:1 (see also 21:17; 26:24) The LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today.

Judges 6:10 And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

The Biblical Definitions

Have hope and do not fear. That is the consistent message of God’s Word. But what do those words mean? Quite simply, hope in the biblical sense, at least the biblical sense to which I am calling us, is the belief that nothing but good will come to God’s people according to God’s promises. And fear is the product of the absence of that kind of hope. These passages and definitions point straight to the biblical object of our hope.

The Biblical Object

It is absolutely tragic when people put their hope in good sounding, but hollow advice, half-truths, and outright lies.

“Follow your dreams” – What if your dream is to fly off of a skyscraper?

“Believe in yourself” – What if the issue is brain surgery?

“Trust your gut” – What if your gut always leads you to make the Amazon purchase?

“You deserve to be happy” – What if kicking puppies is what makes you happy?

Truly believing in these things might lead to a lack of fear in skydiving without a parachute, operating on someone’s brain, having a house full of gadgets, and punting puppies, but in each of those cases fear would be a good thing. Countless people have wrecked their lives by placing their hope in things that shouldn’t have and couldn’t bear their hope.

Embedded in each of the passages and definitions above is not only the call to hope, but the true object as well. It will not do for God’s people to put our hope in things that can be shaken or taken. We must put our hope in things that cannot let us down. God’s promises alone fit that bill. God’s promises alone, in Jesus Christ, can produce the kind of hope and the absence of fear that God’s people so desperately need during times like these. They alone can withstand every assault. Truly, where there is no promise of God, then, there can be no well-placed hope, and where there is a promise of God, there can be no God-honoring fear. And that leads to the final section, the biblical practice of hope.

The Biblical Practice

What does it look like when God’s people truly hope in God in a season like this, and what are some steps you could take to do so?

As I said above, it looks like a lack of fear, even if death is the result, for to live is Christ and to die is gain. This oughtn’t mean that we are unwise, only that we live in such a way as to demonstrate that our love for God and people are greater than our love for life.
It looks like confessing your fear to God and asking your friends to pray for you in it.
It looks like calling to mind specific promises of God for the specific challenges you encounter and believing in them instead of anything else.
It looks like building a fort with your kids and reading Psalm 46 together.
It looks like putting on the Easter play as a family.
It looks like listening to, and singing good hymns and worship songs that declare God’s sturdiness and the hope Jesus provides.
And it looks like celebrating Easter with great zeal as the resurrection is the greatest proof of the trustworthiness of the promises of God.

CONCLUSION
There are some aspects of the coronavirus that are rightly scary, especially its potential to kill the most vulnerable among us. And yet, the first thing Christians ought to do in the face of this real danger, is to remind ourselves of the promises of God and ask for God’s grace to live in light of them. As God sees fit to answer that request it will drive out all fear in us and fill us with the kind of hope that stands out to the world around us.

[ David Vanacker ]

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“Coronavirus Fears: The Fear of Death and Judgment”

Coronavirus fears are intense. USA Today Health reports, “As the number of confirmed cases grows, so too does the nation’s collective uncertainty. Psychologists and public health experts say anxiety is high, and it’s largely fueled by a feeling of powerlessness.”

Pandemics fuel our fears. Although there are precautions we might take, there’s no guarantee that we can avoid the threat. There’s no assurance we won’t be affected.

There’s a local restaurant I go to every day. Yesterday it was nearly empty, albeit for a few customers. The streets of Raleigh, North Carolina, where I work, weren’t empty but considerably less traveled. People are anxious.

In an attempt to slow the spread of the sickness, travel to Europe has been suspended. Events that involve mass gatherings have been canceled. People are working from their homes and stocking up on supplies for perhaps a protracted stay. Colleges have extended their Spring Break periods. Some schools have closed.

“The good news is, for most people, the illness caused by the coronavirus is generally mild and the flu-like symptoms of fever and cough don’t last long. The bad news is the virus is novel and highly contagious, and right now there is no vaccine. The elderly and those with compromised immune systems or chronic diseases can become very sick and in some cases die,” says USA Today Health.

Novel illness? Highly contagious? No vaccine? Die? Scary!

Thirty-eight people in the U.S. have already died of the coronavirus. And the numbers are expected to climb. Even though at this point, the chances of dying from the virus are relatively low for most, the fear is we don’t know what the illness will do. We don’t like these feelings of being out of control. The unknown in the situation makes us afraid – afraid of death mostly.

It doesn’t provide much comfort amid coronavirus fears, but the hard truth is people face the threat of death every day. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.” None of us is promised perpetual good health. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow.

Moments like the present health crisis have a way of reminding us of what’s paramount: our fitness, our family, but most importantly, our relationship to God and our final destination at the end of this life.

No one wants to talk about death, but the prospect of death is probably our greatest fear. Pandemics remind us of just how vulnerable we are. Things can worsen and get out of control. Disaster and death can’t always be cheated. And while death is something to make us afraid, there’s much more in our faith to make us unafraid.

Were you aware that Christ came to deliver you and your loved ones from the fear of death?

The Bible says that Jesus “took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

In other words, Christ’s death on the Cross was substitutionary. He died in our place so that we never have to experience real death. Those who look in faith to him and what he did by way of the Cross and Resurrection, are delivered from death’s power to destroy them. Jesus said to those who believe in him, “Because I live, you shall also live” (John 14:19).

The Bible also says the sting of death is sin. It’s because of sin that we dread death. You may have never thought of it this way. But deep in our psyche is this horror of stepping into eternity unprepared to meet God. Most people suppress these thoughts, or they never manifest until they’re faced with a life-threatening situation.

How different for the believer this becomes. The believer by faith understands that Christ took the punishment for his sins on the Cross. His sins have been dealt with, paid for, atoned for, forgiven, and forgotten. So for the believer, death is but a home going to heaven without any fear of Judgment.

Years ago, when I was the pastor of a small church, I inadvertently bumped my hand against a window in the church building. On the other side of the windowpane was a large nest of nasty and aggressive wasps. Immediately dozens of those menacing pests swarmed the window to get at me, but not a one could touch me. Why? Because between me and their intended sting was the windowpane. They could still buzz at me and scare the wits out of me, but they were harmless to injure me.

Christ’s atonement and resurrection stand between the believer and the harm of death. Therefore, the Scriptures cry out, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?… But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:55, 57).

E. H. Hamilton has beautifully written:

Afraid? Of what?
To feel the spirit’s glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace?
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid – of that?
Afraid? Of what?

Afraid to see the Savior’s face?
To hear his welcome, and to trace
The glory gleam from wounds of grace?
Afraid – of that?

Coronavirus fears stoke our fear of death. The fear of death stokes our fear of Judgment.

Fear or faith? That’s the choice before us. God invites us to receive Christ and be free of fear – free of the fear of death – free of the fear of Judgment.

Begone from me Coronavirus fears. There is nothing you can do to me that my Savior won’t overrule and overturn on the Last Day.

[ Mark H. Creech ]

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“Navigating Fear, Faith, & Love: 3 Ways We As Christians Should Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak”

God, faith, hope, love, Fear

Coronavirus is spreading fast. Schools are being shut down. Events have been cancelled. And governments all over the globe are buckling down in an attempt to halt the pandemic.

How are we as Christians to respond? While God’s world seems to be in panic, how are God’s people to act?

In this post—the first of a series of posts by our CNCC pastors this week—I will give three Christian responses, which, taken together, I hope will give us a general guide as we seek to navigate in this pressing time, for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good.

1. WE REDIRECT FEAR
First, the situation leads us to address the issue of fear. Fear is at the root of the panic, driving much of the alarm we see in the media. People are scared. Although we still aren’t sure of hospitalization and fatality rates for coronavirus, and although we can agree there may be misinformation and exaggeration in the news, nevertheless, the numbers are still alarming—enough to cause the world to halt like it has. So, this is a virus to be taken seriously.

But is fear the right response?

As Christians, we first must answer with a resounding, “No.” Many of us, particularly in churches and on social media, have sounded this trumpet: We are not to fear this virus; we are not to panic.

But then, surprising and provocative as it sounds, we as Christians must also say, “Yes, fear is a right response to this all.” The Bible leads us to both—to a fearless fearfulness, if you will—and both are beneficial for us and our world. Here’s what I mean.

DO NOT FEAR THE CORONAVIRUS
If the question is, “Are we as Christians to be afraid of the coronavirus; are we to panic like many are who don’t know Christ?”, then the answer is a resounding “No.” “Fear not” is one of the most repeated commands in the Bible, and for good reason. We do not live in a God-less world, or a world where God has his hands tied behind his back. If we did, then we’d have little hope, with ample reason to fear.

Instead, we live in a world where God is really there, he is actually is in control of everything, and he is truly good. This is reality—as real as the coronavirus is our personal God who is in control of everything, including the coronavirus. We need not fear anything that occurs, because in everything—even in pestilence and disaster (e.g. see Amos 3:6; Lamentations 3:38)—our good God is in control with his gracious purposes, working all things for the good of his children (Romans 8:28).

As the Lord is in control of every falling sparrow, so he also is in control of every virus molecule. As Jesus said, “Fear not, therefore” (Matthew 10:31). He’s got this.

WHEN FEAR IS POSITIVE IN THE BIBLE
But we’d be amiss if we stopped there when discussing the biblical concept of fear. While it’s true that God often commands us to “fear not,” have you ever noticed that God also does command us to fear again and again in the Bible? In fact, this is one of the greatest, most commonplace commands from God: “Fear…” But it’s the object of our fear that is so important: We are to “fear the Lord.”

Take the Psalms for example. The psalmists sometimes beautifully lead us not to fear. In Psalm 23 for example: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4). Or the beginning to Psalm 46, which is particularly applicable to the present coronavirus outbreak: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way” (Psalm 46:1-2).

So when it comes to troubles and uncertainties in the world, we are not to fear. Yet more often in the Psalms, the word “fear” is taken positively. It is something we should do. And the amount of times this is so is overwhelmingly on the side of fear being a positive, praiseworthy action. To show this, consider these statistics from the book of Psalms:

The psalmists use the word “fear” 68 times in the Psalms.
Only 8 times is the word “fear” used as something to avoid, as a negative feeling, such as in Psalm 46:2 above (“We will not fear though the earth gives way”).
But 60 times the word “fear” is used as a positive, right feeling. And an astounding 58 of those times are about fearing the Lord.
In other words, apparently we are biblically lop-sided if we believe fear itself bad. God doesn’t. God’s people shouldn’t. Instead, when we read our God-given prayer book, we see fearing God as a celebrated reality—as something that is to be sought, admired, and even rejoiced over.

REDIRECTING OUR FEAR
What does this all mean? It means that when discussing coronavirus and fear, the answer is not merely to “not fear.” Of course, that’s correct in context—we are not to fear this virus or its implications. Our good God is in control. But the fuller response as Christians is to redirect our fear.

We are to take that feeling of fear and recognize that the same I’m-not-in-control-and-I-need-help feeling we get from coronavirus should instead be directed toward God. Because think about it: What is fear? Fear is a feeling that something superior to you is actually in control of your life and future. It’s a feeling that comes when you recognize that you don’t have a foolproof schedule, that you aren’t in complete control of your life or your health, that you can’t fully protect and provide and plan—that you are finite and fallen, and that your life is not as solid and guaranteed as you wished. And that you need help.

But feeling all that isn’t a bad thing, because it’s true. We aren’t in control. We don’t know the future. We do need help. So, we fear.

The question isn’t: Do you fear? It instead is: What or who are you fearing? Where are those feelings of “I need help” directed? Are they directed toward coronavirus—does coronavirus make you feel like you aren’t in control?—or are they directed toward God—do you look at our good God and realize he’s in control, you aren’t, and rely on him?

Throughout our lives we each have a choice. We either take that innate human feeling of fear and 1) look to circumstances, 2) look to our own control, or 3) look to the Lord. Those are our three options. It’s the Christian who chooses to fear the Lord. We do not fear circumstances (they’re far too transient). We do not look to ourselves for our solidity (we’re far too unstable). Instead, by God’s grace, we direct our fear and awe and I’m-not-in-control emotions toward our good and totally-in-control God.

We know he is loving. We know that he is huge. We know he is reliable and trustworthy. So, we fear him. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.

No wonder, then, that fearing the Lord is an overwhelmingly positive characteristic in the Bible. “Happy is the one who fears the Lord” (Psalm 112:1). It’s only when we take that feeling—a feeling that many of us are naturally having toward the coronavirus right now—and apply it to God that we find true peace, hope, and even happiness. He alone is a secure rock. He alone is huge and in control. He alone is to be feared. “Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints!” (Psalm 34:9)

2. WE LIVE BY FAITH
Which brings us to our second response to the coronavirus outbreak as Christians: We live and walk by faith. Faith is trusting in God—in his goodness, his total control, and his plans. And it’s the result of fearing God: We recognize God’s supremacy, goodness, and control, and so we trust him. “You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!” (Psalm 115:11).

But what does this mean for our current situation? What is involved biblically when we say we’re “people of faith”? Many things, but for our current concern with coronavirus, we’ll point out two aspects of biblical faith. First, faith is ultimately trusting in God (and not in circumstances or yourself). And second, faith spurs us to act (and not be passive).

As for the first, when we say faith is ultimately trusting in God, we mean that, although the world may panic and fear the virus, and although society may put its hope and trust in policies, social distancing, and time, we ultimately put our faith in God. In Jesus. As Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1). Our God is the object of our trust and our hope. We rely ultimately on his word and his ways.

But that leads us to the second aspect of biblical faith. Second, biblical faith is a trust in God that leads to action. Always. This is why Paul doesn’t just talk about Christians having faith, he says we “live by faith” (Romans 1:17; Galatians 2:20) and “walk by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7). This is why our Lord’s brother, James, can say, “I will show you my faith by my works” (James 1:18). And this is why the famous Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 is full of people who didn’t merely have faith, but acted by their faith (“By faith Abraham…By faith Moses…By faith…”).

Our faith is not passive. It can’t be. Truly believing that God is ultimately in control and good and on our side will lead us to live and act accordingly. Our actions then will take many forms (see once again see Hebrews 11 for various examples). But our faith, by definition, cannot be dead and action-less (James 2:26). There is a reason the now-famous idiom “Let go and let God” is not in the Bible. We Christians walk and live and do and pray and read our Bibles and serve and struggle against selfishness—all by faith.

What exactly does this faith-filled action look like? That leads us to our final response.

3. WE WALK IN LOVE
We do not fear the virus or the circumstance, we fear the Lord, we live and act and do by faith. But what is the breathtaking pinnacle of the Christian’s life? Where is this all going? Love. This is our final and greatest response.

Our clarion call from our Leader as we respond to the coronavirus outbreak is to be people of love. Love is the culmination of fearing the Lord and of having faith in the Lord. It’s not mainly about who we say we are, or about how spiritual we say we’ve been, or about how much faith we say we have, it’s about our true faith which evidences itself in love: “For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6)

What does this look like in our current situation? It means we will pray. It means we will put others first. But besides these general principles, there is Christian freedom concerning what love will look like for each of us. Because the Bible does not address the coronavirus outbreak in the winter and spring of 2019-2020, each Christian—and each church—will have to decide, prayerfully before God, what it looks like for them to love in this situation. It may involve social distancing. It may mean submitting to quarantine for a time. It may give rise to intentionality in calling and praying specifically for those at high risk. It may entail buying groceries for a family in need. It may include giving generously to someone who lost their job because of the outbreak. And the list could go on.

But whatever the specifics, God’s love through us will be beautifully displayed when we, the church, seek to be humble and wise and gracious and generous and prepared and prayerful, with purpose and planning about how we can love—first our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and then the world which so desperately is longing for a better, more solid hope.

We will not act out of fear of the virus, we will not think that God has lost control, but we will act and make decisions, even very hard and perhaps sacrificial ones, in love. Such actions and decisions of love must be rooted in faith, soaked in prayer, empowered by grace, and, to the best of our ability, drenched in Bible-centered wisdom, but above all they must be genuine love—for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good.

WILL WE HEED GOD’S CALL?
With all that being said, we do well to realize that, in essence, how we are to respond to the coronavirus outbreak is nothing new. It has always been the call of the church to be the church, to be God’s people shining forth God into God’s world. God is primary—we fear him. God is our object of faith—we trust him. And God’s love is our display—so we act in love for his glory and people’s good.

The difference in our present situation is how this coronavirus outbreak has ramped us the stakes. Will we, by God’s grace, heed his call to demonstrate we’re his people? Will we be people who fear the Lord or fear the virus, who trust God’s goodness and control or look elsewhere for hope, who walk in love toward the church and the world or live in selfishness? It is these questions we must answer, by our words and works.

Who is sufficient for these things? Not us. We’re weak. We’re sinful and needy. We can’t do this on our own. And yet, at the same time, who is sufficient for these thing? Us. God’s grace is powerful in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:10), and, as Paul said so well, “Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:16-17). So it’s true, we can’t do it on our own. But by God’s grace, we can—full “of sincerity, as commissioned by God”—heed our Lord’s call. We must and we will.

As God’s church, then, let’s aim to biblically navigate fear, faith, and love in this trying time, for however long our Lord sees fit for this coronavirus outbreak to continue.

It’s a high calling, but we have our God on our side. And what a reason to be alive.

[ Ryan Hawkins ]

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“Young and Middle-aged People, Barely Sick With Covid-19, are Dying of Strokes”

Doctors sound alarm about patients in their 30s and 40s left debilitated or dead. Some didn’t even know they were infected.

Thomas Oxley wasn’t even on call the day he received the page to come to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan. There weren’t enough doctors to treat all the emergency stroke patients, and he was needed in the operating room.

The patient’s chart appeared unremarkable at first glance. He took no medications and had no history of chronic conditions. He had been feeling fine, hanging out at home during the lockdown like the rest of the country, when suddenly, he had trouble talking and moving the right side of his body. Imaging showed a large blockage on the left side of his head.

Oxley gasped when he got to the patient’s age and covid-19 status: 44, positive.

Has your child tested positive for the coronavirus? Share your experiences with The Post.

The man was among several recent stroke patients in their 30s to 40s who were all infected with the coronavirus. The median age for that type of severe stroke is 74.

As Oxley, an interventional neurologist, began the procedure to remove the clot, he observed something he had never seen before. On the monitors, the brain typically shows up as a tangle of black squiggles — “like a can of spaghetti,” he said — that provide a map of blood vessels. A clot shows up as a blank spot. As he used a needlelike device to pull out the clot, he saw new clots forming in real-time around it.

“This is crazy,” he remembers telling his boss.

Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

‘Frostbite’ toes and other peculiar rashes may be signs of hidden coronavirus infection, especially in the young

Stroke surge
Reports of strokes in the young and middle-aged — not just at Mount Sinai, but also in many other hospitals in communities hit hard by the novel coronavirus — are the latest twist in our evolving understanding of the disease it causes. The numbers of those affected are small but nonetheless remarkable because they challenge how doctors understand the virus. Even as it has infected nearly 2.8 million people worldwide and killed about 195,000 as of Friday, its biological mechanisms continue to elude top scientific minds. Once thought to be a pathogen that primarily attacks the lungs, it has turned out to be a much more formidable foe — impacting nearly every major organ system in the body.

Until recently, there was little hard data on strokes and covid-19.

There was one report out of Wuhan, China, that showed that some hospitalized patients had experienced strokes, with many being seriously ill and elderly. But the linkage was considered more of “a clinical hunch by a lot of really smart people,” said Sherry H-Y Chou, a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center neurologist and critical care doctor.

Now for the first time, three large U.S. medical centers are preparing to publish data on the stroke phenomenon. There are only a few dozen cases per location, but they provide new insights into what the virus does to our bodies.

Coronavirus destroys lungs. But doctors are finding its damage in kidneys, hearts and elsewhere.

A stroke, which is a sudden interruption of the blood supply, is a complex problem with numerous causes and presentations. It can be caused by heart problems, clogged arteries due to cholesterol, even substance abuse. Mini-strokes often don’t cause permanent damage and can resolve on their own within 24 hours. But bigger ones can be catastrophic.

The analyses suggest coronavirus patients are mostly experiencing the deadliest type of stroke. Known as large vessel occlusions, or LVOs, they can obliterate large parts of the brain responsible for movement, speech and decision-making in one blow because they are in the main blood-supplying arteries.

Many researchers suspect strokes in covid-19 patients may be a direct consequence of blood problems that are producing clots all over some people’s bodies.

Clots that form on vessel walls fly upward. One that started in the calves might migrate to the lungs, causing a blockage called a pulmonary embolism that arrests breathing — a known cause of death in covid-19 patients. Clots in or near the heart might lead to a heart attack, another common cause of death. Anything above that would probably go to the brain, leading to a stroke.

Robert Stevens, a critical care doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, called strokes “one of the most dramatic manifestations” of the blood-clotting issues. “We’ve also taken care of patients in their 30s with stroke and covid, and this was extremely surprising,” he said.

As coronavirus hospitalizations in New York began to peak in April, emergency medicine physician Howard Greller recorded his reflections. (Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post)

Many doctors expressed worry that as the New York City Fire Department was picking up four times as many people who died at home as normal during the peak of infection that some of the dead had suffered sudden strokes. The truth may never be known because few autopsies were conducted.

Chou said one question is whether the clotting is because of a direct attack on the blood vessels, or a “friendly-fire problem” caused by the patient’s immune response.

“In your body’s attempt to fight off the virus, does the immune response end up hurting your brain?” she asked. Chou is hoping to answer such questions through a review of strokes and other neurological complications in thousands of covid-19 patients treated at 68 medical centers in 17 countries.

David Reich, the president of the Mount Sinai Hospital, J Mocco, director of Mount Sinai’s Cerebrovascular Center and Hooman Poor, an ICU doctor, are among those who are looking at the link between young covid-19 patients and strokes.
David Reich, the president of the Mount Sinai Hospital, J Mocco, director of Mount Sinai’s Cerebrovascular Center and Hooman Poor, an ICU doctor, are among those who are looking at the link between young covid-19 patients and strokes. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, which operates 14 medical centers in Philadelphia, and NYU Langone Health in New York City, found that 12 of their patients treated for large blood blockages in their brains during a three-week period had the virus. Forty percent were under 50, and they had few or no risk factors. Their paper is under review by a medical journal, said Pascal Jabbour, a neurosurgeon at Thomas Jefferson.

In the vast majority of younger adults, covid-19 appears to result in mild illness with the risk of more severe consequences rising with every decade of age. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, 0.8 percent of U.S. deaths as of Apr. 18 were in people ages 25 to 34; 2 percent among those 35 to 44; and 5.4 percent among those 45 to 54.

Jabbour and his co-author Eytan Raz, an assistant professor of neuroradiology at NYU Langone, said that strokes in covid-19 patients challenge conventional thinking. “We are used to thinking of 60 as a young patient when it comes to large vessel occlusions,” Raz said of the deadliest strokes. “We have never seen so many in their 50s, 40s and late 30s.”

Raz wondered whether they are seeing more young patients because they are more resistant than the elderly to the respiratory distress caused by covid-19: “So they survive the lung side, and in time develop other issues.”

A mysterious blood-clotting complication is killing coronavirus patients

Jabbour said many cases he has treated have unusual characteristics. Brain clots usually appear in the arteries, which carry blood away from the heart. But in covid-19 patients, he is also seeing them in the veins, which carry blood in the opposite direction and are trickier to treat. Some patients are also developing more than one large clot in their heads, which is highly unusual.

“We’ll be treating a blood vessel and it will go fine, but then the patient will have a major stroke” because of a clot in another part of the brain, he said.

At Mount Sinai, the largest medical system in New York City, physician-researcher J Mocco said the number of patients coming in with large blood blockages in their brains doubled during the three weeks of the covid-19 surge to more than 32, even as the number of other emergencies fell. More than half of were covid-19 positive.

It isn’t just the number of patients that was unusual. The first wave of the pandemic has hit the elderly and those with heart disease, diabetes, obesity or other preexisting conditions disproportionately. The covid-19 patients treated for stroke at Mount Sinai were younger and mostly without risk factors.

On average, the covid-19 stroke patients were 15 years younger than stroke patients without the virus.

“These are people among the least likely statistically to have a stroke,” Mocco said.

A warning from a young patient who wound up in the ICU | Voices from the Pandemic

“This is real. Even if you think you’re healthy, it knocks you down,” said Janet Mendez, 33, a patient at Mount Sinai Brooklyn Hospital. (Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post)

Mocco, who has spent his career studying strokes and how to treat them, said he was “completely shocked” by the analysis. He noted the link between covid-19 and stroke “is one of the clearest and most profound correlations I’ve come across.”

“This is much too powerful of a signal to be chance or happenstance,” he said.

In a letter to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine next week, the Mount Sinai team details five case studies of young patients who had strokes at home from March 23 to April 7. They make for difficult reading: The victims’ ages are 33, 37, 39, 44 and 49, and they were all home when they began to experience sudden symptoms, including slurred speech, confusion, drooping on one side of the face and a dead feeling in one arm.

One died, two are still hospitalized, one was released to rehabilitation, and one was released home to the care of his brother. Only one of the five, a 33-year-old woman, is able to speak.

Britain’s national health authority issued a worrisome alert about children, covid-19 and potential complications

Oxley, the interventional neurologist, said one striking aspect of the cases is how long many waited before seeking emergency care.

The 33-year-old woman was previously healthy but had a cough and headache for about a week. Over the course of 28 hours, she noticed her speech was slurred and that she was going numb and weak on her left side but, the researchers wrote, “delayed seeking emergency care due to fear of the covid-19 outbreak.”

It turned out she was already infected.

By the time she arrived at the hospital, a CT scan showed she had two clots in her brain and patchy “ground glass” in her lungs — the opacity in CT scans that is a hallmark of covid-19 infection. She was given two different types of therapy to try to break up the clots and by Day 10, she was well enough to be discharged.

Oxley said the most important thing for people to understand is that large strokes are very treatable. Doctors are often able to reopen blocked blood vessels through techniques such as pulling out clots or inserting stents. But it has to be done quickly, ideally within six hours, but no longer than 24 hours: “The message we are trying to get out is if you have symptoms of stroke, you need to call the ambulance urgently. ”

As for the 44-year-old man Oxley was treating, doctors were able to remove the large clot that day in late March, but the patient is still struggling. As of this week, a little over a month after he arrived in the emergency room, he is still hospitalized.

[ Ariana Eunjung Cha ]

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“Ease Coronavirus Fears: 7 Lessons from Persecuted Christians”

For the last six weeks, the coronavirus pandemic has changed daily life in the United States. To date, there are more than 40,000 related deaths and 1 million cases confirmed in the U.S. Lockdowns have driven conversations about the “new normal” and school closures. In many places, employees continue to work from home; 26.5 million have lost their jobs. Sports leagues are still on hold, libraries remain closed. And churches have learned how to do virtual worship and small groups with some leaders thinking things will never go back to exactly the way they were.

And the whole country is holding its breath for the fallout.

For many Americans, it’s a scary time—there are still plenty of unknowns about COVID-19. We know it impacts elderly people or those with compromised immune systems more heavily; we’ve all seen the commercials by now.

What has happened over the last six weeks seems surreal. Seeing empty store shelves and massive lines to buy hand sanitizer and toilet paper seems like something out of a movie. And with the ongoing daily reports of rocketing unemployment rates and poverty levels, testing failures and speculation over treatments, it’s no wonder people are afraid and anxious as we head into the next phase of living in a pandemic.

And yet, as Christians, we have a different calling. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink,” Jesus tells us in Matthew 6. Later, He adds: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

People who are persecuted for their faith live out this reality each and every day. They experience fear and uncertainty, pain and suffering, and yet they see the hope of Christ in the midst of it. Might they have something to teach American Christians gripped by fears of a global pandemic and the impact of necessary but damaging lockdowns? I think so.

Here are some lessons from our persecuted sisters and brothers during these uncertain times:

1. We belong to a family that helps one another.

In John 17, Jesus prays for His followers: “I pray also for those who will believe in me through [My disciples’] message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” Jesus wants His Church to be unified—to be one family of God.

This reality plays out for persecuted Christians around the world. “We were shaking with fear,” says Mohan*, an Indian Christian whose home was destroyed because he follows Jesus. “But then I was reminded of our church, and that in the church we share love, we help each other.” Though fear and uncertainty about a virus are obviously different than persecution for following Jesus, Mohan’s reminder can be ours—in the Church, we share love. We help each other! As we consider how to navigate the coming months, let’s keep in mind how we can share love and help one another both now and in the months ahead.

2. We are not alone.

We’ve been asked to practice social isolation—and for good reason. Simply staying home and not risking the most vulnerable in our communities is perhaps one of the most loving things we can do!

But isolation in the midst of a pandemic does not mean we are alone. Instead, we have a “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1), both here on earth, and who have gone before us. “I’ve […] learned that we are not alone in this,” says Asuncion, a Christian in Mexico who went through persecution preparedness training. He was expelled from his community for being an evangelical Christian. “We are not the first ones to be persecuted for religious reasons, and we won’t be the last.”

Similarly, we are not the first Christians to live and worship in a time of fear. Our sisters and brothers who are persecuted testify to this, as does the long witness of Christians in ages past! The Black Death and the Spanish Flu of 1918 didn’t kill the Church, and neither will the coronavirus. We are not alone; we have each other through prayer, and the Holy Spirit to give us courage.

Help persecuted Christians in the coronavirus crisis!
For many Christians already persecuted for their faith, the global pandemic is making live even more difficult. They have less access to healthcare, medicines and community services. Open Doors is committed to standing with the least of these—to ensure that the vulnerable have what they need too. If God lays it on your heart, we invite you to join us in obeying God’s call to care for His people.

3. God will sustain us.

In Acts 17, Paul tells the people of Athens that, “‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’” In God, we have our security—not in health, safety or comfort. God promises He will be with us—He doesn’t promise we won’t suffer (quite the opposite!) but he assures us our suffering or fear will never be outside of His caring hand.

We recently met with a Christian named Achiam*, a Christian in Chad in West Africa. She is the only known Christian in her village, and she is blind. She’s been beaten by her brother and ridiculed by her family for her faith, but she still follows Jesus. “I know the end of this situation is not for tomorrow, but I also know my God will continue to sustain me,” she says. “I was very clear with my family about my faith. I told them I am with Christ and that nothing in the world would make me change my mind. My God has been sustaining me since then, so I fear nothing.”

In the midst of persecution or global pandemics, God sustains His people.

4. Jesus has overcome the world.

In John 16:33, Jesus says: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He’s speaking of the dramatic scenes around His arrest, trial and crucifixion. But His words apply to the uncertainty caused by something like coronavirus—or to the fear and anxiety caused by persecution of His people.

In Nigeria, Rev. Marcus’ church and community were attacked by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. People were killed; churches were burned; houses were destroyed; lives were changed forever. And yet, Rev. Marcus lives in the knowledge that Jesus has overcome anything that might hurt him or other Christians. “We do not pray that God will take away the hardship, but that God would give us the grace to be able to stand,” Rev. Marcus explains. “The Bible tells us that whoever endures to the end will receive a crown of righteousness. This is the message I want to send to Christians around the world today.”

Regardless of the situation for Christians, Jesus reminds us that He has overcome anything the world can throw at us. Because of that, we can have confidence and hope, no matter what happens. While this can be hard for our minds to comprehend in light of current times, we only have to look at the example of our persecuted family to see this kind of faith in action.

5. Through Jesus, we are “more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37).

In Romans 8, Paul writes:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

You could add “pandemics” to the list Paul gives in the first part of that passage.

Christians who have been persecuted have even more pressing reminders of this reality. They don’t just pay lip service to passages like these—they live out the truth of the gospel. Christians like Kirti, an Indian believer whose husband was killed because their family follows Jesus, daily count the cost of being a Christian. And they choose Jesus’ love, anyway. We can, too.

“I have committed everything into the hands of Jesus,” Kirti says. “When I feel sad, I remember the Word of God. In all my trials, He helps me. I cannot read or write, but I memorize what the pastor teaches me. Because of attacks, many new Christians are leaving the faith, but I’m stable in my faith.” Kirti’s example is a reminder that Jesus has already won the victory, and that His love is always there, even in the scariest circumstances.

6. God is our refuge, and our strength.

Where does our help come from? Psalm 121 says, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” This is why we have the confidence that, even if our worst fears come true, we will still be held in the strong and mighty hand of God, the Creator.

Christians who are oppressed for their faith around the world often live in this knowledge. Surviving under constant threat would be impossible without the Holy Spirit’s constant assurance that God is there as a help, as a strength.

“The Pharisees persecuted Jesus, but still He went on with His work,” notes Lazar*, a church leader in Uzbekistan. His church was raided by police, who took all the church’s Bibles and Christian books. “The evening after the raid, I read Psalm 91. God is my refuge and my strength. I can hide in Him. I don’t want to allow myself to be governed by fear, because that doesn’t help you at all.”

Lazar’s example can inspire us. How do we live and serve during COVID-19, without being governed by fear—and instead live in the knowledge that God is our help, strength and refuge?

7. God is trustworthy—and we are not abandoned.

It can be hard to see where God is during times like these. Why didn’t He stop the virus from spreading? Why won’t He intervene to save every life? Why is there now a global crisis of hunger? Ultimately, why is this happening?

These are hard questions; and they’re the types of questions that have been asked since the beginning of time. But God is there if we have the courage to look for Him. His ways are not our ways, but we can trust that He will accomplish His perfect will, and that He invites us to participate in His plan for the world.

For Christians who have experienced persecution, suffering for Jesus can make this lesson plain. The suffering is still there, and it might seem unfair or even pointless. And yet, time and time again, that’s not what we hear from God’s people. “I am always amazed by how God worked in mysterious ways to answer our prayers and meet our needs,” explains Aditi*. She is a 16-year-old believer from India whose family experienced severe persecution for following Jesus. “All this time, God just wanted to teach us how to trust in Him, and now, in the end, we know that He is trustworthy. He never abandoned us or put us to shame.”

Aditi’s father feels these same truths. Even though he had times of doubt in God’s goodness, he would come to the Lord in prayer and be reminded of God’s truth. “Often when I felt discouraged, I spent time in prayer,” he says. “It was then I gained the courage to trust in Him; it’s true that we need the courage to trust in God. And that courage comes through prayer.”

God is there, even when it can be hard to see His hand. We can pray to ask God to help us have eyes to see His work in our lives, even in the midst of a global pandemic. This time of uncertainty is an opportunity for all of us to see Him and trust that He has not abandoned us—and to have the courage to follow Him, love our neighbors and live for Him, no matter what happens.

Pray with Open Doors
Pray that God would calm our fears and that His people would be reminded we have a different identity—one of boldness, not of fear. Pray that the church would be a calming presence and radiant light in the face of so much confusion and darkness.

Pray that we would be people of compassion who intentionally reach out to others in our neighborhoods and to our family around the world where following Jesus often results in denial of community healthcare, less or no access to medicines and social boycott.
Pray for world leaders as they continue to work with healthcare organizations and the medical community to develop next steps. Pray that all would be united for the common good both now and in the weeks to come.

Pray with church leaders as they offer insight and wisdom to their congregations and communities. Ask God to give them opportunities to be voices of reason, clarity and grace.
Pray with the families of the 216,000-plus people (as of April 28, 2020) who have died and for those undergoing treatment. Ask God to comfort the broken-hearted and to strengthen those who are suffering physically and emotionally.

Pray for those whose jobs or hours have been cut due to economic downturn. Pray for parents who are struggling to work and care for their children. Pray that churches would look for ways to reach out to families in their communities to provide for them and show them the love of Christ.
Pray that God’s people would be unified as one Church, and that we would look to the lives and faith of our persecuted brothers and sisters as we navigate fear and the unknown … that we would look to them for guidance and for hope.

Pray that we as God’s people would be reminded of our hope in Christ and the truth that our Savior who died and rose for us has already overcome the world. Pray that we would be people who read His Word and take both His call to serve others and His promises to be with us as we live and serve others to head and heart.

[ Christopher Summers ]

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“Thinking Biblically About the COVID-19 Pandemic”

An Interview with John MacArthur

[ Phil Johnson interviews John MacArthur ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izr7uySLwPc

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“CORONAVIRUS: 7 WAYS CHRISTIANS SHOULD RESPOND TO IT”

The Coronavirus is here whether we like it or not. As Christians we need to know exactly how we can/should navigate through this very crazy and uncertain time we are living in. The great news is that we’ve been here before and this has NOT caught God off guard. In this video I share STRAIGHT from the word of God 7 ways Christians can respond to the Coronavirus and what God wants us to remember during this time.

[ Allen Parr ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMj3dCmZQMc

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“Coronavirus: An Interview with Dr. Charles Stanley”

It’s understandable to feel worried and afraid during times of crisis. In this interview, Dr. Stanley addresses how the coronavirus pandemic has brought a new focus on our need of God, and how believers should have unshakable faith in His Word and almighty provision throughout such situations. And he especially emphasizes how in uncertain times in society, we should pray more and turn to God’s Word.

[ Charles Stanley ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YAWRCGXhG8

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“God and the Coronavirus: A Biblical Perspective”

Mark Spence, Senior Vice President and resident apologist at Living Waters, shares some encouraging and powerful biblical insights about COVID-19.

[ Mark Spence – Living Waters ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHcaikj1LGY

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“If God, Why the Coronavirus? …And Your Other Tough Questions about Faith”

Tune in for a livestreamed Q&A from the Zacharias Institute on Friday, March 20, at 7:00 p.m. EDT. In this time of fear and uncertainty amidst the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we invite you to join us for Q&A with three RZIM speakers: award-winning lawyer Abdu Murray and Drs. Vince Vitale and Jo Vitale.

[ Abdu Murray, and Drs. Vince Vitale and Jo Vitale ]

Q&A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GaVkkp3SVc

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“Where is God in a Coronavirus World?”

On Wednesday, April 8, join us for a special lockdown conversation between RZIM President Michael Ramsden and Professor John Lennox centered around John’s new book, Where is God in a Coronavirus World?

[ Michael Ramsden interviews John Lennox ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvLfuMlAi18

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“If you are afraid to death of dying from Coronavirus…”

[ Todd Friel – Wretched Radio ]

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRc_urJSltc

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“Joni Eareckson Tada: Why Should I Fear Death?”

Christ’s death and resurrection give me a heavenly perspective on suffering and mortality.

“He too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14–15).

“Francie, please file this and make copies of this letter, would you?” I hardly looked up from my desk while talking to my assistant. “And, one more time,” I groaned, “would you please pull out the sofa bed?”

For the fourth time that day, I needed to be lifted out of my wheelchair and laid down. We had to readjust my corset—shallow breathing, sweating, and skyrocketing blood pressure were signaling that something was either pinching or bruising my paralyzed body. Francie wiped away my tears. As she shifted my body, examining my legs and hips for pressure marks, I stared at the ceiling. I was done with being paralyzed. I was tired of the never-ending, day-to-day disability routines. I’d had my fill of it and mumbled to the ceiling, “I want to quit.”

“Oh, come on,” Francie joked, “what are you always saying? You ‘can’t do quadriplegia,’ but you ‘can do all things through Christ’?”

I didn’t have a comeback for that one, so I remained quiet. We couldn’t find anything wrong with my body. Francie hoisted me into my wheelchair.

“Where do I go to resign from this stupid paralysis?” I said.

Francie grinned. She’s heard me say it scores of times. As she was about to leave, she paused. “I bet you can’t wait for heaven. You know, like Paul said, ‘We groan, longing to be clothed with a heavenly dwelling.’ ”

My eyes dampened again, but this time they were tears of relief. My Christian friend had just given me a very comforting, powerful reminder. “Yeah, it’ll be great,” I said.

That afternoon, the verse she shared stuck with me, and I whispered a prayer. “Yes, Lord, I do look forward to being whole, to having a body that will never know pain. But to be honest, what I really want is a new heart that doesn’t want to give up or quit.” I sat in my office and dreamed of what I’ve imagined a thousand times: heaven. Jesus’ death and resurrection secured for us many amazing things, and one is a firm hope of eternal life in the new heavens and new earth with no more sorrow, pain, or tears.

It’s all I needed. That afternoon, I jerked my will right-side up, refocused my emotions, and realigned my thoughts. I repeated Psalm 43:5: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (ESV). I kept talking to my soul, mentally rehearsing a flood of other heavenly promises: When we see him, we shall be like him. … For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. … That which is sown in weakness will be raised in power. … He has given us an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. … If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. Before leaving the office that day, I found my courage and said with a smile, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”

Physical affliction and emotional pain are part of my daily routine, but I’ve learned that self-pity can be a deadly trap. I quickly move upward and onward. It takes resurrection power to do that. Christ’s death and resurrection won us many amazing benefits, but I think one of the greatest benefits is their power in our daily lives. The apostle Paul said, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings” (Phil. 3:10, emphasis added). We share in Christ’s sufferings so that we might become like him in his death—that is, that we may have the actual power to die to the sins that he died for on the cross. In Christ, we have resurrection power to say no to ungodliness and yes to living self-controlled lives; we can become holy as he is holy; we can partner with the Holy Spirit in fitting ourselves for heaven (Titus 2:12; 1 Pet. 1:15; Heb. 11:16).

The death and resurrection of Jesus give weight to the reality described in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” My useless hands—and your wrinkles, your torn meniscus, your failing memory, or your macular degeneration—are only temporary. It’s our response to those afflictions that is eternal. What’s more, those afflictions make the here and now seem so vaporous, so thin and wispy. The span of our earthly lives is limited; each of our bodies will inevitably fail. Christ’s resurrection assures me that a new splendorous body awaits me in heaven. So why should I fear death? It’s a glorious door into Healing with a capital H!

Paul’s desire to “know the power of his resurrection” was tied to this hope: “attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10–11). As Paul knew, Christ’s glorious resurrection assures believers of their own resurrection from death into eternal life (1 Cor. 15:21–22). For me, the death and resurrection of Christ have removed every ounce of fear from death. The Grim Reaper is no longer the heinous, sharp-fanged, menacing monster it used to be. Hebrews 2:14–15 is my safeguard against fear, for “by [Jesus’] death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” The Devil has no power over me. I’m free from being a slave to fear—especially fear of death. Affliction has helped make that clear to me.

Most of us are sequestered at home right now, and renewing our devotion to Christ through this time of isolation and “safe at home” guidelines. But how timely is this, given that we are in this season of Lent. This is what Christians do during the Lenten season! Hardships are one way God helps us get our minds on the hereafter. I don’t speak of the hereafter as a death wish, psychological crutch, or escape from reality. I mean “hereafter” as reality. Pilgrims aren’t supposed to feel at home on earth. Their hearts are on things above; they wait on the Bridegroom. They are looking forward to a new body, heart, and mind. Pilgrims think about crowns and rewards and casting them all at Jesus’ feet. Such realities provide a glorious vantage point from which to look upon our pain and problems. The soul that mounts up to heaven’s kingdom cannot fail to triumph.

It’s odd that it took a wheelchair—something that bolts me to earth—to make me see the futility of fighting spiritual battles on the earthly plane. We Christians need to shift to a higher battleground and choose a resurrection perspective in our daily lives. Looking down on my problems through the lens of God’s promises makes my trials look different. When viewed from a human level, my paralysis feels like a huge, impassable wall; but when viewed from above, the wall appears as a thin line—something that can be overcome. It’s a resurrection view, a bird’s-eye view (Isa. 40:31).

Such a heavenly vantage point on our hardships and our mortality is made possible only through the death and resurrection of our wonderful Savior. In the here and now, may we embrace the power of his resurrection to live a godly life. And may we look forward in confident hope to the day when we mortals will put on immortality.

[ Joni Eareckson Tada ]

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“Lord, Free Me from the Fear of Death”

Jesus has a deep, intense desire to give you a gift so great you do not yet have the capacities to conceive of it (1 Corinthians 2:9). But you do catch glimpses of it in biblical metaphors and imagery, and in sublime moments when an experience of glory briefly transcends anything else here on earth.

Jesus longs so intensely for you to have this gift that he pleads with the Father to give it to you:

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24)

This supreme request is the great culmination of Jesus’s prayer in John 17. That you may receive this gift is the reason why he manifested the Father’s name to you (John 17:6), gave you the Father’s words (John 17:8, 14), and guards you so you will not be lost (John 17:12). It is why he prays that you will be kept from the evil one (John 17:15), know the joy of helping others believe in him (John 17:20), and experience the sanctifying wonder of knowing and living the truth (John 17:17, 19).

More than any other good thing Jesus asks from the Father for you, he wants you to be with him forever. More than anything else, he wants you to see and savor the glory that the Father bestowed on him from eternity past (John 17:5, 24). For he knows that nothing else you ever experience will provide you such profound and lasting joy and pleasure (Psalm 16:11).

What Do You Fear Most?
But Jesus’s fervent prayers for you come with a sober implication, one that makes you recoil, even fear. In fact, one day you might find yourself pleading with God to give you the very opposite of what Jesus wants for you. The answer to Jesus’s prayer eventually requires your physical death. Unless Jesus returns first, you must die before you experience the forever fullness of joy in his glorious presence.

We must endure what we hate and fear most in life in order to enjoy what we love and long for most.

Yes, we hate death and resist it — and we are right to do so. God originally created us to live, not die. Death is a curse we bear, the tragic wages of rejecting God and his kingdom (Romans 6:23).

Nowhere does the Bible encourage us to view death itself as a good thing. Death is not a good thing; it’s a horrible, evil thing. Anyone who has watched loved ones die can attest to its hideousness. Death is our mortal enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26).

How Is Death Gain?
If that’s true, why does God count precious the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15)? And why do his saints even call death gain (Philippians 1:21)? Because in that most horrible, most evil moment of the death of the Son of God himself, death as we fear it — the extinguishing of our life and the seeming loss of our soul and joy — was killed! Jesus conquered our great enemy when he rose from the dead (Romans 4:25; Revelation 1:18), and will ultimately destroy death forever (1 Corinthians 15:26).

In fact, so powerful, so complete is Jesus’s defeat of death that he speaks of it as if Christians no longer even experience it:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25–26)

It isn’t death itself that is precious or gain to us. It is the Resurrection and the Life, who has removed death’s sting and swallowed it up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54–55), in whom we are receiving an eternal inheritance beyond our wildest dreams (Ephesians 1:11), and in whose glorious presence we will experience unsurpassed joy forevermore (Psalm 16:11). He is precious to us. He is our great gain in death.

Prepare Through Prayer
When our earthly assignment from Jesus is done (Acts 20:24), he will call us to be with him to enjoy most what we are made to most enjoy: him. This will make death gain for us on that day (Philippians 1:21).

Jesus is eager to give us this great gain, and he wants us to grow in our eagerness to receive it. How do we do that? Like he does. We ask the Father for it! We join Jesus in praying for the time we will finally see him in all his glory. We ask him to decrease the hold that the fear of death has on us due to unbelief in our hearts. And we ask him to give us such faith and longing to be with Christ that we no longer wish to live as long as possible here, but only long enough to faithfully finish our course (Acts 20:24). Because to finally be with our Savior will be so much better (Philippians 1:23).

Whatever It Takes, Lord
Someday Jesus’s prayer for us to be with him will overrule our prayer to be spared physical death. And when it does, we will know such joy and pleasures that we will wonder why we ever felt any reluctance to pass through the valley of its shadow (Psalm 23:4).

Whatever it takes, Lord, increase my faith and joy in the truth that death is gain for me, so that I can “let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also.” Do not let the fear of death cause me to resist your will for me, and let me die in a way that declares that Christ is gain.

[ Jon Bloom ]

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“Where Is God in This Pandemic?: Facing Uncertain Times”

Pandemics and natural disasters remind us that God doesn’t intend for this fallen earth with its death, disaster, and corruption to be our permanent home. Dr. the reminds us that we can face these trials if the God of heaven and earth is the Lord of our crisis.

Dr. David Jeremiah, Senior Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church, gives his message on April 5, 2020

[ David Jeremiah ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1CarObo9E8

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“The Antidote to Fear…is Faith”

Mark Martin, the Dean of Regent University – School of Law invited me to give a message by Zoom to the Law School Chapel on the Thursday of Holy Week, April 9th. I pray it blesses you…

[ Anne Graham Lotz ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3Srar51hI

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“Faith Over Fear”

[ Tony Evans ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO40F48u8HE

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“Our Anchor In Times of Storm”

Matthew 8 tells about the time when Jesus Christ and His disciples were on a boat in a raging storm. The disciples’ fear and Jesus’ response remind us that God will help His followers survive the tumultuous times in our lives. In the message “Our Anchor in Times of Storm” from the classic Life Principles series, Dr. Stanley highlights Life Principle #3 and discusses that the key to surviving any difficult situation is to cling to God.

[ Charley Stanley ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW8JKIMcMuU

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“Trusting God in A Storm”

[ Tony Evans ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw40v_QM6Bw

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“How to Handle a Crisis”

[ Tony Evans ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QaGGe1Yt1w

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“Christ of Every Crisis”

Everyone has troubles but sometimes you’re hit with a situation that leaves you reeling, helpless, even desperate. Adrian Rogers explains what to do and how to trust that God is sufficient either to remove you from it or keep you through it.

[ Adrian Rogers ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qQt1sPshFg

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“Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical”

Skepticism is healthy if it leads us to question the received pieties of our age. But our modern culture has elevated skepticism to such an ultimate value that belief in anything seems faintly absurd. Yet human beings cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope—and these things all require a faith dimension. In an earlier book, The New York Times bestseller The Reason for God, Dr. Timothy Keller made a case for Christianity. In his new book, Dr. Keller starts further back, addressing those who strongly doubt that any version of religion or faith makes sense or has anything of value to offer the contemporary world.

In his trademark accessible prose, Dr. Keller invites those who have dismissed Christianity as irrelevant to reconsider. As the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Dr. Keller has spent decades engaging with skeptics of all persuasions, from the hostile to the hopeful, in personal conversations, sermons, and books, which have sold over two million copies.

Timothy Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. His first pastorate was in Hopewell, Virginia. In 1989 he started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons. Today, Redeemer has nearly six thousand regular Sunday attendees and has helped to start more than three hundred new churches around the world. He is the author of The Songs of Jesus, Preaching, Prayer, Encounters with Jesus, Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering, Every Good Endeavor, and The Meaning of Marriage, among others, including the perennial bestsellers The Reason for God and The Prodigal God.

[ Tim Keller ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uIvOniW8xA

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“Jesus, The Coronavirus, and You: Two Questions to Ask When Fear Grips Your Heart”

What does it look like for Christians to live like Christians in the midst of this global crisis? How are we to respond to this worldwide pandemic, when fear is high?

As I write this, our world is reeling from a lethal outbreak of a new coronavirus (COVID-19) for which there is not yet a vaccine. In just a few months it has spread from a dozen cases in China to tens of thousands across continents, and the numbers are expected to rise. Governments are restricting travel, banning large gatherings, closing businesses, and shutting schools. Stock markets have tanked.

It’s a scary time. And uncertain time. So what do we do?

Although I believe we need to be informed and take every precaution recommended by public health experts, I believe living in FEAR is not an option. But how can we overcome our fear?

Two Questions to Ask When Fear Grips Your Heart

Fear is a natural response for humans. But the Word of God, in light of our ever-present, all-powerful, all-knowing, loving God, commands us to fear not. No command in scripture is given so often and to so many different kinds of people as the command to fear not!

Jesus provides the answers to our fear!

Question 1: Where’s My FOCUS?

When Jesus’ disciples were caught in the storm and Jesus was asleep in the boat, these professional fisherman cried out in desperation. “Don’t you care that we perish?“ Awakened, Jesus spoke, calmed the storm, and then asked the disciples, Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? (Mark 4:37-40)

We see the same thing happened to Peter, when he walked on the water. All was well when his focus is on Jesus. When he looks to the waves, he began to sink! Jesus responded, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:28-31)

Jesus actually expects us to trust Him when the wind and waves of adversity come into our lives. He’s made a promise to “be with us” no matter, what forever and ever (Matthew 28:20).

Question 2: Where’s My FUTURE?

Anxiety and panic are rooted in picturing all the bad things that might happen in the future. The list is long! Physical harm, death, financial loss, global recession, chaos, uncertainty, instability, etc. When our minds begin to focus on all the negative possibilities of the future… fear will be right around the corner.

Jesus’ final night on earth provides us with His most profound teaching about how to face the future. In John chapter 14, Jesus reassures the disciples that regardless of what He is about to face (death), and what they will soon face (persecution, exclusion, uncertainty, and death in some cases) that they need not be afraid.

“Let not your heart be troubled (fearful, disquieted, anxious), you believe in God, believe also in me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:1-2)

He later promised that they would live in a world of tribulation, difficulty, and persecution but that His peace given to them by faith in their heart would overcome the world. (See John 16:33.)

I don’t mean to sound trite, but if the worst thing that can happen to us during this pandemic is that we die (and are immediately ushered into the presence of Jesus!) then we can more than live without fear. We can model a calm and confidence in the midst of any crisis and glorify our Father in heaven.

Our World May Change but Christ Doesn’t

Few of us will likely be called into the front lines to provide medical care for the sick; but we have a great opportunity to live fearlessly and calmly in this time of chaos as we help our neighbors and our nation through it.

I believe crises are an opportunity for Christians to show the world how faith in Christ equips us to live no matter what economic uncertainty, physical harm, and maybe even death we face.

So let your light of fearless confidence shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven!

[ Chip Ingram ]

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“Is It a Sin to Fear COVID-19?”

Is it a sin to be afraid during the COVID-19 pandemic? John MacArthur recently sat down with Phil Johnson to discuss what God’s Word says about the strange times we are living in.

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXwF4-pOtHk

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“John Piper on ‘Coronavirus and Christ’”

John Piper’s book “Coronavirus and Christ” is available in audio (read by John himself), eBook, and paperback.

Book Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgfu6JLB_XE

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“COVID-19 from a Christian Worldview Perspective”

Eleven reminders.

[ Ken Ham – Answers in Genesis ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM_pM9ZP9GA

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“Why Would God Allow COVID-19?”

Why would God allow Covid-19? What does the Bible say about the COVID-19 pandemic? Is the Coronavirus a sign of the end times? Should we listen to those who teach Covid-19 prophecy or Coronavirus prophecy? In this video, Pastor Nelson with Bible Munch answers the question, “Why would God allow Covid-19”.

[ Got Questions ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCKs_jv8664

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“Paul Washer: Encouragement in the Midst of COVID-19”

This is a special episode of the G3 Podcast where Josh Buice talks with Paul Washer about the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and how the Church of Jesus can find hope in God

[ Josh Buice interviews Paul Washer ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s7WntJn8to

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“Christ in Prophecy: The Pandemic”

Is the Coronavirus pandemic the beginning of the Great Tribulation? Find out with Dr. David Reagan and team on the show Christ in Prophecy!

[ Christ In Prophecy ]

TV Show: https://vimeo.com/410234746

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“Facing the Pandemic with Tough Faith”

How can tough faith get you through a crisis? Find out with Dr. David Reagan on the show Christ in Prophecy!

[ Christ in Prophecy ]

TV Show: https://vimeo.com/412440935

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“Why everyone disagrees on the COVID response”

[ Todd Friel – Wretched Radio ]

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT_AewPSlIA

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“Why the world is freaking out over Coronavirus”

[ Todd Friel – Wretched Radio ]

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct1Ol3FspJk

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“Where to Find God During COVID-19”

Collin Hansen talks with John Lennox about how to trust God in a world of pain, suffering, and the coronavirus.

[ Gospel Coalition – Gospelbound ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLMJKoHowzI

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“Thoughts On The Coronavirus Outbreak”

Have you heard of the coronavirus outbreak? I’m sure you have, it’s all over the news. It seems like every day someone else is getting sick. It is a scary time, do you have questions? Well, Pastor Greg Laurie speaks on the Coronavirus and gives us his biblical opinion on how to react in these perilous times. Be practical. Be prayerful. Be proclamational.

[ Greg Laurie ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZnZvMZo_Qc

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“Has God Got Your Attention…”

[ East Mountain Cowboy Church ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a25fHwWb97Q&feature=youtu.be&t=531

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“Hulk Hogan is right about Coronavirus”

Hulk Hogan found himself in the news by quoting well well not not really quoting right miss but nevertheless quoting the Bible a calling of the world to turn their attention to Jesus.

[ Todd Friel – Wretched Radio ]

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw2vnokttZA

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“Peaceful in It or Fearful of It”

Pastor J.D. explains how it’s possible to have the peace of God from the God of peace in a time of perilous uncertainty. Philippians 4:6-9 – April 9th, 2020

[ J.D. Farag ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itvIqZzLl24

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“Do Not Enjoy Your Trials”

Hello all – I am going to start doing some short videos of a devotional nature. This is my first installment. I’m going to encourage you from scripture NOT to enjoy your trials!

[ Justin Peters ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2KJ7L52u0g

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“Does God Ever Intervene?”

Many people say God intervenes in our lives, but does He? Does God intervene? We will look at this question from Colossians 1:17 and Hebrews 1:3.

[ Justin Peters ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK5PhvyNH_U

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“Life after Lockdown”

Following Jesus’ crucifixion, His disciples hid behind locked doors for fear of reprisal from the Jews. A sense of lostness had settled over them―a darkness that could not be dispelled by false hope. But Jesus did not remain in the grave! He appeared in His resurrected body, proclaiming peace to His disciples. As Alistair Begg explains, our hope is not rooted in an idea but in a risen Savior. It is this truth that enables us to proclaim the way of forgiveness to all who will believe.

[ Alistair Begg ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmtYzdsIWxM

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“Wake Up Call”

Residents jury rig pizza elevator; Deer wander streets of Calgary; Americans sense opportunity to repent; Americans buy more Bibles; Paleontologist earn money by changing their story… often; Climate alarmists leverage Covid-19; Activist arrested at field hospital; Eight activists arrested outside abortion clinic; Space writers speculate about Mars; Ice cores expose roots from Antarctic forest . . . Answers in Genesis News: April 13, 2020

News Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=398&v=AFSE6HwOLwo

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“The Pagans Aren’t Acting Like Pagans (CORONAVIRUS)”

The unbelievers’ responses to Coronavirus.

[ Todd Friel – Wretched Radio ]

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNaI_9Jj-8

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“Ken Copeland Fails to Save the U.S. From Covid-19”

We’re gonna just take a hard look at Kenneth Copeland and show that the whole coronavirus pandemic has shown him to be a complete false preacher false prophet false teacher and a buffoon on top of it. I mean it’s embarrassing to watch him and I often times looking at his eyes it’s inhuman. I it’s absolutely terrifying and frightening to look at what this man is and it would not surprise me if he was demon-possessed. that’s how bad this really is.

[ Fighting for the Faith” – Chris Roseborough ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOdtzt7-Q8I

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“Theological quacks cashing in on Coronavirus”

[ Todd Friel – Wretched Radio ]

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzLwRSgGt-g

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“Determining when the COVID cure is worse than the COVID illness”

[ Todd Friel – Wretched Radio ]

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oytZOeJpUAs

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‘Recipe for Disaster’: Is America Reaching a Quarantine Tipping Point?

May 4, 2020

Most of America has been on some form of a lockdown for the better part of two months now, and there are signs people have had enough.

Popular podcast host and YouTuber Dave Rubin of the “Rubin Report” told Fox News today that Americans are growing frustrated, love liberty, and will reach a breaking point of this continues much longer.

Protests in Michigan and California have underscored this sentiment, and Rubin discussed them as he pushed back against the power politicians are currently wielding. Via The Blaze:

“Just because they have the power to do something, doesn’t mean they automatically should,” he said. “[Liberal politicians] don’t really explain why they are doing it. So you may have seen the video of the deputy mayor of Los Angeles in a helicopter. And he is showing a completely empty beach. And the way he treated it implied he was sort of proud of it.

“It’s like that is really a recipe for disaster in a state like this,” Rubin insisted, pointing out the fact that residents will remain cooped up in their homes only for so long.

“It’s like, if you don’t let us do these things, then at some point people will break,” he reasoned. “What I think that the progressives are misunderstanding here is that Americans love liberty. Americans love being free. We will be responsible, and we’re willing to take some risk. But we can’t live like rats trapped in our houses forever.”

Michigan also saw see scores of people fed up with orders to remain locked down in their homes unless they are conducting “necessary” activities such as grocery shopping. Californians frustrated at their orders are taking to the streets as well.

This discussion comes as states are beginning to ease or consider easing of restrictions on gatherings and traveling.

[ Dan Andros ]

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“My Thoughts on the Coronavirus”

What can we learn from the recent news on the Coronavirus? Listen here as I give my thoughts on how Christians should be responding to this epidemic.

[ Jack Hibbs ]

Commentary: https://www.facebook.com/PastorJackCCCH/videos/129400408342311/

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The God Over Viruses”

If we say God is sovereign, does that mean he’s in charge of everything — even down to the tiniest molecule?

Speaking of storms, picking up from last time, in the fall of 2012 Hurricane Sandy churned in the Atlantic Ocean and rolled over Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and the Bahamas before turning northeast, out into the ocean, and then curving west for a direct hit of New Jersey. The storm surge and high tide occurred at the same time, leading to massive flooding. Before it was over, 233 lives would be lost, with damages tallying nearly $70 billion, and $32.8 billion of damages in New York state alone. Just a few days later, on November 3, 2012, John Piper took to the pulpit to talk about God’s sovereignty over the natural world — over hurricanes, tornadoes, even over “murderous viruses.” After a spring like the one we’ve experienced, it’s a good time to rehearse the sovereignty of God over the natural world. For this reminder, here’s Pastor John from November of 2012.

[ Pastor John

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvYSbMwm-Cw

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“Faith Over Feelings | COVID-19 Message”

Though the world is filled with uncertainty we have access to the ultimate source for direction and guidance, the Word of God. Join Dr. Stanley as he shares some of his favorite scriptures for overcoming fear with faith.

[ Charles Stanley ]

Message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUqXlglay2k

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“Do Not Be Anxious”

Awesome message. With the Corona Virus many are anxious, here are some tips on how you can lean on God through the storm. Jesus never said there would not be storms in life, but He did promise to be with you in all of them.

[ Michael Youssef ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXkpiuiSVPw

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“All Joy in All Trials”

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

[ Charles Spurgeon ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8k-A8ShXxs

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“When the World Is Shaken”

Even the coronavirus can’t stop the spread of the Gospel. See how the hurting and the hopeless are being reached through the internet, telephone and field hospitals. Looking for true peace?

[ Franklin Graham ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHpHrF2_JNI

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In 1948, he published an essay titled, “On Living in an Atomic Age.” Although it was written 72 years ago, it is very relevant to the coronavirus pandemic that we are dealing with today. As you read the excerpt below, just substitute “corona- virus” for “atomic bomb.”

“In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. ‘How are we to live in an atomic age?’ I am tempted to reply: ‘Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.’

“In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.
“This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things — praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts — not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”

[ C.S. Lewis ]

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“Trust in the Lord – Proverbs 3:5-6”

[ Phil Johnson ]

Podcast: https://www.thegracelifepulpit.com/sermons.aspx?code=2020-02-02-PJ

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“Why Do Humans Love and Care for One Another? And Is There a Purpose Behind the Coronavirus? Examining an Evolutionary Perspective on COVID-19” [ Part 3 ]

[ The Briefing – Albert Mohler ]

Podcast: https://albertmohler.com/2020/04/23/briefing-4-23-20

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“Dealing With Anger While Sheltering In Place”

During times of crisis, there are many recurring temptations that spike. Today’s Coronavirus crisis is one of those instances. With people sheltering-in-place and limited means to separate from each other, all sorts of temptations can come. Some examples are annoying each other, worries over the future, job losses, and the possibility of getting sick. These conditions become sin’s playground.

One of our most common temptations during difficult times is anger, which is why knowing how to deal with it is vital. With the majority of the world sheltering-in-place, it’s a recipe for frustration, impatience, and harsh words, to name a few of anger’s manifestations. In this daily brief, I want to talk about our old nemesis, anger.

I Am Better

For anger to function, you have to elevate yourself above another person because anger thrives when it’s looking down on someone. It’s that “I’m right and you’re wrong” attitude. The manifestations of this “greater than, better than” posture are many. E.g., there is verbal anger, which is easy to tell because the person is hovering over you, looking down on you while lecturing you about why you’re wrong and they’re right. But there are also more subtle forms of anger that aren’t verbal.

It could be secretly judging another person for what they have, how they are, or something they said that you did not like. In this case, the person under judgment may never know you’re doing it to them. But you have elevated yourself above them—in your mind, looked down on them, and made an uncharitable judgment about them. Privately and unjustly judging others is a form of anger.

Here is an example of how it can happen. You read or watch something on social media, and you judge them uncharitably. Of course, you could respond to them harshly online, or you could gossip about them to a friend. These three reactions, uncharitable judging, harsh commenting, and gossip, are all forms of sinful anger.

Grace for the Humble

The most significant issue with this interplay between the heart and the behavior is that there is “no grace” for self-righteous people. What I mean by that statement is that righteous individuals don’t need grace. Do you remember the kind of folks who needed grace from Jesus? He responded graciously to the sick, broken, needy, and humble.

Anger is a heinous sin, no matter how it works out (manifests) in a person’s life because of the self-righteousness that feeds it. The solution, of course, is the Spirit penetrating the “self-righteous resistance field.” And the elevated person immediately flings themselves on the Lord, pleading for mercy. Self-righteousness dissipates in the humble heart, and the outward behavior of anger flees.

If you’re struggling with a specific form of sinful anger, will you find help today? If you don’t know who to talk to, please come to our free community forums and tells us what’s happening: http://bit.ly/2ieukJz. You may also study our resources on anger, which you can find here: http://bit.ly/2ThY4pI.

[ Rick Thomas ]

Teaching: https://youtu.be/McWR-i6zNaU?t=2

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“An Advantaged Disease, Indeed”

As you know, the coronavirus—if you catch it, and get very sick—is a terrible thing to go through and you may even die. The virus and the fear of it are sorely testing our medical capacity in some places. And the body count will get much worse this week, right before Easter. The heroic efforts and sacrifice of many doctors, nurses, and volunteer civilians are all notable and praiseworthy. Millions of Americans are pulling together. We all know this. But do you know the odds of any American getting this virus? One would think that number is easily known or available. It’s not. A lot of digging into various municipal data portals reveals, based on the population tested, that rates can vary from, at most, eight-tenths of a percent in New York City to two-one-hundredths of a percent in Phoenix.

Did you know the chances of recovery from the coronavirus are about 98%—if you catch it? Did you know there are models showing 50% of the population may have already had it, never knew they had it, and recovered? Again, one would think this data would be widely available and reported. It isn’t. What is presented widely are numbers and warnings that scare and frighten us, and we are now being conditioned to a lot of panic and speculation. But part of the reason we are getting conditioned to a lot of panic is because of the wide range of speculation about other numbers we accept as our new fright-inducing reality, an increasingly confusing and frenzied set of numbers. And the normalization of our panic is having dire consequences and augurs for even worse.

Our officials and media have warned us of 2 million deaths in the United States. Then 200,000 deaths. Then 100,000 to 240,000. This needs to stop. There have been a total of 68,000 coronavirus deaths worldwide. And we are told we will see, just in America, three to four times that number. Does that even pass the plausibility test?

Is it too much to ask for some perspective with numbers we do know about, numbers which have never shut down our country, much less a church or synagogue, much less entire industries; numbers which have never restricted travel or put this nation into one big frenzy? In any given month in America, we lose about 54,000 Americans to heart disease; 50,000 to cancer; 14,000 to asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema; 12,000 to stroke; 10,000 to Alzheimer’s; 7,000 to diabetes; 5,600 to drug overdoses; and 4,700 to influenza and pneumonia. Since February, in America, coronavirus: 9,500. Where is the sympathy for the victims and families of those other causes of death? The daily mortality count? The blaring headlines? The upending of the country? We hear almost nothing about them. Those deaths give us over 157,000 deaths a month. Given all that is being done about one cause of death, COVID-19, it turns out this is a very advantaged disease, indeed. And we will in time develop a vaccine for it, not to mention more and more good news coming in the short term about treatments from other extant medicines like hydroxychloroquine.

But there is more. With all the blaring chyrons and death and disease counts, has anyone tried to search for the average age of the death toll from this pathogen? It’s very hard to do—though we are told the virus more maleficently affects those over 65, and is worse with each year of age. Why do you think this point, this fact, is not everywhere available? Could it be there is an investment and interest in scaring all of us? You can find some stories with state and local data, but isn’t it interesting the general data is not available? Our best analysis shows in New York City 70% of the deaths are of those over age 65. And almost all deaths across all age groups come with underlying conditions. New York has a serious problem and requires great effort and attention, which is being applied. But the fact that the virus is having its way there does not mean that it is making its way anywhere or everywhere. States with even greater populations, like California and Texas, are showing death rates 90% lower than New York. States like Iowa and Minnesota have low numbers, too—but Iowa is not in lockdown and Minnesota is.

Is there perhaps not a smarter way to address this plague other than mass immuration? Sequestering those who are elderly with underlying conditions, those who test positive, and those who are symptomatic “while basically treating the rest of society the way we have always dealt with familiar threats like the flu” is how Thomas Friedman put it early on. He and Dr. David L. Katz of Yale called this a vertical strategy. The horizontal strategy of “restricting the movement and commerce of the entire population, without consideration of varying risks for severe infection,” is too blunt, too paralyzing—and too malefic.

Let’s go back to drug overdoses for a moment. The president spoke a great deal about them on the campaign trail in 2016, and has held several summits and briefings on the problem since his presidency. We who have been involved in these issues for decades have been accused of waging an irrational “drug war.” Did we ever contemplate curbing the constitutional freedoms of nearly 300 million Americans? Did the media ever publish or emblazon its television coverage with panic-inducing death counts? Did we ever suggest shelter-in-place orders to clean the streets of illegal drug activity or shut down industries causing unemployment to skyrocket and retirement savings accounts to plunge? Of course not, though its high body count and cost affects a great many more families and businesses, and kills the young more than the old. Fighting this problem, the country was able to keep its wits, even as we who tried to do something about it were denounced for taking draconian measures to save lives. Turns out we had no idea what draconian was. When the president linked that problem to the coronavirus, as he did this past week, the media turned away and criticized him. Only one cause of death matters to them, the one that invaded us on his watch.

Meanwhile, we know a few things about the causes and effects of the shutdowns—and they will exacerbate all kinds of other deaths mentioned above. As the Wall Street Journal recently put it, “The economic and social-science literature is replete with studies that document the harm to people from recessions and economic hardship—including higher rates of suicide, opioid abuse, alcoholism and domestic violence.” As for drug and alcohol relapses, the director of a major addiction institute recently put it thusly: “I’m hard-pressed to think of a bigger relapse trigger than what we’re going through now as a country.” Are we now done with diseases of despair and social destruction or, more likely, are we now creating a whole new contagion of those?

Yet the elites, from Bill Gates down, tell us we need a nationwide shutdown for 10 weeks or more. Others are pushing in that direction, too, putting pressure on various state and federal officials for even more coercion. Perhaps such pushing has its merits in saving some lives, but it will likely take more, and will kill the heart and soul of our country, which is dependent on the economic engine of the rest of us. The consequences of what this country is putting itself through simply cannot be understated. They are affecting the low-skilled and blue-collar workers the hardest. And the solutions the federal and state governments have ordered for the problems they have created—from stimulus checks to loans to abatements and reprieves—are already causing bureaucratic confusion, claims of unfairness, delays, and pitting Americans against each other. And now there is no end in sight for even more massive and unprecedented spending.

The president’s instincts to re-open this country as soon as possible are right. This country is not prepared for a worsening of all the other social harms and deaths brought on by an incredibly overwrought, self-induced, hysteria and panic that doesn’t parse. It better be. But remember with all the nonprofits, volunteer, and self-help communities organized to address these problems being shuttered and harmed, direly and financially, be prepared for massive social failure and more death. This is what happens when sanity is at discount and hysteria reigns supreme. This is what happens when societies get used to pandemonium. As bad as the coronavirus is, and it is bad, unless we arrest the frenzy and panic mongering, we should be prepared for things worse than the virus.

[ By William J. Bennett & Seth Leibsohn ]

William J. Bennett is the former secretary of education and director of the National Office of Drug Control Policy.

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“Covid-19: What They Don’t Tell You”
(April 17, 2020)

Is Covid-19 a real pandemic, thrust unexpectedly onto the entire world by a mischievous Chinese bat, somehow far more deadly than the hundreds of other coronaviruses in common existence, from all variety of animals – bats inclusive – or is it in fact a highly coordinated event, planned in advance, and blown out of all proportion by governments, media and corporations? Are the heavy restrictions, that will prevent things like four people walking side-by-side on the sidewalk, but allow them to share a car, consequence of biological disaster, or political?
Many reading this will have formed their opinions after watching an awful amount of mainstream media, saturated with Covid content. However with the media controlled by governments and corporations with vested interests, there are certain things they won’t tell you. If you want to see the bigger picture, and discover the less reported details, read on. As much as possible, this paper will attempt to avoid speculation, looking instead at observable, published data. It is out there, and I have compiled a great deal. Please do not let this be in vain. I hope it may be shared amongst the community, for all with eyes to read.
All sources are linked. [more…]

[ by a man with an internet connection ]

Download PDF fie: http://mileswmathis.com/covid.pdf

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“The Constitution Was Made for COVID-19”

The genius of the U.S Constitution is that it was designed to withstand the pressures of crises. It was a document born of conflict, and the Founders wrote it intending to curtail the human excesses and abuses that tend to come to the surface in times like the one we are living right now.

Fear, insecurity, and perceived need shake us to the core as human beings and, if we are not careful, these times may push us to be willing to enter into oppressive agreements that will ultimately enslave us. It’s part of the human condition that men love power and find it difficult to resist overreach. That is why, now more than ever, we must cling to the principles of liberty embodied in our Constitution. In times of crisis, the overextended hand of nanny state makes citizens feel safe, but that same power can easily morph into a fist.

“We the people” must vigilantly guard against the attacks that will inevitably come with the challenge of Covid-19.

The tension between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, between the states and federal government, is by design. It is supposed to be challenging to “get things done” in government. Sure, crises require sacrifices, but we must be careful to preserve the structure that protects our liberties in the long run.

The late, great Justice Antonin Scalia once said, “It isn’t the Bill of Rights that produces freedom. It’s the structure of government that prevents anybody from seizing all the power. Once that happens, you ignore the Bill of Rights. So, keep your eye on the ball.”

Keeping our eyes on the ball demands, we do NOT ignore some unnecessary actions by public officials against places of worship, for example.

A Mississippi church has had to sue after congregants to its drive-in service were ticketed $500 for attending. Though the drive-in church is an ingenious way for people to practice their religious convictions while adhering to the social distancing parameters that this virus demands, here comes the unnecessary threat of the state to impose its power and put “we the people” on our place.

We are thankful that the U.S. Department of Justice recognizes the serious threat to the constitutional structure these sorts of action present. Americans do not lose constitutional rights during crises. “There is no pandemic exception,” DOJ writes in its statement of interest in the case, “to the fundamental liberties the Constitution safeguards.”

Another case out of the district court in the Western District of Kentucky illustrates the severity of the violations we are witnessing.

On Holy Thursday, an American mayor criminalized the communal celebration of Easter.

That sentence is one that this Court never expected to see outside the pages of a dystopian novel, or perhaps the pages of The Onion. But two days ago, citing the need for social distancing during the current pandemic, Louisville’s Mayor Greg Fischer ordered Christians not to attend Sunday services, even if they remained in their cars to worship – and even though it’s Easter.

The mayor’s decision is stunning.

And it is, “beyond all reason,” unconstitutional.

It is a great tribute to our Constitution that these checks and balances are working to create the friction necessary for Americans to take notice of the deeper issues at stake here. But we must take note and demand much better from our public officials. Federal and state executives would be wise to take a step back and consider the long-term implications of the actions they are taking. They must preserve and respect the constitutional structure that guards our liberty.

The American spirit in 2020 still shouts, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” as Patrick Henry did in 1775. No exception for Covid-19.

Penny Nance is CEO and President of Concerned Women for America. Mario Diaz, Esq. is General Counsel for Concerned Women for America.

[ Penny Young Nance ]

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“Should Christians Be Anxious About the Coronavirus?”

Author’s note: Since this article was originally published, authorities have increased their concern and the author agrees that our vigilance in preventing the spread of COVID-19 should appropriately increase as well. The heightened concern, however, only makes the truths below more important. Respect for others who are more susceptible to illness (including the elderly and immune-deficient) should cause us to operate with prudence and compassionate care, all the while modeling the strength and hope characteristic of those who know Christ (Prov. 24:10). Christ followers should also model compassion for those who choose to respond differently or react more strongly to circumstances and events (Prov. 18:2). Be gracious toward others. Continue to lead and minister in ways that express your God-given gifts. Recognize there is some subjectivity in responding to this crisis, even among those listening to and seeking God’s wisdom. Because Christians are citizens of heaven, filled with the strength and peace of Christ, we should be the best citizens on earth. I pray the principles below will help you do that.

With the increasing coronavirus cases outside of China, many believers across the United States wonder how to respond to the increasing alarm. What would God have us do in the face of a growing international health crisis? Should our churches close their doors for fear of spreading illness? Should I take my kids out of school? Cancel travel plans?

How should we help a panicked world?

Remember What We Know
First, it’s important to be reminded about what we already know. Worry is not our friend, and panic is not our way. Solomon reminds us, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Prov. 24:10). May it never be said that God’s people are governed more by fear than faith.

Corrie ten Boom, along with other faithful from among the nations, led courageously in the face of the Nazi fascism—a different form of deadly virus. And she reminds us, “Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strength.”

In times of crisis, the world needs steady people who are strengthened by God’s grace and selfless by God’s power. Worry accomplishes nothing except weakness of heart and head. It’s been said that 90 percent of the things we worry or become panicked about never happen, and the other 10 percent are outside our control.

While we remain on alert against viruses of doctrine or disease, worrying won’t change our circumstances or lower our chance of infection. It won’t help us fight off illness or move us to action. Worrying about COVID-19 (or anything else) will only increase trouble. Rather than worrying and being anxious, Jesus calls us to respond with prayer and faith in him (Matt. 6:33–34; Phil. 4:6). We need not worry ultimately because we know the One who has defeated sin and death (1 Cor. 15:55–57).

Remind yourself continually: it takes the same amount of energy to worry as to pray. One leads to peace, the other to panic. Choose wisely.

Love Well and Trust Him
If God calls us to worry about anything, it’s how to love people well. The psalmist encourages us, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness” (Ps. 37:3). Peter reminds us to press on in the midst of every evil. Whether persecutions or pandemics, we can trust in the Lord, knowing, “It is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Pet. 3:17).

Worry is common to man. But God has called us to face troubles and threats with courage, leaning our weight on him.

Throughout history, Christians have often stood out because they were willing to help the sick even during plagues, pandemics, and persecutions. They loved people and weren’t afraid of death because they understood that “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). By stepping into the mess of sickness and disease, they were able to demonstrate their faith to a watching world. So, rather than just asking “How do I stay healthy?” perhaps we should be also ask “How can I help the sick?” Let’s be quick to help and slow to hide in basements.

Prayer-infused confidence, compassion, and selflessness should mark how we talk about the coronavirus. Why? Because our Savior put on flesh (John 1:14) and stepped into our sickness, sin, and death. He healed the sick and cared for the hurting. We must do likewise.

We Can Be Careful, Too
None of this means we should be reckless. Neither Christ’s love nor God’s Word encourages careless risks, but both promote obedience. Loving the sick doesn’t mean we intentionally infect ourselves (Prov. 22:3). If infection becomes a legitimate risk (at the moment, the Center for Disease Control says the virus isn’t communally spreading in the United States, and the health risk is low), responding to the coronavirus likely means taking small practical steps like washing our hands and staying home if we’re sick.

Before you think of canceling church services, ask, “How can we care for those at risk?” As others get sick, care for them. Are most of you still healthy? That’s a great reason to gather for thanksgiving and prayer. Seek appropriate medical care as symptoms arise and don’t forsake caring for one another.

Follow the example of those who’ve acted faithfully in the past. In 19th-century England, when thousands were dying of cholera, Charles Spurgeon visited homes to care for people. The church of Jesus in Wuhan China, the virus’s epicenter, is faithfully leading even today.

Finally, as you watch the world react to this crisis—itself a stark reminder of our mortality—don’t neglect to share the hope you have in Jesus (1 Pet. 3:15). Share how he rescued you from the universal epidemic of sin and the penalty of death. Share that your hope is not found in remaining healthy this side of heaven.

We’ll all face death eventually. Thanks to Jesus, we can come to that day with confidence. Like Paul, we can remember that to live is Christ, but to die is gain (Phil. 1:21). We truly have nothing ultimate to fear—not from the coronavirus, the Ebola virus, natural disasters, or anything else.

Press on, friends. Pray for the sick. Walk in God’s strength. Love the brotherhood. Do good to all men. Use your health to serve, not to hide. Jesus is sovereign over it all. And we are immortal until God’s work for us to do is finished.

[ Todd Wagner ]

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“How Do I Fight My Coronavirus Fears?”

Audio Transcript

Welcome to this special episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast. It seems right to address some aspects of the current coronavirus pandemic here. As it stands, not a lot of attention will be devoted to it. But I think there are a few aspects we need to address, based on what you, listeners, have emailed us over the past few days.

But first, Pastor John, I suspect a lot of people just want to know how you are doing physically in this season. I presume you’re at home a lot?

We are at home a lot.

Well, who knows? On December 20, 2006, I thought I was fine. On December 21, 2006, I had cancer. So, I have no idea how I am. But I feel fine, and I don’t think we’re sick, and I don’t anticipate getting sick. But the Lord reigns.

Worship is different, of course. Bethlehem Baptist Church is online. Two Sundays ago, we met with a group of ten and we sang in the Livingston’s basement and watched the livestream of the service. This time it was just Noël and me. And I’ll tell you, if a husband and wife have never sat in two chairs worshiping with their church and singing alone, by themselves, you should try it. It will sweeten, if you can get over the embarrassment. This is my wife: bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. If you can get over this, then it will be sweet. And it was sweet.

So, that’s been different. My treadmill doesn’t change. It’s up in the attic. I’m still getting the same kind of exercise I always get. I’m doing all kinds of videoconferencing. I was on there with the guys from T4G today. I was on there with a leadership team — with you, Tony — on the Internet, doing our Zoom video thing. I’ve got sixty episodes of Look at the Book done on the first chapter of Ephesians. So, we’re not goofing off here in the meantime.

But it is sober. I desire that people be very, very sober-minded about this and not make light of it, because I think God is in charge. He is saying something. We need to ask, “What is God saying?” Because he’s in charge. He doesn’t do things like this willy-nilly. He has purposes. And so, I’m very trustful of him and eager to discern what he wants us to say.

Amen. So much of the work at DG continues on as normal for us, even in this pandemic. Obviously, we can’t travel. That’s the biggest change so far. I just finished a string of travel, teaching in Frisco, Texas, and then in Austin and was in Seattle two weeks ago today, as the city was shutting down. And your big Southeast Asia trip got canceled in all of this.

Yeah, that’s why I’ve gotten so many Look at the Book episodes recorded, because we just said, “Okay, let’s do a deep dive making Look at the Book episodes when we should have been in Asia.

It’s great to hear that you and Noël are healthy. Same here. The family is healthy, and things seem to be going well, from all outward appearances at least.

Well, as you know, there’s an overwhelming sense of fear right now, Pastor John. And we’re seeing it in many of the emails coming in from listeners in the US. The headlines are ominous: The Dow is dropping a thousand points per day it seems. The consumer market has largely frozen. Airlines are slowing and may halt soon. And with the stoppage has come the loss of income and even jobs. We’re hearing now from DG partners, our donors, who are faced with new struggles in the marketplace, facing shutdowns, the inability to work as normal, and even the harsh reality of now letting go of employees they cannot put to work.

Meanwhile on TV, politicians are holding live press conferences all day with the latest news, with infection stats, and to convince people to stay home. Outbreaks of the virus continue to spike in Italy, Spain, Germany, but have also moved much closer to home in states like New York and New Jersey. Every state in America has cases now, and our hospitals are starting to feel the surge. Older citizens know they’re in the bullseye of this. And the virus is causing lung failure in a younger demographic than was previously expected. The elderly are stressed. Adults of all ages are stressed. Kids are stressed. Parents are stressed. Business owners are stressed. Dads who provide are stressed. Few of us know if this virus will infect us personally. But its ripple effects have already impacted every one of us. And now we’re told this could all last for months.

So, to the many listeners who are fighting for faith right now, and fighting against fear right now — physical or financial — what would you say to them, Pastor John?

Unshakable Peace
When I think of the preciousness, the precious experience, of being free from fear, free from anxiety, full of peace, full of contentment in the face of danger, my question is this: Who is it that can have a warranted, well-founded, justifiable, God-given, God-sustained freedom from fear and freedom from anxiety and unshakable peace and sweet, abiding contentment? Who can lay a rightful claim to these treasures? It’s crystal clear in God’s word that he commands and he offers a life of fearlessness and peace.

The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me? (Hebrews 13:6)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

I have learned in whatever situation I am [coronavirus or not] to be content. (Philippians 4:11)

No fear, no anxiety, supernatural peace, supernatural contentment in every circumstance, whether horrible or happy: that’s what God offers. And the question is, To whom is such an amazing supernatural experience of fearlessness and peace given?

Rooted in Reality
In other words, in a pandemic or not in a pandemic, I’m not interested in the mirror psychological experience of fearlessness and contentment that is not based on reality. The aim of our lives is not to have a psychological state of mind that is pleasant without reference to reality. The aim is to have for ourselves, and for others through us, psychological, spiritual, physical states of happiness that are based on reality that make much of our Maker, and that will be true in a million years. That’s the only kind of fearlessness and contentment I care about.

So, the kind of fearlessness that you see in movies, where the cocky heroes keep their cool in dangerous situations and flaunt their boldness, has no interest to me at all. None — because it’s not based on reality.

God is real.
Sin is real.
Hell is real.
Jesus Christ is real.
The blood he shed in the crucifixion is real.
The Holy Spirit is real.
Faith and the absence of faith are real.
Heaven is real.
The human soul that will exist forever in heaven or in hell is real.
Those are the great realities of the universe, and none of the fearlessness that you see in the movies is based on any of them. Therefore, it’s worthless as something to admire or to aspire to.

Fear Unearths Our Foundations
What God is doing — among a million other things — in the coronavirus, is forcing the issue of reality. And one of the litmus tests of whether your life is based on reality or based on the mirage of God-ignoring pillars, holding up the cultural temple of secularism, is fear. The test of the foundations of your life is fear. Oh, what a precious gift God is giving to us to discover, while we still have time, that the pillars holding up our peace are hollow and made of papier-mâché. That’s a gift.

I don’t want to just start saying, since you asked me about fear, “Fear not, everybody! Fear not, everybody! Fear not, everybody!” For all I know, the people listening to this should fear because the pillars of their lives are papier-mâché. Their lives are not based on reality. I don’t know. I’d sure like to help it not be so.

There are glorious, rock-solid, indestructible reasons and warrants and grounds and foundations for not being afraid of what the coronavirus can do to your health or to your business or to your family or to the economy or to Western civilization or to history as we know it. There are foundations in reality not to fear any of this.

So, my question is, Who is it that can have warranted, well-founded, justifiable, God-given, God-sustained freedom from fear and unshakable, sweet, abiding contentment? And the answer is given in one verse — one of the most sweeping, all-encompassing, stabilizing, precious, well-known promises in the Bible:

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Who is it that should enjoy the fearlessness and peace that absolutely everything around this coronavirus is working together for their eternal good? And the answer is this: those who love God and those who are called according to his purpose.

Here’s one of the ten thousand things God is doing through this horrific virus. He is saying to the world, he is saying to us, what he said to Peter in John 21:16: “Do you love me?” That’s what he’s saying. And Jesus made it more plain in Matthew 10:37: “Do you love me more than anything? More than these? More than your mother or father, child or son or daughter?”

And second, he is saying what he said through Peter in 2 Peter 1:10: “Be . . . diligent to confirm your calling and election.” The coronavirus is a wake-up question to the world, especially Christians: Is your life a confirmation that God has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light? These are the people — the called and the lovers of God — who have a warrant, a ground, a foundation in reality not to be afraid, but to be steadied by unshakable peace.

What No Virus Can Take
Romans 8 — “the great eight” — is a text I think everybody in this isolation period should be memorizing. I’m making that as a suggestion: it’s the best thing you could do with your time. Romans 8 gives greater foundations for this fearlessness than anything in the world — than anything the world has to offer. I’ll mention four:

1. For the called who love God in Jesus Christ, all of God’s righteous condemnation toward you was put on Jesus, and there is now no condemnation — no punishment — for those who are in Christ: “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). Condemnation for those who are in Christ is over. It happened at Calvary. That is wonderful.

2. God’s willingness to sacrifice his only Son for the called ones who love him means he not only died in their place, but will not withhold anything from them for their eternal good: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). So, everything we need to glorify God and to have everlasting joy, he guarantees in the cross for us during coronavirus time.

3. Nobody who is called by God will fail to attain eternal glory. There is a golden, unbreakable chain of covenant commitment that God will keep his called ones forever: “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). None of the called is lost — ever.

4. Finally, here is what all of this means: neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor sword, nor coronavirus, nor economic collapse, nor total anarchy, nor the end of the world can separate us from the love of Christ. And that includes death — especially death — because Romans 8:36 says, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long.”

It doesn’t matter whether we’re being killed by coronavirus or anti-Christian mobs. Nothing can “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:39). “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). Therefore, Christian — therefore, Christian — lover of God, called out of darkness into his marvelous light, lift up your head, put a song in your mouth, love your neighbor, and do not be afraid.

Those are some rock-solid pillars under the Christian life. Thank you, Pastor John. And yes, “what a precious gift God is giving to us to discover, while we still have time, that the pillars holding up our peace are often hollow and made of papier-mâché.” What a word for this season.

[ John Piper ]

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“How Do I Overcome My Fear of Death?”

Everything we need in life and death was bought by the blood of Jesus. We have nothing to fear — not even death.

The fear of death keeps people off jets and into cars, a more deadly form of transportation. The fear of death exerts tremendous force over people in this world. It makes us irrational. So what counsel do we have for Christians who live under a perpetual fear of their own mortality? The question arrives from a woman who has not given us her name.

“Hello, Pastor John, I have listened to the podcast on YouTube for several months now and finally built up enough courage to ask a question. I have been building a relationship with God and have thankfully been delivered from a love of alcohol. I am 25, married to a godly man, but have been struggling with the thought of death on a daily basis. I think it started when my friend passed last year. Before that a friend of mine, and my sister, just months apart, both had dreams that I died while I was still drinking. By the grace of God he allowed me to let go of that habit, but I can’t stop thinking that something will happen. I decided to get to the root — I have a fear of death. All I sometimes think of is dark, depressing thoughts, and I do not want to live my life like this. Please, can you give me some insight?”

[ John Piper ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9HsSoOZERk

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“How to be Free From the Fear of Death”

We’re all part of the ultimate statistic: ten out of ten people die. With no escape from this fate, we understandably have a fear of dying. This little booklet will show you not only how to alleviate your fears, but what you can do about death itself.

[ Ray Comfort – Living Waters ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2di-JpZMCE0

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“Pandemic”
(“Coronavirus: Tom Hanks Points People to Faith in God”)

When Tom Hanks and his wife tested positive for the Coronavirus, it put a face on the disease. Ironically, in his latest movie, in the midst of war his character asked God for protection from an unseen enemy. Little did he know as he and his wife casually walked the shores of the famed Bondi Beach in mid-March 2020, that in a matter of days another unseen enemy would try to take his life.

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyl3wOazMqo

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“Conquering the Fear of Death”

Conquer your fear of death with guest Pastor Glenn Meredith on the show Christ in Prophecy!

[ Christ In Prophecy – Interviews Glenn Meredith ]

TV Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUhlaiTkCQk

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“Why Christians Need Not Fear Death”

[ John MacArthur ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx-EIiIGH-g

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“Save Yourself Some Pain”

Becoming a Christian is the most incredible event that will ever take place in your life. If you have obeyed the gospel by trusting in Jesus Christ, then you have made peace with your Creator. You have found everlasting life! Be assured, God will never leave you nor forsake you. He has brought you this far and He will complete the wonderful work He has begun in you. God knows your every thought, your every care, and your deepest concerns.

Let’s look at some of those possible concerns. First, and of primary concern, do you have “assurance” of your salvation? The Bible says to “make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10), so let’s go through a short checklist to make sure that you are truly saved:

Are you aware that God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 3:16), and that He died for the sins of the world?
Did you come to the Savior because you knew that you had sinned against God?
Are you convinced that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for your sins, and that He rose again on the third day?
Did you truly repent and put your faith in Jesus?
God acquits us from the Courtroom of Eternal Justice on the grounds that Jesus Christ paid our fine. We are “justified” (made right with God) by His suffering death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was God’s seal of approval signifying that His precious blood was sufficient to pay the fine.

Think of it this way. Imagine you have violated the law and face a $50,000 fine, which you cannot pay. You tell the judge that you are truly sorry for your crime, but he answers, “You should be sorry; you have broken the law. Now you must pay this fine.” He can acquit you only if the fine is paid. If someone else pays your fine for you, then he can let you go.

The reason we need a substitute (a Savior) to pay our “fine” is that we have broken God’s moral Law. We can see that we have transgressed this Law by looking at a few of the Ten Commandments: Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen something? Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Have you ever lusted? If you answered “Yes” to these questions, you admit that you are a lying, thieving adulterer at heart, and you have to face a holy God on Judgment Day! If you have used His name in vain (such as “OMG”), then you are guilty of “blasphemy”—you’ve substituted God’s holy name for a curse word. If you’ve hated someone, the Bible says that you are a murderer. You have violated God’s holy Law and are in big trouble. On Judgment Day, you will be found guilty and end up in Hell. That’s why you need the Savior. [more…]

Article: https://www.livingwaters.com/save-yourself-some-pain/

Printed Booklet: http://store.livingwaters.com/gospel-tracts/booklets/save-yourself-some-pain.html

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“Lessons from Spurgeon on Coronavirus”

Tim Dieppe takes a close look at how Charles Spurgeon preached during a cholera epidemic and what we can learn about how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers of the Victorian era. Known as the ‘Prince of Preachers’, it is estimated that he preached the gospel to over a million people, and personally baptised 15,000 new believers converted under his ministry. He was called to pastor New Park Street Chapel in Southwark, London in April 1854 aged just 19 years old. Later that summer there was a cholera epidemic.

Lessons from the cholera epidemic
This epidemic resulted in over 600 deaths, a mortality rate of 12.8% in some parts of the city. Three quarters of the residents of Soho fled the area in one week. I think there is much to learn from how Spurgeon responded to cholera that is relevant to how we should respond to coronavirus today. Geoff Chang has helpfully written about Spurgeon’s pastoral response, drawing largely on Spurgeon’s autobiography. In this article, I want to look at what Spurgeon said in his sermons at the time to see what lessons can be drawn from them.

Fear of death
In a sermon preached on 18 February 1855 Spurgeon spoke of the fear of death:

“Who is the man that does not fear to die? I will tell you. The man that is a believer. Fear to die! Thank God, I do not. The cholera may come again next summer—I pray God it may not; but if it does, it matters not to me: I will toil and visit the sick by night and by day, until I drop; and if it takes me, sudden death is sudden glory.”

On 14 October 1855, in a sermon on Psalm 90:1 he spoke of experiencing God’s protection:

“Hast thou known what it is to dwell securely in God, to enter into the Most High, and laugh to scorn the anger, the frowns, the sneers, the contempt, the slander and calumny of men; to ascent into the sacred place of the pavilion of the Most High, and to abide under the shadow of the Almighty, and to feel thyself secure? And mark thee, thou mayest do this. In times of pestilence it is possible to walk in the midst of cholera and death, singing—

‘Plagues and deaths around me fly, Till he please, I cannot die.’

It is possible to stand exposed to the utmost degree of danger, and yet to feel such a holy serenity that we can laugh at fear; too great, too mighty, too powerful through God to stoop for one moment to the cowardice of trembling.”

Assurance of salvation
On 15 April 1855, he used cholera to illustrate how one can experience assurance of salvation:

“You cannot say, can you, that you have all your salvation? But a Christian can. He can walk through the cholera and the pestilence, and feel that should the arrow smite him, death would be to him the entrance of life; he can lie down and grieve but little at the approach of dissolution, for he has all his salvation; his jewels are in his breast, gems which shall shine in heaven.”

Conviction of sin
On 18 January 1857 Spurgeon spoke of the conviction that the cholera epidemic brought, but then how many had subsequently turned away from God.

“How many of the same sort of confessions, too, have we seen in times of cholera, and fever, and pestilence! Then our churches have been crammed with hearers, who, because so many funerals have passed their doors, or so many have died in the street, could not refrain from going up to God’s house to confess their sins. And under that visitation, when one, two, and three have been lying dead in the house, or next door, how many have thought they would really turn to God! But, alas! when the pestilence had done its work, conviction ceased; and when the bell had tolled the last time for a death caused by cholera, then their hearts ceased to beat with penitence, and their tears did flow no more.”

‘The Voice of Cholera’ Sermon
On 12 August 1866, Spurgeon preached a sermon on Amos 3:3-6 titled “The Voice of Cholera”. A new epidemic of cholera had broken out in the East End which claimed 5,596 lives.

Cleanliness is valuable

Spurgeon praises advances in cleanliness, better dwellings for the poor, and scientific research which had successfully mitigated the spread of cholera. He criticises those who thought that the disease should be left to its own devices. In a representative section, he says:

“It seems to me that this disease is to a great extent in our own hands, and that if all men would take scrupulous care as to cleanliness, and if better dwellings were provided for the poor, and if overcrowding were effectually prevented, and if the water-supply could be larger, and other sanitary improvements could be carried out, the disease, most probably, would not occur; or, if it did visit us occasionally, as the result of filth in other countries, it would be in a very mitigated form.

“The gospel has no quarrel with ventilation, and the doctrines of grace have no dispute with chloride of lime. We preach repentance and faith, but we do not denounce whitewash; and much as we advocate holiness, we always have a good word for cleanliness and sobriety.”

Judgement of God
But then he goes on to say:

“On the other hand, it is even more common for those who look to natural causes alone to sneer at believers who view the disease as a mysterious scourge from the hand of God. It is admitted that it would be most foolish to neglect the appointed means of averting sickness; but sneer who may, we believe it to be equally an act of folly to forget that the hand of the Lord is in all this.”

He sees the cholera epidemic as a judgement of God and therefore calls for prayer and repentance for the people of London and the nation as a whole. He highlights four sins in particular that the people of London should repent of. Drunkenness, licentiousness, neglect of worship, and Popery in the church – by which he means neglect of the gospel in the Established Church.

“In our Established Church the gospel is no longer dominant, albeit that a little band of good and faithful men still linger in it, and are like a handful of salt amid general putrefaction.”

And so, making use of his text from Amos:

“Can two walk together, then, except they be agreed? And as these things cannot be supposed to be agreeable to the mind and will of God, we cannot wonder if there should be a plague upon our cattle, and then a plague upon men, and if these should come sevenfold as heavy as they have ever come as yet.”

Then, interpreting the next phrase of his text to mean that God never speaks without reason, he argues:

“My brethren, our God is too gracious to send us this cholera without a motive; and he is moreover too wise, for we all know that judgments frequently repeated lose their force.

“Think you the Lord does this for nothing? The great Lion of vengeance has not roared unless sin has provoked him.”

He then challenges the Christians as to how far they have been complicit in the sins he has listed.

“Since I have already indicated our great public sins, I should like to ask Christians present how far they have been concerned in them.”

“And so with the other sins which we have indicated. Have we all borne our earnest, fervent protest against them?”

Spurgeon uses his text to argue that nothing happens by chance.

“God ruleth and overruleth all things, and he doeth nothing without a motive.

“Let us conclude most surely that a purpose, consistent with the love and justice of God, lies hidden in the present harvest of death.”

For the spread of the gospel
And what it this purpose?

“If you ask me what I think to be the design, I believe it to be this—to waken up our indifferent population, to make them remember that there is a God, to render them susceptible of the influences of the gospel, to drive them to the house of prayer, to influence their minds to receive the Word, and moreover to startle Christians into energy and earnestness, that they may work while it is called to-day.

“Already I have been told by Christian brethren labouring in the east of London, that there is a greater willingness to listen to gospel truth, and that if there be a religious service it is more acceptable to the people now than it was; for which I thank God as an indication that affliction is answering its purpose.”

God has done it
The final clause of his text reads: “Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?” Spurgeon argues:

“Here is not intended moral evil — that rests with man— but physical evil, the evil of pestilence or famine! Shall there be cholera in the city, and God hath not done it? My soul cowered down under the majesty of that question, as I read it; it seemed to stretch its black wings over my head, and had I not known them to be the wings of God, I should have been afraid. The text talked with me in this fashion: — It is not the cholera which has slain these hundreds, the cholera was but the sword; the hand which scattered death is the hand of a greater than mere disease. God himself is, traversing London.”

Spurgeon concludes by exhorting his hearers to submit to God in repentance and prayer.

Lessons from Spurgeon
Spurgeon did not face coronavirus, but he did face the deadly cholera. He boldly preached that God was ruling over it and using it for his purposes. He struck a helpful balance between the extent to which we can take responsibility through cleanliness and the use of science, and the fact that God is nevertheless very much involved and using it for his purposes. Spurgeon called the nation and the city to repentance. He urged Christians to be vigilant in protesting about the sins of the nation. He called individuals to repent of their sins and get right with God. These are all helpful guides for how the church in the UK can respond to coronavirus today.

[ Tim Dieppe ]

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“The Deadliest Infection and Greatest Cure You Can Have”

Hold on and brace yourself for these two bold and sobering truths. Today’s sophisticated culture does not accept them, and they may offend you. Everyone is going to hell, and the Lord has set up the agency of humankind to let the whole world know there is another option. Now, the big question: Do you believe in the exclusivity (Jesus is the only way to heaven) of the Christian message?

For All Are Infected
If you do believe this, how are you cooperating with the Lord in letting the world know about their amazing redemption opportunity (Romans 10:13-14)? In the movie World War Z, a worldwide zombie outbreak began to take over humanity. Each person bitten by a zombie turned into a zombie.

The Brad Pitt character was supposed to find and secure a deadly, but curable disease that makes all those inoculated invisible to the zombies. I am sure the writers of the movie were not thinking of humanity’s redemption story, though it is a running parallel to ours. The deadly disease of sin has bitten and infected all of us. See Numbers 21:6; Romans 5:12, 3:23.

Our infection has turned us into Adamic-zombies. The only cure is for one man (Jesus) to take our sin-infection and defeat it, which He did (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now, every person who is injected by Christ has a rebirth—a new creation. See Numbers 21:9; John 3:14; 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Some Have Found the Cure
One of the most striking things about the Brad Pitt character was his utter desperation as he pursued the correct pathogen that would save the world. While his story is fiction, ours is not. You and I have been infected by a deadly disease that would have sent us to hell if it were not for the interrupting salvation that came through Jesus. We now own the right pathogen. We know the truth that will set the world free (John 8:32). This reality begs a few questions.

How desperate are you to get the message of Christ to the world?
Are you a missionary to your part of the world?
How is your life setup and directed to tell others about Jesus?
Everybody who does not believe in Jesus will go to hell (Revelation 20:15). The exclusivity of Jesus—there is no other way to God—puts the onus on us to tell the world about the only way, the only truth, and the unique life that will give a person the right to enter heaven (John 14:6).

Why Are You Here?
The Lord left us on earth not to become smarter, wealthier, happier, or more fulfilled primarily. He left us here to pursue humanity so they can hear the gospel message. His last words to us were missional. I’m not trying to be unkind or manipulate you into a reflective guilt trip. But I do see a significant opportunity that the Lord has placed in our laps, and some Christians are too complacent or preoccupied.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).

Our entire lives, post-salvation, should be about finding people to tell them about Jesus. Why? Because everybody is going to hell. It is so easy to become myopic when it comes to our lives. We can quickly lose sight of Calvary and eternity. We live in the here and now where the cares of our lives can dominate our thinking (Mark 4:19). Spreading the truth about a Redeemer could become a tertiary matter.

Love-Struck By Trinkets
It would make no sense if Brad Pitt found the pathogen, which he did, and then inoculate himself so he could live large on the planet while everyone else died under the curse of the zombies. One of the most disturbing things I see with a few believers in the church is how they have flipped Matthew 6:33 on its head.

Rather than seeking what God wants, we can become love-struck by all the trinkets of the Gentiles. We have succumbed to the bombardment of materialism. Our lives are measured and compared to success on earth, not success in the eyes of the Lord (Joshua 1:8).

It is ironic how most of our waking hours can be wrapped around earthly desires when the Lord said He would give us what we need. The reason He said He would provide all we need to live is so we would not spend our waking hours thinking about how to live on earth.

Just One More
Resting in His provision releases us to spend our time thinking about telling people about Jesus. But like in the days of Babel (Genesis 11:6), when the Lord gives an inch, we take a mile. The Lord offers the provision we need, and we like it so much that we crave more. Before long, our lives are defined by what we want and what we have.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-22).

How much do you need to be happy? When is enough, enough?
What kind of seeker are you? A kingdom of God seeker or kingdom of earth seeker?
If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort, you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair. – C. S. Lewis

What Are You Thinking?
One of the most useful questions you can ask yourself regarding your kingdom pursuit is, “What do you primarily spend your time thinking about?” A kingdom of God builder cannot stop thinking about how to position himself most effectively in God’s world to make God’s name great.

A kingdom of earth builder cannot stop thinking about how to position himself most effectively in their world for his purposes and comforts. The former is thinking about God and what He wants. The latter is thinking about himself and what he wants. There is no in-between. You are working hard for God, or you are busting it for yourself.

The sports gods, education gods, money gods, and materialism gods are the new forbidden fruit that tempts us to walk away from the Lord (Genesis 3:6). We succumb to Satan’s Plan B. He cannot capture our souls, which is his Plan A, so he captures our minds and our time.

Get Untangled
If we believe that Jesus is the only way, it is the pinnacle of selfish hate not to do all we can to let others know there is hell in their future. We should not seek to have it both ways, a worldview that says, “I am a Christian, and I want to have a great life on earth, even if it means I will spend my life making sure my family and I have a great life experience.”

Exclusivity without invitation is pompous and repulsive, but exclusivity with invitation is hopeful. – Jim Thompson

The Lord has two desires for us. Become a Christian, and spend your life telling others how to become Christians while trusting Him to take care of you. My mission’s professor, said, “Let the pagans build the bridges.” His worldview kept him un-entangled from the cares of this life, while he spent his days strategizing how to tell others about the experience to come.

Who Is He?
One of the more famous of all of the C. S. Lewis quotes sums up what I’m saying quite well. Will you read it while asking this question: Is the gospel true: did God come to earth as a man? Will you also make a plan to talk about what Lewis is saying with a friend?

I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.

Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. – C. S. Lewis

Scripture’s Testimony
Peter – “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).

Paul – “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

John – “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12).

Jesus – I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

Who do you believe Jesus to be? That is the question. If He is the Son of God, who came down to save humanity, then you have two choices to make: Will I become a Christian? Will I spend my life telling others about Christ?

It is a mental challenge to think about Jesus as being the only way when you think about people who have never heard of Him. It can be overwhelming. Placing an unfair burden on you is not my goal. First-world people find it hard to think about other people who are not like them. We don’t live anywhere else, we do not know them, and we are not attached to them.

Do One Thing
We can live our entire lives without giving much more than a courtesy nod to those who live in other places, who will never hear the gospel message. And because the Lord chose the agency of humankind to tell others about His Son, it’s on us to do so. These lost people will die and go to hell.

It’s possible for someone to hear a message like this and feel overwhelmed, manipulated or “guilted” into inaction or over-reaction. Don’t do that. You cannot participate in every ministry or say, “yes,” to everyone who asks you for something. But you can do something. Everyone can’t be a pastor, pro-life worker, or ministry leader. You will have to choose your one thing.

Pick one slice of the Adamic problem and begin working that space for the Lord’s glory and humanity’s benefit. This perspective is what I appreciate about our Mastermind Students. They are preparing themselves for the call of Jesus on their lives. Most of them do not know precisely where their training is going to take them, but all of them are in faith to become equipped for whatever the Lord has in mind.

Call to Action
Unfortunately, much of the Christian church has bought into a two-tier system: those who are in ministry doing ministry things, and the rest of us who live our lives. God is looking for regular people, who see ministry as all of life rather than a specific job description for religious people.

Is there anything in your life that hinders you from reformatting your life to become a missionary in your part of the world?
What do you need to do to become a better fit to the call of our Lord—to go and make disciples?

Many people have become so entangled in the world that they do not know where to start to become untangled. Please let us help you think through this.
If you want to learn more from us, you may go to our Topical Index to find all of our articles. They are free. Please spend time choosing and studying those that interest you.

If you want to talk to us, we have free forums for anyone and private forums for those who support this ministry financially. If you want to help us keep our resources free, please consider supporting us here.
If you wish to study more about this article, please explore the materials that I have linked on this page.

Whatever time you have left on this terrestrial ball, let us figure out how to position yourself to become a bold gospel proclaimer. There is no other kind of life worth living. Being a missionary for Christ is a biblical success.

[ Rick Thomas ]

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“Quarantine Life”

[ Greg Laurie ]

How To Cope With Quarantine Life:
Part 1:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvaUH3TEfsc
Part 2: https://www.facebook.com/harvest.greglaurie/videos/what-do-you-live-for-quarantine-life-pt-2/524819838200454/

The Cure To Worry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8D3TTHlXUY

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“Is Coronavirus a Sign of the End Times”

Is Coronavirus a Sign of the End Times? Pastor Greg Laurie digs deep into God’s word to take a look at this pandemic and the coming signs of the End-Times. Are we getting close to the return of Jesus Christ? Will we be raptured soon? All this and more will be discussed!

[ Greg Laurie ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C98bn_xkFWU

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“In the Face of Coronavirus”

Perry introduces a clip from Dr. David Jeremiah’s recent sermon, where he discussed a couple of things we can do in the face of coronavirus

[ David Jeremiah ]

Sermon Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyb05V8TcEY

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“When Suffering Only Gets Worse”

It was 38 years ago, the summer of 1982, when everything changed. I will always remember the day when our expectations about life began to crumble as we were plunged, quite unwillingly and unexpectedly, into the world of brokenness and disability.

Our 3-month old daughter, Jessica, was diagnosed with profound disabilities. It was as though the earth gave way and we were in a free fall. After all, we were serving God in “full-time ministry” with Young Life. Why would this happen to us? During those days, and many times since, we had to ask ourselves, Is Romans 8:28 true? Does God really work all things for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose?

Often Quoted, Rarely Believed?
With time and perspective, through the years, I have often told people that Romans 8:28 is one of the most frequently quoted, yet possibly the least believed, verses in all the Bible. It shouldn’t be quoted less, but more whole-heartedly believed.

When people enter the shadows of the valley, be like Job’s friends and simply sit with them (as they did the first week). Sit with them, weep, be silent. We remember people’s presence, not necessarily what they said — unless they began quoting trite answers to our deep wounds.

If you are like we were, we desperately needed friends to hold us, weep with us, allow us to verbalize our pain and questions with no expectation of a good answer. The Bible calls this lament, and there is a place for that. In the midst of the valleys, we often need the Psalms. Romans 8:28 is a clear reminder of the goodness and sovereignty of God. It is a necessary strong tower, farther downstream from the loss and brokenness. And we all experience loss and brokenness.

All Things Are Not Good
Let’s be honest: All things are not good. Heartbreak, loss, disabling conditions, crime, tornados, death — these are all ultimately products of the Fall and sin. The whole creation groans (Romans 8:22). But our God is a Sovereign who takes our sin and our brokenness and turns it, in his providential wisdom and timing, into his blessings for his people. But let’s also be clear: Sometimes bad things happen, and it just gets worse. For those who are outside of God’s redemptive promises, bad things can happen and despair leads to hopelessness.

But biblical hope is another reality altogether. The letter to the Hebrews calls hope an anchor for the soul. And when the storms of life threaten to break up the ship, you need an anchor that holds. The promise of redemption — body and soul. When all things are not good in this life, we know that in Christ all things will be perfect in the next.

Indispensable Members
We have a son in the Navy who made this observation recently: The anchor is connected to the ship by heavy links in the chain. That is key to the anchor’s mission. The heavier the links, the better the anchor. The people of God and the promises of God are the links in the chain keeping the suffering saint connected to the anchor of hope. All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purposes — and this includes being connected to God’s people, the church. We are parts of a body and we desperately need the connections when we are weak, vulnerable, and broken.

God hardly ever does things the way we expect. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul unfolds the metaphor of the body saying the weak and unpresentable parts are indispensable. That means those who live with brokenness and disability are a gift to the church and are a necessary part of Christ’s body. If you are part of a family living with disability, the local church needs you desperately. Show up! Bring your ministry of presence, and God will work through you.

Joy with Chronic Sorrow
Does this mean everything will be okay, that things will get better?

In God’s mercy and grace, maybe — but then again, maybe not. All those years ago, we learned what “chronic sorrow” means. Nearly four decades later, moments surprise us when we feel the pain of unrealized dreams for our disabled child. But this is not to say there can be no joy.

Tolkien wrote that joy and sorrow are very close to each other. “The Resurrection was the greatest ‘eucatastrophe’ possible in the greatest Fairy Story — and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled, as selfishness and altruism are lost in Love” (Letters, 100).

In another essay, Tolkien said sorrow “is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of joy, joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief” (Tree and Leaf). And Paul said the same thing two-thousand years earlier: saints can live “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10) — both realities experienced at the same time.

The Great Tapestry
Are you just starting a dark part of your journey? Perhaps you have been in the valley for years and you are realizing the future may not get easier. Truth is still true. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and God still works all things for good for those who love him and are called according to his purposes. It is okay to feel and express sorrow at what has been lost or broken. But at the same time, deep and abiding joy can be present because we know the end of the story.

Joni Eareckson Tada famously and wisely says, “Sometimes God uses what he hates to accomplish what he loves.” Linger over that. Let it settle in for a moment. This is a different facet, a new angle, on Romans 8:28. While all things are not good, God is so gracious that he promises to use even our broken lives for much greater purposes such as to make us like Christ and to exalt his glory.

God is creating a great tapestry of which we are a part, even our dark threads. Our problem with this divine tapestry is that the Artist knows, sees, and continues to create the design on the upper side; but we see the lower side with dangling threads and only a faint image of the beauty to come. So we hope in Christ. We cling to the promises of God that nothing is wasted. Even our brokenness and sorrow will be used for good. So we take heart.

[ Michael Beates ]

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“Treasure in Your Trials”

You can find HOPE in the midst of your trials. Discover how God wants to give you the “treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, so that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name,” (Isaiah 45:3, NASB) in this timely message by Tony Evans for the April 5, 2020 streaming service of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship.

[ Tony Evans ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkM1LjCsTSo

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“The Cure”

April 19, 2020

[ Tony Evans ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kcz5MCEAyo

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“Exhortation to Press On”

[ Paul Washer ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6C3SEbzcwQ

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“Finding Security in a Troubled World”

[ John MacArthur ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=x3PyJ7yOnkE

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“Facing Adversity? This Retired Military General Wants To Help You Develop Resilience”

Retired Major General Bob Dees talks about how we can develop our resilience to overcome life’s greatest adversities.

[ Bob Dees is interviewed ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78fMUvkwO4o

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“Facing Uncharted Territory: Facing Uncertain Times”

Like the Israelites entering the Promised Land, we’re entering uncharted territory in our battle against COVID-19. We don’t know God’s plans, but we know what He has done throughout the pages of the Bible. And that is what we can count on. Dr. David Jeremiah reminds us that the God who sheltered His people in biblical days won’t stop now.

[ David Jeremiah ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3mb5MKP9M

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“We Are Not Alone – We All Face Fears”

Dr. David Jeremiah goes in-depth about facing our fears, highlights some of the many accounts of fear in the Bible, and shares how fear played a role in his personal battle with cancer.

[ David Jeremiah ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoHMGT7IMYg

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“Why We Do Not Need To Fear Disaster”

Dr. David Jeremiah discusses the common fear of disaster and why we do not need to fear.

[ 100 Huntley ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP9WVBTTjeo

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“Why Does God Allow So Much Suffering and Evil?”

One of the most pressing challenges to Christianity is the problem of evil. Unbelievers are quick to ask how Christians can believe in the existence of a good God in the face of so much evil. In this session, Dr. John MacArthur will examine what Scripture teaches regarding evil and suffering and why it exists in the world.

[ John MacArthur ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LFzk1afiD8

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“How Could a Good God Allow Evil and Suffering?”

How could a good God allow evil and suffering? In this video, we explore how the Christian and atheist worldviews account for evil and suffering and what the Bible says about the topic. We then ask a different question: “Did God make any provision for the existence of evil and can we trust him in our suffering?” And to answer this, we look to the cross where Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, suffered and died.

The video starts by answering this question from a philosophical, theological and intellectual point of view, however, towards the end of the video, Christianity Engaged Founder & CEO, David Erhart, provides practical advice for anyone going through personal and emotional pain.

The video concludes by sharing Corrie ten Boom’s powerful true story, bringing the videos’ dramatic introduction scene involving World War II and the holocaust full circle.

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmmuxlbolMA

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“Overcoming Doubts”

I am Pastor Brandon Holthaus, and I want to welcome you to our Rock Harbor Church’s YouTube Channel. We desire to reach people with the truth; believers and unbelievers alike. We teach the scriptures at a more in depth level with practical application. We also connect dots of events that are happening in the world from a Biblical perspective and also a prophetic perspective. We offer prophecy updates, discipleship lessons, and sermons to help people grow in the Lord and come to the knowledge of the truth

[ Brandon Holthaus ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4gpFVIiFUs

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“Coping with Crisis”

This series is part of Rock Harbor Church’s counseling ministry. With the lack of Biblical counseling in the world, we were led to provide online help for people who are not experiencing the abundant life, and to begin their journey to become more like Christ in their attitudes, thinking, and behavior.

[ Brandon Holhaus ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI0RJd3E7Eo
Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQJ9kxYO7rY
Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZUprPyDStw

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“How to Deal with Dark Times”

Prayers [like Psalm 88] indicate God’s understanding: he knows how people speak when they’re desperate; he identifies with us in our suffering.

[ Tim Keller ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulmaUtbayGY

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“God’s Presence In COVID-19”

Dr. Stanley reminds us how God is ever-present and how we should all treat this virus as a wake up call, especially those who haven’t surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ.

I have a question I want you to consider: Where is God in the midst of this coronavirus? And the answer is: He is where He has always been, in the heavens ruling over all. The Scripture says, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). He rules over everything and everybody.

Throughout the years, God has protected us from so many disasters. We’ve been living safely between two vast bodies of water, the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

While we have experienced short periods of heartache and suffering in times of war and 9/11, we have been spared the kind of trouble and affliction this virus has brought upon us. It isn’t “over there” or “over yonder,” but on our streets, in our homes, and throughout our land, and it is getting more painful with each passing day.

Throughout the years, God has protected us from so many disasters.
While we may feel like blaming someone else for these painful and deadly times, we ought to look up and ask God, “What’s happening and why have You allowed this?”

Is there any correlation between this virus and the alarming increase in the rate of crime, abortions, murders, drunkenness, drug addiction, divorces, gambling, school shootings, and fewer people going to church? Is it because we’ve outlawed prayer in schools and public meetings, or because we have allowed atheistic teaching in our colleges and universities, and liberal theology in our seminaries?

Have we ignored God’s warnings during other periods of suffering to the point that God has decided to rain down upon us a period of suffering beyond our control?

If so, what should be our response?

We should repent of our sins, whatever they may be, surrendering our lives to God through His Son Jesus Christ. We should take personal responsibility for our lifestyles.

The Bible is clear: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). That means He always will. And He has the right to forgive us through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

This is a “wakeup call” to America! This is more than a physical disease; it is a warning from God! And you would be wise to see it as that.

A PRAYER FOR WORLDWIDE REVIVAL AND SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. O Lord God of hosts, restore us; cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. —PSALM 80:18-19

Lord God Almighty, truly You are worthy of all worship and praise. Yet I know, Father, that there are still so many who do not know You as Savior, and, in many areas, Your church is struggling. Therefore, Father, I come before You to ask for Your intervention—help us to exalt You. Revive Your church throughout the world and send a spiritual awakening among all who do not yet know Jesus as Savior.

Forgive us, Lord God, for the way Your people have drifted from You. Bring Your church to the place where we have the courage to admit that we do not have all the answers, we have made mistakes, and we have become too much like the world. Guide us into Your wisdom and teach us to do Your will. We long to trust You completely in all things and to follow You in obedience so others can know You and be saved.

Almighty God, please give Your people a hunger for Your presence, and a thirst for Your righteousness, and a boldness for proclaiming Your Word. Drive us to Scripture so we might know You anew. Help us to hear Your voice, and direct us by Your Holy Spirit so we can walk in the center of Your will and be perfectly aligned to Your purposes. Please speak unity and peace to us, Your people, so that we may carry the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who are lost and perishing. Let us not turn back to folly, Father—destroying our testimonies to the people around us. Rather, teach us to carry Your message with loving-kindness, truth, righteousness, and gentleness to the uttermost parts of the earth.

We ask You to prepare the hearts of the lost to accept Your salvation. Awaken unbelievers to their desire for Your presence and help them understand it is only available through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Give us divine appointments wherever we go, Father—that we may preach Your gospel and that many will be saved. Send believers to the unreached—yes, even to areas antagonistic to You—so that people from every nation, tribe, and tongue will worship You.

Indeed, Lord, You always give what is good, and Your Word never returns void—it always yields its produce. By Your Holy Spirit, guide our footsteps to those who long to know You, and give us the words they need to hear. Our hearts long to see every nation throughout the earth praise Your holy and wonderful name. The loving-kindness You have shown us is beyond measure, and we desire for people everywhere to know Your eternal provision of salvation through Jesus Christ.

So, Lord, please make Your people a light to the nations and an example of the Savior’s love and grace. May the lost come to understand the spiritual freedom from sin that You have so graciously provided for us. We give praise for all You are doing and will do. Thank You for reviving the church throughout the world and for bringing spiritual awakening to unbelievers. To You be all honor, glory, and worship now and forevermore.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

[ Charles Stanley ]

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“Does Christ Govern Every Storm?”

Christ stopped one storm. But does he govern every storm thereafter? Is this connection a leap? Or is it logical? It’s a question from a listener named Sophia. “Pastor John, hello! I have a question for you about God’s sovereignty over natural disasters, including tsunamis and tornadoes and floods. In the Gospels, we read that Jesus once calmed the wind and waves, leading the disciples to ask each other the glorious question in Mark 4:41: ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ Jesus can step in and stop any storm — yes and amen — an awesome and comforting reality. [more…]

[ John Piper ]

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UddSlikGfXA

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“Covid Time…The Real Fight We’re In!”

Right now – in this pandemic – we are in a real fight. It’s a fight against our runaway thoughts, anxieties and doubts. Will we remember that the Holy Spirit is our strength? Through God’s Word, we can have true victory in our body, mind and heart.

[ Jack Hibbs ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUYTFn-65a

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“What Our Response to a Pandemic Reveals about Our Beliefs”

On a global level, our response to this pandemic reveals deep truths about how human beings value each other. Biologist Xandra Carroll examines this in light of naturalism, survival of the fittest, and psychology.

“You are precious in my eyes, and I love you.” –Isaiah 43:4

A wise woman once told me, “You never know what’s in your teacup until the table gets bumped.” The introduction of a new coronavirus into our global population is jarring, and many of us are seeing our inner thoughts, desires, fears, and dreams come splashing out onto the table. Sometimes we are surprised by what we see. On a global level, our response to this pandemic reveals deep truths about how human beings value each other.

In his 1992 lecture at Cambridge University, Stephen Hawking stated that he had but one fear for humanity: that natural selection was truly the means by which we had arrived on this planet. Hawking was no fool to the logical consequences of his own philosophy. He reasoned that, if natural selection were the means by which species progress, our persistence on this planet would denote a deep level of natural aggression within the human race. Hawking often alluded to this when he spoke of our need to move to other planets in order to keep from destroying each other. He is far from alone in this view of human origins. Many people across the globe claim this philosophy, a viewpoint called “naturalism.”[1]

On a global level, our response to this pandemic reveals deep truths about how human beings value each other.

Naturalism is the theory that everything we see in reality is based on natural causes, and not on supernatural ones.[2] If we look through the lens of naturalism we see that human beings are highly-evolved animals; and metaphysical concepts like “love” and “justice” are, at bottom, our own inventions. This philosophy was a byproduct, in part, of the scientific concept known as “survival of the fittest.” “Survival of the fittest” refers to the survival of organisms that are best adapted to their environment. This phrase is often used to summarize the theory of natural selection.[3] Natural selection is commonly understood to be the process by which the best adapted, or “strong,” are naturally preserved in a population, while the “weak” die off.[4][5] This natural process serves to keep populations robust because the “strong” produce offspring for the next generation.[6]

As someone who has spent years conducting biological research and was also classically trained in philosophy, I understand the ins and outs of population dynamics, but I have a philosophical hang-up: If naturalism is true, why are we fighting tooth and claw against it? Naturalism tells us to let the weak be killed and let the strong survive. Yet, in this time of pandemic, cultures around the world are working hard to protect the vulnerable. Certainly there are some outliers who display a blatant disregard for human life. Thousands of “spring-breakers” flocked to Florida, making it a hotspot for the virus.[7] Some shoppers are buying up all the groceries, leaving none left for those with meager incomes. Others have been caught price-gouging hand sanitizer and face masks.[8][9] Yet the overall mantra of the world at large seems to be “protect the vulnerable.” COVID-19 provides a unique opportunity for any population progressing under natural selection because the virus targets elderly and immune-compromised individuals, leaving others largely unaffected.[10] Yet basically every country is moving directly against this so-called “natural process,” and thus it is clear that we as a society do not believe the claims naturalism offers us.

If naturalism is true, why are we fighting tooth and claw against it? Why do so many believe in naturalism theoretically, but abandon it in practical life?

Why do so many believe in naturalism theoretically, but abandon it in practical life? Perhaps we reject it because our memories still bear the scars of history—when societies at large employed survival of the fittest on their own people. The black and white photographs of the Nazi eugenics program and the rows of skulls following Idi Amin’s reign of terror still play upon our minds. If we don’t believe naturalism, then what do we believe? A big part of the answer comes back to philosophy.

In philosophy, there are two main ways to value something. Instrumental value is assigned to something for what it does. Inherent value denotes that something is valuable in and of itself. To illustrate, I once had a car that I really loved. I loved it because it brought me quickly and safely from A to B. I loved that car for years, all the way until the timing belt snapped. After the car was no longer useful to me, I sold it for parts, saved up my pennies and bought a new car. There was no remorse at being departed from my de-parted vehicle. Once the object had no use, it was rendered valueless. This is an example of instrumental value. Conversely, consider a man with ALS who I cared for two years ago. As his caregiver, I journeyed with him and his wife as the disease slowly took over his body. When he had to quit work and could no longer provide income, his wife continued to love him. Even after his wife could no longer sleep in the same bed, or when he became incontinent, or when he could no longer speak, she continued loving him all the same. This is an example of inherent value. The term inherent sounds a bit like inherit, and they are from the same Latin root inheriditare, a term that denotes receiving something unearned from an external source.[11] While instrumental value is conditional, inherent value can never be changed or negated because its value is contingent on something outside of itself. The question remains: If we as a human race value each other inherently, from whom have we inherited that value?

The Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Naturalism cannot sit at a table discussing equality; it has uninvited itself. In a world where humanity progresses by rejecting the weak and selecting the strong, the equality stemming from inherent value does not exist.

Arguably, we as a global society currently operate as if human beings have been endowed with inherent value on some level. We want that philosophy to be true. But what is so appealing about inherent value, especially if it means the healthy have to stay indoors to protect the vulnerable? As I write these words, I cannot help but reflect on the person of Jesus who became weak so that we might become strong. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.” Hebrews 5 describes a savior who did not exalt himself, but humbled himself before God, “and, being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”[12] He did this on our behalf; it was our own weakness that weighed him down, and our own wounds that scarred Him.[13] Now he helps us in our own weakness, bearing with us and never giving up on us. The prophet Isaiah wrote of him: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench.”[14] Even at our weakest moment, when we feel the very life in us is about to go out, Jesus is gently blowing on the wick inside our hearts, bringing that fluttering flame back to life.

When we care for each other, we come alive because we are emulating Jesus, and he enters this world to show us what a human being was meant to look like. As Peter explains, Jesus left us an example, so that we might follow in his footsteps.[15] Thus, when we show humility and compassion as He did, we are becoming more what we are meant to be–more human. It is no wonder atrocities are often labeled “inhumane.”

When we care for each other, we come alive because we are emulating Jesus, and he enters this world to show us what a human being was meant to look like.

It is illogical to say we can apply survival of the fittest to all animal populations, equate humans with animals, and then refrain from applying survival of the fittest to human populations. Certainly, taxonomically, humans reside in the kingdom Animalia, but our origins surpass flesh and bone, and in our hearts we know this to be true. In naturalism, the weak perish and the strong get stronger. In Christianity, the strongest became the weakest to save the perishing. Naturalism is the philosophy that convinces a bird to clip its own wings. Christianity teaches us the sort of love that lifts us up on the wings of an eagle, to follow the humble savior who, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant.”[16]

[ Xandra Carroll ]

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“How to Address a Lack of Faith Regarding Coronavirus”

Key Idea
My friend sent a note to me, saying they are afraid of dying as they think about the Coronavirus. They conclude that it reveals a lack of faith. I responded by saying that framing it as a “lack of faith” is not the best way to think about the struggle. I will address this supposed lack of faith, fear of death, and a better way to think about it in this daily brief. I hope that it will serve you as you care for those you love.

A Better Approach
Assessing yourself as having a lack of faith is hard to measure. It is subjective, at best. Perhaps there is another way to discern what could be happening inside of you. In this brief, I’m going to frame the discussion within our current crisis with COVID-19.

The virus has brought “pandemic concern” and worry for millions of people. It is the “heat” (external) that is revealing where we are with the Lord (internal). For some, they are thinking about the possibility of death, and they fear it. They don’t want to die.

A Time to Die
We all agree that reasonable people do not want to die unless they are advanced in years and are indeed at the end of their days, and their health is gone. A person like this may be ready to die. When my 98-year-old grandmother was at this point in her life, she had prepared her heart to go. She was in a nursing home, receiving 24/7 care, and was waiting for death. That scenario makes sense. There are other examples of folks in severe health conditions where death seems to be a better option for them.

But a young (or healthy) person is different. If you’re in this category and fear death, is it a lack of faith? I would recommend that you not frame it that way. There are other factors that you can address. Let me list a few of them for you: fear, uncertainty, worry, not taking thoughts captive, love for family, desire to serve the Lord more.

All of these things can hinder your faith, without question. But rather than trying to figure out if you don’t have enough faith, pinpoint these more “hands-on” possibilities. Your faith could be vibrant, but now you’re in a season of reflection, and it feels like a lack of faith when, maybe, you’re prone to worry, which is a temptation for you.

Apples and Oranges
My friend is thinking about all the people in other countries who died for their faith. My friend believes they can’t do that, which is why they believe there is a lack of faith issues. Do you see what they did? They are making an “argument from silence” because they are not in that type of situation where someone is standing over them, asking them to deny their faith or die. My friend’s situation and an objective life-threatening situation are two different things.

There is a difference between someone standing over you and threatening your life and a subjective possibility of dying if “such and such” happen, but aren’t happening now. You could also say, “I have a lack of faith because people die in automobiles, and I may too.” Yes, you could die in a car if you drive recklessly. And you could die from a disease if you live without caution. Those outcomes are possible, but the question remains: is it best to address it from the lack of faith angle or something else that you can change?

Future Worry
What you don’t want to do is create “potential worry” or “future worry,” and then bring it into your current situation. If you do that, you could conclude that you don’t have enough faith for something that is not happening to you right now. Jesus talked about this kind of thinking in Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Anyone can create future possibilities or potential scenarios, and bring them into where they are today and struggle with their faith. Let me give you an example. A young, unmarried teenager says she is afraid of having a baby because of all the pain. She concludes that she does not have enough faith. Do you see what she did? Would the best approach be to address her “lack of faith,” or could you help her another way?

Underlying Problems
It would be better to discuss things that she could tackle. For example, there is a lack of wisdom in that statement. There is also worry, anxiety, inability to take thoughts captive, not understanding grace when you need it, and God’s sovereign care of our lives. These things that she is struggling with would be an excellent discipleship opportunity so you could address these underlying issues.

Her “current faith” could be vibrant. But if she continues down this path of thinking, it could weaken or hinder her faith. Thus, rather than addressing her faith, speak to the things that may lead to the compromising of her faith.

[ Rick Thomas ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSAUEYde96c

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“Why is God Allowing All This?”

Pastor J.D. tackles the tough question of why God allows a global crisis like we’re experiencing today.

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW_tX4AJmTA

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“Puritan-related Material on Plagues and Pestilences”

Below you will find some bibliographical links to works by the Puritans (and other Reformed preachers) that will feed you with much helpful material for the times in which we live (No, I have not read them all!) Though not every detail will relate to our COVID-19 days, much that is written here will set us on a solid biblical foundation. [more…]

[ Joel Beeke ]

Article: http://www.joelbeeke.org/2020/03/puritan-related-material-on-plagues-and-pestilences/

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“The Sinfulness of Sin” (eBook)

The just vindication of the Law of God, and no less just accusation and condemnation of the sin of man.

SIN, The Plague of Plagues, was first published in 1669, four years after the Great Plague of London. The author wrote: “As to the sinfulness of sin, I have indeed handled it most fully, as it is against man’s good and happiness.”

‘Was then that which is good made death to me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.’ (Romans 7.13)

Being about to treat of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, it is not only expedient, but necessary that I preface and premise certain things:

(1) That God made all things very good (Genesis 1:31). They were all endowed with the perfections which were suitable to their several beings, so that none of them could find fault with or complain of God, as if he had owed them any thing or had made them defective.

(2) Yet of these the two most eminent and principal degrees of creatures quickly degenerated. Some of the angels sinned, and kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation (Jude 6). And by giving way to their subtle insinuations, the man Adam, who was a common person, sinned also (Genesis 3). And thus ‘by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned’ (Romans 5.12).

(3) As to the angels that fell, God left them irrecoverable. For God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (2 Peter 2.4), and has reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day (Jude 6). Christ Jesus, the Mediator and Redeemer, took not on him angels, or, as it is in the margin, takes not hold of angels (Hebrews 2.16). But it pleased God to pity man; his saving grace and loving-kindness have appeared to man, and that, in Christ Jesus (Titus 2.11; 3.4). His delight was with the sons of men, the habitable parts of the earth (Proverbs 8.31), and therefore he took on him the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 2.16).

(4) This doctrine of God our Saviour, the Gospel-doctrine, supposes that man is a sinner. It is a faithful saying, and worthy of the best and all acceptance and reception, that Christ Jesus came into the world (on this very errand and for this purpose) to save sinners (1 Timothy 1.15). The doctrine of repentance supposes also that man has done amiss (Matthew 9. 13). The doctrine of faith in another for righteousness and hope concludes man to be without righteousness and hope in himself (Ephesians 2.12,13). The end of Christ’s sending the Holy Spirit was that he might, in the first place, convince of sin (John 16.8).

These things being so, beside others which might be considered, it cannot but be extremely useful to let men see what sin is: how prodigiously vile, how deadly mischievous, and therefore how monstrously ugly and odious a thing sin is. Thus a way may be made

(1) For admiring the free and rich grace of God.

(2) For believing in our Lord Jesus Christ.

(3) For vindicating the holy, just and good law of God, and his condemnation of sinners for breaking it.

(4) For hating sin, and repenting for and from it, thereby taking a holy, just and good revenge on it and ourselves.

(5) That we may love and serve God at a better rate than we ever did in the little and short time of innocence itself.

(6) And, lastly, that this black spot may serve to set off the admirable, incomparable and transcendent beauty of holiness.

And now to the text itself, which may have this for its title: The just vindication of the Law of God, and no less just accusation and condemnation of the sin of man. Its connexion with what precedes is as follows: the Apostle had said that the commandment which was ordained to life, he found to be unto death. Hence an objection is raised, in verse 13: Seeing the commandment is good, how then can it be unto death? ‘Was that which was good made death to me?’ To this he answers:

(1) By way of negation and abhorrence, ‘God forbid!’ Far be it from me or anyone else to think so! No! By no means! To find fault with the law would be to find fault with God. The law is not to be blamed. What is, then? for something is to be blamed.

(2.) To this he answers, by way of affirmation and accusation, that sin is the true cause of death. The commandment condemns, or is death to man, not of itself, but because of sin. Hereby sin appears–not only like itself, but itself–sin, yea sinful, yea exceeding sinful sin; not in a disguise, as it is when committed, but in its own lively colours, or as we should rather and more appropriately say, its dead and deadly colours.

It is, he says, ‘Hamartia’, sin in the abstract, and that is reiterated and repeated for certainty and assurance, as Pharaoh’s dream was. It is sin, it is sin, and this sin is ‘Hamartolos’, sinful or a sinner; it is nothing else but sinning and sinful sin. It is masculinely and vigorously sinful–for though Erasmus concludes that this conjunction of masculine and feminine in the Greek is the Attic dialect, others think that the Apostle brings in sin as if it were a person. In verses 17 and 20 he says: ‘It is not I, but sin’, as if it were a person. Unless we may read it as Faius does: that the ‘Hamartolos’, the sinner, might become sin; this is the same sense as the objection made in verse 7, Is the law sin?; that is, Is it criminal and guilty? But, however we read it, we are sure of this, that it denotes the malignant, pestilent and pernicious nature and operation of sin, its own name being the worst that can be given to it. Yet, as if this were not meaningful enough, it is so Kath huperbolon, exceeding, above measure, excessively, or in the highest degree sinful. For a hyperbole is an extraordinary and the highest degree of speaking. The Arabic version has it superans excessum; it is extremely, indeed beyond all expression, sinful.

I may illustrate the scope and meaning of all this by a common occurrence: It is as if a criminal said to the judge, Oh, my Lord, how cruel and unmerciful you are to condemn me to die! No, says the judge, it is not I, it is the law. I am only the mouth of the law. No, says the law, it is not I, it is sin. If you had not sinned, I would not have condemned, for ‘the law is not against the righteous’ (1 Timothy 1.9). No, against such there is no law (Galatians 5.23), no condemnation from it. You may then in me, as in a glass, see what a deadly, destructive and killing thing your sin is. Every mouth must be stopped, there is no room for complaint against God or his law, for, like all others, by becoming guilty you have fallen short of the glory, and are subject to the judgment of God (Romans 3.19-23). So, by the commandment, sin appears to be a desperate, malignant thing, the proper, true and only cause of man’s condemnation and death.

From this brief yet clear account of the text and context, the following truths are deducible:

1. The law of God as a whole and in every part is good. It is not only not sin, i.e. not culpable or criminal (verse 7), or only just (verse 12), or spiritual (verse 14), but good (verses 12,13) It is good, not only in itself, but relatively in its institution with respect to man, for it was ordained to life (verse 10).

2. This good law, when transgressed, makes man over to death. Patience, that temperate and harmless thing, if abused, turns to rage and fury. So the law, good though it be, when abused condemns and kills.

3. Though the law condemns man’s fault, and man for his fault, yet still the law is good and not to be blamed. The law is as good as ever it was; it is to be justified by man, even when it condemns man. Man had no reason to break the law, and he has none to find fault with the law, though it binds men over to death for breaking it.

4. It is not the law, but sin, that works man’s death and ruin. Sin aims at no less, and if grace does not prevent, it will end in no less, for the end and wages of sin is death (Romans 6.21,23).

5. Sin works man’s death and destruction by that which is good, namely, the law. When sin has used man to break the law, it uses the law to break man, to undo him by condemnation and death.

6. Sin is therefore exceedingly sinful and wicked. It is most immeasurably spiteful, poisonous and pernicious, because it kills men. And not only so, but it kills them by that which is good, and was appointed to man for life; it turns food into poison. Ut agnoscatur quam sceleratus peccator sit hoc peccatum, et quam pestifera res, dum per mandatum rem solutiferam, exserit virus suum (In order that it may be recognised how vicious is the sinner, and how pernicious the matter, this sin, while through the commandment yielding a healthy result, produces its own poison), Clarius. This is like the horrid and cursed wickedness our stories tell us of, whereby a King was wickedly poisoned by the Cup of Blessing.

7. Lastly, sin by the commandment appears to be excessively sinful. If we look on this through the microscope-glass of the law, it will appear a most hideous, devilish and hellish thing, the most wicked, mischievous, virulent, villainous and deadly thing that ever was. Sinful sin! Worse than the Devil! More will be said of this later.

I will not pursue any of these divisions separately, for I shall have occasion enough to speak of each and every one of them in handling the sinfulness of sin, in relation to which I intend to observe the following order, showing:

(1) What sin is, the thing so much and so deservedly evil spoken of. None can speak well of it, but they who speak ill of it, for they speak best who speak the worst of sin.

(2) In what the sinfulness of sin especially consists: So we may lay open not only its effects but also its nature.

(3) What witness and evidence there is to make good this indictment and charge against sin, that it is so vile and abominable, so sinful, as the Apostle calls it.

(4) And what use and improvement is to be made of the doctrine of sin’s excessive sinfulness.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHAT SIN IS

THE SINFULNESS OF SIN
– Sin’s Contrariety to God
– Sin’s Contrariety to Man
– Sin is Against Man’s Present Good, in this Life
– Man’s folly is shown to be great in three ways
– Examples of man’s folly
– Sin is Against the Good of Man in the Life to Come
– Damnation
– Objections
– The Torments of Hell
– the Devil, conscience, and God

THE WITNESSES AGAINST SIN
– God himself bears Witness Against Sin
– Angels Bear Witness Against Sin
– The Witness of Men
– The Whole Creation Witnesses Against Sin
– The Law Witnesses Against and Condemns Sin
– The Gospel Also Bears Witness Against and Condemns Sin
– The Witness of Sin Itself
– Objection
– To Conclude

APPLICATION AND USEFULNESS OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE PLAGUE OF PLAGUES
– Sin is the Worst of Evils
– Inferences From the Sinfulness of Sin Against God
– inferences from the Contrariety of Sin to the Good of Man
– Exhortation and Counsel

CONCLUSION

Article: https://www.monergism.com/sinfulness-sin-ebook

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“Ben Carson: This economic crisis was ‘intentional’”

HUD secretary and member of the White House Coronavirus task force, Dr. Ben Carson, weighs in on the unemployment rate hitting record highs

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h29MQqzXiU

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“Coronavirus Deception: Made in China”
May 06, 2020

A lot of things about the coronavirus are out of our control — but how we approach China isn’t one of them. And in a country where consensus is as rare as hand sanitizer, the outrage over the outbreak might be the single greatest exception. While Democrats in Washington keep their fingers pointed at President Trump, they’re about the only ones, polling shows. Most Americans know exactly who’s at fault — and who should pay.

“It’s as much of a consensus issue as you can get in today’s divided world,” the Harris Poll’s Mark Penn explained. Americans don’t trust China. Period. It doesn’t matter what party they’re from, they blame the government for the spread of the pandemic and want the U.S. to start playing hardball on trade and every other issue. They agree with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): our response has got to “sting.” And it’s got to sting enough to force them to change.

This is a crisis, after all, that never had to happen. Had China warned the world even a week sooner, the AP reported, we could have cut the world’s infections by two-thirds. That’s tens of thousands of real lives — moms and dads, grandparents, and children who will never come home again because officials in Beijing didn’t want to admit their mistake. “I think they were trying to put it out. Stop it. Not be embarrassed by it,” Graham said on “Washington Watch.” “This would be the third pandemic [they’re responsible for].” All they had to be was honest, he pointed out, and we “wouldn’t have 70,000 dead Americans and 30 million people out of work.”

So what now? “Make sure China cooperates,” Graham insisted. “We should sanction the heck out of [them] until they agree to allow the world into China to figure out what happened…” His own bill, introduced last week, is about as hard-hitting as it gets. “No visa travel, no students coming in to study, no access to American banks… until they cooperate with investigators… and they close those wet markets…”

As I see it, this is a three-pronged strategy: probe, prevent, pay. Probe to find out what happened — get the facts. And then prevent, because America cannot sustain these types of outbreaks. Finally, make them pay. Because if someone’s willfully negligent, they’re liable. And that goes to the heart of two other Republican bills from Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who both think Americans should be able to sue the regime for damage to their families. We can also cancel some of our debt to China. “Or,” Lindsey went on, “the president could do a pandemic tariff on Chinese products, driving up the cost of doing business [there] as punishment for what they’ve done.”

Republicans have plenty of ideas. Democrats, on the other hand, seem stuck on one: blaming Trump. “Where’s the Democratic Party? Where’s Joe Biden?” Lindsey asked. We’re talking about “the crime of the century,” as Gordon Chang put it. But instead of looking at the real villain here, China, whose actions are responsible for literally tens of thousands of lives here in the United States, liberals want to snipe at the president. “They want to investigate Trump, but they don’t want to investigate China,” Graham fumed. “The Democratic Party is becoming apologists for China… because the truth would make Trump right about China,” Graham insisted. And they can’t stand that.

The Left has spent four years trying to tarnish Trump with something. They couldn’t do it with Russia. They couldn’t do it with the impeachment effort. And his leadership in this crisis, a challenge of global proportions, has been stellar. “I believe if we’d let it run its course, you’d have a couple of million people dead right now… He put life ahead of his economic success.” President Trump has made three months of tough choices. It’s time for Democrats to make just one: to step up and work with Republicans so this never happens again. If they refuse, know this — it won’t be just China in the doghouse.

[ Tony Perkins ]

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“The Gospel, the Church, and This Present Crisis”

How can Christians unite to serve our neighbors in time of need? In this conversation with Ligonier’s President, Chris Larson, Dr. John MacArthur examines the remarkable opportunity set before the church today to be a witness to the grace of God in a corrupted world.

Questions
1. What should Christians think about the COVID-19 global health crisis? (00:31)
2. How does the coronavirus pandemic provide us with a unique opportunity to proclaim the gospel? (2:28)
3. How can Christians come together during the present health crisis to serve our neighbors? (4:36)
4. How can Christians express the truth of human dignity during a worldwide health crisis? (7:57)
5. How does being made in the image of God motivate us to live a holy life? (9:40)
6. What comfort does the doctrine of providence bring to Christians during difficult times? (12:40)

[ John MacArthur ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-9TxD1BF60

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“Coronavirus is less deadly than we thought, says German expert”

The COVID-19 coronavirus that has swept the world is less deadly than experts had first thought, and governments implemented lockdown measures too quickly before we could study it, according to a leading German virologist Professor Hendrik Streeck.

Speaking to UnHerd’s Lockdown TV, Streeck said his study of a coronavirus outbreak in a German county revealed a fatality rate of 0.24-0.36 percent, which is significantly lower than the 0.8-0.9 percent estimated by prominent British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson.

Calculating the exact death rate of COVID-19 is central to policymakers and scientists who are trying to calculate the impact of lifting restrictions on movement.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app

Countries around the world have begun to gradually come out of lockdown, while others have partially reimposed lockdowns due to case counts spiking shortly after restrictions were lifted.

If Streeck’s death rate is correct, governments could afford to lift measures more quickly and widely with fewer deaths. In contrast, if Ferguson’s higher estimate is correct, policymakers may be inclined to continue lockdown measures to keep the death rate lower in the short-term.

Read more: What counts as a death from COVID-19?

The death rate also helps estimate how many people have already caught the virus, which is key to working out to what extent a population may have developed natural immunity through catching the virus already.

While these estimates are central to policymaking, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that we still don’t know if a person who contracts COVID-19 develops an immunity or not, the strength of the immunity or how long it may last.

[ Tommy Hilton ]

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“Fear, Isolation, Depression: The Mental Health Fallout of a Worldwide Pandemic”

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255. Other mental health call and text lines can be found below.

At Provident Behavioral Health in St. Louis, people who called the helpline at the beginning of the pandemic were fearful, even panicked.

“Nearly everyone expressed fear. Fear of catching the virus, fear of the future, fear of the unknown and fear of not knowing how to cope with their feelings,” said Jessica Vance, who manages the Disaster Distress Helpline at Provident.

Now people’s calls and texts, which have leveled off in the past couple of weeks, are more about their isolation and depression.

Nationwide, mental health call and text centers, the first lines of defense for many people feeling jittery during a crisis, offer an early picture of how Americans are coping with the coronavirus pandemic.

Many crisis centers are reporting 30% to 40% increases in the number of people seeking help. The helpline at Provident is experiencing a tenfold increase compared with this time last year, when no national disaster was occurring. So far, the nation’s most heavily used helpline, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, has not seen a spike in call volume.

But mental health experts predict an avalanche of mental health needs as the pandemic progresses.

Ultimately, the psychological impact of the pandemic will harm far more people than the virus itself. And the widespread emotional trauma it’s evoking will be long lasting, experts say. Already, more than 4 in 10 Americans say that stress related to the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health, according to an April poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“There’s no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic will be the most psychologically toxic disaster in anyone’s lifetime,” said George Everly, who teaches disaster mental health and human resilience at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“This pandemic is a disaster of uncertainty,” he explained, “and the greater the uncertainty surrounding a disaster, the greater the psychological casualties.”

Based on Americans’ reactions to previous disasters, the emotional phases people can be expected to go through are predictable, Everly said. “But how many weeks or months those phases will last, I can’t tell you.”

For now, starting the third month of the crisis, a sense of shared experience and a felt need to stay strong and fight a common enemy may be keeping many people from emotional collapse and suicide.

But as time wears on, more extreme psychological effects of the pandemic’s widespread trauma can be expected to surface, said Jerry Reed, senior vice president at the Education Development Center and member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.

“When the pandemic wanes and most Americans return to work and school, disillusionment, depression and despair will likely arise for some people,” Reed said. “That’s when we could see an increase in suicides.

“But that’s only if we fail to prepare. We know that suicide is preventable,” he said. “Let’s take advantage of the time we have now and try to get ahead of the curve rather than waiting.”

Collateral Damage
More than 47,000 people in the United States died by suicide in 2017, making it the 10th-leading cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same year, 1.4 million adults attempted suicide and 10.6 million reported seriously considering suicide, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The suicide rate in the United States has risen 30% since 2000, with the highest prevalence among middle-aged white men. At the same time, deaths from drug overdoses and alcohol abuse have risen sharply, resulting in a decrease in American life expectancy for three consecutive years.

This rise in what are called deaths of despair, social scientists say, is caused by worsening economic conditions and social isolation in much of the nation over the past two decades.

Last week, a mental health advocacy nonprofit released an analysis predicting that the massive job losses resulting from the economic shutdown during the pandemic, compounded by increased social isolation, could lead to an even sharper increase in deaths of despair.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has killed about 79,000 Americans, could lead to another 75,000 deaths from alcohol and drug misuse and suicide, the analysis projected.

National disasters in the past have resulted in higher suicide rates in the months and years after the initial crisis. But it’s too soon to know whether this pandemic already is causing more suicides. National data on the cause of deaths is collected by the CDC from state death certificates and lags two years behind.

Mental health advocates say that despite Congress approving trillions in emergency COVID-19-related funding, it has not allocated enough to shore up the nation’s failing mental health system.

Last month, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sent states a total of $110 million for “crisis intervention services, mental and substance use disorder treatment, and other related recovery supports” for Americans affected by the pandemic.

Even before the pandemic, there was a shortage of mental health providers and limited access to residential care, leaving many Americans, especially rural residents, without access to needed care.

According to the National Council for Behavioral Health and the American Academy of Addiction Medicine, an additional $38.5 billion is needed to keep community behavioral health centers operating when the pandemic subsides.

After shuttering during the pandemic and furloughing staff, many such centers won’t have the money to reopen, much less provide additional capacity for the anticipated surge in demand.

On top of that, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and a dozen other mental health advocacy organizations called for $10 billion to support national mental health and suicide crisis lines and other crisis response centers.

Seeking Support
Roughly 11.2 million Americans, including many who are homeless or in prisons, live with serious mental illness. They are the most vulnerable to the psychological effects of the pandemic, said Dawn Brown, who runs a crisis call line for NAMI.

But during this pandemic, she said, even people who have never experienced a mental disorder are beginning to feel many of the same symptoms as people with serious mental illness. Some callers are saying they’re having panic attacks, some report short emotional fuses, and others say they’re unable to get out of bed in the morning. “The good news is we know how to treat those symptoms,” Brown said.

People who may have been able to manage their depression through exercise, or keep their anxiety in check with meditation, are finding that’s no longer enough, she said.

Some who call the NAMI Helpline are referred to online or telephonic therapy services, which are readily available and often free. Others may need medication as well, she said.

When you call the NAMI helpline, counselors first listen to your story and validate what you’re going through. Then they recommend resources to help you manage your symptoms.

Brown said people who need urgent help managing their feelings should call NAMI’s helpline, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or other local and national crisis centers. The trained professionals who answer those lines can refer callers to local mental health services and other valuable resources.

For those who just need to vent, dozens of so-called warmlines are available in most states, where peer support specialists who have experienced mental illness are available to talk.

Text lines also are available for people who prefer to communicate that way, or are seeking greater privacy while quarantined with roommates and family members.

The helpline at Provident includes a text service (text TalkWithUs to 66746). That service received nearly 30,000 texts last month, compared with fewer than 2,000 in the same period last year.

Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741), used primarily by young people in emotional distress, conducted more than 180,000 text conversations last month, up 30% from last year..

Other services are reporting similar spikes.

At Crisis Text Line, texters have expressed three waves of concerns since the crisis began, according to the center’s communications director, Ashley Womble.

“In the beginning it was full-on anxiety about catching the virus,” she said. In early March, the key words were “asthma” and “cough.” Later, texters started expressing fears about their loved ones catching the virus. The trending words then were “grandma” and “grandpa.”

Next came financial worries, with trending words “quarantine” and “laid off.”

Now, Womble said, “People are telling us they feel isolated, anxious and depressed because there’s nothing they can do, and they don’t know when this will end.”

[ Christine Vestal ]

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“What Would Jesus Say About the Coronavirus?”

[ Immanuel Bible Church ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do5nlWeQdTQ

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“The Pandemic as God’s Judgment”

Does the biblical pattern of disaster and discipline with a call to repent apply to COVID-19?

Is this pandemic God’s judgment against us? This is a difficult question to ponder. To ask it, I do not presume ourselves to be under either the blessings and curses of theocratic Israel or the apocalyptic doom of Revelation. However, I do see patterns of biblical teaching indicative of God’s ongoing engagement in the affairs of human life and his willingness to use extreme measures to accomplish his purposes.

When confronted with disaster, Scripture calls us to look to God for both comfort and self-censure. Prophets from Moses to Malachi point to sin and the need for repentance as reasons behind various disasters. Likewise, John the Baptist and Jesus launch the New Testament with prophetic warnings and calls to repentance.

Early in Romans, the apostle Paul observes, “the wrath of God is being revealed … against all ungodliness and unrighteousness” (1:18, ESV). To the Corinthians, Paul holds up Old Testament patterns of judgment as “types,” “examples to us”—historic precedents to heed (1 Cor. 10:1–12; Rom. 11:20–21). When chastising the Corinthians for desecrations of the Lord’s Supper, Paul warns, “why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep [have died]” (1 Cor. 11:30). Paul labels sickness and death as a “judgment” (v. 29), even for these New Testament believers. Hebrews 12, citing Proverbs, tells believers in the same vein, “‘do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, … for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant” (Heb. 12:5, 11, ESV).

Does the coronavirus pandemic fit as divine judgment and discipline?
It is important to clarify that God’s wrath comes with mercy (Hab. 3:2; 1 Chron. 21:13). We can discern his mercy in the pattern of smaller catastrophes preceding greater ones, granting opportunity for repentance sooner rather than paying larger consequences later. The ten plagues of Egypt increased in severity in part because, early on, Pharaoh and his people “did not listen,” but rather “turned and went into his house with no concern even for this.” (Ex. 7:22–23, NASB). How quick are we to dismiss extraordinary acts of God as quirks of nature, forces we can harness with enough resilience and resourcefulness? Scripture labels this mindset hardening the heart (Ex. 8:19; Prov. 28:14). It is dangerous.

Some will demand prophetic confirmation of any divine judgment. But given the full and clear teaching of canonical Scripture at our stage in redemptive history, we are owed no more prophetic confirmation than the rebuff of such expectation at the end of Jesus’ parable about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:27–31).

Nevertheless, the Lord has raised up poignant prophetic voices in our midst, from Jeremiah Wright, Jim Wallis and Diane Langberg to John Piper and James Dobson. While none of them claims inerrant inspiration, each has sounded loud notes of biblical warning. Jeremiah expressed God’s frustration at how his people stubbornly closed their ears to (mostly unnamed) prophets “sent again and again” (Jer. 25:4, 29:19). Perhaps this indicts us too.

What must God do to get our attention?
God may disrupt the human cycle of selfishness by awful means and call us to account. Global pandemics thankfully are rare, but when they do occur, they usually spread through trade routes of prosperous, powerful nations—inherently prone to prideful pursuit of profits and indifference toward God (Deut. 8:10–14). Is this pandemic part of a larger pattern? Consider other catastrophes that have struck North America over the past 20 years: 9/11; Superstorm Sandy; hurricanes Katrina, Maria, Irma, and Harvey; California wildfire; Midwest tornado spikes; swine flu, and now COVID-19. Have we hardened our hearts so as to write off a warning as mere acts of nature? Shouldn’t we rather ask if we could be under divine judgment?

We need not look far for reasons. God opposes the proud and uses catastrophe to undermine arrogance. James 4:13–17 calls out the “sin” of living life as functional atheists, operating as though God is paying us no real attention, presuming our security lies simply in planning and protecting our profits. James 5 calls down severe judgment on the rich—in our day, we who put “In God we trust” on our mammon had best take heed.

God’s passionate concern is for the vulnerable—the orphan, the widow, the immigrant, the refugee. The Lord will not allow prosperity devoid of such concern to stand (Ex. 22:21–24; Deut. 10:16–20; Isa. 10:1–4; Jer. 5:28–29; Amos 4–8; Mal. 3:1–6). “Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered” (Prov. 21:13).

If this pandemic is a judgment from God, our response should not be to point a sanctimonious finger at others but to lament and repent, with prayers like unto Daniel 9:3–19, where the person of God owns and confesses “our sins” and pleads for God to “forgive us” (2 Chron. 6:36–39, 7:12–14). In such moments we are most in sync with prophets like Habakkuk and Jeremiah. Sharing their lamentations, we also are put in position to observe: “And yet, your mercies are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:23).

Human sin in such times can be redeemed by God for greater purpose. Besides instilling fear of the Lord, plagues historically have prompted people to prepare for the afterlife. Jesus underscored the transience of material things and the foolishness of building one’s life on such sand (Matt. 7:24–27). Christians need not fear death. Confidence in Christ and eternity has led many to give their own lives to minister to the sick and dying, a visible witness to resurrection hope.

Followers of Christ are not called to pronounce God’s condemnation but rather to examine themselves. Our own repentance serves as one aspect of our larger kingdom mission to relieve suffering, mourn with the grieving, care for the sick, encourage the weak, and comfort the afflicted even as we plead for God’s mercy. With this pandemic, I see the seriousness of God’s demand for repentance and receive any discipline God may intend as coming from the hand of my loving Father.

[ Todd Magnum ]

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“Coronavirus: A Biblical & Practical Perspective”

With all the press on Coronavirus, we are pleased that Dr. Andrew Fabich of Truett McConnell University graciously allowed us to reprint his recent blog as a preliminary scientific response. More papers are to come as the situation unfolds.

Get lifetime admission to the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum plus many other exclusive benefits. Only available for a limited time!

COVID-19
As of March 4, 2020, at 11:50AM EST, there have been a total of 94,383 confirmed cases of this novel coronavirus with 3,221 deaths worldwide.1 The virus hit the world by storm when the Chinese began reporting a mysterious virus causing pneumonia-like symptoms infecting many of its citizens. We now know that the novel coronavirus of 2019–2020 (called COVID-19) originated in bats and jumped the species barrier into the human population (probably in a food market located in the Wuhan province).2

When I first heard people talking about this outbreak, I was confused by everyone calling it a coronavirus because that term is a broad term to describe an entire family of viruses. The coronavirus family is known to infect a wide range of animals and humans, including the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s and the MERS outbreak more recently. This family of viruses can cause many different symptoms affecting the lungs, liver, kidneys, GI tract, and nervous tissue. COVID-19 is a respiratory infection spread by aerosol droplets like other diseases we often hear about.

But to understand what is currently happening with COVID-19, we should compare it to what we know about another virus transmitted the same way: the flu. What most people are unaware of is that the flu has been averaging between 9 and 45 million cases per year with 12,000 to 61,000 deaths per year since 2010.3 But are you as scared about getting the flu or are you more scared about getting COVID-19? When put in proper perspective, you can see that this COVID-19 is not as bad as the headlines are making it. I’m not aware of anyone who buys a surgical mask for the flu every year (on top of that, viruses are smaller than the holes found in those surgical masks . . .).4

What we ought to be asking ourselves is: What can we learn about how the flu is spread each year that we can do to prevent COVID-19?

First of all, washing your hands. The primary way we make ourselves sick is by touching our face. If you pick up COVID-19 by coming in contact with some contaminated surface, you will likely give it to yourself by touching your face. The CDC recommends washing your hands for 20 seconds (they suggest hand sanitizers work, but I’m skeptical as of today).5

Second, avoid touching common objects when out in public. When I first got out of graduate school, I got the flu for two years in a row, even though I knew better. After that, I became more vigilant with what I touched when out in public and haven’t gotten the flu since (in combination with handwashing of course).

Third, stay away from people coughing to reduce your exposure.

Fourth, if you are the person coughing, cough into your elbow and minimize how much travels through the air or gets on your hands.

My fifth point relates to the flu and not COVID-19, get your flu shot this year and sign up for a COVID-19 shot if one is developed. While the flu shot does not work every year, I still get mine because some protection is better than none.

Sixth, make those around you aware of any international travel you have done since December 2019 (making you potentially a carrier).

And last but not least, be prepared and do what you need to do (within the constraints of government recommendations and mandates) as any other day because we know that God is sovereign and can handle a disease outbreak like this.*

What we should learn from this COVID-19 outbreak is that life is short and we’re not guaranteed tomorrow (James 4:13–17). While we all live forever, some will spend eternity in heaven and others in a real place called Hell. The difference between heaven and Hell is a relationship with the Creator of the universe: Jesus Christ. Click here to learn more about how to have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ today.

Originally published as Dr. Andrew Fabich, “How Nervous Am I About The Coronavirus (COVID-19)?” Truett McConnell University blog, March 5, 2020. Reprinted with permission of Dr. Andrew Fabich and Truett McConnell University. Dr. Andrew Fabich is a professor of microbiology at Truett McConnell University, a Creation College in Cleveland, GA.

*Editor’s Note: Please refer to Ken Ham’s related and more recent article, “Coronavirus: Opportunity for the Church to Be the Hands of Christ,” dated March 11, 2020.

[ Dr. Andrew Fabich ]

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“A God of Suffering?”

In this presentation at the Creation Museum, Dr. Tommy Mitchell addresses the difficult issue of death and suffering as seen through the eyes of a medical doctor and sheds the light of Scripture on the heart-rending events that touch every life.

[ Dr. Tommy Mitchell ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg3CQSyKpno

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“Bible Fear of Death”

The fear of death mentioned in the bible is the source of all fear, and symptoms of anxiety, panic attacks, such as shortness of breath, heart pounding, body shaking, feelings of going crazy, etc. etc.,are related to this fear.

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6bCFBrdYqQ

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“Trusting God in Difficult Times”

Psalm 11 Meditation

[ Tim Keller ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjQM7uZcbbM

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“Trusting God Through Life’s Storms”

Habakkuk couldn’t understand why God remained silent in the midst of so much injustice. Learn how God takes one man’s dismay and spiritual confusion and teaches him how to trust God no matter what.

[ Bobby Conway ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7TIyAIT3Tg

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“God is Jealous for Us and Wants Our Attention”

James 4 it says that God is jealous the spirit that watches over us yearns jealously he wants our attention.

[ John Barnett ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr2BmSbj28c

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“How Could a Good God Allow Evil and Suffering?”

How could a good God allow evil and suffering? In this video, we explore how the Christian and atheist worldviews account for evil and suffering and what the Bible says about the topic. We then ask a different question: “Did God make any provision for the existence of evil and can we trust him in our suffering?” And to answer this, we look to the cross where Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, suffered and died.

The video starts by answering this question from a philosophical, theological and intellectual point of view, however, towards the end of the video, Christianity Engaged Founder & CEO, David Erhart, provides practical advice for anyone going through personal and emotional pain.

The video concludes by sharing Corrie ten Boom’s powerful true story, bringing the videos’ dramatic introduction scene involving World War II and the holocaust full circle.

[ Christianity Engaged ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmmuxlbolMA

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“Why Is There Evil in the World?”

“If God is good and all powerful, why is there evil in the world?” Skeptics like to use the existence of evil as an argument against God. If God was good, wouldn’t He want to deal with evil? If He was powerful, couldn’t He end the evil? But evil still exists, so therefore your God doesn’t.

Is God powerful enough to remove all the evil in the world? Well sure, but He would need to wipe out all of humanity. Man is not in darkness as much as he himself is darkness. We look at things like murder and rape as being evil (and they are) but what about lying, stealing, and covetousness? All sin is evil in the eyes of a holy God. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. The heart is deceitfully and desperately wicked above all things.

Are you concerned about the problem of evil? Well, guess what? You’re part of the problem. Your hand is on the smoking gun. Evil deeds can never be isolated from the evildoer. So, if sinners are evil, why hasn’t God killed us all? 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God has not yet cleansed the world of evil simply because He is giving people a chance to repent. Have you done that yet?

If God were to show up at 12:00 to get rid of all the evil in the world, where would you be at 12:01?

[ Living Waters ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ0whlNNWsM

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“Finding Security in This Troubled World (1 Peter 3:13–17)”

[ John MacArthur ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfLCDTjT1ds

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“Coronavirus Bible Verses”

What do you do with your anxieties in the coronavirus pandemic? How are you dealing with the fear of catching COVID-19? We’ve been talking about this on our “Soul Talks” podcast and people have asked for more help from the Bible so here’s a short Bible Study “soul kit” for dealing with the coronavirus. (Listen to “‘Fear Not’ the Coronavirus? Empathy and Courage are Needed.”)

Today real dangers are everywhere on our news feed and in our conversations: sickness, not having enough food, financial losses, social isolation, being quarantined, family conflicts, cancelled events, not being able to work, a grim future, death, a loved one dying.

Unfortunately, many people looking for help from Bible promises or to Christian preachers and friends get the idea they should not feel afraid: “Just have faith… Believe God’s promises… Be strong… Focus on loving others…” These messages are a misunderstanding of God’s Word. They can shame people for having emotions and weakness. They can discourage faith in God.

Faith is trust. To trust God (or anyone) includes being emotionally honest and vulnerably asking for what you need. You can cultivate real faith by expressing emotions like fear, anxiety, anger, discouragement, and sadness to God and gracious people. Ask for empathy and then in time you’ll be able to return to peace, joy, confidence, and love for others.

When you’re emotionally wobbly and receive empathy it grounds you so you can stand up again. It clears your heart and mind to absorb the comfort, wisdom, and strength of God’s Word.

Coronavirus Scriptures on God’s Comfort and Strength for Fear and Anxiety

These Bible promises encourage the healthy faith in God that fosters non-anxious living and courageous love for others. These Scriptures are especially encouraging in this time of the coronavirus. (All verses are from the NIV.)

Jesus is Calm in the Storm (Then he Calms the Storm and his Disciples)
“Then [Jesus] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping” (Matthew 8:23-24).

When You’re Stressed and Tired Jesus Offers Rest for Your Soul
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Ask Jesus’ Father to Receive Good Gifts
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you… your Father in heaven [will] give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7, 11).

God Cares for Your Emotions
“My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me… I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He rescues me unharmed…” (Psalm 55:4-5, 16-18).

God Takes Your Hand to Comfort Your Fears and Help You
“I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God… For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you’” (Isaiah 41:9-10, 13).

Fear Melts Away When You Hear God’s Love Song for You
“Never again will you fear any harm… The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:15, 17).

God’s Love Through One Another Calms Fear
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:11, 18).

Empathy Engages us with God’s Spirit of Power, Love, and Self-Discipline
“To Timothy, my dear son… Recalling your tears, I long to see you… I am reminded of your sincere faith… For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:2, 4-5, 7).

God’s Grace Helps You Accept Your Weakness and Become Strong
“Three times I [Paul] pleaded with the Lord to take [the thorn in my flesh] away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ …That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

Trouble, Hardship, and Death Don’t Separate us From Christ’s Love
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? …Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:31-32, 35-37).

Be Still to Take Refuge in God in Trouble
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea… He makes wars cease… He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46:1-2, 9-11).

Rest in the Lord’s Beauty and Strength to be Safe
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? … Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling” (Psalm 27:1, 3-5).

God’s Mighty Hand Protects and Cares for You
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Jesus is Our Healer
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Matthew 9:35).

The Word of the Lord Ministers Healing
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave” (Psalm 107:19-20).

[ Bill Gaultiere ]

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“Where Is Your Attention?”

So if you would open your Bibles me to Psalm 42

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

[ Ron Stauch ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO2fHYe4tWk

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“Is God Getting Your Attention?”

Christian Living 101 – #178

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrBV-igS1m4

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“Giving God ALL Your Attention”

I’m gonna be focusing on attention God wanting all of your attention not a little bit not soon with all of your attention.

[ Christian Foster ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC7aTsGoj3Y

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“May I Have Your Attention, Please?”

Filmmaker and media consultant Phil Cooke, is quoted as saying, “the most valuable commodity of the 21st Century will be undivided attention.” Attention is an important biblical concept as well a critical characteristic of a disciple of Jesus Christ. In this sermon, Tim Pebworth discusses the significance of paying attention to, not neglecting and be accountable for what we have been taught including three biblical principles of listening to God speak through His servants, allowing God’s spirit to guide us and focusing on these things over the long-term to build our faith.

[ Tim Pebworth ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbtItBN2epw

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“Keep Your Eyes on Jesus”

When we’re confronted by a difficult situation, an impossible situation, one of life’s great storms, it’s funny how right when we need it most, our faith in Jesus seems to fail us. Why is that?

When Jesus says to you “follow me”, let’s be clear. This isn’t an invitation to an easy life. Far from it. Jesus promised His disciples quite the opposite.

Take Peter the Apostle, who stepped out of that tiny boat pitching in huge seas during that ferocious storm. As we saw yesterday, the Lord called Him out of the boat to walk on water, right in the middle of the storm and indeed, Peter stepped out and onto the water.

That’s one gutsy move, I’m sure you’d agree. And it all started out so well, as things often do.

Matthew 14:30-33 But while Peter was walking on the water, he saw the wind and the waves. He was afraid and began sinking into the water. He shouted, “Lord, save me!” Then Jesus caught Peter with his hand. He said, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?” After Peter and Jesus were in the boat, the wind stopped. Then the followers in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “You really are the Son of God.”

Hmm. I’ve been out on a few stormy oceans like that in my time, stepping out of the boat to answer Jesus’ call. It seems alright at first, but when you’re out on that water, the storm gets your attention like nothing else.

And what happened to Peter has happened to me on more than one occasion. The moment you take your eyes off Jesus and focus on the problem, you start to sink.

Note to self: keep your eyes on Jesus!

[ Bernie Dymet ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3CbK3gnl6E

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“Keep Your Eyes on Jesus”

Revelation is God lifting the lid off of Christ, or pulling back the wrapping paper on something very special about Jesus, but not yet fully seen or known. That is what the first word of this book says.

[ John Barnett ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mp5bnfzOrI

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“Fix Our Eyes on Jesus”

Volume 1: https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/fix-our-eyes-on-jesus-volume-1/

Volume 2: https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/fix-our-eyes-on-jesus-volume-2/

Volume 3: https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/fix-our-eyes-on-jesus-volume-3/

[ Alistair Begg ]

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“What is the Romans Road to Salvation?”

– Why we need salvation
– How God provides salvation
– How we can receive salvation
– What are the results of salvation

[ Got Questions ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9wSOwMYAhA

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“Pandemic & Provision: How to Trust God During the Coronavirus Outbreak”

In a time of pandemic, we should remember the surety of trials, the comfort of truth, and timeless tips for the Christian.

As the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns continue with no definite end in sight, many families are struggling with the loss of loved ones, economic devastation, and fear and anxiety about what the future holds. This is nothing new in a sin-cursed and broken world and God’s Word speaks to the very real problems of our day.

In Scripture, we see examples of God’s people who went through rough times. Many popular professing Christians may claim in their best-sellers that God only wants you to be healthy and wealthy, and they may even cherry-pick verses to support their ideas. But that’s not the full testimony of God’s Word and is nothing short of a false gospel. Hard times will come, and believers are not exempt. Now that may not seem very comforting at first, but we will come back to that.

Here is some of what Scripture says—referring to believers—about the surety of trials in this world:

I [Jesus] have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Resist him [Satan], firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:9–10)

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3–5)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

In addition to these explicit statements that we should expect hardship, Scripture is full of examples of godly individuals who did endure personal suffering and lack (but still saw God’s provision in and through it). Here’s just a few:

Abraham, Jacob and their families all experienced famine.
David hid in caves.
Jesus did not even have a place to lay his head (Luke 9:58).
Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, cold, naked, and without food (2 Corinthians 11:23–27).
Truth—a Balm for Our Anxieties

So if Scripture teaches both explicitly and through examples that believers will face hardship, how can we be comforted and trust God? By turning to promises from God’s Word and reflecting on the character and attributes of God. Let truth be the balm that soothes your anxieties.

As an aside, this is why it matters what you believe about God. Trials and hardships are when the “rubber meets the road” in our spiritual lives. If we have a view of God that is not based on Scripture and who he actually is, we will not be encouraged or strengthened through trials. Instead, we will be anxious, not understanding why the God we’ve created doesn’t do what we want him to do. Good theology and doctrine matter! And we develop a robust theology by reading all of God’s Word.

Here are just some of the promises of God and some of his attributes that you can cling to and be strengthened by no matter what trial you are facing:

God is sovereign. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). This did not catch him by surprise or tie his hands somehow. He will continue to work out his good plan in and through this. And we may not understand why he would sovereignly will this, but that’s okay: we shouldn’t always expect that because, “‘[M]y thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

God is good. Our God is good and has good plans for us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He loves us and “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).
God will walk through this with us. God does not sit outside his creation and just watch what happens. He’s intimately involved and promises to walk with us through trials, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

God promises to keep us safe. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10). Now this does not mean that we will not get sick or even die. Everyone eventually dies, even the righteous. But our eternity is secure. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29).

God promises to give us the grace we need to endure. God doesn’t run out of sustaining grace. We can boldly approach him and ask for mercy and grace to sustain us through this. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

God promises to provide our basic necessities. God provides for everything he has made and promises he will provide for us too as we seek him, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:25–33).

As you seek to trust God during these deep waters, consider these practical steps you can take to concentrate on biblical truth and apply it to your situation.

Pray. This may seem obvious, or even trite, but it’s vital. God’s Word says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). We battle anxiety by first presenting our requests to God, doing so with thanksgiving. What can we be thankful for? His promises, his unchanging character, and our eternal home in heaven for starters.

Also, pray specifically. Examine yourself to see where your anxieties are coming from. What exactly are you most afraid of? Pray specifically about that. Not just asking God to end the trial, but to accomplish his good and perfect will in and through it, both in your life and in your nation and around the world.

Read his Word—all of it. Again, this may seem obvious. But God’s Word is the revelation he has given us for our encouragement and edification. You will not be encouraged by God’s Word if you don’t know what it says or you may falsely cling to promises he hasn’t made. Get into all of God’s Word for yourself. See how he has been faithful all throughout history.

For example, in Genesis 3, right after sin, God promises that a Savior is coming (Genesis 3:15) and all throughout the Old Testament we see how God is faithful to bring his promise of a Savior to fulfillment, culminating in the advent of Jesus Christ. Do a study of Jesus throughout the Old Testament and be refreshed by his faithfulness throughout all of history. He was faithful then; he will be faithful again.

Or consider reading through the Psalms. So many of the Psalms begin with a lamentation or confusion about what God is doing. But they end with a changed attitude because they reflect on the character of our God—he is good, he is kind, he is faithful, he will never forsake us, he is completing his good plan.

Preach the gospel to yourself. Does God love me? Maybe you are secretly wondering if he really does, given everything swirling around us. But we don’t look to our current circumstances to see if God loves us. We look back to the cross, the ultimate and absolute display of God’s love for us, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Remind yourself of this truth by preaching the gospel to yourself. This means rehearsing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and what it means for you personally—you are loved, you are adopted, you have an inheritance in heaven that can never spoil or fade, you are an heir to all the promises in Scripture, you are saved from sin, you are accepted in the beloved.

Listen to worship music. It’s hard to have a heart filled with both anxiety and worship. Turn off the news. Shut off social media. Turn on some worship music (maybe listen to some of the old hymns—it’s encouraging to think that for hundreds of years Christians in all kinds of circumstances—war, disease, famine—have sung these exact same words of praise to our God!). Thanksgiving is an antidote to worry and distress.

Take captive every thought. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” When worry, anxiety, and depression seem to have you in a stranglehold, take those thoughts captive and submit them to Christ. You can do this by reciting Scripture, singing praise to God, or preaching the gospel/the truth to yourself. Don’t give the devil a foothold by dwelling on your anxious thoughts.

Talk to a Christian friend. Pick up the phone and call or video chat a trusted Christian friend. But don’t just vent or offload every worry and then hang up. Certainly, we can lament to one another (how can we bear one another’s burdens if we don’t know what they are?) but we should also rehearse biblical truth with one another. “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Look back. Take time to review your life and recall how God has been faithful to you in the past. He was faithful then; he will be faithful again. If you’ve kept a prayer or regular journal, flip through it and see how God has answered your prayers (likely in ways you never imagined). Or maybe start journaling now so, when the next trial begins, you can review how God was faithful to you during this one.

The words to the great hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” were penned over 100 years ago by a man suffering from poor health who never had much in the way of money or material possessions. But he believed the verses he based the song on, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23, KJV), and they—and the words to his song—are just as true now as they were then. Great is God’s faithfulness, no matter the circumstances.

[ Avery Foley ]

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“Psalm 91 God’s Antidote to the Coronavirus!”

Fear NOT!!!! Coronavirus is defeated in the Mighty name of Jesus!

[ Tony Wilkinson ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLgwUp9LMSY

Dramatic reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JqzRcHw8zQ

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“What’s the Comfort If the Coronavirus Is Judgment?”

A military chaplain is facing criticism and potential discipline for sharing the book ‘Coronavirus and Christ’ with fellow chaplains. Pastor John responds to the controversy.

[ Pastor John ]

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqMQfX1Ulo0

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“Shares on How to Stay Calm in a Crisis”

Did you enjoy this message? If you would like to download two free full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis” by clicking on this link:
https://share.hsforms.com/1atT9MJvXQNiZO4iKaVd4tg38r4

[ Tony Evans ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO9Z8XL3M0k

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“God Will See You Through the Storm”

Trials can be tough. Crisis can lead to emotional chaos and anxiety. Tony Evans shares how to experience the gift of peace even when the waves of worry seem ready to crash over you.

[ Tony Evans ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L6jPiUGsV0

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“God’s Will for This Time”

We find ourselves in challenging days. Thankfully, we can turn to the Bible to discover what God requires of us in this and every other season. Alistair Begg takes us to 1 Thessalonians to discover three directives for the present time.

[ Alistair Begg ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cHH8LmyqeI

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“Sheltering in God”

As we move through coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and begin to think of its impact and effect, many people are asking what is going to happen next. Some are predicting the worst. “The world will never be the same,” they say. “We’ll never go back to normal.” The pessimism about the impact of this pandemic is almost as bad as the pandemic itself. So what do you say to those who predict such a dire post-pandemic life?

I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet—although I do have a prophet’s name. I cannot tell you all that God is going to do with this time of sheltering. But I can tell you what God has done during and after times of sheltering in the past. And once you review the truth of history as I have described it below, I think you will know what He is going to do this time.

[ David Jeremiah ]

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ghUW4WM0Tg

Sermon: https://www.davidjeremiah.org/television/weekend?date=2020-05-30

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“Trusting God in a Storm”

[ Tony Evans ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFAxrpxjXuo

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“Comfort in Times of Crisis: A Panel Discussion with Ligonier’s Teaching Fellows”

On May 20, 2020, our President, Chris Larson, hosted a panel discussion with Ligonier Teaching Fellows Drs. Sinclair Ferguson, W. Robert Godfrey, Steven Lawson, Stephen Nichols, Burk Parsons, and Derek Thomas. Watch their conversation about the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and the hope we have in Christ during times of trial.

[ Ligonier Ministries ]

Q&A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEz-C-xzLtY

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“The Promise of Peace in a Worried World”

It is a joy to be able to come to you this morning in this fashion and to direct your thoughts toward the things of the Lord in a time of trouble, a time a trial, a time of, for some people, a certain amount of danger, and the reality of mortality faces all of us in a time like this; and the place to go is to the Word of God, and that’s what I want to do this morning. To begin with, let me remind you of something that Job’s friend Eliphaz said. He said this – he was right – he said, “Man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.” , as surely as sparks off a fire fly upward, man is born for trouble.” Trouble is certain and trouble is relentless. Life is dangerous. In fact, there is nothing more certain than the fact that we’re all going to die. That alone is this certainty of life. In that sense, life is a terminal illness. Life is a fatal condition. Life is a deadly disease. [more…]

[ John MacArthur ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGTHQ7oC-a4

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“How Do We Make Sense of the Coronavirus?”

How can Christians make sense of the coronavirus, which has infected and killed so many people all throughout the world? Pastor John offers four biblical realities.

Hello, everyone. This is Tony with Pastor John in studio for a special episode of Ask Pastor John. As I’m sure you’re aware, the coronavirus continues to grab headlines as it spreads across the globe, now in 53 different countries. Infection numbers globally are over 83,000. Fatalities are nearing 3,000. It’s a multi-national epidemic moving toward a global pandemic.

Wednesday morning, the president tasked the vice president with stopping the virus here in the States. Some are hopeful this can be done. Others claim this is futile. It won’t be stopped, and will continue to spread for months. Some experts are going so far to say a majority of Americans will be exposed to the virus before this is all said and done. There’s a lot of speculation afoot. Less theoretically, world markets are tumbling. The Dow Jones continues to nosedive this week as international work stoppages interrupt imports, exports, and global trade.

In situations like this, it’s very easy to lose faith and to live in fear of the headlines and the unknowns. And this global uncertainty has now reached into the States. But several days ago we began hearing from podcast listeners around Southeast Asia who offered updates on the situation there. That includes a man in Singapore who wrote us this.

“Dear Pastor John, hello! I’d like to ask you about the unfolding coronavirus outbreak that started in China and has gone on to infect many more around the world. When it reached Singapore, the government and citizens responded well, and our collective efforts won international praise. But church responses are mixed. Several continued with Sunday services, with added precautions. Some suspended church services altogether. Some pastors are promising: ‘If you are a believer, God will not allow the virus to touch you!’ Other pastors are saying: ‘This is God’s judgment on sinful cities and arrogant nations.’ Pastor John, how do Christians, with open Bibles, make sense of a viral epidemic like this one?”

[ John Piper ]

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfStzaznIzk

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“What Is The Hope?”

[ Mike Gendron ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBOiRLYay1A

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Pandemic & Provision: How to Trust God During the Coronavirus Outbreak”
April 25, 2020

In a time of pandemic, we should remember the surety of trials, the comfort of truth, and timeless tips for the Christian.

A Biblical & Scientific Guide

Get this special guide with 10 biblical and practical tips for Christians in the COVID-19 pandemic. Written by Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell, MD, scientist Dr. Andrew Fabich, engineer Bodie Hodge, and Ken Ham, Founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis.

LEARN MORE

As the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns continue with no definite end in sight, many families are struggling with the loss of loved ones, economic devastation, and fear and anxiety about what the future holds. This is nothing new in a sin-cursed and broken world and God’s Word speaks to the very real problems of our day.

Trials—a Surety in a Sin-Cursed World
In Scripture, we see examples of God’s people who went through rough times. Many popular professing Christians may claim in their best-sellers that God only wants you to be healthy and wealthy, and they may even cherry-pick verses to support their ideas. But that’s not the full testimony of God’s Word and is nothing short of a false gospel. Hard times will come, and believers are not exempt. Now that may not seem very comforting at first, but we will come back to that.

Here is some of what Scripture says—referring to believers—about the surety of trials in this world:

I [Jesus] have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Resist him [Satan], firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:9–10)
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3–5)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

In addition to these explicit statements that we should expect hardship, Scripture is full of examples of godly individuals who did endure personal suffering and lack (but still saw God’s provision in and through it). Here’s just a few:

Abraham, Jacob and their families all experienced famine.
David hid in caves.
Jesus did not even have a place to lay his head (Luke 9:58).
Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, stoned, cold, naked, and without food (2 Corinthians 11:23–27).

Truth—a Balm for Our Anxieties
So if Scripture teaches both explicitly and through examples that believers will face hardship, how can we be comforted and trust God? By turning to promises from God’s Word and reflecting on the character and attributes of God. Let truth be the balm that soothes your anxieties.

As an aside, this is why it matters what you believe about God. Trials and hardships are when the “rubber meets the road” in our spiritual lives. If we have a view of God that is not based on Scripture and who he actually is, we will not be encouraged or strengthened through trials. Instead, we will be anxious, not understanding why the God we’ve created doesn’t do what we want him to do. Good theology and doctrine matter! And we develop a robust theology by reading all of God’s Word.

Here are just some of the promises of God and some of his attributes that you can cling to and be strengthened by no matter what trial you are facing:

God is sovereign. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). This did not catch him by surprise or tie his hands somehow. He will continue to work out his good plan in and through this. And we may not understand why he would sovereignly will this, but that’s okay: we shouldn’t always expect that because, “‘[M]y thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”
God is good. Our God is good and has good plans for us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He loves us and “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).

God will walk through this with us. God does not sit outside his creation and just watch what happens. He’s intimately involved and promises to walk with us through trials, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
God promises to keep us safe. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10). Now this does not mean that we will not get sick or even die. Everyone eventually dies, even the righteous. But our eternity is secure. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29).
God promises to give us the grace we need to endure. God doesn’t run out of sustaining grace. We can boldly approach him and ask for mercy and grace to sustain us through this. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

God promises to provide our basic necessities. God provides for everything he has made and promises he will provide for us too as we seek him, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:25–33).

Practical Application
WE BATTLE ANXIETY BY FIRST PRESENTING OUR REQUESTS TO GOD, DOING SO WITH THANKSGIVING.
As you seek to trust God during these deep waters, consider these practical steps you can take to concentrate on biblical truth and apply it to your situation.

Pray. This may seem obvious, or even trite, but it’s vital. God’s Word says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). We battle anxiety by first presenting our requests to God, doing so with thanksgiving. What can we be thankful for? His promises, his unchanging character, and our eternal home in heaven for starters.

Also, pray specifically. Examine yourself to see where your anxieties are coming from. What exactly are you most afraid of? Pray specifically about that. Not just asking God to end the trial, but to accomplish his good and perfect will in and through it, both in your life and in your nation and around the world.

Read his Word—all of it. Again, this may seem obvious. But God’s Word is the revelation he has given us for our encouragement and edification. You will not be encouraged by God’s Word if you don’t know what it says or you may falsely cling to promises he hasn’t made. Get into all of God’s Word for yourself. See how he has been faithful all throughout history.

For example, in Genesis 3, right after sin, God promises that a Savior is coming (Genesis 3:15) and all throughout the Old Testament we see how God is faithful to bring his promise of a Savior to fulfillment, culminating in the advent of Jesus Christ. Do a study of Jesus throughout the Old Testament and be refreshed by his faithfulness throughout all of history. He was faithful then; he will be faithful again.

Or consider reading through the Psalms. So many of the Psalms begin with a lamentation or confusion about what God is doing. But they end with a changed attitude because they reflect on the character of our God—he is good, he is kind, he is faithful, he will never forsake us, he is completing his good plan.

Preach the gospel to yourself. Does God love me? Maybe you are secretly wondering if he really does, given everything swirling around us. But we don’t look to our current circumstances to see if God loves us. We look back to the cross, the ultimate and absolute display of God’s love for us, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Remind yourself of this truth by preaching the gospel to yourself. This means rehearsing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and what it means for you personally—you are loved, you are adopted, you have an inheritance in heaven that can never spoil or fade, you are an heir to all the promises in Scripture, you are saved from sin, you are accepted in the beloved.

Listen to worship music. It’s hard to have a heart filled with both anxiety and worship. Turn off the news. Shut off social media. Turn on some worship music (maybe listen to some of the old hymns—it’s encouraging to think that for hundreds of years Christians in all kinds of circumstances—war, disease, famine—have sung these exact same words of praise to our God!). Thanksgiving is an antidote to worry and distress.

Take captive every thought. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” When worry, anxiety, and depression seem to have you in a stranglehold, take those thoughts captive and submit them to Christ. You can do this by reciting Scripture, singing praise to God, or preaching the gospel/the truth to yourself. Don’t give the devil a foothold by dwelling on your anxious thoughts.

Talk to a Christian friend. Pick up the phone and call or video chat a trusted Christian friend. But don’t just vent or offload every worry and then hang up. Certainly, we can lament to one another (how can we bear one another’s burdens if we don’t know what they are?) but we should also rehearse biblical truth with one another. “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Look back. Take time to review your life and recall how God has been faithful to you in the past. He was faithful then; he will be faithful again. If you’ve kept a prayer or regular journal, flip through it and see how God has answered your prayers (likely in ways you never imagined). Or maybe start journaling now so, when the next trial begins, you can review how God was faithful to you during this one.

The words to the great hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” were penned over 100 years ago by a man suffering from poor health who never had much in the way of money or material possessions. But he believed the verses he based the song on, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23, KJV), and they—and the words to his song—are just as true now as they were then. Great is God’s faithfulness, no matter the circumstances.

[ Avery Foley ]

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“When Suffering Only Gets Worse”

It was 38 years ago, the summer of 1982, when everything changed. I will always remember the day when our expectations about life began to crumble as we were plunged, quite unwillingly and unexpectedly, into the world of brokenness and disability.

Our 3-month old daughter, Jessica, was diagnosed with profound disabilities. It was as though the earth gave way and we were in a free fall. After all, we were serving God in “full-time ministry” with Young Life. Why would this happen to us? During those days, and many times since, we had to ask ourselves, Is Romans 8:28 true? Does God really work all things for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose?

Often Quoted, Rarely Believed?
With time and perspective, through the years, I have often told people that Romans 8:28 is one of the most frequently quoted, yet possibly the least believed, verses in all the Bible. It shouldn’t be quoted less, but more whole-heartedly believed.

When people enter the shadows of the valley, be like Job’s friends and simply sit with them (as they did the first week). Sit with them, weep, be silent. We remember people’s presence, not necessarily what they said — unless they began quoting trite answers to our deep wounds.

If you are like we were, we desperately needed friends to hold us, weep with us, allow us to verbalize our pain and questions with no expectation of a good answer. The Bible calls this lament, and there is a place for that. In the midst of the valleys, we often need the Psalms. Romans 8:28 is a clear reminder of the goodness and sovereignty of God. It is a necessary strong tower, farther downstream from the loss and brokenness. And we all experience loss and brokenness.

All Things Are Not Good
Let’s be honest: All things are not good. Heartbreak, loss, disabling conditions, crime, tornados, death — these are all ultimately products of the Fall and sin. The whole creation groans (Romans 8:22). But our God is a Sovereign who takes our sin and our brokenness and turns it, in his providential wisdom and timing, into his blessings for his people. But let’s also be clear: Sometimes bad things happen, and it just gets worse. For those who are outside of God’s redemptive promises, bad things can happen and despair leads to hopelessness.

But biblical hope is another reality altogether. The letter to the Hebrews calls hope an anchor for the soul. And when the storms of life threaten to break up the ship, you need an anchor that holds. The promise of redemption — body and soul. When all things are not good in this life, we know that in Christ all things will be perfect in the next.

Indispensable Members
We have a son in the Navy who made this observation recently: The anchor is connected to the ship by heavy links in the chain. That is key to the anchor’s mission. The heavier the links, the better the anchor. The people of God and the promises of God are the links in the chain keeping the suffering saint connected to the anchor of hope. All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purposes — and this includes being connected to God’s people, the church. We are parts of a body and we desperately need the connections when we are weak, vulnerable, and broken.

God hardly ever does things the way we expect. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul unfolds the metaphor of the body saying the weak and unpresentable parts are indispensable. That means those who live with brokenness and disability are a gift to the church and are a necessary part of Christ’s body. If you are part of a family living with disability, the local church needs you desperately. Show up! Bring your ministry of presence, and God will work through you.

Joy with Chronic Sorrow
Does this mean everything will be okay, that things will get better?

In God’s mercy and grace, maybe — but then again, maybe not. All those years ago, we learned what “chronic sorrow” means. Nearly four decades later, moments surprise us when we feel the pain of unrealized dreams for our disabled child. But this is not to say there can be no joy.

Tolkien wrote that joy and sorrow are very close to each other. “The Resurrection was the greatest ‘eucatastrophe’ possible in the greatest Fairy Story — and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled, as selfishness and altruism are lost in Love” (Letters, 100).

In another essay, Tolkien said sorrow “is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of joy, joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief” (Tree and Leaf). And Paul said the same thing two-thousand years earlier: saints can live “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10) — both realities experienced at the same time.

The Great Tapestry
Are you just starting a dark part of your journey? Perhaps you have been in the valley for years and you are realizing the future may not get easier. Truth is still true. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and God still works all things for good for those who love him and are called according to his purposes. It is okay to feel and express sorrow at what has been lost or broken. But at the same time, deep and abiding joy can be present because we know the end of the story.

Joni Eareckson Tada famously and wisely says, “Sometimes God uses what he hates to accomplish what he loves.” Linger over that. Let it settle in for a moment. This is a different facet, a new angle, on Romans 8:28. While all things are not good, God is so gracious that he promises to use even our broken lives for much greater purposes such as to make us like Christ and to exalt his glory.

God is creating a great tapestry of which we are a part, even our dark threads. Our problem with this divine tapestry is that the Artist knows, sees, and continues to create the design on the upper side; but we see the lower side with dangling threads and only a faint image of the beauty to come. So we hope in Christ. We cling to the promises of God that nothing is wasted. Even our brokenness and sorrow will be used for good. So we take heart.

[ Michael Beates ]

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“This Pandemic Hits Americans Where We’re Spiritually Weak”

Our cultural values are making us sad: money, mortality, and fear of missing out.
This Pandemic Hits Americans Where We’re Spiritually Weak

In a video chat last night, a friend admitted, “I’ve been crying a lot, and I’m not sure why.” COVID-19 has given us many reasons to weep. We’re out of our routines, the stock market has plunged, and we imagine millions dying. This virus and economic crisis punch us squarely where our spiritual armor is weakest: mortality, money, and our fear of missing out.

In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul distinguishes between two kinds of sorrow—a sorrow that “leads to death,” and a “godly sorrow.” The latter “brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret” (v. 10). Godly sorrow, he writes, produces “earnestness,” eagerness to repent, and a “longing” and “readiness to see justice done” (v. 11). The question the church faces now is which kind of sorrow COVID-19 will bring.

We are in the midst of the most widespread societal upheaval that many people alive today have ever experienced. Already our institutions, habits, relationships, and culture are shifting before our eyes. Frank M. Snowden, author of Epidemics and Society, shared with the New Yorker, “Epidemics are a category of disease that seem to hold up the mirror to human beings as to who we really are.” The question we are facing is not whether we will experience sorrow and change; the question is how. As biblical prophets walked with people through catastrophes, their advice was never to just endure until it ends. Instead they focused on proactively changing relationships with each other and with God.

As a cultural anthropologist who grew up in a middle-class white United States home and then lived for much of my adult life in Nicaragua, China, and South Africa, I study the ways cultures adapt and change. Social scientists dub people like me WEIRD—Western and educated, from industrialized, rich, and democratic countries. My home culture is especially weird compared to much of the Majority World in our responses to loss and unpredictability. Yes, we WEIRD people have much that will help us against the coronavirus—well-funded research labs, hospitals, and democracy. But dealing with financial, mortal, and daily uncertainties is not our strong suit. This current upheaval slams us up against some of our deepest lies and idols. It demands strong muscles that many of us have let atrophy. Identifying how our culture has left us poorly prepared for this can move us toward the kind of sorrow that produces repentance and justice.

Mortality and the myth of perpetual productivity
In America we learn that we are what we do. We treat those who aren’t productive, young, or fashionable as not worth our attention. Everything in us has been taught to recoil at two of the most pressing realities of COVID-19: lost productivity and dying people.

In middle-class white America, introductions nearly always involve the question “What do you do?” Jobs, college majors, and contributions to an ever-churning productive economy come to define who we are. I have been taught to love schedules, precision, and hard work. Time is our commodity to use or save, not waste or spend. Economists account for human value by measuring wages and the goods we produce, and this seeps into everyday thinking.

Meanwhile, we idolize youth and treat death as the final failure. “No one in America ever looks forward to growing old,” anthropologists Lowell Holmes and Ellen Rhodes Holmes write in an anthropological analysis of American culture. Our magazines, advertisements, and media portray young people as productive, important, and beautiful. Youth are people who matter. As theologian and social worker Joyce Ann Mercer points out, we find it “almost impossible to imagine what vocation means or what forms it might take in older adulthood.” In a culture that shows little regard for the aging or the otherwise seemingly unproductive, COVID-19 forces us to re-account for their value as we face losing them.

In our glorification of youth, we recoil from death. In Nicaragua, I remember learning that someone died when a woman ran past our home wailing with grief. In South Africa at the height of the AIDS pandemic in 2006, a friend told me she had attended a funeral every week for nearly a year. I believe I have attended only two funerals in ten years. In many parts of the world, mourning is a public event, wrapped in widely shared rituals of care. In such cultures, death is still unwelcome, but unlike in my culture, death is familiar and shared in community.

For people who have learned to avoid death and rest at all costs, how might this pandemic lead us to a godly sorrow of repentance? The Christian view of rest and death is radically different from what pervades our culture. Theologian Norman Wirzba writes that “Sabbath is not an optional reprieve in the midst of an otherwise frantic or obsessive life. It is the goal of all existence.” COVID-19 is bringing some people long hours, others temporary waiting, and others layoffs. All need the message that work does not define us. We are made also to rest. The prophet Jeremiah told Israel that for all the time they had refused to practice Sabbath rest, disaster would force rest upon them (2 Chron. 36:21). Are we pushed now into receiving the rest we have neglected to give ourselves?

Death, our final rest, is also not an enemy to fear. In the context of telling his disciples “Do not worry about your life,” Jesus reminded them that God cares even for the grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, and all the more for humans (Matt. 6:25, 30). We do not escape worry by ignoring death, but by facing it with Christ. Accepting godly sorrow in this time might mean learning from experts like medical doctor Atul Gawande about how to start conversations about mortality. Rather than cling desperately to longevity, we can ask God for the life that is truly life. That life includes receiving rest even now.

Money and the expectation of human progress
An estimated $3.6 trillion disappeared in one week as the stock market collapsed. The impact will be felt most not by stockholders but by those at the bottom of social ladders through layoffs, closed nonprofit organizations, and evictions.

Our sorrow as the market crashes is not just about lost money. Americans are not so much addicted to money as we are addicted to progress. Social scientists agree that the narrative of time as a steady movement toward an ever-better future is deeply influential in Western cultures. “The constant pursuit of material wealth is not so much a desire to have things for their own value as to provide evidence for one’s friends and neighbors that one is succeeding and getting ahead,” write anthropologists Holmes and Holmes. This economic crisis strikes fear not just because we imagine layoffs and homelessness (which might motivate us to genuine concern for neighbors) but because our narrative of relentless human betterment is destabilized. Suddenly we find that things are not getting better.

We believe this metanarrative of a perpetually improving future not because God works that way but because we tell ourselves that human-made technology works that way. Since the industrial revolution and the Enlightenment, Western people have grown to trust in human innovation and the upward trend of capitalist growth. We expect economic prosperity because humans will make it so.

The economic pattern of most of the Bible is not upward growth. More often, prosperity comes and goes in cycles or sudden interventions. In the metanarrative of the Bible, God oversees the rise and fall of civilizations. Individuals and societies thrive not because their cleverness mitigates all risk, but by the gracious care of God. Human innovation has an important role to play in coping with COVID-19, but the pandemic has also exposed our over-reliance on human ingenuity for protection.

Godly sorrow as we face the lie of human-made progress will mean remembering the source of Christian hope. Many Americans traveling to the Majority World incorporate “hope” into organizational names like “building hope” and “bringing new hope.” Over the years, though, I have learned that my Majority World brothers and sisters often have the kind of hope that comes of suffering, endurance, and character (Rom. 5:3–5). Hope I grew up with was often an imitation built of privilege, a thriving economy, and a modernist narrative of progress. Living paycheck to paycheck or with no paycheck has the potential to produce hope that is like gold refined by fire (Rev. 3:18). The hope we need now will be built on a God who meets the desperate.

Fear of missing out and human attempts at authenticity
The past weeks brought a flood of emails reading “canceled.” Losing these activities hurts not just because we will miss seeing friends or keeping busy but because our culture teaches us that these activities make us us. Long before the coronavirus, we were living in an epidemic of what Harvard Business School writer Patrick McGinnis dubbed FOMO: fear of missing out.

The cultural commentator David Brooks diagnoses this condition using Kierkegaard’s term “the aesthetic life.” A person in this aesthetic lifestyle lives to “rack up experiences,” becoming “eventually paralyzed by self-consciousness.” “You tell yourself that relationships really matter to you—scheduling drinks, having lunch—but after you’ve had twenty social encounters in a week you forget what all those encounters are supposed to build to.” As we consume both purchases and activities, we have what theologian William Cavanaugh calls a detachment problem. Rather than being too attached to the stuff we buy, we are too quick to discard what matters. We gorge ourselves on activities and products, ever eager to have what’s next.

Many cultural analysts have pointed out that American consumption is fueled by a desire to prove who we are. Whether filling our lives with stuff or activity, we are “concerned primarily with what other people of our social position or age-set have, think, or do,” according to anthropologists Holmes and Holmes. Tim Keller and others note that Westerners use consumption and activity to claim and display their “authentic self.” In contrast to much of the world, Americans use consumption rather than tradition or family as a primary source of identity. Historian Meic Pearse writes in Why the Rest Hates the West, “Only an abundance of riches such as no previous generation has known could possibly console us for the emptiness of our lives, the absence of stable families and relationships, and the lack of any overarching purpose.”

As we give up sports tournaments, concerts, parties, and coffee dates, we are not just missing opportunities to see friends; we are destabilizing our sense of identity and purpose. According to Richard Rohr, fear of death often reveals an even deeper fear of never having really lived. The combination of a novel virus plus canceled activities means we have to face that fear.

What does godly sorrow look like in the face of FOMO? Now can be a time to recognize what makes life good. Have we sought the good life by chasing ever newer and greater experiences? Are we striving to craft some truly authentic self by what we buy and do? Now is a time to stop spending money and labor on what does not satisfy. Instead this is a time to learn to receive from God “what is good,” that “your soul will delight in the richest of fare” (Isaiah 55:2).

As we confront the ways this pandemic has caught us spiritually unprepared, there is no promise that we will feel any less sorrow. But we do determine what this sorrow will produce. In this time of cultural upheaval, our shared sorrow has the potential to spread repentance. Now is the time to replace our reliance on productivity, progress, and social standing with a longing and readiness to see justice done.

[ Christine Jeske ]

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“Casting Your Cares on God”

With the fear and uncertainty generated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we consider this series by John MacArthur to be even more timely now than when it was first run eight years ago. The following blog post was originally published on November 29, 2012. —ed.

A prideful heart cannot find rest in God’s sovereignty. A person who values his or her own plans, opinions, and desires above all else has nowhere to turn when worry creeps in. In fact, pride paves the way for an anxious heart.

Last time we looked at the apostle Peter’s prescription for dealing with anxiety: humility (1 Peter 5:5-7). Humility requires strong confidence in a caring God. I can’t humble myself under God’s pressure if I don’t think He cares, but I can if I know He does.

The basis of that trust is the loving care God has repeatedly shown us. You cast your anxiety on Him when you’re able to say, however haltingly, “Lord, it’s difficult . . . I’m having trouble handling this trial, but I’m giving You the whole deal because I know You care for me.”

The word Peter used in verse 7 that’s translated as “casting” was used to describe throwing something on something else, such as a blanket over a pack animal (e.g., Luke 19:35). Take all your anxiety—all the discontent, discouragement, despair, questioning, pain, and suffering that you’re going through—and toss it all onto the Lord. Trade it in for trust in God who really cares about you.

Hannah is a great illustration of someone who did just that. She didn’t have any children, which was a significant trial for a Jewish woman in ancient times. The book of 1 Samuel tells us what she did about her problem.

She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life. . . .”

Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.”

Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” She said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad (1 Samuel 1:10-18).

What happened to her? Why was she no longer sad? Her circumstances hadn’t changed—she still had no baby—but she changed when she cast her care on the Lord. Soon thereafter, God blessed her with a son, Samuel, who grew to be a great man of God. He also gave her three other sons and two daughters. Hannah is proof that when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, casting all your anxiety on His loving care, He will exalt you in due time.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Peter had Psalm 55:22 in mind when he wrote his first epistle: “Cast you burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”

Now that doesn’t mean we won’t feel shaky at times. Think how Hannah felt when the priest accused her of being drunk. Sometimes when we’re bearing burdens that in themselves seem too great to bear, people treat us insensitively and heap more burdens on us. But, like Hannah, we can be gracious about it and find relief through prayer to the God who does care.

If you need to be reminded now and then that God really cares about you, remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. Since the Lord luxuriously arrays mere field lilies, don’t you think He will clothe you? Since He faithfully feeds mere birds, don’t you think He will feed you? Spiritual maturity begins with these fundamentals: an attitude of humility toward God and others, and trust in God’s care.

[ John MacArthur ]

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“The Only True Peace”

With the fear and uncertainty generated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we consider this series by John MacArthur to be even more timely now than when it was first run eight years ago. The following blog post was originally published on December 3, 2012. —ed.

Any anxious Christian would love to have this prayer offered on his behalf: “May the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. . . . The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

Those powerful, encouraging words come from the apostle Paul at the end of his second letter to the Thessalonian church (2 Thessalonians 3:16, 18). They serve as a potent reminder of where we can and should turn when anxiety threatens—to “the Lord of peace Himself.”

Peace is commonly defined as the sense of calm, tranquility, quietness, bliss, contentment, and well-being that we feel when everything is going the way we’d like it to go. That definition, however, is incomplete because those feelings can also be produced by a pill—or by alcohol, biofeedback, a nap, a generous inheritance, or even deliberate deception. The reassurance of a friend or someone you love can also produce that kind of temporary peace.

That’s not the kind of peace Paul had in mind. Godly peace has nothing to do with human beings or human circumstances. In fact, it cannot be produced on a human level at all. Any manufactured or manipulated peace is very fragile. It can be destroyed instantly by failure, doubt, fear, difficulty, guilt, shame, distress, regret, sorrow, the anxiety of making a wrong choice, the anticipation of being mistreated or victimized by someone, the uncertainty of the future, and any challenge to our position or possessions. And we experience those things daily.

The peace that God gives is not subject to fluctuations and uncertainties of life. It is spiritual peace; it’s an attitude of the heart and mind when we believe and therefore know deep down that all is well between ourselves and God. Along with it is the assurance that He is lovingly in control of everything. We as Christians should know for certain that our sins are forgiven, that God is concerned with our well-being, and that heaven is our destiny. God’s peace is our possession and privilege by divine right.

Paul defines this peace for us in several ways in 2 Thessalonians 3:16. To begin with, it is divine: “May the Lord of peace Himself . . . grant you peace” (emphasis added). The Lord of peace is the One who gives it. The pronoun Himself is emphatic in the Greek text and underscores God’s personal involvement. Christian peace, the peace unique to believers, comes personally from Him. It is the very essence of His nature.

To put it simply, peace is an attribute of God. If I asked you to list the attributes of God, these are ones that would probably come most readily to mind: His love, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, wisdom, truth, omnipotence, omniscience, immutability, and immortality. But do you ever think of God as being characterized by peace?

In fact, He is peace. Whatever it is that He gives us, He has and He is. There is no lack of perfect peace in His being. God is never stressed. He is never anxious. He never worries. He never doubts. He never fears. God is never at cross purposes with Himself. He never has problems making up His mind.

God lives in perfect calm and contentment. Why? Because He’s in charge of everything and can operate everything perfectly according to His own will. Since He is omniscient, He is never surprised. There are not threats to His omnipotence. There is no possible sin that can stain His holiness. Even His wrath is clear, controlled, and confident. There is no regret in His mind for He has never done, said, or thought anything that He would change in any way.

God enjoys perfect harmony within Himself. Our Bibles call Him “the Lord of peace,” but in the Greek text a definite article appears before the word translated “peace,” meaning He literally is “the Lord of the peace.” This is real peace—the divine kind, not the kind the world has. Paul’s prayer is that we might experience that kind of peace. Its source is God and God alone.

Next time, we’ll look further at the nature of that peace.

[ John MacArthur ]

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“The Only Source of Peace”

With the fear and uncertainty generated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we consider this series by John MacArthur to be even more timely now than when it was first run eight years ago. The following blog post was originally published on December 4, 2012. —ed.

It’s only through God’s grace that believers can face every circumstance with calm, assured peace. Anxiety does not have to reign in our hearts—we can hold fast to God’s peace and provision through any of life’s storms.

We’ve been looking at the nature of the peace God grants to believers, as explained in Paul’s prayer from the church at Thessalonica in 2 Thessalonians 3:16, 18.

Not only is that peace divine in origin, but it is also a gift. When Paul prayed, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace,” the word translated “grant” is the verb meaning “to give.” It speaks of a gift. God’s peace is a sovereign, gracious gift bestowed on those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Psalm 85:8, a verse you may have never noticed before, the psalmist stated, “I will hear what God the Lord will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones.” God grants peace to those who belong to Him. Jesus said, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). There’s no greater gift for the anxious than God’s peace.

Some, however, will seek relief for their anxieties through a false peace. God is generous to whom He grants His peace, but there is a limit. Isaiah wrote, “‘Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will heal him.’ But the wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 57:19-21). He will grant peace to those who come to Him from near and far—those who grew up hearing much about Him and those who heard little to nothing—but those who don’t come to Him, the wicked, enjoy no real peace.

Thomas Watson explains further:

Peace flows from sanctification, but they being unregenerate, have nothing to do with peace. . . . They may have a truce, but no peace. God may forbear the wicked a while, and stop the roaring of His cannon; but though there be a truce, yet there is no peace. The wicked may have something which looks like peace, but it is not. They may be fearless and stupid; but there is a great difference between stupefied conscience, and a pacified conscience. . . . This is the devil’s peace; he rocks men in the cradle of security; he cries, Peace, peace, when men are on the precipice of hell. The seeming peace a sinner has, is not from the knowledge of his happiness, but the ignorance of his danger (A Body of Divinity [Carlisle, Pa.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1986 reprint], p.262).

The peace of the wicked is born out of delusion. True peace is the child of saving grace. In a prayer similar to the one that closes 2 Thessalonians, Paul said, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13). Peace is a gift to those who believe.

And God’s peace is the gift that keeps on giving. A less commercial way to express that truth is how Paul said it: “May the Lord of peace . . . continually grant you peace” (2 Thessalonians 3:16). By adding “continually,” Paul was emphasizing that it is constantly available. The implication is, however, that it can be interrupted.

It isn’t God who interrupts our spiritual peace, but us. We can suspend the flow of peace in our lives by succumbing to our flesh, which is still part of this world. Unless we “walk by the Spirit,” our means of controlling the flesh (Galatians 5:16), we are open season to all kinds of anxieties: the dread of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of a loved one—and we all can list a string of others.

How does this unfortunate process begin? When we stop focusing on our permanent condition in Christ, who will certainly bring us to glory. And when we start basing our happiness on the fleeting things of the world. Those things by definition will change. Thus, if we get upset when they do, we will spend our lives in distress.

People who can ride through the toughest issues of life and remain calm are not indifferent; they’re just trusting God. What if our ride is a little bumpy? What if we’re feeling troubled, anxious, and fearful? How can we restore the peace? How can it remain uninterrupted?

The psalmist said to himself, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God” (Psalm 42:11). He reminded himself that God was there to help him. We can trust Him because He is trustworthy. He genuinely cares for us.

Long ago, God made it perfectly clear to Israel that peace comes from obeying His Word (Leviticus 26:1-6). The same truth applies today. Peace is restored through obedience. The first step is to turn from sin. Sometimes the sin is the doubt, fear, and anxiety itself, but also it can be an underlying sin that has produced those feelings. Probe your heart and isolate the cause of unrest. Forsake the sin that has been revealed to you and obey God by applying the opposite virtue. In the case of anxiety, that means having faith in God to help you manage life’s details.

Something else that will restore your peace is to accept whatever stresses or challenges God has seen fit to bring into your life. In the book of Job we read:

Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal. . . . In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword. You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you will not be afraid of violence when it comes. You will laugh at violence and famine, and you will not be afraid of wild beasts. For you will be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you. You will know that your tent is secure, for you will visit your abode and fear no loss (Job 5:17-18, 20-24).

If you understand that God is using all the difficulties you face to perfect you, you’ll be at peace. It is not all for nothing. You may not always know why you’re going through this or that, but be encouraged that there is a good reason. Turning to the New Testament, Paul said if you want peace, do good (Romans 2:10). All who do good will enjoy peace. To be more specific, “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. . . . And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:17-18). Living according to the Word—according to heavenly wisdom, to God’s revealed standard of righteousness—brings peace.

If you’ve lost God’s peace in your life, you can find it again. Retrace your steps by trusting God in everything, turning from sin and walking in obedience, enduring His refining work in your life, doing what is good, and living by His Word in a righteous way. As Paul said, God’s peace is continually available to you. Avail yourself of it.

[ John MacArthur ]

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“Unshakable Peace”

With the fear and uncertainty generated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we consider this series by John MacArthur to be even more timely now than when it was first run eight years ago. The following blog post was originally published on December 6, 2012. —ed.

Believers often find themselves living in contradiction to the world, and we should. The runaway anxiety and constant fear that grips so much of the world does not have the same hold on us—or at least, it shouldn’t. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at anxiety from a biblical perspective, and examining God’s care and provision for His people, and how that should free us from worry.

Today we’re bringing our Attacking Anxiety series to a close with part three of our discussion on Paul’s prayer that we would know and rest in God’s lasting peace and grace. The apostle wrote, “May the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. . . . The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (2 Thessalonians 3:16, 18).

A final characteristic of God’s peace is that it is not subject to circumstances. Paul’s prayer was that we might continually enjoy it “in every circumstance” (v. 16). This peace is not subject to anything that happens in the worldly realm. It is not built on any human relationship, and it’s not dependent on human feelings, decisions, or situations.

Rather, God’s peace is built on a divine plan and promise from an unfailing God who will secure you in Himself, and who will do everything for your good. This peace is a product of an unchanging divine relationship, and it is unbreakable, unassailable, and transcendent.

As we noted earlier, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). He was saying, “There’s nothing to fear or be anxious about because I’m giving you a divine, lasting peace that cannot be fractured or damaged by the world.” We demonstrate that Jesus keeps His promises when, in the midst of worldly upheavals that would normally tear us up and trouble our lives, we remain calm.

Paul’s great desire was that we enjoy that kind of well-being, which is why he prayed toward that end. His parting wish was this: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:18). He wanted every man and woman who would ever put his or her faith in Christ to experience the abiding presence of God’s grace.

Grace is God’s goodness or benevolence given to those who don’t deserve it. “Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). It was in the person of God’s Son that “the grace of God has appeared,” making salvation available to all (Titus 2:11). Once we embrace this saving grace through faith in Christ, we are blessed with God’s grace, enabling us to withstand any difficulty that would tend to make us anxious. Paul described this grace while confessing to a difficulty that brought him great anxiety:

There was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. . . . Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

As believers, we also are blessed with the grace that equips us for divine service. Paul expressed his appreciation for this grace in saying, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy . . . the grace of our Lord was more than abundant” (1 Timothy 1:12-14).

Grace is what enables us to grow spiritually in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). In the material realm, Paul appealed to God’s grace in encouraging the Corinthian church to be generous in giving to the Lord’s work: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God’s grace saves us, helps us cope with our anxieties, equips us for service, and enables us to grow spiritually and to be rich in God. Like God’s peace, it is always available, and there is no limit to it. And again, like God’s peace, the conditions for receiving it are trusting God, forsaking sin, enduring the refining process, doing good, and living by the Word. As we are what we ought to be, God infuses us with His peace and grace. And that has a wonderful way of crowding out anxiety.

I want to close this series on a personal note. Just a few days after preaching a sermon on the peace and grace God bestows on His people, I had an unprecedented opportunity to apply it to my own life: I was notified that my wife and youngest daughter were in a serious auto accident, and that my wife, Patricia, would probably die. Everything seemed like a blur to me, the details frustratingly sketchy—I was afraid she was already dead. During my hour-long drive to the hospital, I had a lot of time to reflect on the severity of the situation. Yet I experienced a deep and steeled peace simply because I knew God had not failed me—His grace was in complete control.

I am happy to report that God spared both their lives, and that Patricia recovered beautifully. If you too rely on God’s grace, He will see you through the most difficult trials.

[ John MacArthur ]

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“Why is God Allowing the Coronavirus Pandemic?”

Good Friday 1964 was not good for the inhabitants of Anchorage, Alaska. At 5:36am an upheaval of tectonic plates far beneath the ocean’s surface caused a giant tsunami to rush on land carrying everything before it. Huge fissures opened in the earth’s surface, buildings collapsed, and terrified people ran for higher ground—but many were swept away.

Alarming and destructive as the Alaskan earthquake was it paled into insignificance compared to the one that hit Banda Aceh, Indonesia in 2004. More than 200,000 perished in the quake and the subsequent tsunami. Tremors were felt as far away as the Arctic Circle and Antarctica, the polar extremities of the globe.

Commentators and analysts struggling to convey the enormity, severity, and utter devastation of these, and other major tragedies, often compared them to “ancient narratives of biblical proportions.”

Presumably they had in mind such heart-stopping events as the all-engulfing flood in which the human race narrowly escaped extinction because Noah and his family survived. Or, perhaps Yahweh’s battle with the recalcitrant Pharaoh in which a series of plagues destroyed Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and their land.

I haven’t heard any contemporary commentators saying the coronavirus pandemic’s frightening exponential growth and relentless global expansion possess biblical proportions, but I do believe that the situation we are now facing is such that it could benefit from some biblical perspectives!

There are, of course, many people who hold what we may call a “secular world view” who are most unlikely to spend any time contemplating modern events from a biblical perspective. This is not surprising as they probably fail to see the relevance of the Bible to modern life or of any world views that owe their existence to its teaching.

This secular view assumes that God, if He exists, is not actively involved in the world or its affairs. Furthermore, they believe that the cosmos is a closed system in which everything works perfectly well under discernible and predictable laws, which humans have harnessed to their own purposes, requiring only the resources of the material universe to keep life running as smoothly as possible.

The alternative view—we can call it a “theistic world view”—is predicated on the belief that God is the Creator and Upholder of the Cosmos and is actively involved in cosmic affairs and that He is directing it and all who live therein to His foreordained conclusion.

It is hardly surprising that some who believe that God is actively involved in world affairs are asking questions such as, “Did God send this coronavirus pandemic like He sent the plagues to Egypt?” or “Is this pandemic God’s judgment on a rebellious world?” or “Why is God allowing this pandemic to do so much damage?” Such questions are the natural outgrowth of a biblical perspective, and answers are to be sought in biblical teaching.

First—some perspectives on God

The Bible at page one makes a huge fundamental statement—In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Read on, and the statement is amplified. He is the Originator, the Designer, the Producer, and the Upholder of the beautiful, complex, created order. From earliest times He became known by names speaking of His power and majesty. For example, El Elyon—the Most High, and El Shaddai—the Almighty.

He regularly reminded Israel that they owed their status as a chosen people to His choice, and their freedom to His powerful intervention and their survival in the wilderness, and the Promised Land to His powerful presence and provision. In other words, He was revealed in Israel’s Scriptures, as the all-sufficient, all-powerful Lord of heaven and earth. Isaiah, in his transforming vision, saw the LORD high and exalted, seated on a throne. Exactly! That’s where you’d expect to find the Creator and LORD of heaven and earth. And the final book of Scripture portrays God as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (We should bear in mind that this statement, which possibly contained the meaning “Caesar of Caesars,” was made during the days when the Roman Empire ruled and was a direct challenge to its authority.) A biblical perspective starts with an understanding of who God is declared to be in His might and majesty.

Second—some perspectives on mankind

The biblical perspective on the development of the created order focuses on mankind, who are portrayed as enjoying a special relationship both to God and to His creation. Their relationship to God was to be one of loving, trusting, obedience and blessing; to the created order they were commissioned to be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue [and rule] it (Genesis 1:28). Mankind, both male and female, gifted with intelligence and curiosity, were planted in an Eden full of promise and wonder with a mandate to explore, discover, develop, order, and cultivate it as God’s mandated agents. This mandate still stands.

Third—some perspectives on Evil

While there is much skepticism about the biblical character called the Devil—evil personified—there is little disagreement about the presence and power of evil in modern life. Our military exists to combat it, our law enforcement to control it, our movies portray it, our politicians legislate it, and our philosophers debate it. It is everywhere! And it entered Eden and presented to mankind the possibility of a life living in the good of the riches of Eden without limits. Freedom! It meant exploiting the resources of creation without concerns about fulfilling the mandate or bowing to the Almighty or bearing the burden of accountability to the Creator. It meant a total reversal of the divine order where God was God and mankind was mankind, so that Man would be god and the created order would be his domain. And God would no longer be God. Mankind would walk away from God and render allegiance to the Devil, God would no longer be God, and mankind would control the whole created order with the Devil actively involved. Reversal.

Fourth—some perspectives on the world

When the Devil—evil personified—entered Eden and tempted mankind who succumbed, a catastrophe of biblical proportions was the result. The Scriptures describe it simply as sin entered into the world and death by sin. Two unthinkable dynamics became part of the pristine creation—sin and death (and that appertains to it). Think of sin as that which comes short of God’s standards and you can begin to visualize a created order in which nothing is the way it ought to be. Not that it has lost every trace of its original glory—glimmers and traces are everywhere—but that every part of it is not what it ought to be. This is the heartbreak of God.

By this time, you’re probably wondering what happened to the questions that come from looking at the days in which we live from a biblical perspective.

Fifth—some perspectives on coronavirus

So, let’s see if we can put this together. I firmly believe that this world, fallen and spoiled and beautiful as it is, is not spinning in space hopelessly meaningless and out of control. The Creator and Upholder of the Universe is still in overall charge. In fact, the Scriptures tell us that as it was at His command that creation happened and by His command that the creation has survived, so by the same authority the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly (2 Peter 3:5-7).

But as mankind rejected the Creator and ceded what had been entrusted to them to the Devil, the result is the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). He’s still like a roaring lion. He can still terrify, and the fallen world can still yield to his dictates. So our wonderful bodies, subject to the curse of sin and death, can suffer from rogue cells that go “viral,” highly educated but fallen and fallible mankind can make serious miscalculations, world systems that have produced political deadlock can exacerbate problems, and the result can be a pandemic.

But God has made it clear that He is, in Christ, actively engaged in the process of making everything new… for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:4-5). Through the death and resurrection of Christ, the power of the Devil has been blunted and his power has been curtailed. He’s still dangerous, evil is still rampant, but God—patient beyond our imagination—allows this state of affairs to continue. Why? Because He knows the end story—He wins. And secondly, because as our Father in heaven, He disciplines the one He loves and chastens everyone He accepts as His son (Hebrews 12:7). He doesn’t create the virus; He doesn’t send the virus. The virus is the result of the fallen-ness of mankind and the failure of world systems, the nefarious intent of the evil one coming together in a perfect storm—all under the permissive will and purpose of the Almighty God.

This perspective, I fully recognize, raises many questions, many of which are imponderables. We can ask them and perhaps find answers for some of them, but the main thing to take away from this approach is to ask: If the Lord is lovingly allowing His people to go through tribulation, what end does He have in mind—and am I open to receive it?

[ Stuart Briscoe ]

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“God Is Doing a New Thing in this Corona Crisis World”

Incarnational preaching and connection creates a stronger community.

God Is Doing a New Thing
I am not saying “He sent a plague.” It’s not that kind of an article and I don’t think he’s that kind of God, because Jesus said he came to save the world not condemn it.

But what if God has brought us into the missional moment we have been saying might happen and could happen and should happen for years? My friend Alan Hirsch has written so much to try to prepare us for the next reformation—not of our soteriology (how we are saved) but of our ecclesiology (how we are church).

Are you ready? Or were you?

I’ve only heard the audible voice of the Lord a couple of times, but last year in a hotel in Scotland he woke me up in the middle of the night to say over and over “See! I am doing a New Thing! Do you not perceive it?”

I looked into the word “perceive,” because that was the word he repeated as it resounded over and over in my spirit. I found at root it means “take hold of, grasp.” He can do a new thing and we miss it if were not alert to it.

Again that’s not to say God is behind this virus. But he was certainly ahead of it, and wants to help us to be too. I am very clear on the tragedy and personal pain unfolding in these times and have spoken and written on that elsewhere—so please give me a pass on starting with some kind of theodicy here and instead hear that I know the days are evil, so we must now redeem the time and make the most of every opportunity (Eph. 5:16).

The Opportunity
What do you perceive as an opportunity right now? I know this could change for generations how we do business, education, transportation, and leisure activities. I am intensely interested in all such shifts, but as a church movement leader I’m welcoming, learning from, and cheering on so many pioneering and radical approaches to being the Body of Christ in our streets, cities, regions, and nations. I am thrilled by those I see giving their best to love and serve and grasping the missional initiative by creating collaborative networks to be a blessing where we are called.

I am grateful to see a shift away from being corporate church CEO to becoming chaplain/pastors and caring in Christ’s name in the face of tragedy for everyone wrestling with all kinds of grief, rather than taking a one dimensional approach that says only Sundays matter to God.

At the same time I relish the way so many are creatively engaging and reshaping who we are as church. As well as engaging with friends who lead in poorer nations without access to technology I take for granted, I am also learning how to better go online and connect with the multitudes there; especially from those who realize we must do so with the “anonymous/ invisible crowd/fringe/disengaged from church” people the Lord loves.

Too many can only think about how soon we can go back to normal, but could it be that God is drawing us out to a place he never really wants us to come back from?

I don’t want to go back to normal. Normal church was rubbish. It was underperforming at best and unbiblical at worst. I still believe the best days for the church are ahead of us, but only for those who seize the day and see the supernatural creativity released by the Spirit hovering over the chaos to birth exciting, innovative, externally focused ministry to help people who are lost and alone find their way back to God.

How will we help isolated people not only with the shopping today but to find the Lord who will never leave or forsake them? How do we hold out hope right where people can grab it? How do we learn and teach them how to pray (will we let that space be taken by yoga/meditation apps?)? How do we create art?

What about worship? How do we make the God experience we profess available to the church that meets in homes, rather than recreate the passive approach that gathering in buildings tends to lead to as default? These are huge subjects and I am brimming with thoughts on it but I would like to focus on one for now:

Worship and Communication Online
Many things have changed, but many still stay the same. What used to be irrelevant and boring is now suddenly interesting because it’s on a screen. In fact we have to work a lot harder to maintain interest. People rarely walk out of the building in the middle of a sermon, but people can easily and anonymously vote with their finger.

The job of a communicator is not to just get a message out—hoping it lands. We must always be aware of:

-WHO we are talking with (notice – not to!)

-WHY is it so important, and why is this the best way to communicate this now and in this manner/medium (if not, find another way)

-WHAT—out of all the messages out there—are we vitally focused on and intent on communicating clearly, now?

-HOW do we forge and grow connection leading to community? What’s the best next step? I want to press in on this point for the rest of this article.

Communicating and Connecting for Community
This is not a technology issue per se, the tech has to serve the community, not the other way round. It’s not about who has the best kit or puts on the best show, because it’s not about information, but incarnation.

I love the way the Message translates John 1:1, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” Well isn’t that interesting? Is that happening now? It happens when we make the shift (and many have not got this at all even though they can’t meet in a building) from inviting people to church to meet Jesus, to Jesus moving into your neighborhood and those of us who serve him as church leaders moving in with him.

This only happens by invitation. The first Sunday we could not meet in Ivy Church buildings, I gave a call online to become a disciple of Christ and said online that I was willing to “ordain” all who follow him to be the leader of “the church that meets in your house” (Romans 16:5, Col 4:15) and if you will invite us into that church we would like to help equip you to grow and lead that church. I invited people to anoint each other and their doorposts with oil as they were commissioned. I said get in touch and tell us the name of your church. We planted so many new churches that day we quickly lost count!

Now our posture is not, “we’re putting on church for you to come to.” Rather it’s, “Will you invite us into the church that meets in your house?”

The mindset shift makes a huge difference when we break bread, pray, and worship. But I know it raises questions too.

Isn’t it Impersonal?
It can be, if you are.

The fact is a Zoom call can feel more intimate than being part of a crowd in a room. They see us up close and face-to-face. They see our eyes and smile (or lack of it). They feel our energy, hear our love as we speak from our hearts, not just as talking heads. People are used to screens and before long can forget they are watching one and become absorbed if we tell stories rather than just state facts—that’s how TV works.

We must create engagement: encourage comments and saying hi to each other and being warmly welcomed, suggest next steps, offer space for questions (or anticipate them as we speak) or pauses or connections with others in “the room.” The revitalized engagement in small groups has also been interesting to note as socially distant people are vulnerable enough to show a yearning for relationship that we are hard wired for because “it’s not good for us to be alone (Gen. 2:18).”

But How Do You Go Deep?
How can we help people go from the shallows of checking us out online via Facebook as they discover us through a watch party toward a deeper relationship with Christ? This seems to be the pressing question I am hearing over and over.

Some disparaging, negative voices have immediately been saying, “Once this is over the people who are clicking in now won’t be back in our churches on Sunday.” Those people are right. I probably wouldn’t want to go to some churches either.

Others are saying “They’re not ‘real’ disciples”—the implication being “like us.”

Well how far back do you have to be, to be a disciple? The disciples followed Jesus for years and it’s arguable when any of them actually “became Christians.” At Pentecost? Maybe.

Who Is a Disciple?
Who’s closer to Jesus—someone pondering the questions of life thrown up by this present world crisis, looking online for whether Christianity might afford the beginning of an answer, or someone who has been “in church” for twenty years but now spends their time waiting for “it all to be over” or writing cranky blogs about the efforts of others while not caring tuppence how to begin to love their neighbor in Jesus’ name?

Isn’t the way people primarily deepen in relationship with Jesus now, primarily by deepening relationship with those who say he now inhabits? That’s how it has worked for me. Christ in you is the hope of glory! So how can we who say we love the Lord, now show it in ways that help people who are like sheep without a shepherd find him too?

Our “us” just got a whole lot bigger, if we will notice, love, welcome, communicate, empathize with, be kind to, serve, and include “them.”

One Verse Discipleship Plan
There is a simple pattern of discipleship formation laid out in 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “We cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

Take a closer look at that.

This goes beyond giving a great talk or making small talk. It may start with someone pressing hearts on a Facebook stream, but we will only change hearts when and if we can say and show that:

WE cared for you (personal, corporate and one to one). Why?

We LOVED you (not a program, a passion for people)

We SHARED with you (giving, receiving, mentoring, mutuality)

Not only the GOSPEL (life changing content) but

Our LIVES as well (a life changed by that message. What that looks like for real with all the messiness and miracles).

This is what people need, they have always needed it, but perhaps now we are more willing than ever to voice it. Perhaps this crisis won’t make us that different, it will just make clearer to everyone what we are really like. We are not just called servants but friends, and every friend of Jesus can and must be mobilized to BEfriend. You don’t need to have be a Bible expert to be a friend. Just because right now we can’t meet in person doesn’t mean we stop being God’s people.

One practical idea because I don’t ever just want to be a theorist. While writing this a local pub chain sent me an email invitation. The pubs can’t meet as they did, so I’m invited to “The Lock In.” They say, “While our pubs are closed, we’ve decided to open a virtual pub. We know many of our customers are feeling cut-off from their friends and for some a visit to the pub is the only social contact they will have in a day. The Lock Inn aims to help tackle loneliness and isolation by offering activities and entertainment to encourage interaction.”

They’ll be playing bingo, having pub quizzes, and so on.

That confirmed for me something I wanted our church to get on right away: The Ivy Coffee Shop. Coffee shops have closed down too. I for one miss them! We can open an online one and I can make my favorite coffee. Can we begin to build some regulars who drop into the Zoom site for a chat with their coffee? We can chat there and pray, we can point from the Ivy Coffee Shop to various other groups and get help, we can do some music nights—get creative people doing some open mic?

You are welcome to come once we open! How do you like your coffee?

[ Anthony Delaney ]

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“What Would Jesus Say About the Crisis?”

In times of tragedy like the current COVID-19 crisis, we’re quick to put God on trial, crying out, “Why did You allow this?” In fact, in Luke 13, people were asking Jesus the same question—but He challenged them to ask a different one.

[ Michael Youssef ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHAvtlL4820&feature=youtu.be&t=114

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“How Should the Church Respond to Coronavirus?”

In the last two weeks Pastor Craig Groeschel has gained a unique perspective on the fear and anxiety related to the recent coronavirus outbreak. Hear what he’s learned from his experience, and how God invites us to respond to the situation.

When our world is shaken, it’s easy for fear to spread. But God promises to be with us no matter what comes our way. In times of uncertainty, it’s more important than ever to trust who God is and how He says we can live—Not Afraid.

[ Craig Groeschel ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HANQASntcww

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“Is there a COVID conspiracy? Absolutely YES.”

[ Todd Friel ]

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfs72RPyzvY

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“Three Reasons to Fear God”

[ John MacArthur -2008 Resolved Conference ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-vbK-KZ0yw

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“What Does It Mean for the Christian to Fear God?”

EPISODE 310 // April 1, 2014

[ John Piper ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r8WBAomcxk

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“Covid and Civil Liberties”

In the second episode of The Intercept’s new weekly show, host Glenn Greenwald explores the under-discussed consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Glenn interviews activist and whistleblower Edward Snowden to talk about the risk of acquiescing to more surveillance during times of peril, journalist Andray Domise of Maclean’s about how this pandemic can impact the social fabric, and to Cassie King, DxE investigator, about the relationships between animal agriculture and new diseases.

[ “System Update” With Glenn Greenwald ]

Commentary/Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd7exbDzU1c

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“‘Lockdown’ – Prophecy Update”

In this week’s Prophecy Update with Tom Hughes, we look at the lockdowns across the world and how they may be setting the stage for a future world leader to take charge.

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB47E3kWuIQ

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“Approaching COVID-19 from a Biblical Perspective”

In the past few weeks, people all around the world have become familiar with coronavirus (COVID-19), which has resulted in great fear and concern by many. And just when we think we have learned all there is to know about COVID-19, a new day comes, and we find out something else that results in even greater concern. Only God knows how serious this virus is and how many people will be infected by it in the near future.

As a pastor, I have had many come to me with concerns about how COVID-19 can and should be approached. In addition, I have received numerous suggestions from various ministry, medical and governmental sources offering guidelines to adapt what eventually may bring a resolve to this tragic worldwide situation.

I thank God for those in the medical science field who are searching for a solution to COVID-19. I am also grateful for political leaders who are attempting to provide direction that will keep the general citizenry informed, calm and peaceful. But I realize that those of us who are in pastoral ministry have a great responsibility before God to provide the spiritual leadership necessary to guide America through this tragic circumstance.

Certainly, there is no lack of secular advice being given as to how to approach COVID-19. But I believe the ultimate approach should be from the biblical perspective that presents God’s way of dealing with this issue. Yes, we need to look at COVID-19 through the eyes of a biblical worldview.

One passage of Scripture to consider is Psalm 91, which teaches how God takes care of His own. Take time to read all 16 verses of this precious passage. To summarize the psalm, we are told that those who belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ dwell in the inner sanctum of the presence of God, who protects them as a mother bird cares for her young under her wings. The promise is that no evil shall befall them because God will keep them in all of their ways. Through God’s grace, love and mercy, He will “set them on high” and show them his salvation that involves the deliverance through whatever may come their way. This applies to COVID-19 and all other trials of life.

Realizing God’s promise to provide for His own as taught in Psalm 91, and then trusting God to keep His Word, as He always does, will erase the greatest of all fear, anxiety and panic in the hearts of the deeply concerned.

So how does one get to the place of trusting God and seeing His provision? Perhaps remembering the following facts about God will help.

– God is in control. So depend upon Him to do what is right.
– God has a purpose. So watch for Him to work.
– God will provide. So trust in Him to deliver.
– God has a mission. So declare His truth abroad.
– God has a remedy. So praise Him for what He will do.

Even though there is a lot of advice being given in the world as to how to approach COVID-19, the sooner one focuses on Who God is, what God expects and how God works, and then is convinced of the fact that God causes, allows and directs all things according to His sovereign plan, the more one will experience the strength, hope, peace, comfort and confidence that only God can provide.

As Philippians 4:6,7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Yes, those who follow that comforting admonition from Scripture will surely experience all the provision of God that is needed to face COVID-19 or any other troublesome issue that will come upon us in life.

Remember the words of the old hymn written by Civilla D. Martin that says:

“Be not dismayed what-e’re be-tide, God will take care of you.
Beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you.

“Through days of toil when heart does fail, God will take care of you.
When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you.

“All you may need he will provide, God will take care of you.
Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you.”

[ Gary Dull ]

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“44 Percent Say Coronavirus Is ‘Wake-Up Call’ from God, Sign of His Judgment”

More than four in 10 likely voters in the United States believe the coronavirus pandemic is a wake-up call from God or a sign of “coming judgment,” according to a new poll.

The survey asked likely voters a series of questions about the pandemic and faith, including: “Do you see the global coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown” as “signs of coming judgment” or “a wake-up call for us to turn back to faith in God?”

A total of 44 percent of likely voters picked one or the other or chose both. Twenty-two percent said “both,” 17 percent said it was a wake-up call, and 5 percent said it was a sign of coming judgment. The poll was conducted among 1,000 likely voters between March 23-26 by McLaughlin & Associates for The Joshua Fund, a Christian ministry that supports Israel. McLaughlin & Associates also conducts political polls.

Meanwhile, 29 percent of likely voters agreed that “the coronavirus pandemic and global economic meltdown are evidence that we are living in what the Bible calls the ‘last days.” Fifty-six disagreed.

Joel C. Rosenberg, the founder and president of The Joshua Fund, called the results “stunning.”

“This survey provides a fascinating window into how Americans see the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is dramatically increasing their interest in spiritual matters,” he said.

The survey asked non-Christians if the global pandemic has caused them to “have more interest in God and spiritual matters.” Although 63 percent said it had not, others said it had.

For example:

7 percent of non-Christians said they “have started reading the Bible, even though I usually don’t.”
8 percent of non-Christians said they are “having more spiritual conversations with family and friends.”
5 percent of non-Christians said they have searched online to learn more about Bible prophecy.
2 percent of non-Christians said they “have started listening to Bible teaching and/or Christian sermons online, even though I usually don’t.”
Many Christians also have seen their interest in matters of faith increase.

For example:

14 percent of Christians said they’re “reading the Bible more than ever before.”
16 percent of Christians said they’re “listening/watching Bible teaching and Christian sermons online since I cannot go to church.”
10 percent said they’re “searching online to learn more about Bible prophecy and God’s plan for the future of mankind.”
“These are no ordinary times,” Rosenberg said. “Americans in near full lockdown are anxious, and understandably so. Yet millions are turning to God, the Bible and Christian sermons for answers, some of them for the first time. That may be the most important silver lining in this crisis so far.”

[ Michael Foust ]

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“Millions of Americans Say That the Coronavirus Pandemic is a Wake Up Call from God”

JD: David, I think one of the reasons so many seem to be taking this seriously is because they are connecting it to the end times judgments of God.

DJ: God’s prophetic clock is currently on pause until the Rapture of the church. That means God is sovereignly moving history toward the time when all remaining prophecies will be fulfilled even though no specific prophecies must be fulfilled until after the Rapture.

So when people say prophecy is being fulfilled right now there usually thinking about the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24. Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to Him privately saying, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. So the answer Jesus gives is about the period of time just prior to His return which we refer to as the Tribulation. It’s obvious why people think prophecy is currently being fulfilled but I would say there’s a difference between what’s happening now and the things that Jesus was warning about.

JD: Explain to us how would you tell the differences between these global events we’re watching right now and God’s coming judgments.

DJ: First of all earthquakes, volcanos, storms, famines, diseases and disasters in general and the suffering and deaths they bring are just a part of life in a sinful fallen world and have been since the fall in the Garden of Eden for millennia. We also know that believers in the church have been persecuted, tortured, and killed for their faith beginning in the first century. But what’s coming after the Rapture of the church will make those things pale in comparison. Jesus said that the seven year Tribulation will be like nothing the world has ever seen. Perhaps the most important difference is that the prophesied future events will be a result of God’s intentional and direct intervention in the affairs of men when He begins pouring out His wrath and judgment against the world. We’ve then promised that we won’t experience a wrath in judgment of God. There will be international conflict, war, destruction, and famine that results in the death of one-fourth of the worlds population. Things are going to get progressively worse over those seven years until the world becomes uninhabitable just prior to Jesus’s return and no one wants to be around for that.

JD: David James explaining on why many Americans believe that the coronavirus pandemic is indeed a wakeup call from God.

We report this information because it is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

The article that Dave used for his report is truly though provoking. The entire world seems to be alert to what the Lord is doing as He uses the coronavirus pandemic as a wake up call for each of us. I admit that the Lord has my attention. I realize that the pandemic Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:7 is yet in the future. However, that excite me about the next event on God’s calendar the Rapture of the church which by the way could happen today.

[ Jimmy DeYoung]

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“A Preview of Things to Come”

Jan Markell and Amir Tsarfati consider a multitude of issues that are a forecast of things to come. So much happening now is setting the stage! We carry his new book in our online store at https://store.olivetreeviews.org/prod… . While a dark agenda is playing out, it is leading to the Rapture of the Church. The day is approaching!

[ Jan Markell interviews Amir Tsarfati ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF0ba1mSE68

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“Life Has Changed Drastically: New Poll – Many See Wake-Up Call To Turn Back To God”

Nearly half of Americans (44%) say they believe that the COVID-19 coronavirus and resulting economic meltdown is a “wake-up call for us to turn back to faith in God,” and/or “signs of coming judgment,” according to a new poll commissioned by The Joshua Fund.

The survey was conducted March 23-26, 2020, by nationally respected pollsters McLaughlin & Associates. It was commissioned by The Joshua Fund, an Evangelical non-profit educational and charitable organization founded in 2006 by Joel C. Rosenberg. Rosenberg is a New York Times best-selling author of non-fiction and fiction books.

“These are no ordinary times,” said Rosenberg. “Americans in near full lockdown are anxious, and understandably so. Yet millions are turning to God, the Bible and Christian sermons for answers, some of them for the first time. That may be the most important silver lining in this crisis so far.”

“This survey provides a fascinating window into how Americans see the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is dramatically increasing their interest in spiritual matters,” said Rosenberg. “The results are clear: this unprecedented global crisis is causing Americans to start reading the Bible and listen to Bible teaching and Christian sermons online, even though they usually don’t; search online for teaching on Bible prophecy and God’s future for mankind; and/or engage in more spiritual conversations with family and friends.”

The McLaughlin & Associates questions were asked of 1,000 likely American voters. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval.

The breakdown of those who believe this crisis is a “wake-up call” back to faith in God includes:

25% of self-identified “secular” Americans;
42% of Jewish Americans;
58% of Republicans
41% of Democrats
Additionally, 22% of self-identified non-Christian respondents and 40% of Christian respondents indicate the global coronavirus pandemic and economic chaos have resulted in more interest in God and spiritual matters.

What’s more, nearly one-third of all Americans (29%) said they believe that this crisis indicates that “we are living in what the Bible calls the ‘last days.’” Broken down by demographic, this includes:

Nearly 30% of Jewish Americans;
30% of Democrats
39% of Republicans;
37% of military households;
40% of African Americans, 50% of Hispanic Americans and 25% of White Americans; and
Some 28% of individuals 18-29, 33% of people age 30-40, 29% of people age 41-55, 33% of those between 56-65, and some 24% of seniors over 65.
In response to these results, The Joshua Fund has published “What Does The Bible Teach About Pestilence, Plagues & Global Pandemics?”, a 12-page fact sheet derived from insight from a number of senior pastors, theologians and seminary professors. It can be found at http://www.joshuafund.com.

The full survey is also posted on The Joshua Fund website at https://www.joshuafund.com/.

Joel C. Rosenberg is best known for writing about “worst-case scenarios.” He has specifically written about pandemics in his 2006 book “Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future,” and his 2012 book, “Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges in Time?”

He a New York Times best-selling author of 14 novels and five nonfiction books, with nearly 5 million copies sold. His newest book, “The Jerusalem Assassin,” was released March 17 and landed on the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today best-seller lists in its first week. He has been interviewed by, or written articles for, hundreds of media outlets and has been profiled by The New York Times, The Washington Times and The Jerusalem Post. A graduate of Syracuse University with a BFA in filmmaking, he is a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen and lives with his family in Jerusalem, Israel. For information visit http://www.joelrosenberg.com.

The Joshua Fund is a nonprofit, non-partisan educational and charitable organization created to mobilize Christians to “bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus” by caring for the poor and needy, strengthen the Church in the Middle East and teach the importance of the Scriptures and biblical prophecy. The purpose of the survey was to better understand Americans’ spiritual views, not advance any partisan political objectives or influence federal, state or local legislation. The organization was founded in 2006 by Joel and Lynn Rosenberg. For more information, visit https://www.joshuafund.com/.

[ Richard Hunt and Kristin Cole ]

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“As we walk through the coronavirus shadow of death, do we have faith that God is with us?”

Peggy Wehmeyer: If I’m honest, my faith in God’s promise of life after death is at times a little wobbly.

Editor’s note: This is the one in a series of periodic dispatches from writer and former reporter Peggy Wehmeyer on her experiences working at home as the coronavirus pandemic spreads.

Every morning when I wake up and clear my head of blurry dreams, I’m relieved to know the bad ones haven’t come true. “Whew,” I think as my feet touch the floor. “My daughter wasn’t really mugged last night, and I didn’t lose my notes on the way to the podium.” Life will be all right today.

Now reality is more frightening than my scariest dream. Within milliseconds of opening my eyes, I’m back in the sci-fi movie no one can wake up from.

“Wait — you mean I’m not supposed to leave my house? Separated from my children and grandchildren? An insidious virus could invade my body and leave me struggling to breathe?”

I’ve developed a daily ritual for facing this new normal without letting anxiety take me under. Every morning, while it’s still dark, my husband asleep beside me, I get up and move to our small wood-paneled den. Throwing a blanket over my knees, I sip a cup of English breakfast tea and lay out my weapons for my daily war with fear.

This ritual has a few ground rules. No online news feeds until long after sunup. No reading texts or emails from friends that came in overnight.

Instead, I reach straight for my gratefulness journal, which I’ve written in every morning since the coronavirus first appeared in Dallas. The exercise is counterintuitive, but even if I just list three things I’m grateful for, it’s powerful. Studies show that starting the day with authentic gratitude significantly reduces anxiety the rest of the day.

I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the onset of the coronavirus in Dallas coincides with Lent, a spiritual period of reflection, fasting and repentance leading to Easter. Easter Sunday celebrates God’s triumph over death and evil, through a cross. The 40 days before, when Lent is observed, is about the agonizing path to that cross.

My next weapon is a collection of Lenten essays I pull from the bookshelf every morning. I lean on authors like Tolstoy, Augustine, Luther and Chesterton for reminders of what and why I believe. This Easter season though, I’m shrinking back from chapter titles I once found deep and intriguing, titles like “Shared Hells,” “Surrender is Everything,” and “On this Gallows.”

Who needs help this year contemplating the sorrow and pain of a broken world that sent Jesus to a cross? The coronavirus has trapped us into a kind of forced Lent. It’s impossible to escape thoughts of suffering now.

I wondered if God would mind if I skipped all the Lenten readings in the beginning of the books, the chapters about suffering and crosses, and went straight to the happy sections in the end, on Resurrection, where a Christian’s hope is anchored. Over and over the New Testament explains that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that will raise those who love him — even if they’re taken out by the coronavirus.

I’ve never had the gift of faith, but I’m drawn to people who do. My husband and my closest friends have no problem imagining that this temporal earthly life will one day give way to a renewed world under God’s reign that will last forever.

As news reports of makeshift morgues and shortages of ventilators pour in, and the death toll mounts among people like me, over 60 years old and with vulnerable lungs, I’ve had to wonder if I’m prepared to die.

If I’m honest, my faith in God’s promise of life after death is at times a little wobbly. It’s hard to believe that the world I see is not the only reality that exists. I relate to the story in the Bible about the father who pleaded with Jesus to heal his sick son. When Jesus told him “everything is possible for one who believes,” the father in great honesty replied, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

My 93-year-old mother-in-law, confined and alone in an assisted living center, never wavers in her faith. This week, with her usual candor, she wrote to me, “I’m not afraid to die, but I have my druthers about the way I’d like it to be.”

Exactly. One of the most frightening images of the coronavirus is the one of people who were walking their dogs two weeks ago, but are now dying alone on a ventilator, tended by strangers in hazmat suits.

Several close friends and I half-jokingly have vowed to be by one another’s sides when we die, as though the prospect is decades away. We Westerners have mastered the art of denying the certainty of death, but it’s impossible right now to ignore the waves of people dying from the coronavirus, and worse, dying alone.

There’s only been one other time in my life when I had to shelter in place. I was 20 weeks pregnant with my first child, and working full time as a reporter for Channel 8 News. One night, I went into false labor and ended up in Presbyterian hospital’s emergency room. The next day my doctor sent me to bed, warning if I didn’t stay there for the next five months, I could lose my baby.

To stay sane, I surrounded myself with picture books of fetal development. Whenever I was tempted to bolt from my bed and say, “to heck with this,” I’d turn a page and remind myself, “Just wait a week for her internal organs to develop,” or “One more month and she can breathe on her own.”

During those lonely months at home I picked up needlepointing for the first and last time. I stitched a wall hanging of the Bible’s most familiar psalm, known by heart by both Jews and Christians. Today it hangs near the crib of my daughter’s daughter.

It’s taken all these years for me to see the psalm’s subtle but profound shift in tone. In the beginning, the author speaks of God in the third person:

‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.”

One verse later, this distant God becomes intensely personal.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.”

The nearness of death, forced on us by a deadly pandemic, has led me to ask a question I’ve spent my life trying to avoid.

Will it help me if I’m dying alone on a ventilator to know that God is with me?

I consulted some of my friends, whose faith has inspired me over the years.

June, a friend who’s just won her battle with the coronavirus, losing only her sense of taste and smell, said, “I feel his presence in a supernatural way within me. God has carried me in the past, and I trust him to do it when I’m dying.”

Beth, a hospital chaplain, has been at the bedsides of countless patients in their final moments. She told me, “When people are dying I see how belief moves into faith. Faith opens up your spirit in a way that lets you experience things your head can’t. The spirit expands while the body weakens.”

That’s a beautiful mystery to me and I’m counting on it. For now, I can only pray for those who are struggling for their lives this terrible Easter season, that they too might experience “God with them.”

My younger daughter, Hannah, a local pastor, will help lead her church’s Easter sunrise service today. She and a colleague, standing 6 feet apart, are livestreaming the service for congregants to follow at home. They won’t do it the traditional way, from a beautiful setting like White Rock Lake or a city park. She told me they’re streaming the service outside the entrance to the emergency room of Parkland Hospital, in the valley of the shadow of death.

[ Peggy Wehmeyer ]

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“How Can Christians Unite During COVID-19 to Serve Our Neighbors?”

Not everyone is agreed on the best way to move forward amid COVID-19. But our common responsibility as Christians during this time is to make Christ known. From our livestream event Made in the Image of God, John MacArthur encourages believers to be gospel witnesses above all else.

[ John MacArthur ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41kJx26tm1w

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“Discover The Book Ministries”
(COVID-19 Related Sermons)

JESUS SAID GLOBAL PESTILENCES COMING (Part-1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ4mXiXu-44

JESUS SAID GLOBAL PESTILENCES COMING (Part-2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byEnP1eATsc

GLOBAL GLOOM, FINANCIAL INSECURITY & PANDEMICS OR LIVING HOPE?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAli9RcE0yM

FOUR HORSEMEN, GLOBAL GRAVEYARDS, FLU PANDEMICS, & THE END OF DAYS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWtksJ5I2tE

THE FINAL KINGDOM WHERE PANDEMICS END FOREVER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YIB4veDm8U

JESUS OFFERS HEALTH SCREENING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9la_xSJYXbU

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW BLACK DEATHS, PLAGUES, PESTILENCES & PANDEMICS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxn89Wvg-aw

JESUS OFFERS HEALTH REGIMEN FOR LAST DAYS PANDEMICS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNGHuugpQZ8

OVERCOMING COVID 19 ANXIETIES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4SQaGVPM-0

RevClass-17: SATAN’S TWO DEADLIEST VIRUSES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXlyejWdun

[ John Barnett ]

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“Christian Security in the Face of Viral Fear”

A Long-Dreaded Threat
The world is currently grappling with a threat that has long been discussed and dreaded—the outbreak of a disease that has the potential to become a global pandemic.

Widespread epidemics have occurred throughout human history. The Old Testament recorded an outbreak of disease as one of the ten plagues that befell Egypt—both on livestock and on people (Genesis 9). The Philistines experienced an eruption of loathsome sores when they captured the Ark of the Covenant from Israel (1 Samuel 5-6). And Israel itself was inflicted as a punishment for King David’s sinful census (2 Samuel 24). Only when he offered a sacrifice did the Lord relent.

In the Middle Ages, an outbreak of plague in Europe led to resentment of the Jews who miraculously seemed impervious to the ravages of the disease. It did not occur to anti-Semitic Gentiles that the Jewish dietary and cleanliness laws helped insulate them from some of the contagion’s spread.

In more recent years, the Western world in the years immediately following World War I experienced a lingering outbreak of Spanish Flu. That outbreak was not limited to soldiers posted overseas. Ironically, healthy men were more susceptible to dying from that strain of flu than anyone else. As a matter of fact, far more Americans were killed by the flu outbreak than by the war itself.

As medical scientists have come to understand the nature of viral and bacterial disease, they’ve made incredible strides in preventing and treating infectious disease. Vaccines and treatments are able to mitigate most of the threat to modern societies.

But doctors, scientists, and government leaders alike have realized that new strains might elude our vaccines and be easily transmittable from person to person. Given our global economy and the ease and frequency of international travel, the potential for an explosive outbreak of deadly disease is well-documented.

A Renewed Threat
In late 2019, a new type of virus officially known as Covid-19 emerged in the Wuhan province of China. Much media attention has been devoted to speculating about the nature of its origin, but it is likely that an animal virus mutated into a form that could be transmitted by and threatening to humans. Once that new virus strain began to infect the local population, it was only a matter of time before it spread throughout China and the world.

As of late February 2020, medical experts are warning that this Coronavirus outbreak could become the global pandemic that has been feared for many years. One even advised that it could “change daily life as we know it.” Already, economic markets have experienced significant downturns as the flow of goods has been hampered, with more upheaval likely to follow. Several countries have severely restricted immigration and may be inclined to be even more draconian if the threat grows exponentially as some project.

Significance to Bible Prophecy
What is the significance of this development to Bible prophecy? Why is it worthy of comment? Because the Bible teaches that the curse the Creation has been groaning under since the fall of man will become even more pronounced prior to Jesus’ return. Natural disasters will occur with greater severity and frequency as the Day of the Lord draws near.

It is possible that millions or billions of people will find their daily lives disrupted. They will come to recognize the insignificance of most of what clamors for the world’s attention. Many people will grapple with their own mortality and what the Bible describes as the precariousness of this life (Psalm 144:4; James 4:14). When they do, it is our great hope that many will turn to Jesus Christ and embrace Him as Savior and Lord.

If you are reading this because you are waiting out this epidemic, please know that the Light of God’s truth is shining even in this dark moment. All of the “signs of the times” we are witnessing were foretold by Bible prophecy. God’s Word reminds us to:

Recognize that the Lord told us the world will deteriorate.
Realize that the timing of His return will be perfect in the flow of human history.
Receive with gladness the opportunity for testifying to our Savior and Lord even in “such a time as this.”
Christian Hope
Christians are not pessimists. We are not optimists. We are people of hope, and not just hope as an idea or an unattainable wish like “I hope I get a pony for my birthday.” Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ—our living and personal Blessed Hope. Or, as hymnist Robert Critchley wrote:

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

At Lamb & Lion Ministries, our mission is to boldly testify to the Light in the midst of darkness, telling people that Jesus Christ is coming soon.

The old adage says it is “darkest just before the dawn.” It will indeed grow darker before the Lord once again declares, “Let there be Light!” and bursts from Heaven in radiant splendor.

Realizing that his time on earth was drawing to a close, the Apostle Paul wrote:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

An Opportunity for Eternal Perspective
Do you love Christ’s appearing? Do you look forward to the Rapture (when believers in Jesus are caught up to Heaven to be with Jesus) and His glorious return? If so, you’ll recognize this current outbreak of fear descending upon the world as an opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ.

If you do not already know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, don’t delay another day or hour. Place your trust in Jesus Christ. Accept His offer of forgiveness and His promise of eternal life with God. Simply pray:

Lord Jesus, I believe that You were born without sin and lived a perfect life, that You suffered and died for my sins, that You were buried and raised again to life, and that You ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for those who put their trust in You. I confess my sinfulness against You and ask You to forgive me and draw me to Yourself. I welcome You into my life and ask you to change my heart. I commit to following You in obedience and look forward to Your glorious return. Amen.

If you have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, your salvation is secure. You will become a fruit-bearer for the Lord. Then, come storm or famine or war or pestilence, your song can be:

When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found,
Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain:
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)

[ Tim Moore ]

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“A World Turned Upside Down”

Jan Markell spends the hour with Michele Bachmann in part one of a two-part series. Biblical birth pangs are accelerating. Is Corona the crisis the globalists have waited for? Is the global “cure” far worse than the pandemic? Can America and the West recover from this? Economies are reeling. How long before it is too late?

[ Jan Markell interviews Michele Bachmann ]

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr2QqBh-t4Y

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IDSzMhXhEc

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“Is This Pandemic a Sign of the End Times?”

Many people have been asking about whether or not this pandemic that we are facing is a sign of the end times. In this video I’m going to discuss that and also give you what I believe are 7 signs that point to the return of Christ.

[ Allen Parr ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-vv5nIiRQU

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“Is the Coronavirus in Bible Prophecy?”

According to Jesus’ words in Matthew 24, worldwide devastation is one of the signs of the End Times. Dr. David Jeremiah explains how the coronavirus relates to these signs, and he describes six lessons we can learn from this pandemic.

[ David Jeremiah ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVailav65Fc

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“How The Coronavirus Sets The Stage For The End Times”

The current coronavirus outbreak is not an event prophesied in the Bible for the seven-year Tribulation. The world simply hasn’t entered that time period yet. However, it is significant to bible prophecy, because it sets the stage for the near-term fulfillment of many end times bible prophecies.

This isn’t surprising. Politicians take advantage of times of turmoil, disaster, and fear to implement changes people otherwise wouldn’t accept. Here are just a few things to expect in the days ahead:

1) Calls for a Strong European Union Leader
As of this writing, the coronavirus has hit the United States harder than any other nation. However, if you count the European Union as a single nation and add up the case total and fatalities of all its member nations, the coronavirus has hit the European Union harder than anyone else.

Early on, EU leaders and many individual nations pushed back on the idea of closing borders. This allowed early infections in Italy to spread all over continental Europe. Many believe this could have been avoided with a strong executive.

With centralized authority, a single European leader could have closed borders and instituted a shutdown much earlier. Instead, each individual nation enacted its own policies. When the coronavirus pandemic ends, many will point to the EU’s leadership failure and use it as an excuse to push for the creation of a strong executive office to head the EU.

This is the position many prophecy experts believe the Antichrist will hold. If it is, he will likely take charge of a more unified and powerful EU. Why? Because the coronavirus will likely lead to further unification of the EU.

2) Calls for Further European Union Integration
The coronavirus has devastated Italy. The fourth largest economy in the European Union, and the eighth largest in the world, the Italian economy has effectively been closed since March 9th. Unlike the United States, which can print money for business bailouts and stimulus checks, Italy doesn’t control its own currency.

Like other EU countries, Italy uses the euro, and that means their national debt is denominated in euros. The only way Italy can pay its debts is to collect taxes. If the economy tanks, so does tax collection. This means Italy will soon be at the epicenter of a massive debt crisis.

Remember the Greek debt crisis? In 2010, Greece needed a €110 billion bailout. They couldn’t make their debt payments, and they couldn’t print euros. The prospect of default almost caused a second financial crisis, coming on the heels of the 2008-2009 recession. Yet Greek debt remains at unsustainable levels.

As of the third quarter of 2019, Greek debt was 178% of its gross domestic product (GDP) – the worst debt-to-GDP ratio in the EU. The second worst? Italy at 137%. But Italy’s economy is ten times as big as Greece’s economy. If Italy defaults on its government debt, some of the largest banks in Italy and Europe will become insolvent.

The event will send widespread financial contagion throughout the global financial system. The subsequent collapse of global markets will trigger one of the greatest economic depressions in history. One way to avoid this catastrophe? Do something many EU nations vowed never to do – share debt.

In other words, further integration and the creation of a United States of Europe. I believe this is inevitable, and I believe it will create the final world empire Daniel envisioned (Daniel 2, Daniel 7).

3) Calls for Increased Tracking of People
With shutdowns all over the world bringing the global economy to a standstill, calls are getting louder to re-open the economy and get people back to work. But how do you get people “back to work” without causing a spike in new coronavirus cases?

Some people are pushing a solution that involves increased tracking of people. They believe the government should track everyone’s mobile phone. When someone gets the coronavirus, the government can easily retrace their steps and find everyone who came within a few feet of the infected person.

Then, they’ll place those people in a mandatory quarantine. Some nations, such as South Korea, already do this. Other people favor giving “papers” to those who have recovered from the coronavirus. These official papers will allow you to travel in public or go back to work.

Some warn this is the road to authoritarianism, but it isn’t. Once we do this, we’ll already be there. This level of government control over the individual is no different than what we read about in Revelation 13.

4) Calls to Replace Paper Currency with a World Cryptocurrency
The use of paper currency has declined dramatically in this new era of online ordering and social distancing. Paper currency is a haven for bacteria and viruses, and it could accelerate the spread of coronavirus. Because of this, look for politicians to call for an end to using paper currency. Meanwhile, governments have struggled to quickly deliver stimulus payments to the unemployed.

This provides the perfect cover to implement a government-sponsored virtual wallet and cryptocurrency. Getting people to sign-up will be easy. They’ll offer a few thousand dollars to everyone who signs up to the government’s virtual wallet program. Once everyone signs up, the government will eliminate use of all currency except its own crytocurrency.

This will give the government detailed knowledge of every sale and purchase you’re involved in. It will also give them the ability to control the terms and conditions of all those transactions. And if they don’t like something you’re doing? They can cut off access to your virtual wallet, locking you out of all commerce. The technology to implement this system already exists, and the Bible tells us it’s coming.

It says the Antichrist will implement this system: “He required everyone — small and great, rich and poor, free and slave — to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark…” (Revelation 13:16-17).

5) Decreased Demand for Oil
The coronavirus has shut down factories, grounded airplanes, and caused a drop in the number of cars on the road. Global oil demand has fallen by 29 million barrels per day to a level last seen in 1995. The price of oil has fallen from around $60 per barrel at the beginning of the year to around $20 per barrel today after some crazy days of trading near $0. Needless to say, this has had an unprecedented impact on the global oil industry.

In March, OPEC attempted to coordinate a production cut with Russia. When Russia said no, Saudi Arabia responded with increased production. Some think their aim was to take market share, drive down prices, and force Russia back to the negotiating table. Others think their aim was to harm U.S. shale producers, many of whom can’t survive at $20 per barrel oil.

Regardless of their true intent, Saudi Arabia’s actions had a profound and negative impact on Russia. Earlier this month, they agreed to production cuts, but you can be sure Vladimir Putin is not happy. Losing a high profile oil price war and billions of dollars per day in oil profits won’t be something he’ll easily forget.

While Saudi Arabia has an advantage in oil reserves, Russia holds a greater advantage in the military realm. What will happen if Russia invades Saudi Arabia? The Middle East is home to approximately 40% of the world’s proven oil reserves. If Russia controlled the Middle East, they could control the world’s oil.

Only two nations stand in Putin’s way – the United States and Israel. If a global depression, the rapture, or another major event changes U.S. policy in the Middle East, only Israel will stand between Russia and complete dominance of the global oil market. The high stakes incentivize Russia to team up with Iran and take out Israel. This will secure their collective grip on the region.

The Bible says this will happen. More than 2,600 years ago, Ezekiel revealed an alliance composed of Russia, Iran, Turkey, and other regional nations will launch a surprise attack on Israel from the north (Ezekiel 38-39). Since the launch of the Syrian civil war in 2011, we’ve seen each of the major players mentioned move their forces into Syria.

Russia and its allies currently sit on Israel’s northern border, which is the direction from which Ezekiel said they’ll attack (Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:2). We’ve been watching God set the stage for this conflict for several years. The coronavirus-induced oil price war provides yet another reason to expect we’re getting closer to seeing fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39.

The End Times Approach
The word “coronavirus” doesn’t appear in the Bible, and what we see now is not one of the events of the Tribulation. However, the coronavirus is one of the general signs Jesus said to look for, and it sets the stage for the rapture of the church and the arrival of the Tribulation. When asked to describe the signs of His coming, Jesus cited pandemics just like the one we’re experiencing now as a major sign (Luke 21:11).

But this wasn’t the only sign He said to look for. He said to look for the Jewish people back in the land of Israel (Jeremiah 23:7-8)… He said to look for the Jewish people once again in possession of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)… And He said to look for the Gospel being preached to the ends of the earth (Matthew 24:14).

The prophets also said to look for signs. They said to look for: A time when travel and knowledge will increase (Daniel 12:4)… A time when Israel has “an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10)… The rise of the Gog of Magog Alliance (Ezekiel 38-39)… The rise of a revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Revelation 17)… The rise of global government (Revelation 13:7)… And the rise of a single global currency system (Revelation 13:16-17)… We see all of these signs today, and Jesus commanded us to watch for them. He warned us not to be found sleeping when the Master arrives without warning (Mark 13:36).

The coronavirus is God’s wake-up call to those who have been sleeping. It sets the stage for the rapture of the church, the arrival of the Antichrist, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Make sure you’re not asleep!

[ Britt Gillette ]

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“Prophetic Perspectives”

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YsMCMpXXSA
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“The Coronavirus Catalyst”
(Rock Harbor Church Prophecy Update 4-10-20)

I am Pastor Brandon Holthaus, and I want to welcome you to our Rock Harbor Church’s YouTube Channel. We desire to reach people with the truth; believers and unbelievers alike. We connect dots of events that are happening in the world from a Biblical perspective and also a prophetic perspective. We offer prophecy updates, discipleship lessons, and sermons to help people grow in the Lord and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TaTEMI2h5s

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“Bible Prophecy Update”

April 5th, 2020

Pastor J.D. provides Biblical answers to some of the questions being asked concerning the global Coronavirus crisis.

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYZbcYFOoQw

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“Bible Prophecy Update”
May 10th, 2020

Pastor J.D. explains why we may have passed the proverbial point of no return with the evil being done under the banner of this crisis. Connect with Pastor J.D. Farag on Social Media to stay updated on his latest Bible Prophecy teachings and End Times-related news.

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8TPfdFSKak

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“Happening Now”

Streamed live April 16, 2020

[ Jack Hibbs and Don Stewart ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY0evuwLT2g

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“Pastor Jack Hibbs #Coronavirus”

Pastor Jack Addresses the Spread of Fear and Panic #Coronavirus

[ Jack Hibbs ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s7WntJn8to

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“Urgent Prophecy Update”

Pastor J.D. addresses the unprecedented impact of the Coronavirus through the lens of Bible prophecy.

[ J.D. Farag ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G76nB6THoYc

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“Watchman Report: Prophecy Update”

All the signs of the last days are converging at the same time. Bible Prophecy is happening right before our eyes and like birth pains, the predicted events are happening more frequently and more intently. Never, in the history throughout the world have so many forces, including economic, scientific, techno-logic, ecologic, cultural, geopolitical, moral, spiritual and religion, converged together to bring this world that’s already teetering over the edge into the abyss, to a point of no return. Jesus said when you see all these signs happening, know that I am near, even at the door.

[ Tom Hughes and Tim Thompson ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbBUejjn90I

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“Wake Up! Do You Know What’s Coming?”

Jan Markell spends the hour with Pastor J.D. Farag. They talk about the level of fear prevalent today with tough times ahead. Also, Pope Francis is apocalyptic in his ways and should be watched. Is God shaking the nations?

[ Jan Markell interviews J.D. Farag ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSW8wsOKeKw

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“Current Events Update – Behold Israel”

Join Amir and Pastor Barry Stagner as we look at all the things going on in our world as they relate to Bible Prophecy. April 14, 2020.

[ Amir Tsarfati and Barry Stagner ]

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-8r1gMNxL4

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“In One Hour Everything is Going to Change”

This message is quite fitting during this times of wide spread virus infections. Be encouraged that Jesus is on the throne. The prophet Isaiah warns us that in the last days God is going to “turn the world upside down.” He declares, “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down” (Isaiah 24:1).

According to this prophecy, sudden judgment is coming upon the earth, and it will change everything in a single hour. Within that short span, the whole world will witness fast-falling destruction upon a city and a nation, and the world will never be the same.

[ David Wilkerson ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uUG4ZTy25s

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“Something Terrible Is Coming To This Planet!”

[ John MacArthur ]

Sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UM09wmAaEc

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“Ezekiel 38”

[ Don Stewart ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOvvjhDSDbw

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“Prophecy Update”

Related to the Coronavirus.

[ Don Stewart ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQz-SQ7A1Gk

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“The New World Order Cries for a Savior”

Jan Markell welcomes Gary Kah for the hour. They ask if Corona is the crisis the NWO crowd has waited for. Should we be concerned about Bill Gates and his mass vaccination program? Global government may be on the horizon but cannot happen until the Church is taken in the Rapture.

[ Gary Kah ]

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVK_RlyVfr0
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP6SB3QiANs

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“Goodbye Birth Pangs – Hello Tribulation”

[ Tom Hughes interviews Bill Salus ]

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reLqnLUVmRc

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“First Plague, Now Famine – Is the Perfect Storm Brewing?”

Could it be possible that the stage is being set for horrific famines that the Bible has been warning us about for nearly 2,000 years?

A few years ago, any talk of “coming famines” would have seemed absolutely ludicrous to most people in the western world, but the events of the last several months have changed everything.

Now, the UN is openly warning that famines of “biblical proportions” could be on the way, and the head of the UN World Food Program is telling us that we could soon see 300,000 people literally starve to death every single day.

Nightmarish droughts, African Swine Fever, COVID-19 and armies of locusts in Africa the size of major cities have combined to create a “perfect storm”, and global food supplies are becoming tighter with each passing month.

As conditions continue to deteriorate, many are starting to wonder if certain prophetic passages in the Bible are starting to come to fruition. For example, in Matthew 24:7 Jesus specifically warned us that there would be “famines” in the days immediately preceding His return…

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

We can also find very similar warnings from Jesus in Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21.

So if we actually are living during the time just before the return of Jesus, we should expect to see horrifying global famines start to emerge, and that is precisely what we are witnessing at this moment.

In Revelation 6:8, we are told that “hunger” will eventually be a major factor in the deaths of a large portion of the global population…

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Of course we aren’t at that point yet.

But are we starting to move in that direction?

David Beasley is the executive director of the UN World Food Program, and he recently stated that we are heading directly into “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two”. Hunger is rapidly rising all over the globe, and he believes that if dramatic intervention does not happen quickly we could see an astounding death toll.

According to Beasley, we could soon see 300,000 people around the world starve to death every single day, and that figure doesn’t even factor in the effect of this coronavirus pandemic…

“If we can’t reach these people with the life-saving assistance they need, our analysis shows that 300,000 people could starve to death every single day over a three-month period”, he upheld. “This does not include the increase of starvation due to COVID-19”.

As fear of COVID-19 pushes us into an unprecedented global economic downturn, how much worse will that make our rapidly growing global food crisis?

Of course in the western world we are much better off than most of the rest of the planet for now. Famine is definitely not an immediate concern for us, but thanks to COVID-19 we are now wrestling with significant food shortages. Because meat supplies are so tight, approximately one-fifth of all Wendy’s restaurants have taken burgers off their menus. When I first read that, I was absolutely stunned.

Of course Wendy’s is not the only one dealing with strained supply chains. Costco has started limiting the amount of meat that each customer can purchase, and Tyson Foods has announced that their capacity to slaughter hogs has fallen “by about 50 percent”. Time Magazine is warning us that the meat shortages “could last for months”, and they could stretch even longer than that if this coronavirus pandemic doesn’t start to subside.

Meanwhile, farmers all over America are seeing their hard work go to waste because broken supply chains have made it impossible to sell what they have produced. One industry expert is actually claiming that “billions” of dollars worth of crops have gone to waste as a result of this crisis…

Crops planted months before based on pre-pandemic demand spoiled without buyers. Billions of dollars’ worth of produce went to waste, much of it tilled back into the soil, said Cathy Burns, CEO of the Produce Marketing Assn., which represents produce companies.

I have a feeling that eventually we will greatly regret allowing so much good food to go to waste.

Sadly, most of the rest of the world is actually in much worse shape than we are right now.

Long before COVID-19 came along, crazy weather patterns were playing havoc with harvests all over the world. For instance, Australia is traditionally a major exporter of wheat to the rest of the world, but unprecedented droughts have forced Australia to actually start importing wheat…

Australia, which made a rare purchase of Canadian wheat in the current marketing year, is expected to continue buying more wheat in the 2019-20 marketing year (October-September), as weather conditions remain difficult in key states, market analysts say.

Australia’s wheat output dropped 45.6% to 17.3 million mt in the 2018-19 marketing year from a record high of 31.8 million mt in 2016-17, owing to prolonged drought conditions, data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics shows. This forced the country to import wheat for the first time in 12 years.

In addition, another plague of “biblical proportions” has been killing off pigs in unprecedented numbers.

When I tell people that African Swine Fever has already killed off half the pigs in China and one-fourth of all the pigs in the entire world, a lot of people don’t believe me.

So let me give you a quote that comes directly from New Scientist…

A quarter of the world’s domestic pigs have died this year as a virus rampages across Eurasia, and that may be just the start. Half the pigs in China – which last year numbered 440 million, some 50 percent of the world’s pigs – have either died of African swine fever (ASF) or been killed to stamp out the virus.

ASF comes from East Africa. In 2007, it reached Georgia in the Caucasus in contaminated meat, and in infected wild boar. Now, it is all over Russia and eastern Europe and infected wild boar have turned up as far west as Belgium. It is also spreading in east Asia, killing many pigs in Vietnam and elsewhere.

And if you don’t believe them, just do a Google search and you will find countless mainstream news sources telling you the exact same facts.

This is actually happening, and the death toll is rising with each passing day.

Meanwhile, a new generation of locust armies that is being described as “20 times bigger” than the last generation is destroying countless farms all across Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. The following comes from one of my previous articles…

Even before COVID-19 became the biggest public health crisis to hit the globe in decades, enormous swarms of locusts the size of major cities were devouring crops throughout eastern Africa, across the Middle East and even in some parts of Asia. Now a new generation that officials are describing as “20 times bigger” has emerged, and the devastation that this new generation of locusts is causing is extremely alarming.

These colossal locust swarms can travel up to 90 miles a day, and as you will see below, when they descend upon a field they can literally eat everything there in as little as 30 seconds. This new generation of locusts has been spotted as far south as Congo, as far north as Iran and as far east as India. In other words, the food supplies of billions of people are at risk.

Never before have we seen so many catastrophic threats to the global food supply emerge at the same time.

It appears that “the perfect storm” is now upon us, and I anticipate that global events will continue to accelerate in the months ahead.

Of course we still have quite a way to go before we get to the type of famines described in the Scriptures, but it certainly looks like the stage is being set for severe hunger on a global scale.

But Jesus didn’t warn us about these things so that we would live in fear. God knew about all of this in advance, He is in control, and He has a plan.

[ Michael Snyder ]

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“COVID-19: But the Calm Before the Storm”

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see” (Revelation 6:1).

“And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices” (Revelation 10:3).

“And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps” (Revelation 14:2).

“And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great” (Revelation 16:18).

A Time Like No Other

Throughout the world, Mankind’s overly busy, hectic lives have come to a screeching halt. In a time like no other in history, nearly half of the world’s population of now over seven billion is in a forced lock-down imposed by their governments. Vast swaths of humanity are now in a mandatory, isolated pause relegating us to small groups and social distancing. They are also being told the best thing they can do is stay isolated. It is a time like no other, when we are almost all individually forced to stop and reflect. People are reassessing their lives amidst the backdrop of an ever-lurking invisible killer which is bringing forth random death and chaos about us.

COVID-19 is a global event which is occurring to nearly all Mankind simultaneously, and its lingering impact is yet to be determined. This pandemic is unlike any other before. Due to the interconnected global community sharing entertainment, commerce, and transportation, the virus has rapidly spread more quickly than any previous pestilence in history.

Pestilence Allowed to Unfold

If you believe that GOD is sovereign LORD over His creation and is actively involved in shaping the course of history, it is evident that GOD is allowing COVID-19 to occur for His greater purposes. Furthermore, He has loosened his mighty, controlling hand but a fraction and allowed a single, deadly, natural force bounded upon earth to run its course.

We are now experiencing the largest rippling birth pain in generations. Jesus warned us this would come before His return. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:3-8).

Is the Bubble about to Burst?

Within God’s timeline we reside in the Church Age or Age of Grace, which is a period where God has endured longsuffering as He has patiently prepared His Bride, the Church. For eternal salvation He only requires of Mankind that we make a free-will decision of faith in His Son, who died for our sins and rose from death to life after three days. He wants none to perish but all to obtain salvation (2nd Peter 3:9).*

Beyond the ultimate gift of His Son, God further graced Mankind with two other mighty gifts: The Holy Spirit to dwell in us and guide us in all things, and the mind of God, His Word. We are in an age truly blessed because we need but to believe in order to become Children of God.

However, according to the scriptures, this magnificent Age of Grace shall end. That is not an IF, but a WHEN. Beyond any doubt, COVID-19 is awakening many in Mankind from their deadly spiritual slumber. This is in preparation for what shall come upon the face of the earth before He Returns in Triumph.

Accordingly, COVID-19 is but the calm before the storm.

As a Believer and teacher of God’s Word, I can neither dismiss nor ignore what Jesus has told us shall come to pass before He will return. According to the scriptures, far more calamitous and miraculous events shall unfold, for the heavens shall peal back and the full glory, power and majesty of the Son of God, the Lamb of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ shall arise from His heavenly throne. Then His mighty thunders shall roll forth as the time of the great unleashing of the supernatural begins upon Mankind. It will be a time like never before in all God’s creation.

During the Church Age, the Lord God has been consciously restraining the fullness of His almighty supernatural power and miraculous works. In terms of the supernatural, the Age of Grace can be categorized by “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” However, God soon shall unveil His supernatural, almighty powers, which have been sealed in a Seven-Sealed Scroll from creation, for a time of great unleashed judgments upon Mankind!

Church Harvest Nearly Complete

As the last soul is sealed into the Church (Romans 11:25), the Lord God will reintroduce the world to His supernatural omnipotence by removing all born-again Believers at the Rapture. Thus, the Lord God will begin reclaiming and cleansing the world of Satan’s lies, shaking Mankind’s perception of their universe; a universe in which man falsely claims he is the measure of all.

In the split second after the Rapture occurs, all Mankind shall fall into complete spiritual darkness for the first time in history (I shudder at the thought). The Lamb will leave Mankind utterly naked in their corruptions and abominations; there will be absolutely none left who do good. All those who are left are those who say in their hearts, “There is no God.”

This unparalleled supernatural event will throw the world’s people into chaos as they experience a phenomenon that shatters their man-made perception of reality. This unleashing of the supernatural begins as God lifts His mighty, restraining hand and Satan’s dark forces are unleashed upon the earth.

The Lamb of God Unleashes…

Surrounded by His Church, the Lamb who was slain shall step forth as the only one found Worthy to open the Lord God’s great Seven-Sealed Scroll. As he opens the first seal, thus begins the Seven-Year Tribulation period, Daniel’s Seventieth Week. In ripples like the birth pains which preceded this time, the Lamb shall unleash a series of supernatural seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments upon those who dwell on the earth. The judgments are sequential and shall come with power and flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, all proclaiming to the earth that God alone is to be feared, glorified and acknowledged as their Creator.**

Unleashing the Seal Judgments

In Revelation chapter six, God begins by unleashing five of the seven seals judgments. In the first four, God loosens the restraints on Satan. His son, the False Christ/the Antichrist/the Beast shall ride forth bringing the promise of peace by war. On his heals shall follow starvation, plague and death over one fourth of the earth. At first Man will say: it is just another war, it is just another famine, it is just another plague. However, it shall bring the bloodiest death toll the world has ever seen.

As the grim bloodbath’s toll mounts, many people will start to question if it is something more. Is the new world leader’s promised utopia to come true? Or is the hand of God in this?

In the sixth seal, the Lord God answers those who will listen, as he shakes the earth in his mighty hand. Mankind will then experience an earthquake like no other, accompanied by the sun shrouded in thick darkness, the moon turned blood red, and meteor showers filling the skies and falling to earth. At that point Mankind will say, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” But many will refuse to repent and glorify him.

Unleashing the Trumpet Judgments

In Revelation chapters eight and nine, prior to God allowing six of the seven trumpet angels to announce their judgment, there is reverent silence in Heaven. God and all heavens sorrow over the righteous wrath about to be unleashed against rebellious man.

On earth there will also be a gap of time following the great earthquake as Mankind recovers. People will ask, “Was it a divine act of God or was it Mother Nature responding to Man’s continued misuse?”

God will answer by unleashing four successive unparalleled judgment blows against earth and those remaining in it. Hail and fire mixed with blood will fall upon the earth. A blazing huge mountain will plummet from the sky. A great star blazing like a torch will then be thrown into the sea. Finally, the skies shall be darkened over the earth. The remaining people on earth will reel, regroup, and try to recover as one third of all the life-sustaining plants, animals and water are destroyed.

On whom shall they turn for their life-giving water and daily bread? God or government? The Antichrist will answer he is one and the same. Many will follow Satan’s son.

God’s answer comes by opening the shaft of the Abyss, where Satan’s long-imprisoned minions are unleashed upon the earth for five months. They will then mentally and physically torment those who will choose to worship the Beast and take his Mark, yet will not torture those who do not bow to the Beast.***

With these five supernatural judgments complete and man still in rebellion, God’s angel will blast the sixth trumpet, and the largest army man has ever seen executes His judgment upon man. A third of mankind’s eternal fates will be sealed in death by this evil army. The second death will await those who refused to repent and glorify God.

Unleashing of the Two Witnesses

In Revelation chapter eleven, God sends two great messengers of His Word, empowered with supernatural abilities for nearly three and half years. Fire will come from their mouths and devour their enemies. They will be empowered to cease the rain, turn the waters into blood, and unleash upon the earth every kind of plague as often as they want.

Some shall call these witnesses tools of evil. Others shall correctly attest that they are part of God’s attempt to awaken remaining Mankind on earth, to topple his arrogance and stubbornness.

Unleashing the Bowl Judgments

In Revelation chapter sixteen, God will complete the period of wrath by unleashing five bowls of judgment upon the remaining God-haters and inhabitants the earth. Angels will pour bowls causing supernatural judgments: ugly and painful sores break out upon those with the mark of the Beast and Beast worshipers. The seas, rivers and springs will turn to blood; the sun will painfully burn and scorch people. The world will plunge into utter darkness.

Despite men gnawing their tongues in agony, they will curse God because of their pains and refuse to repent, fear and glorify God and acknowledge Him as their Creator.**

The Lamb of God, The Lion of Judah

The sixth angel will pour out his bowl, which prompts Satan’s minions and hordes to gather in a place called Armageddon. Now is the time for one of the most magnificent passages of Scripture in the Bible:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:11-16).

It Is Done!

And the seventh angel will pour out his bowl into the air; and there will come a great voice out of God’s Heavenly throne, saying, “It is done!”

The intense time of great unleashing of God’s long-awaited supernatural power onto a God-denying world will be completed. They demanded proof. They demanded a sign. The Lord God gave them sign, after sign, after sign; yet countless multitudes did not repent, and therefore shall spend their eternity in the lake of fire.

But also from this time, a great multitude, whom no man can number, out of every nation and tribe and people and tongue, shall stand before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands; and they will cry out with a loud voice, saying “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb!”

Thanks be to you our Lord God Almighty! The One who is, who was and who is to come! Come for us, our Lord Jesus, come. Come and reign over us in victory, and in power, and in glory! We, your Bride, await you!

Alleluia! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!

[ Joe Southerland ]

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“God Is Shaking the Nations”

World events are startling! Watching the Middle East, Japan, Australia, Europe, and a meltdown in America, have prompted some healthy discussions on the last days. When events happen at such a rapid pace, it is wise to ask, “What on Earth is happening?” Those who could care less are likely drowning in some kind of destructive behavior because they, too, notice but cannot cope. Who can we trust with answers?

Most turn first to their pastors. Some provide wonderful, biblical insight into our times. May their numbers increase! From what we hear at this ministry, they are in the minority, for one ministry supporter sent me an email from her pastor. I did a double-take on it upon reading it. I so wanted to believe it was just made up. He writes:

“The number of troubles in the world overwhelmed me for a while and I didn’t know how to respond. I am suggesting we pray for the people we see or hear about in the media who are working in these troubled areas and also for the victims and their families whose faces and voices carry so much grief and anxiety.

Some may wonder if these are signs of the end-times because they certainly appear to fit the descriptions we read about in the Bible. But, I suggest we don’t rush to express this view. Historically, there have been seasons of trouble that have had the hallmarks of the end-times, most notably, the early 20th century. Some people were driven by fear to repent. Other people concluded that such a violent and indiscriminate series of events that killed ‘innocent’ with the guilty did not present the God of Christianity in a good light and there was then a great falling away.

Now is not the time to theologize or speculate on causes. It’s just time now to help.”

How tragic that he discourages people from considering the serious warnings that great traumas would come upon the world as we hurdle towards the very time of the end. He discourages a conversation about these issues and would thus rob many of the “blessed hope” that Christ’s return offers. Without the proper biblical perspective, the strongest believer could cave. When we realize what is happening to this planet — the Japan scenario most recently, but preceded by global chaos in many hot spots — it should quicken our spirits and affect the way we live and think and carry on with our relationships. Jesus is coming soon! Live your life in light of eternity! God is shaking the nations as spoken of in Haggai 2:7.

People cannot take chaos and confusion forever. They need some comforting words. They need some insight. They are asking why all this is happening. They don’t know how to connect the dots. Tell them! This is a dress rehearsal for Matthew 24. We don’t know if that drama is center stage tomorrow or 20 years from now. But it will happen.

This pastor also told the woman to whom he sent his email that she should not talk about repentance, for that might lead to a great falling away. It is the withholding of the message of repentance that has led to the great apostasy of our day. But he states what is most important — more important even than speaking of repentance — is to go and help. I guess that means the social gospel or good works is what really matters. Yes, it is a great idea to make a donation for those suffering in Japan or you-fill-in-the-blank. The globe is throbbing. But the social gospel has been implemented now for a century as liberalism has emphasized feeding the stomach but starving the soul.

This ministry exhorts you to reach out to the lost with the truth of the gospel while there is time. The world and much of the Church are deceived. Strong delusion has run amok. The Apostate Church is thriving. Bible-believing, discerning Christians are being left on the side of the road, scorned and displaced with no church to attend. The Church of Laodicea has left the light of the Word and the world. That is why a shepherd of the sheep can pen the words quoted above.

I am weary of hearing that Bible prophecy is scorned in church after church. If it is one-fifth of the Bible, it has to be relevant! If Jesus’ first coming is significant, why is His Second Coming controversial and not seeker-sensitive? When and how did the message that the King is coming become a downer? On some end-time issues, we “see through a glass darkly,” but other issues are crystal clear.

It seems that for 25 years seminaries have been cranking out pastors who aren’t sure what theology to teach when it comes to eschatology, so they won’t visit the topic at all.

Here we are, likely in the last of the last days. God bless the pastors who tell the truth and teach the whole counsel of God. I exhort you now, while there is still time, to become fishers of men just as Jesus challenged us. It is a small price to pay in light of what He has done for us. Evangelism and issues of the last days fit hand-in-glove. Everything has an end, even life as we know it. I can almost hear the hoof beats of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

You need to go out and tell people. Shout it from the mountain tops. You are not responsible for their response. There may not be much time left.

[ Jan Markell ]

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“Watchman Report: Cashless Economy (Corona Virus: A Possible Catalyst)”

Brandon discusses how the Corona Virus might be the catalyst for a cashless economy. Brandon discusses what the Bible prophecy says concerning a cashless economy and a digital currency.

[ Brandon Holthaus ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPIyxPDo0UA

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“New End-Times Bible Prophecy Series”

Thank you for watching, tune in live here on YouTube every Sunday and Thursday for more messages of hope and encouragement from Pastor Greg Laurie!

[ Greg Laurie ]

Series Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4cnxSJdDS4

First Sermon: “Is Coronavirus a Sign of the End Times”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C98bn_xkFWU

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“Tucker: Big Tech Censors Dissent Over Coronavirus Lockdowns”

Big technology companies are using the COVID-19 tragedy to increase their power over the American population.

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPrbGU0Wyh4

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“Tucker: Totalitarianism Doesn’t Shock Us Any More”

Never in American history have politicians been more powerful than they are now.

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KACUbQjvrk

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“Shelter in Place with Shane Smith & Edward Snowden (Full Episode)”

Shane chats with former NSA spy and whistleblower Edward Snowden on the rise of authoritarianism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5OAjnveyJo

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“The COVID vaccine: Will They Force It on Us?”

The mad scramble to avoid COVID-19 – stay at home, close businesses, schools and churches, wear masks, avoid crowds, social distance – and, at the same time, the frantic efforts to develop a vaccine to protect people from the virus, is virtually all we have been exposed to via the media for weeks.

Are we tired of it yet? [more…]

[ Barbara Simpson ]

Article: https://www.wnd.com/2020/05/covid-vaccine-will-force-us/

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“Life After COVID: A Look At The New Economy”

Many Americans are starting to get a taste of freedom after having been locked down in their homes for over a month and they’re anxiously awaiting the day when things “get back to normal.” I regret to inform you, that we’re never going “back to normal.”

The world After COVID will not be like the world Before COVID.

It’s very important to understand what lies ahead so we can prepare for it.

Two reasons that the world After COVID will be so different are problems with the economy and the supply chain. Let’s take a look at both and see where we’re headed.

The After-COVID economy for businesses

The government stepped in fairly quickly after lockdowns began to approve a massive number of small business loans. These loans were to be distributed by the institution with which the small business does their banking.

Unfortunately, the outcome would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic.

Here’s an example: Chase Bank gave Ruth’s Chris Steak House a $20 million forgivable loan meant for small businesses by dividing it up by locations instead of treating the company like the large corporation that it is. Incidentally, Chase “earned” $100K for processing the loan. After everyone rightly lost their marbles over this, Ruth’s Chris is returning the 20 mill.

Chase and Ruth’s Chris aren’t the only culprits. There were all sorts of shenanigans that meant the fund ran out of money before the legitimate small businesses could even complete their applications. For example, big banks earned ten billion dollars in fees for processing the loans and here’s a list of big companies that played around with this system and drained it of millions.

Another round of small business loans has been approved by Congress but I’m not really holding my breath that any of this will happen in the way we’ve been told it will.

So to summarize, a lot of the small businesses who need the money to survive haven’t gotten it yet and may never get it, but big banks and big businesses are sitting pretty with the help of their cronies in Congress. It isn’t a stretch of the imagination to say that the longer a small business stays closed, paying their expenses and holding inventory while not being able to earn income, the less likely they are to reopen successfully (or at all) once the all-clear is given.

And if they can’t reopen? All those folks they used to employ will be out of a job.

The After-COVID economy for individuals

Despite seemingly generous government offerings of stimulus payments and higher-than-normal unemployment payments, getting by is about to get a whole lot harder. First of all, many people haven’t yet received their stimulus payments. Some states still haven’t rolled out their COVID unemployment registration websites, so we have unemployed folks who still haven’t gotten one thin dime.

It isn’t going to be long before that stimulus money is gone and if unemployment hasn’t yet kicked in, the first week of May is not looking pretty. A lot of folks were unable to make rent or mortgage payments in April, and of the ones who managed to hack together last month’s payments won’t be able to pay rent and mortgages.

It isn’t just a roof over their heads that people are worried about. The use of food banks has soared over the past month. People who were barely making ends meet before are in a hole from which they may never dig out. And this isn’t out of laziness or any other lack of “virtue” – people can’t go to work because their workplace is closed.

And it’s a perfect storm. If people are not allowed to work and the government is not following through with its promises of aid, there will be a response – most likely in the form of civil unrest and crime waves.

At the same time, many of those who have gotten their COVID unemployment are refusing to go back to work. Why would they go back to getting minimum wage when with unemployment and the extra $600 per week, they’re getting close the $3000 a month?

Businesses can’t reopen without employees. Unfortunately, when the COVID unemployment is over (it’s currently good for a total of 3-4 months), people may not have jobs to come back to, because, as I mentioned above, the longer a business is closed while still facing expenses, the less likely that business is to survive.

It’s very likely that even once we’re “open” again, unemployment numbers will remain extraordinarily high.

Prices are going up.

Meanwhile, what money people are able to scrape together isn’t going to go nearly as far as it did Before-COVID.

A lot of folks haven’t been to the store in a month or so. When they do go back they’re going to be in for one heck of a surprise. Prices have increased on just about everything.

On the products with no price increase, many companies have reverted to the rather deceptive practice of selling a smaller container for the same price as before. (We found this to be true on both peanut butter and coffee, to name two examples.) You’re going to pay more for things like meat, eggs, canned goods, pasta, frozen pizza, and other popular lockdown foods.

As well, food manufacturers are halting promotions – so things won’t be going on sale like they used to. Of course, they’re doing this to “help” us out by making it more expensive, thus keeping people from being able to buy as much.

“But the tactical dynamic is that we’re in daily discussions with our customers on how to help them meet the needs of their shoppers. And many customers are looking to pull back on promotions as they try to manage the basics of just keeping their shelves stocked.”

In a given month, “22% of food on store shelves is discounted, according to the companies under its coverage, and the average discount is 23%.” According to Market Watch, getting rid of the discounts will lead to a 5% increase in sales. This means, of course, a 5% increase in what consumers are paying will occur. And that’s just for certain items. Eggs have actually tripled in price since early March and many readers have reported seeing the price of their commonly purchased items increase by 25% all the way up to double the Before-COVID price.

Then there are the supply chain issues.

And this isn’t the worst of the news. Shortages are appearing to occur across the country – shortages that stores struggle to hide by spreading out the inventory and filling in gaps with items that are more plentiful.

Some of the things that are missing are products that originate in China.

Other items, like paper products, are also sparse even though many of these things are made in the USA. It isn’t just because of so-called “hoarders” either, as the media wants us to believe. There have been shortages of TP across the globe and the main reason is the fact that everyone is now at home most of the time now. Previously, a lot of a person’s toilet paper usage was outside the home – so everyone was using those giant janitorial supply rolls. Most households are now using 40% more toilet paper than before.

Then there are food “shortages.” Interestingly, this problem isn’t necessarily about actual shortages as much as it is processing and distribution.

Processing plants across the country are shutting down as more and more employees become ill. At least ten large meat processing plants have closed due to the virus. Distribution issues have farmers dumping thousands of gallons of milk, plowing under vegetables in the fields, and leaving potatoes to rot.

A lot of the food being produced was destined for restaurants, hotels, and cruise ships. Diverting it to grocery stores and the millions of people using food banks right now (because they didn’t get their money from unemployment yet, remember?) is unfortunately not as easy as it should be. This article explains some of the issues with getting food to hungry people.

One of the issues processing. With meat, in particular, this is difficult – most folks aren’t even going to be willing to process their own chickens and it’s wildly unrealistic to imagine a family in the city processing a cow or a pig. With produce, it becomes a little bit easier – anyone can wash fruits and vegetables – but employees are still needed to harvest the food.

A lot of that scarcity could be remedied if we could reallocate things – if janitorial supplies could be sold to the general public, if farmers could sell directly to stores or consumers, and if farmers could donate unpurchased items to food banks.

To summarize, farmers are losing billions of dollars and people are going without food, while the food we have is left to rot. Hopefully, President Trump’s new 19 billion dollar plan will allow the federal government to play matchmaker between frustrated farmers and hungry families.

Introducing another run at UBI

Let’s put all this information together.

Trillions of dollars were created from thin air to “help” us through the crisis. Unfortunately, a lot of that money is now lining the pockets of massive businesses that would survive regardless. Many small businesses will never reopen. Many jobs will never come back.

People who are getting COVID unemployment would have to take a massive pay cut – for many, more than two thousand dollars a month – to go back to work so they have no interest in returning to their jobs. Why would they when they’re more financially secure sitting at home? But they’re not thinking ahead – these new-found riches are only coming in for 3-4 months.

People who are not getting money are going to run out very soon (if they haven’t already) and this will result in an uptick of crime and civil unrest. Meanwhile, the money that folks have will buy less as the cost of just about everything goes up and scarcity continues.

This all leads nowhere good. I’m not saying that COVID-19 itself was a big conspiracy but more a case of “never let a good crisis go to waste.”

One possible outcome is Universal Basic Income.

We’re being told we’ve got no place to go except giving away a lot of free money – although they’re calling it something different: the Emergency Money for the People Act.

This fund would give everyone 16 and over $2000 per month for at least the next six months.

The bill is called the Emergency Money for the People Act and would provide $2,000 a month for a guaranteed six months or until “employment returns to pre-COVID-19 levels.”

“Pre-COVID-19 levels” mean the employment to population ratio for people ages 16 and older is greater than 60%. The monthly cash payments would not count as income.

You could still apply for income-based federal or state assistance programs, such as assistance with purchasing food.

Who would be eligible for the money?

Everyone 16 and older making less than $130,000 annually would receive $2,000 a month;
Married couples earning less than $260,000 would receive at $4,000 per month;
Qualifying families with children will also receive an additional $500 per child for up to three children.

So a family of four with two children earning income up to $260,000 a year would receive $5,000. A single tax filer would get $2,000.

If you are unemployed, you are eligible for the money, as well.

College students will be eligible for the money. They were not eligible for the stimulus payment sent out this week if they were claimed on their parent’s income tax as a dependent.

Adults with disabilities were also left out of the stimulus payment since they could be claimed as dependents on others’ tax returns. They would be eligible for the Emergency Money for the People Act.

What could possibly go wrong with “free money,” right?

Plenty. Hyperinflation is one major factor nobody’s talking about – this money they want to give away does not exist and is backed by nothing. If you think prices are super-high now, just wait.

And then there’s the other cost.

Trust me when I tell you there will be a high price tag for that “free” money and the cost will be liberty. Maybe it will be your freedom to decide where you work. Maybe it will be your freedom to choose what you buy. Maybe it will be mandatory vaccines or microchips or ID cards but it will cost you something that you’ll never get back.

UBI Emergency Money for the People isn’t a done deal yet. But the government is going to feel that they’re obligated to take some kind of measures to maintain order. (Back to that civil unrest and crime again). And to some degree, they’re right – the current straits Americans are finding themselves in can be chalked up to decisions made by the government. But I can’t imagine that in this direction lies liberty.

What can you do?

The answer, as always, lies in self-reliance. The less you need, the better off you’ll be. I’ll go more in-depth later but below, find some general guidelines.

Produce or acquire food as much as possible. Gardening; sprouting; raising livestock for meat, eggs, and dairy; hunting; and foraging are all ways to put food on the table yourself.

Learn to preserve food. When food is plentiful, putting it back by canning, dehydrating, and freezing.

Localize your supply chain. Find local farmers and purchase directly from them. Visit pick-your-own farms, get CSA shares, or hit up your farmer’s market. Buy in as much quantity as you can for the best prices.

Slash your budget. Get spending down to a bare minimum right now while we wait to see how things pan out.

Mend and repair. Instead of throwing things away and buying new when something breaks or gets damaged, learn how to fix things like clothing and household items.

Make do. There are a lot of things we get that we don’t need: upgraded phones, new clothing, decorative items, updated vehicles, newer tools, and small kitchen appliances. Whenever possible, make do with the things that you already have.

Make things last. Use everything to the last drop. Squeeze out that last little bit of toothpaste. Add some water to your dish soap. Use a little less detergent in the laundry.

These are tiny changes that can really add up over time.

Be prepared for a lack of services. At some point, as income tax revenue continues to decrease, we’ll start to see cuts in services like garbage pick-up and first responders. Start thinking now about your solutions should these things happen.

[ Originally published at The Organic Prepper – reposted with permission. ]

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“COVID-19 Could Set a New Norm for Surveillance and Privacy”

App developers are creating tools to monitor people when they shop and work, despite lacking proof that it works or has safeguards to protect your data.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ways we interact and has everyone thinking more about our health and well-being. But that shift in mindset means that daily activities like going grocery shopping or simple things like standing in an elevator will come with even more surveillance strings attached.

The response by governments and the tech industry to the coronavirus outbreak has already raised many concerns about privacy from contact tracing apps, mobile location data tracking and police surveillance drones. The outbreak has also brought new privacy issues, as companies beef up surveillance with tech like thermal cameras and facial recognition in preparation for when people return to their everyday lives.

Surveillance technology has slowly integrated into our daily lives, with facial recognition getting added as a “convenience” feature for casinos and ordering food. The coronavirus has sped up that process, in the name of public health. Shopping centers have long used Bluetooth trackers to determine crowd sizes and whereabouts, and the pandemic has shifted its use to enable contact tracing.

By signing up, you agree to the CBS Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Vantiq, a software company that builds a platform for developers and businesses to roll out their apps, has been repurposing its tools to focus on technology tied to tracing COVID-19. Since March, the company has built tools to enable the tracking of COVID-19 through facial recognition and thermal cameras being used by private companies. Its tools have been used in social distancing programs like an app to reserve a spot at a food market.

The company and its tools represent the double-sided nature of the effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The technology promises to help, but it also comes at the cost of your privacy, experts warn. More worrisome is the notion that the pandemic-driven level of surveillance becomes the new normal. Privacy advocates like NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden have warned about government overreach, arguing that these current measures won’t be scaled back once the public health crisis has ended.

With governments beginning to ease shelter-in-place lockdowns, and businesses reopening under extra precautions, many will turn to technology for detection and enforcement. The future of surveillance in daily life will be decided in the next few years, with public safety and COVID-19 driving the debate.

“We always risk that if you create a new set of norms about what to expect on privacy, those norms last,” said Mark Surman, executive director of Firefox maker Mozilla. “We could be left with a legacy. The choice to make now is what legacy we want.”

A spike in demand
The demand for surveillance technology like thermal scanners has surged because of COVID-19.

In April, the Washington Post reported that FLIR Systems, which makes most of the world’s thermal cameras, saw its stock rise 60% because of increased demand.

Companies are using software to monitor employees working from home. Students are also being watched remotely through exam monitoring software, despite privacy concerns about the practice.

Before the pandemic, Vantiq had been supplying companies with building monitoring tools to detect environmental or safety issues. Vantiq CEO Marty Sprinzen said that Softbank was its biggest partner and had been working with it to make smart building apps.

The company doesn’t build the apps itself but provides the toolsets for partners to create what they’re looking for. And the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a spike in demand for its tools.

“We have not seen our pipeline grow that quickly, ever. We’re talking about multi millions in dollars,” Sprinzen said. “We’re being approached more frequently than ever because the pressure of getting these COVID apps is needed immediately.”

He noted that these apps are typically built within 10 days, and the company sees most of its sales opportunities in North America.

Some of the apps that it’s helping to build includes software for virtual queuing, which the Canadian software firm Bits in Glass is developing. The idea is to download an app for a store and reserve a time slot for shopping, to help prevent crowds from growing.

The app would also be able to track how many people are at the store at any time and alert managers when it’s overcrowded. James Allen, Vantiq’s global head of field enablement, described it as an “OpenTable for real-time events.”

The company also helped build a “real-time coronavirus tracking system” called GiConnect in China. The app relies on thermal cameras and facial recognition, and has been sold to a mining company and retail stores in the country, Allen said.

The facial recognition is designed to detect whether people are wearing masks, and the thermal cameras detect fevers. Vantiq boasts that its thermal camera tools are used in more than 7,000 elevators in Shanghai, and expects it to be in up to 250,000 elevators in the country.

The technology is designed to provide for enforcement and tracking in public places like office buildings and airports. Allen described several scenarios where if someone with a fever had been detected, the facial recognition cameras would log who the person is, and security staff would be deployed. The software could also follow them around the building and log the faces of other people who were near the person with the fever, he said.

“If someone enters a building and it turns out they’re sick, we want to know where they’ve been, who they’ve been in contact with and where do we need to disinfect,” Allen said.

No safeguards, no proof
Despite these capabilities, Vantiq said it doesn’t take responsibility for when the technology doesn’t work. It doesn’t check for false positives with thermal cameras or facial recognition and leaves that to its app partners.

Experts have noted that thermal cameras aren’t an effective tool for detecting the coronavirus, pointing out issues with when fevers appear in COVID-19 patients and the fact that many people with the disease do not actually have symptoms.

That includes Vantiq’s own Allen, who shared that he had the coronavirus but not a fever. The company said it only helps build the app, not maintain it or ensure that it’s being properly used.

“We don’t get involved in that. We assume that they are addressing the issues,” Sprinzen said. “I understand the problem, and we don’t address that.”

He compared it to how people wouldn’t hold JavaScript responsible for malicious tools created using the coding language.

“We don’t get involved in that. We assume that they are addressing the issues.”
Marty Sprinzen, VANTIQ CEO

That hands-off approach also applies to how the data collected is handled. The virtual queuing app, for example, could use the data for marketing and advertising purposes if its maker so desired.

While Vantiq compared the tool to OpenTable, which lets you reserve seats at restaurants, the dining service’s privacy policy also notes that it can share your data with marketers and partner companies.

Bits In Glass, the developers working with Vantiq on the virtual queuing app, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

There are no federal laws in the US on how your data privacy is handled. A group of Republican lawmakers in April proposed the COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act, looking to address that issue.

Sprinzen said the company doesn’t track how its partners handle data, noting that Vantiq is just a developing platform and not the ones making the apps. He noted that Vantiq wouldn’t even know if its partners were violating privacy standards.

“It could almost be a lack of privacy if we were to check on how the applications were being used,” Sprinzen said. “Could that change if we find that our technology is being used in some way? That’s feasible, but that’s not something we’ve thought about until you’ve brought this up.”

The hands-off approach also applies to the effectiveness of the tools Vantiq is helping create. Sprinzen said the company doesn’t know if its tools are actually saving lives, and noted in a follow-up email without any proof that while the company doesn’t track the data processed from its tools, “it stands to reason that technology — both ours and that of other companies — is in fact saving lives in this situation.”

‘The genie’s out of the bottle’
Privacy advocates argue that the coronavirus pandemic marks a crucial time to decide what standards to have in place on how our data is handled.

The American Civil Liberties Union has pointed out that privacy and public health go hand in hand: if people don’t trust the technology to protect their data, they won’t use it.

“We’re at a crossroads where we can rush into this and see [helping] public health means we lose on privacy, or we can leverage the fact that this is about public health and can do it better by doing privacy by design,” Mozilla’s Surman said.

Coronavirus reopenings: How it looks as lockdowns ease around the world

For others, the post-pandemic privacy norms have already been decided. Sprinzen said he believes there’s no going back after COVID-19, and technology like thermal cameras and facial recognition will become widely accepted because of the pandemic.

“It’s like what happened after 9/11 — the security systems are going to stick around,” Sprinzen said. “The genie is out of the bottle. That kind of sensing is not going away.”

Surman doesn’t believe that the world has crossed a point of no return yet on surveillance norms. Police in Connecticut, for example, dropped “pandemic drone” test flights after public outcry on privacy issues.

Any decisions made in the next few years for COVID-19 will all have a privacy implication attached, Surman said. And it’ll take constant vigilance to ensure that the privacy norms established for the future are actually protecting people, he said.

“People are coming out with opportunistic, unregulated Band-aids,” Surman said. “Apps for waiting in lines, facial recognition for masks aren’t going to fall under the oversight of government. If a market emerges for those, we may end up with a creeping low-level increase of surveillance that we need to find a way to keep tabs on and rope in.”

[ Alfred Ng ]

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“ID2020 & Agenda 2030: Pathway To A Global Government & New World Order”

I try to write a thoughtful post at least once a month, where I take time to research and vet various developments that relate to Bible prophecy. As I was looking over past articles something hit me. In terms of Bible prophecy and end-time developments, I believe that we will watch and wait in a new way. We will think in terms of “before Covid-19” and “after Covid-19.” And there is a major difference.

In the world of TV and feature film production there is a tradition followed by the main crew once principle photography (shooting all the scenes) is done. After the last shot of the final episode (or the final movie sequence) is done, time is taken to honor the crew, the project, and the friendships formed.

The director will typically bring everyone together and individually acknowledge each person by name–followed by the phrase, “that’s a wrap.” Finally, after each person’s contribution is acknowledged the director will state the name of the project (whether TV show or movie) and say, “that’s a wrap.” It is an extremely emotional moment for all involved in the production.

At this point, there is still much to be done before the show airs or the movie is released. All of the editing and post-production still needs to be done, but the key content is shot and “in the can”. Every one of the critical “must-have” milestones has been reached.

I sense that is where we are on the prophetic schedule of things. The health, economic, and globalist effects of Covid-19 have moved us into a new (and perhaps final) era of the birth-pain period Jesus talked about in Matthew 24. In that chapter, Jesus responds to his disciples’ questions about the timing of Jerusalem (and the temple) being destroyed, the end of the Church age, and the return of Jesus.

After describing the chronology of the temple destruction of AD70 (24:2), and the bulk of church history of which Jesus said “the end is still to come” (24:4-6), he shifts gears to a time period known as the birth pains (24:8). I, and many other prophecy teachers, believe we are nearing the end of this birth pain period before the world is “delivered into tribulation (24:9).” In between the birth pain period and the tribulation period will be the rapture of the church.

Everything related to Covid-19 has me thinking, “that’s a wrap.” I’m not saying the rapture will happen tomorrow. No man knows the day or hour. But I am saying that all principle photography has been shot. In other words, all of the conditions for the tribulation to start are in place–right now. Whether those conditions are geopolitical, cultural, spiritual, technological, or biblical/prophetic–everything is “in the can.” We’re now (using a video production term) in post-production. It’s only a matter of time before the end of the church age.

The number of examples I could give–specifically as a result of Covid-19–are overwhelming (including draconian power grabs, attempts to silence the church, anti-Semitic actions from some state governments, prophetic geopolitical developments, false and contradictory information on the news, and much more), so I’ll stick to just three specific developments with strange numbers.

Once you see how these are connected, it should get your attention. Let me request from the outset, don’t take my word for these. Vet them yourself. They are 100% true and legitimate, but I don’t want you to take my word without looking into them yourself.

Agenda 2030

This UN manifesto of sorts was ratified and adopted on September 25, 2015. It calls for (and has been forcefully moving toward) radical plans that will affect everything by the year 2030. Of course it sounds fluffy and nice, but If you read between the lines (and if you understand human nature and the God-less foundations of the UN) you’ll see that it is the culmination of a decades long push toward a Global Government and a New World Order.

This is not a hidden agenda. It is out in the open. Many globalists over the past 10-20 years (and longer) have openly, publicly used those specific terms. Again, take some time to research this for yourself if it sounds far-fetched. Here’s the 2030 website to begin your research: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

ID2020

Bill and Melinda Gates pledged $10 billion in a call for a decade of vaccines. That is the title of a press release from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation website. So, what’s wrong with that? If you’re like me you have always known Bill Gates as the Microsoft computer genius who competed head-to-head with Steve Jobs and Apple. Bill is a globalist. His dad was a globalist.

Again, vet what I am saying. Last year Bill stepped down from Microsoft to pursue his new initiatives–among them ID2020 that seeks to give everyone on the planet a digital ID, and vaccinations. Neither of those are evil in themselves, but when you look at the big picture, the world view of the players, and what the Bible says will happen in the future tribulation period–everything is lining up.

So, let me connect a few dots. Bill Gates (a computer entrepreneur) has been heavily involved with the UN and the World Health Organization/W.H.O. (the global health arm of the UN) for quite some time. (If you are wondering why a computer entrepreneur is involved in world health and vaccines you’re not alone.)

The UN officially adopts a plan to change everything by 2030 with the promise that “no one will be left behind.” Bill Gates pledges a “decade of vaccines” that culminates in the year 2030, and at the same time funds ID2020 with a manifesto that says (among many other things), “everyone should be able to assert their identity across institutional and national borders, and across time,” and that they want to provide “an alternative to individuals lacking safe and reliable access to state-based systems.”

In other words, vaccines and digital ID are merging together. But how?

Enter quantum dot technology. This new technology is well known, freely discussed in various online tech articles, and is the next step beyond microchipping. As I understand it, visible and invisible ink can be tattooed on someone as they are receiving a vaccine.

Embedded in this tattoo is digital technology that verifies they have had said vaccine. Presumably, this could also be technology used to give everyone/anyone a permanent digital ID. Are you wondering who funded (and initiated) this project? You guessed it–the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (see 3rd link below).

Again, please vet what I am saying. Research the terms: quantum dot vaccine; quantum dot technology.
https://www.sciencealert.com/an-invisible-quantum-dot-tattoo-is-being-suggested-to-id-vaccinated-kids
http://news.mit.edu/2019/storing-vaccine-history-skin-1218
https://bioengineering.rice.edu/news/quantum-dot-tattoos-hold-vaccination-record

Also, here are a few websites (from the sources) to help you begin to vet what I shared above: https://id2020.org and https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2010/01/Bill-and-Melinda-Gates-Pledge-$10-Billion-in-Call-for-Decade-of-Vaccines

WO/2020/060606

Now, here is the third–and strangest–number I want to bring to your attention. A short time after Bill Gates stepped down from Microsoft’s board of directors, the company filed an international patent for a “cryptocurrency system using body activity data.” In layman’s terms this means, “a cashless financial system connected to individual people.”

Some argue that this could just be a patent for technology which allows for smart phones, smart watches, and other wearable technology to connect with a cashless payment system. Of course, that is one logical application. But, when you look at this in view of end-time Bible prophecy, one can’t help but connect a few dots. The bottom line is this emerging technology connects individual humans to a database and a cashless system. That is a fact.

The future mark of the beast described in Revelation–and implemented at the mid-point of said period–necessarily requires a cashless system, a data-base driven digital tracking capability, and a mark “on” the skin (not embedded underneath it) that seems to have health/DNA effects associated with it. Think of that in light of everything mentioned above. In my view all of these details are converging and accelerating due to the global effects of Covid-19.

Now here’s the rub. And you can vet this for yourself. The patent number is WO/2020/060606. Many have suggested it stands for World Order, 2020, 666–which is of course, the specific number mentioned in the passage in Revelation regarding the mark of the beast. Coincidence? I think not.

Before you call me a conspiracy theorist for even mentioning those details, let’s look at the possibilities of how this number came about.

Possibility 1–The number generated was completely random. I don’t buy this, but even if it were true, what are the chances that a technology that closely mirrors the biblical mark of the beast would have three sixes in a row? Not to mention a number that is the same year as Gates’ iD2020.

Possibility 2–The patent applicants requested this specific number because it has inherent meaning. I tend to believe this is the case. When connected to someone as globally powerful as Bill Gates, this is not far fetched. And if this number was requested, it obviously has meaning to those who filed the global patent.

Possibility 3–The patent applicants requested this specific number to poke fun at Christians and to intentionally get Bible prophecy teachers all bent out of shape. If this is the case, it still fits into end-time Bible prophecy when mockers will abound (2 Peter 3:4) and raises additional concerns.

The bottom line of all of this is that due to Covid-19, the end-time convergence of signs and conditions has been shifted into overdrive. The birth pains described by Jesus in Matthew 24 are increasing with frequency and intensity–globally–right before our eyes. We have yet to see the full effects of the virus upon the world’s health, wealth, freedoms, and fall out.

We should be ready for–not just a new normal, but a new-world-order normal. If “it’s a wrap” and all we’re waiting for is a heavenly trumpet sound–let’s sprint to the finish line, occupy until He returns, patiently serve Jesus and others, and share the Gospel as far and wide as we can while there is time. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Whether the Lord returns in our lifetime as we suspect or not, we have nothing to fear and should be full of hope, joy, and courage. Our new normal is just as secure as it has always been. God is still on the throne and his Word is true.

PS. And if the 3 strange numbers above weren’t enough–how about this one (just brought to my attention by a reader):

H.R. 6666–a proposed bill in congress that allows contract tracing to–and Covid-19 testing at–your house (“and for other purposes” ) by various funded entities. Check it out for yourself and keep an eye on this one as well.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6666/text

[ Todd Hampson ]

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“Crossroads with Joshua Philipp”

CCP Virus Documentary: https://www.theepochtimes.com/coronavirusfilm

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9zrD4DitQ0
(Response to “fact checkers” of their documentary, and timeline of virus origin)

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65ExziEaxXY
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xjDoV-SB3c
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCerJV6R-aQ
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0GK_TpQ7yM
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVMNW4pVqpc
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQUYzPDI0w4
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBGcuBsw654
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWLm-LxP93g
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpbibwZ106c
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZT0t3Fv1tU
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OvZOU_lozM
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO_kvtrfPWc
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDNUAkc8BIY
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-4dCcGyvck
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkLFQbwV-90
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABXDZRdqlJY
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvytfDcCs1w
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2h0MqqfKXI
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T56DSqmuMk
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVqLyYXQ3yc
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssfy-vwMw0Y
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jROcM-fw8NI
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elriht979XM
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMd_F4_KYHI
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yygzd9-nwuY
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x-s3r1Lm9k
Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sKjbyUgU48

[ Joshua Philipps ]

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“COVID Hysteria: Is media onslaught softening us up for something much more dangerous than a virus?”

Now’s the time to push back against police-state tactics and the coming radical climate agenda.

Everything the government’s so-called “experts” told us about the COVID-19 coronavirus turned out to be false.

Not all experts were wrong. Only the ones selected by the government and given a platform by the mainstream media were wrong.

[more…]

[ Leo Hohmann ]

Article: https://leohohmann.com/2020/05/21/covid-hysteria-is-media-onslaught-softening-us-up-for-something-much-more-dangerous-than-a-virus/

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“Dead Zone TV Show (2003) Mentions Coronavirus and the cure being Chloroquine”

Dead Zone TV Show – Episode: Plague. Aired July 13, 2003. Mentions Coronavirus, Chloroquine being the cure and lockdowns.

TV Show Snippets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_XjYq-XdJo

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“Pandemic” (2016 Movie)

Pandemic is set in the near future, where a virus of epic proportions has overtaken the planet. There are more infected than uninfected, and humanity is losing its grip on survival. Its only hope is finding a cure and keeping the infected contained. Lauren (Rachel Nichols) is a doctor, who, after the fall of New York, comes to Los Angeles to lead a team to hunt for and rescue uninfected survivors.

Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SllHJHiSwpo

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SONGS:

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“God Trying To Get Your Attention”

Well, you might be saved, you might be reborn
You might own a car with a big, loud horn
Maybe its just news on your television
Or it might be God trying to get your attention

Are you an engineer working on a farm?
Or a Casanova with a whole lot of charm
It might be a mouse living in your kitchen
Or it might be God trying to get your attention

Well, it might sound bad or it might sound good
Might be made of steel or it might be made of wood
Maybe its just news on your television
Or it might be God trying to get your attention

Well, it might be in the church house or it might be on the street
Somehow or another every soul has got to meet
Well, it might be in the city or it might be in the town
One way or another, you’re gonna find the higher ground

Well, you might be deaf or you might be blind
Should put the message right in your mind
Might look like a plan or a coalition
Or it might be God trying to get your attention, oh Lord

Well, you might be deaf or you might be dumb
You’ll get the answer when the answer comes
It might be news on your television
Or it might be God trying to get your attention
It might be God trying to get your attention

Oh yeah, oh yeah

Listen to the birds, listen to the trees
Listen to the river, listen to the sea
Listen to the mountain, listen to the land

Listen to the woman, listen to the man
Listen to the rain, listen to the wind
Listen to your mind, and then listen all over again

Listen to the birds, listen to the trees
Listen to the river, listen to the sea
Listen to the mountain, listen to the land

Listen to the woman, listen to the man
Listen to the rain, listen to the wind
Listen to your mind, and then listen all over again

Listen, you better listen, listen, you better listen
Listen, you better listen, listen, you better listen
Listen, you better listen, listen, you better listen
Listen, you better listen

Somebody help me, hey hey hey

[ Keb’ Mo’ – “Slow Down” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPI7qXVSw5g

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“Who’s Got Your Attention?”

Music by various Christian artists.

[ Daybreak II – Tony Miller ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52nmuzHCj8

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“Put The Attention On Jesus”

It’s amazing how we’ve gone after the show. How we hardly say His name anymore.
I think it’s strange how we love to jump and shout but never wanna tell the world what it’s about.
I’m amazed that the One who gave His life
Is not the feature of every single night
I think it’s sad how the man who paid the price is being drowned out by all the fluff and lights.

Let’s put the attention back where it belongs back upon the Son, He is the one who died for us.
Let’s put the attention back upon the cross back upon the Lord, He is the King He’s why we sing.

(Harmony) Put the attention on Jesus
(Unison) Cause that’s where it belongs.
(Harmony) Put the attention on Jesus!
Yeah yeah

If I be lifted up from all the earth I’ll draw all man unto me.
(Repeat 3x’s)
If I be lifted up from all the earth I’ll draw man!

(Harmony) Put the attention on Jesus
(Unison) Forever we lift you up
(Harmony) Put the attention on Jesus!
Yeah yeah
YEAH YEAH

(What’s His Name) Jesus Jesus Jesus

[ Todd Dulaney – “A Worshipper’s Heart” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uStIhbwcWSc

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“Turn Your Eyes”

VERSE 1
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

VERSE 2
Turn your eyes to the hillside
Where justice and mercy embraced
There the Son of God gave His life for us
And our measureless debt was erased

CHORUS
Jesus, to You we lift our eyes
Jesus, our glory and our prize
We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true
Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to You

VERSE 3
Turn your eyes to the morning
And see Christ the Lion awake
What a glorious dawn, fear of death is gone
For we carry His life in our veins

VERSE 4
Turn your eyes to the heavens
Our King will return for His own
Every knee will bow, every tongue will shout,
‘All glory to Jesus alone!’

[ Sovereign Grace Music ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2tKVqZZiI4

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“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn you eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conquerors we are

And turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

His word shall not fail you, He promised
Believe Him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell

And turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

[ Alan Jackson – “Precious Memories” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5x0MclH3l0

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“God Will Take Care of You”

Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.

Refrain
God will take care of you,
Through every day, over all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail,
God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail,
God will take care of you.

Refrain

All you may need He will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you.

Refrain

No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast,
God will take care of you.

[ Civilla D. Martin ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijytLs96yig

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“God Holds the Future In His Hands”
(Original: “Dread Not the Things That are Ahead”)

Dread not the things that are ahead,
The burdens great, the sinking sands,
The thorns that o’er the path are spread,
God holds the future in His hands.

Refrain
God holds the future in His hands
And every heart He understands.
On Him depend,
He is your Friend,
He holds the future in His hands.

We know not what tomorrow hides,
Of sun or storm or good or ill;
We only know His dear hand guides,
And He will be our Father still. [Refrain]

His hand created earth and sky,
The zephyrs and the storms that rage,
And years to come and years gone by
To Him are but an open page. [Refrain]

Live close to Him and trust His love,
Assured that while on earth we roam,
Whate’er may come, He bends above
To guide His children safely home. [Refrain]

[ Ricky Skaggs – “Solo Songs My Dad Loved” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNCeppGQVKI

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“It Is Well With My Soul”

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well
With my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul.

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

[ Joni Eareckson Tada and The Master’s Chorale ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6NMlFoaESM

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“Keep Your Eyes on Jesus”

[Verse 1]
I’m praying you’ll have dreams that come true
And a couple that don’t
I’m hoping your heart stays simple and tender
And hard times help You to grow

[Verse 2]
Even when people disappoint you
Know you’re never alone
My heart is always holding you even though
My arms are letting you go

[Chorus]
Keep your eyes on Jesus
Keep your eyes on the One who carries you
This world is crazy
And I love you, baby
Hands up for the ride of your life
Keep your eyes on Jesus

[Verse 3]
In the tragic, don’t panic
This is never the end
Up from the sadness, out of the ashes
Beauty is rising again

[Verse 4]
It’s a marathon journey, don’t lose your courage
And don’t put your heart on the shelf
You’ll never regret showing mercy to others and
Save some for yourself

[Chorus]
Keep your eyes on Jesus
Keep your eyes on the One who carries you
‘Cause this world is crazy
And I love you, baby
Hands up for the ride of your life
Keep your eyes on Jesus

[Bridge]
Wherever you’re going
Be in the moment
If you stumble keep moving on
There’s no shame in crying
Keep reaching and trying
And whether I’m here or gone

[Chorus]
Keep your eyes on Jesus
Keep your eyes on the One who carries you
‘Cause this world is crazy
And I love you, baby
Hands up for the ride of your life
Keep your eyes on Jesus

[Outro]
Keep your eyes on Jesus

[ Jared Anderson –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EowawQ5fOgo

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“Be Not Afraid”

[Verse 1]
You shall cross the barren desert
But you shall not die of thirst
You shall wander far in safety
Though you do not know the way
You shall speak your words in foreign lands
And all will understand
You shall see the face of God and live

[Chorus]
Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come follow me
And I will give you rest

[Verse 2]
Blessed are your poor
For the kingdom shall be theirs
Blessed are you that weep and mourn
For one day you shall laugh
And if wicked men insult and hate you all because of me
Blessed, blessed are you

[Chorus]
Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come follow me
And I will give you rest

[Instrumental Break]

[Chorus]
Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come follow me
And I will give you rest

Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come follow me
And I will give you rest

[ John Michael Talbot ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI49peWG2d0

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“Count Your Blessings”

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
*Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
[*And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.]

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—*money cannot buy [*wealth can never buy]
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

[ Guy Penrod – “Guy Penrod Live: Hymns & Worship” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZECFq4BvRQ

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“The Solid Rock”

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

Whoa-oh, the solid rock
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
Whoa-oh, the solid rock
All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

Whoa-oh, the solid rock
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
Whoa-oh, the solid rock
All other ground is sinking sand

[ 4Him – “A Place Of Worship” album (The original hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less,” written by Edward Mote ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuSC3qOER58

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“Sovereign Over Us”

There is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears
And You meet us in our mourning
With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting
You’re sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding
You’re teaching us to trust

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You’re with us in the fire and the flood
You’re faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You’re the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You’re with us in the fire and the flood
You’re faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You’re with us in the fire and the flood
You’re faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good
You turn it for our good and for Your glory
Even in the valley, You are faithful
You’re working for our good
You’re working for our good and for Your glory

Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good
You turn it for our good and for Your glory
Even in the valley, You are faithful
You’re working for our good
You’re working for our good and for Your glory

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You’re with us in the fire and the flood
You’re faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

You’re faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

[ Michael W. Smith – “Sovereign” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x8TZiwPGa0

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“You Never Let Go”

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back
I know You are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Chorus:
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth

Chorus:

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Chorus: (2x’s)

[ Matt Redman – “Beautiful News” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIAdgLR1ZGw

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“God Who Moves The Mountains”

He is not confined, He confounds
He will not resign, He resounds
He is not restrained, hear the sound
Oh hear the sound

Rocks are falling, the broken calling
To the God who moves the mountains
The Earth is shaking, the weary waking
To the God who moves the mountains
You’ve gotta move this mountain

He is not surprised, he surrounds
He can not be stopped, he astounds
He is drawing near, hear the sound
oh hear the sound

You say speak, so we say, “Move!”
You say watch what You can do
You say, trust, and then You prove
You’re the God who moves the mountains
You’re the God who moves the mountains

[ Corey Voss – “Songs Of Heaven & Earth” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3xsn6db2iI

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“The King Is Coming”

The marketplace is empty
No more traffic in the streets
All the builders’ tools are silent
No more time to harvest wheat
Busy housewives cease their labors
In the courtroom no debate
Work on earth is all suspended
As the King comes thro’ the gate

O the King is coming
The King is coming
I just heard the trumpets sounding
And now His face I see
O the King is coming
The King is coming
Praise God, He’s coming for me

Happy faces line the hallways
Those whose lives have been redeemed
Broken homes that He has mended
Those from prison He has freed
Little children and the aged
Hand in hand stand all aglow
Who were crippled, broken, ruined
Clad in garments white as snow

O the King is coming
The King is coming
I just heard the trumpets sounding
And now His face I see
O the King is coming
The King is coming
Praise God, He’s coming for me

I can hear the chariots rumble
I can see the marching throng
The flurry of God’s trumpets
Spells the end of sin and wrong
Regal robes are now unfolding
Heaven’s grandstand’s all in place
Heaven’s choir now assembled
Start to sing “Amazing Grace”

O the King is coming
The King is coming
I just heard the trumpets sounding
And now His face I see
O the King is coming
The King is coming
Praise God, He’s coming for me

[ Gaither Vocal Band – “Gaither Homecoming Celebration” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBNhNffsNMo

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“Not For A Moment (After All)”

You were reaching through the storm
Walking on the water
Even when I could not see
In the middle of it all
When I thought You were a thousand miles away
Not for a moment did You forsake me
Not for a moment did You forsake me

After all You are constant
After all You are only good
After all You are sovereign
Not for a moment will You forsake me

You were singing in the dark
Whispering Your promise
Even when I could not hear
I was held in Your arms
Carried for a thousand miles to show
Not for a moment did You forsake me

After all You are constant
After all You are only good
After all You are sovereign
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Not for a moment will You forsake me

And every step every breath you are there
Every tear every cry every prayer
In my hurt at my worst
When my world falls down
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Even in the dark
Even when it’s hard
You will never leave me
After all

After all You are constant
After all You are only good
After all You are sovereign
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Not for a moment will You forsake me

[ Meredith Andrews – “Live Worship From Vertical Church” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD0cvWImVjA

*****************************
“Together”

[Intro]
Ah a-a-ah a-a-ah
O-o-oh ah
O-o-oh ah

[Verse 1: Luke Smallbone]
This is for the busted heart
This is for the question marks
This is for the outcast soul
Lost control, no one knows

[Verse 2: Luke Smallbone]
Sing it for the can’t-go-back
Sing it for the broken past
Sing it for the just found out
Life is now upside down

[Pre-Chorus: Joel Smallbone]
If you’re lookin’ for hope tonight, raise your ha-and
If you feelin’ alone and don’t understa-and
If you’re fightin’ in the fight of your life, then sta-and
We’re gonna make it through this hand-in-ha-and

[Chorus: Joel and Luke Smallbone & Choir]
And if we fall, we will fall together
Together (Together, together)

[Verse 3: Tori Kelly]
This is for the second chance
This is for the new romance
Sing it for the loved in vain
Overcame, it’s not too late

[Pre-Chorus: Joel Smallbone & Tori Kelly]
If you’re lookin’ for hope tonight, raise your ha-and
If you feelin’ alone and don’t understa-and
If you’re fightin’ in the fight of your life, then sta-and
We’re gonna make it through this hand-in-ha-and

[Chorus: Joel and Luke Smallbone, Tori Kelly & Choir, Tori Kelly]
And if we fall, we will fall together
Together (Together, together)
Oh, and when we rise, we will rise together
Together, oh o-o-oh

[Post-Chorus: Tori Kelly, Choir & Kirk Franklin]
Ah a-a-ah a-a-ah
Ho-oh
O-o-oh ah
We will rise together (Yes)
O-o-oh ah
Ooh

[Bridge: Kirk Franklin, Choir & Tori Kelly]
Listen
If you’re lookin’ for hope tonight
And you’re all alone
If you’re feelin’ alone tonight
Can you feel?
If you’re in the fight of your life
I can promise
We’re gonna make it happen, yeah
I will be by your side
By your side
‘Cause love is in the air tonight
Can you feel it?
Come up and see the light
Come on!
Whenever ever ever
Just as long as we’re together, say

[Chorus]
If we fall (Fall), we will fall together
Haha, I got you, my brother
Together (Together, together)
I see you, my sister
And when we rise, we will rise together
Together (Together, together) (Can’t stop me)
Woo!
If we fall (If we fall), we will fall together
Ah a-a-ah a-a-ah
O-o-oh ah, o-o-oh ah
Take my hand
Together (Together, together)
Help me stand
And when we rise (When we rise), we will rise together (We will rise together)
Ah a-a-ah a-a-ah
O-o-oh ah, o-o-oh ah
Together (Together, together)
Yes, sir!

[Outro: Joel Smallbone]
Together we are dangerous
Together with our differences
Together we are bolder, braver, stronger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR1Hk0FVi_k

*****************************
“Forever Reign”

You are good, You are good
When there’s nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see
You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy, You are joy
You’re the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost its sting

Oh, I’m running to Your arms,
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here, You are here
In Your presence I’m made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I’m letting go

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other Name
Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough

[ Kristian Stanfill – “Fellowship Songs Vol.1” album]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hORZ7NC5I2A

*****************************
“My Heart Is Yours”

I give You my life
I give You my trust
Jesus
You are my God
You are enough
Jesus
My heart is Yours

My heart is Yours
Take it all
Take it all
My life in Your hands
My heart is yours

My heart is yours
Take it all
Take it all
My life in Your hands
I lay down my life

And take up my cross
Jesus
For You are my God
Whatever the cost
Jesus
For You, Jesus
My heart is Yours

My heart is Yours
Take it all
Take it all
My life in Your hands
My heart is yours

My heart is yours
Take it all
Take it all
My life in Your hands

All to Jesus I surrender
All to You I freely give
I will ever love and trust You
In Your presence I will live

All to Jesus I surrender
All to You I freely give
I will ever love and trust You
In Your presence I will live

My heart is Yours
My heart is Yours
Take it all
Take it all
My life in Your hands
My heart is yours
My heart is yours
Take it all
Take it all
My life in Your hands.
[ Kristian Stanfill – “Passion: Take It All” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzGDkJY6LqM

*****************************
“Rain Of Your Mercy”

I see the clouds out on the horizon
I feel the wind blowin’ in my face
I hear the sound of a rollin’ thunder
I know a storm is about to break

It’s the rain of Your mercy
It’s the rain of Your mercy

Now I’ve always heard about Your greatness
How showers of life flow from Your heart
Your death on the cross proves how much You love me
But I’m still surprised at how good You are

In the depths of my sin
Your mercy comes in
And shows me the depths of Your love
And it humbles my heart, tears me apart
Moves me to thank You my friend

For the rain of Your mercy
The rain of Your mercy
Is fallin’ again
(Is comin’ again)

I’m bein’ washed in the water from heaven
Sweet tears of joy pourin’ down on me
I lift up my head, drink Your forgiveness
Your spirit is here to set me free

[ Kim Hill – “Arms Of Mercy” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GnKGveilPc

*****************************
“Hold Me Close”

I’m ready to stop running, let myself be caught
Stop pretending, let myself be known
I’m ready to stop hiding, let myself be found
Held safe and sound, in Your loving arms

So hold me close in Your arms of mercy
Look inside, show me what You see
Touch my life, and I will stop my searching
And find that place in You, that waits for me

Whatever I held onto, I’m ready to let go
Burn my bridges, and dance within the flames
All of my wrong choices have lead my heart back home
To the love that swallows up my pain

I can see You’ve been there all along
You’ve reached into my recklessness
And filled me with Your song

[ Kim Hill – “Arms Of Mercy” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keoxIFYeGRA

*****************************
“You Are Still Holy”

Holy, You are still holy
Even when the darkness surrounds my life
Sovereign, You are still sovereign
Even when confusion has blinded my eyes

Lord, I don’t deserve Your kind affection
When my unbelief has kept me from Your touch
I want my life to be a pure reflection
Of Your love

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet, Lord
You are my Saviour
And I’m at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up ’til now
It belongs to You
You are still holy

Holy, You are still holy
Even though I don’t understand Your ways
Sovereign, You will be sovereign
Even when my circumstances don’t change

Lord, I don’t deserve your tender patience
When my unbelief has kept me from Your truth
I want my life to be a sweet devotion
To You

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet, Lord
You are my Saviour
And I’m at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up ’til now
It belongs to You
I belong to You

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet
You are my Saviour
And I’m at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up ’til now
It belongs to You
I belong to You
You are still holy
You are still sovereign
You are still holy, Lord
You are still righteous
You are all-knowing
You are still holy

[ Kim Hill – “Arms Of Mercy” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWEtd7ih7Bw

*****************************
“God Leads His Dear Children Along”

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the waters cool flow bathes the weary ones feet,
God leads His dear children along.
Refrain

Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.

Refrain

Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

Refrain

Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
God leads His dear children along;
Away up in glory, eternitys day,
God leads His dear children along.

Refrain

[ Sons Of The San Joaquin – “Gospel Trails” album (Words by George A. Young, 1903) ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8psv-JVOMAc

*****************************
“God Holds the Future in His Hands”

Dread not the things that are ahead,
The burdens great, the sinking sands,
The thorns that o’er the path are spread,
God holds the future in His hands.

Refrain
God holds the future in His hands
And every heart He understands.
On Him depend,
He is your Friend,
He holds the future in His hands.

We know not what tomorrow hides,
Of sun or storm or good or ill;
We only know His dear hand guides,
And He will be our Father still.

Refrain

His hand created earth and sky,
The zephyrs and the storms that rage,
And years to come and years gone by
To Him are but an open page.

Refrain

Live close to Him and trust His love,
Assured that while on earth we roam,
Whate’er may come, He bends above
To guide His children safely home.

Refrain

[ Ricky Skaggs – “Songs My Dad Loved” album (Words by James Rowe, 1922) ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNCeppGQVKI

*****************************
“Good News/Bad News”
(J. Jackson Testimony – Lead Singer of ApologetiX)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q21Jnaq-EL8

Well um you know we believe what we’re singing about you know for 20 years our our missions still the same we want to reach the lost and teach the rest and we believe these stories were singing about our true all right we take the bottle very seriously we just don’t take ourselves very seriously you’ve been conditioned of her 20 years right and the years leading up to that you know you ever notice how people say I got good news and bad news and most of the time people want to hear the bad news first right most of the time they do right and and the Bible is kind of like that here’s the bad news okay the bad news is all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of god that’s what the Bible says okay and it says there is no one righteous not even one that’s bad news man right now funny thing is is God has given us all a conscience right so it shouldn’t even be news to you because we all know that we are sinners we just don’t know everybody else is right so it was kind of good news for me when I found out that the rest of you were all sinners too because i knew i was and still in right hell and so so in fact that’s why they say you gotta go and tell people the good news because you don’t have to tell him the bad news because they already know they already know but the good news is according to the Bible God demonstrates his love for us in this while we were yet sinners Christ died for us for the wages of sin minimum wage has never changed on this one okay the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ wages are things that you earn a gift is something you should not have to pay for it is a gift right right and Jesus says you know you got to receive the kingdom of heaven like a little child we have five children in our home right right and kids you know when you give them a gift they don’t say how much do I owe you for that you know right sometimes they don’t even say thank you you just give them a gift right right but the gift of God is eternal eyes Jesus Christ the Bible says there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and it says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart god raised him from the dead you could be saved you might be safe there’s a thirty-three percent chance of being say no it says you will be saved the fire one talks about salvation there’s always these definitive statements in fact in the Old Testament it says it’s it and in the New Testament twice in the New Testament says for whosoever that that’s anybody ok if you’re still breathing your who’s over that’s like ninety-eight percent of you guys right so whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will not mine not good will be saved whosoever it says it in the old testament and in the New Testament Peter quotes in from the Old Testament in the book of Acts Paul quotes it from the Old Testament in the book of Romans and in the Old Testaments in the book of Joel or yo well if your your Hebrew or jor-el if you’re from the planet Krypton as I am whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved are you a whosoever you know I do you qualify according to that you do because the Bible says we’re not saved by our good works it says for by grace you have been said grace is not a girl neither is faith grace is doing something good for somebody doesn’t deserve it and we’re all sinners we don’t deserve good things cuz the wages of sin is death but for by grace you have been saved through faith and this the Bible says not of yourselves it is the gift of God and you know it adds it says not by works so no man can boast they went to Jesus once they said what shall we do that we may work the works of God you know jesus said he said this is a work of God that you believe on the son whom he has sent you believe on the son whom you sent I spent half of my life amen I spent the first half of my life not sure what I believed in ok I grew up in a good moral religious home went to 12 years of religious school and by most people’s standards in my neighborhood I was I was the most moral I wasn’t trying I was you know that’s just I always had a conscience right but but they thought I’ve told this story before but but honestly when I was a kid I was so trust in the neighborhood in my my best friend’s mother paid me to babysit him once I mean that I’m serious I’m serious okay that’s how they trusted me okay I knew I was a sinner I wasn’t trying to pretend I wasn’t a sinner but by most people’s standards I was a righteous person or goody two-shoes like it but um what happened is as you get in the high school and junior high and high school you know even at this religious school I went to you have people out there just you know it’s the cool thing to be an atheist or it’s a cool thing to be an agnostic that was really cool because then you’re not sure if you can even know if there’s a god Leonard’s 80s ooh who you know and and so I didn’t know what I believe because these people seem like they were intellectuals and I assumed and they had read the Bible because they were telling me about all these things that are that are not right about the Bible found out later they never read it they just listen to somebody else who never read it talk about something he heard from somebody else and it read it anyway I get to college you know and and you know temptations come right when you reach adolescence and stuff and their big time temptations all kinds of thing happen and my conscience was getting filled up with more and more bad things that I had done in my life and I had no place to take them right then I get to college and everybody out there is just doing whatever they want and I’m thinking like there’s a guy in the Psalms I think his ASAP and he says surely in vain have I kept my heart pure I mean I look at nothing Bad’s happened in these people so I went out there and I did whatever I wanted I still had a big emergency brake on I guess compared to some people but still you know it just made my conscience feel even worse and finally I was a year out of college I was I was driving down route 30 between Greensburg and Latrobe us on my way to work and and and I heard I didn’t hear a voice but but you know they talk about that still small voice is like something inside of me said start reading the Bible it’s true okay and so I started reading it and I liked it I’ve all I’m not attracted to men but I’ve always been attracted to the personality of Jesus Christ I’ve always I’ve always you know I just thought I was I wasn’t good enough for okay you know I was right but um but you know III loved reading about what Jesus had to say and I and I read it you know I’m reading a sermon on the mountain and I love it you know I love it here but then I get to this party says you know if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out if your hand causes you to sin cut it off I’m thinking there’s nothing me like there’s gonna be a molecule left to me to get into heaven you know and then I’m reading it further he says Jesus says you’ve heard it said you shall not murder but I tell you this basically i’m paraphrasing releases you call your brother an idiot you’ve committed murder and then i got three older sisters who are mass murderers hope in Jesus is it Jesus says you’ve heard it said you shall not commit adultery I tell you you you you look after another person lust after them you committed adultery there ain’t nothing funny about that right and so I realized Jesus had very high moral standards meanwhile I’m telling other people that I thought would be pleased some of the most religious people in my life I’m telling them about hey I’m starting to believe his stuff in the Bible and and they were saying well do you really believe the Bible has been changed so much over the years and don’t you think there’s lots of paths and I saw it so proper the other day and somebody was on a boat in the middle of some lake and nobody was there maybe that’s what hell is like and in the meantime I was trying to resist temptation and all my strength and and I couldn’t and but these people are saying they’re saying you’re fine as you are you’re the most moral person I know right hey so I started looking in the Bible I say okay well we know Jesus has higher moral standards of me let’s see what Peter had to say Peter denied Jesus Peter he’s just an ordinary guy right and Peter had pretty high moral standards too and so so I start reading with Paul had to say Paul you know Paul persecuted Christians write what you know Paul understands right now God God changed him Paul had pretty high standards too and finally I just thought I just threw up a prayer i said lord if you’re real please forgive me but i gotta live live my life as if you’re not I gotta go try and find answers elsewhere because I’m not getting answers here and I look for answers in science and philosophy and you remember reading Carl Sagan’s book cosmos and trying to look for mystical answers and stuff and I spent a year like that I took off the emergency brake I just did whatever I wanted to do stop you know have anything to a church or whatever didn’t bother to pray or whatever but you know the more I ran away from God he still followed me right he says in the body says I was found by those who weren’t even seeking me and that’s how was with me and somehow on Super Bowl Sunday 1988 one of that one of the rare super bowls of soup the Steelers were not involved in I I was at my girlfriend’s apartment next door to a church and for some reason i excuse myself went into this empty church and I just poured my heart out to God I you know it wasn’t like a crisis moment in my life or anything I just felt compelled I went out there and I just had to talk with God I said you know if you’re for real I’ve been spent this last year if I ever had anything righteous to offer to you I’ve totally consumed it in this past year I never had anything anyway if there’s a hell I just I just have this distinct feeling that I’m going and I don’t want to go I need a miracle I need you to come in into my life and change because i am not i’m not doing well here i need you to come into my life and I didn’t realize I was doing what those new but those people were talking about all those years at sinner’s prayer you know just realizing you cannot make it to heaven on your own you need him in your life and I walked into a church that I thought was empty but he was there I was the one who was empty but when I left he was inside of me the Bible says that that is the test whether you’re Christian or not the Apostle Paul the guy you said you loved he says he says test yourselves to see if you’re in the faith don’t you know Christ is in you unless you fail the test in fact he says in the New Testament that’s the whole thing that the whole test was written about he says it’s the mystery of the ages Christ in you the hope of glory and you know when I walk down to church I didn’t know what in the world had happened and frankly in the next week or two my life wasn’t totally different but I found myself picking up the Bible again and this time it was like a totally different book I’m reading the same stuff but now it made sense to me because before I wanted the Bible to tell me I’m okay you’re okay and whenever I came to God is it I’m not okay you’re okay make me okay he did he changed me and I’m telling you he’s for real and if you came in here and straggled in today and hit and and you never heard that before I want to pray this prayer this opportunity we’re not calling me by forward or anything I’m just you know just a blind beggar telling somebody else where I got my site and where I got food okay dear Lord I’m in the audience tonight i’m watching this band I want to believe what they’re saying sounds good I’d like to have that kind of conviction about anything I’d like to have that kind of courage about about something Lord if you’re for real then please do do what you did for that person for that band please come into my life I open up my heart and if you are for real and I pray Lord you would show yourself to me tonight lord I know there’s there’s a danger in doing this because the Lord I hate my sin but I love my sin and and I need you to change me so the hate part overrides the the love part is the sin Lord and I need you to to to help me Lord cuz I want to repent tonight I want to turn around I want to change my mind I repent of who I say you are because I know your Lord I want you to be my lord lord I know I’m a sinner and I want you to please take away my sins come into my life I confess with our mouth Jesus Christ you are lord I believe in my heart god the father raised you god the son from the dead by the power of God the Holy Spirit you said whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved by calling your name Jesus save me you said for by grace you have been saved through faith and this is none of your cells is a gift of God not by works then lord I want to do good works for you but not as a way of obtaining maintaining retaining my salvation but as a way because we are your workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that you prepare before then we might walking home it’s like an apple tree Megan apples lord i want to make apples please make me a fruitful tree and i pray you give me the courage to other people show me the way that i might walk in the Lord whatever you want me to do i pray all this in Jesus name Amen

*****************************
“Fearful”
(Parody of “Vehicle” by The Ides of March)

Hey, well, I can sense the danger of an accident a-when I hop inside my car
I’ve got scriptures that tell me God will never abandon me
I’ll take Him with me near and far

I’m not fearful, baby
He’s with me everywhere I’m gonna go
I’ve had fearful moments
But I found my Lord you know
When God loves ya (loves ya)
He keeps ya (keeps ya)
I know that lots can happen now but
Praise God in Heaven, I know I’ll come through

Well, if you want to see a move of God
I’m gonna take you to the Holy Book
And if you wanna pray to let Him in your heart
You know I think you really should

I’m not fearful, baby
He’s with me everywhere I’m gonna go
I’ve had miracle moments
I found my Lord you know
When God loves ya (loves ya)
He keeps ya (keeps ya)
I know that lots can happen now but
Praise God in Heaven, I know I’ll come through
Oh, you know it’s true
LEAD

Well, I can sense the danger of an accident a-when I hop inside my car
But God’s scriptures tell me He will never abandon me
I’ll take Him with me near and far

I’m not fearful, babe
God’s with me everywhere I’m gonna go
I’ve had tearful moments
But I found my Lord you know
When God loves ya (loves ya)
He keeps ya (keeps ya)
I know that
A lot can happen
Praise God in Heaven, I know I’ll come through
And I’m not fearful, babe
Oh, alright
You know, when God loves ya (loves ya)
He keeps ya (keeps ya)
I know that lots can happen now but
Praise God in Heaven, I know I’ll come through

[ ApologetiX – “Loaded 45s” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL-e-_mY6gw

*****************************
“Lethargy”
(Parody of “Refugee” performed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)

He’s God’s Son and we both know it — we don’t talk too much about it
Ain’t no real big seeker, all you say is sometime you may get around to it
Listen, if you’re getting madder at me, saying
You believe what you want to believe
I say, you don’t have to live life in lethargy
(Don’t have to live life in lethargy)

Some folks slumber so bad they must get — kicked to arouse them
Tell me why you would lay there and dwell in a burnin’ mansion
Honey, if you take those Scriptures and read, baby
Every Bible’s got a 5:14 Ephesians
Sayin’ you don’t have to life in lethargy
(Don’t have to live life in lethargy)
Now, baby, you don’t have to life in lethargy
(Don’t have to live life in lethargy)
Oh!

Maybe we ain’t in church
I’m sure a lot of us will go there in a hearse
Right now this ain’t real to you, but it ain’t
One of those things you got to feel to be truuuuuuuuuuuue

Some folks slumber so bad they must get — kicked to arouse them
Who knows – maybe you need a six pack of Starbucks, bacon and eggs
To help and then some
Honey, check Romans in chapter 13:11
Everybody has to fight the big sleep
I said you don’t have to life in lethargy
(Don’t have to live life in lethargy)
No, you don’t have to life in lethargy
()Don’t have to live life in lethargy
Baby, you don’t have to life in lethargy
(Don’t have to live life in lethargy)
Oh, oh, oh!

[ ApologetiX – “Zebraic” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spilI2tky7A

*****************************
“Life in the Last Days”
(Parody of “Life in the Fast Lane” by the Eagles)

It’s sorta hard to understand, but it’s totally awesome
And it’s eternally finished
Who wrote it up? It was John the Apostle
Aand the Lord said it won’t diminish
He had fantastic revelations of the future news
Sent here from Jesus, sent here for you
When he saw Jesus comin’, John fell down as dead
He told him, Grab your tablet and write this down instead
Life in the last days — sure to make you lose your mind
Life in the last days — yeah, heh

He saw four horsemen, holding the reins
Of colorful stallions, who brought different things
He who rode the white conquered, and the red one brought war
And the black one brought famine; then pale horse number four
There was death in the saddle, ridin’ out through space
He had Hades right behind him, killed a fourth of the human race
All of the people, were trying to hide
When the earth started shakin’ and the moon turned to blood — the sun was
Black in the last days — sure to make you lose your mind
Life in the last days — yeah, heh
Life in the last days — everything prophesied
Life in the last days — yeah, heh

So much to tell you; I’ve got one verse. Man didn’t heed the stop signs
And the earth got worse and worse
If you’re a Christian, baby, you don’t need to fear a thing
If you’re not, go read the Bible ‘cause there’s more than I can sing
There’s a false messiah, the people will think he’s Christ
The world will take his number, but they’ll have to pay his price
They’ll look up and they’ll see Jesus and they’ll know that they’ve lost
He won the war when He was dyin’ on the cross and it was
Life in the last days — sure to make you lose your mind
Life in the last days — yeah, heh
Life in the last days — everything prophesied
Life in the last days — yeah, heh

[ ApologetiX – “The Boys Aren’t Backin’ Down” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ9ocI-5uts

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“Life Restored”
(Parody of “Last Resort” by Papa Roach)

Plug my life into Jesus—this gets my life restored
Such a cakewalk—no brainer
Don’t need to fuss if I call on our savior
This gets my life restored

Plugged my life into Jesus—I’ve seen my life restored
Such a cakewalk—no brainer
Don’t need to fuss since I called Him my savior
Do not even care if I die later
Cause I belong to Jesus Christ
If they took my life tonight—chances are I’d arrive
In a place that’s out of sight—and I’m confident I’m doin’ fine

‘Cause I’m improving my life, renewing my mind
This all started with Romans 10:9
Doing what’s right, doin’ quite fine
This all started with Romans 10:9

I never realized I was meant to live
To live a new life if I would let Him within
Told me—death is the payoff for living in sin
End the cycle when you’re born again
It all started when I first discovered
The Book on my shelf and read cover to cover
Searching—to find religion that held my attention
Finding—something called Christian redemption

‘Cause I’m improving my life, renewing my mind
This all started with Romans 10:9
Doing what’s right, doin’ quite fine
This all started with Romans 10:9

I’ll be all right—I’ll be just fine
You’re runnin’ out of time
I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine
I can’t go wrong living this way

Plug my life into Jesus
This gets my life restored
Selfish nature—don’t need it
Go give it up—you can conquer your demons
Would it be wrong for me to pry
If you give your life to Christ—Chances are dynamite
You will make it out alive—and I’m confident you’ll do it right

‘Cause I’m improving my life, renewing my mind
This all started with Romans 10:9
Doing what’s right, doin’ quite fine
This all started with Romans 10:9

I’ll be all right—I’ll be just fine—You’re runnin’ out of time
I can’t go wrong livin’ this way—Can’t go wrong living this way
I’ll be all—right

[ ApologetiX – Album: “Keep The Change” ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a1cD5Ej-QI

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“Look Yourself”
(Parody of “Lose Yourself” by Eminem)

Look, if you have one God and one offer of eternity
That exceeds everything you’ve ever wanted, with one opponent
Would you ask for it … or just let it slip? Yo

He parks his Chevy, needs sleep, heart is heavy
He’s thought about repentin’ already, sun is setting
This church is not having service it looks almost dead as he
Drops by but they keep on the electric
What a ghost town, he knelt down, don’t know how
He opens his mouth just the word “Help” comes out
He’s broken down, yet his heart is open now
The lost one’s found, winds up homeward bound
Heads back to his family – Look who’s home, daddy
And, look, he’s so happy, he chose his own path but he
Won’t give up babbling, he broke his old habits they
Don’t seem so bad to me, hope it’s some fad like new Coke or Shaun Cassidy Don’t need no radical holy-rollin’ masochist quotin’ old passages
That’s what’ll happen then, though, he’ll go fanatic-y
Better go batten the hatches and hope it don’t last

You’d better look yourself in the mirror
You know that you wanted to get to Heaven when you’re old
Do you really want God or not? Is it yes or no?
It’s awful soon you say, but what is the right time?
You’d better look yourself in the book since you own it
In Romans, you never read it yet I know
You only get one shot to God, here’s your chance to know
His offer to you may come once in your lifetime

His soul’s been saved even though his whole family’s gaping
This world is blinded by Satan – they can’t see
As he moves forward – it’s true George Orwell
The moral of the story is truth’s ignored, emotion’s most important
He’ll only cause problems, the Holy Ghost got him
He blows him all over, he knows the call’s on him
Goes to go show his bros at his Alma Mater, “Welcome Back, Kotter”
They know he’s just one of their own, so don’t bother
Said, “Go home you barely know the Our Father”
Well hold the phones cause he knows it holds water
If those don’t want him no more he’ll go farther
And he moved on and he read the Romans Road
Till he knows it cold and shows others
He’s on his soap box and his tone becomes bold, I suppose he’s no martyr But the weak grows strong and the dumb becomes smarter

You’d better look yourself in the mirror
You know that you wanted to get to Heaven when you’re old
Do you really want God or not? Is it yes or no?
It’s awful soon you say, but what is the right time?
You’d better look yourself in the book since you own it
In Romans, you never read it yet I know
You only get one shot to God, here’s your chance to know
His offer to you may come once in your lifetime

No more names, I’ve been changed, but you call it strange
To tell my mother ‘n father truth off the true God’s page
I was saying if you’ve been sinning pursue God’s grace
I’ve been shooed off and spit at like Rudolph the Reindeer
But I kept shinin’ a lamplight that I can’t stifle,
You best believe somebody paid for my revival
Call the name of Christ and go find a Bible
Fact is I can’t deny that I’m liable
To die if my plans collide with life’s iceberg
Like the Titanic ‘cause man needs God and you can’t go buy a lifeboat And it’s no movie; there’s no surprise survivors
This is high tide and you’re tryin’ to row hard
And you’re hittin’ deeper waters tryin’ to flee piranhas I see
Plus seaweed’s got ya caught up between PBJ Otter and Bikini Bottom Babe it’s not a submarine you’re on and you must believe the Son
He’ll save you on the spot, He’s comin’ ready or not
I’ve got to be to the point just like a nail on the cross
I formerly was lost, horrendously frail and fraught
With questions I know how Mother Hubbard’s dog felt – famine, drought Mom, I love you but this world has got to know
I cannot grow cold when Hell is hot
So please don’t go into shock, let the family talk
This way is their only opportunity to find God

You’d better look yourself in the mirror
You know that you wanted to get to Heaven when you’re old
Do you really want God or not? Is it yes or no?
It’s awful soon you say, but what is the right time?
You’d better look yourself in the book since you own it
In Romans, you never read it yet I know
You only get one shot to God, here’s your chance to know
His offer to you may come once in your lifetime

You can do anything if He gets inside you, man

[ ApologetiX – “Adam Up” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyFIwMgz1KE

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Take Jude”
(Parody of: “Hey Jude” by The Beatles)

Take Jude … he makes it fast
Take a second and read his letter
Remember
It’s 25 verses long – so is this song
So pay attention

Take Jude … both he and James
Were related to our Lord and Savior
They didn’t
Believe their brother was Him – till He’d risen
But He forgave them

And when you’re family feels you’re strange
Like Jude and James
Don’t worry; the Word of God has shown us
That those we know who think we’re fools
And crazy kooks
They may just convert a little slower
La da da da da da da da da da

Take Jude … it’s written down
I have found it … here’s how you get there
Remember
That Revelation comes last … right before that
They placed his letter

So get it out and read again, take Jude, dig in
Don’t wait until Sunday School to learn it
But don’t you know the gist of Jude?
Hey, dude – you should
Contend for the faith, because it’s permanent

Take Jude … go take his path
Take a stand as a faith defender
Remember
We played this song about him (oh!) so you’d begin
To read his letter
And ya – never – ever – better – forget it – now

C’mon and get it out now
Read it out loud – read Jude
C’mon and get it out now
Read it out loud – read Jude

(Well, you know you should read just what Jude verse number 3 says)

[ ApologetiX – “Loaded 45’s” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzWajeaX7sY

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“I’m Cured”
(Parody of: “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz)

Well, my crew done brung me in a bed I dwelt in
‘Cause I was real ill and I could not move myself in
I felt quite rude, in fact, while I was lyin’ on my back
But, Lord, I couldn’t run out and now You’re givin’ me attention
And nothin’ could have helped me but divine intervention
I reckon that’s what just occurred
I’ve been somewhat burdensome

But I won’t vegetate no more, oh Lord,
I’ll stand up straight — I’m cured

We’ll open up the roof they said to me
Put ropes around your bed and then you’ll be
Lowered to the floor in no time
From above now
Burst into the room and all the normal people gasped and shrieked
Just like some Greek tragedy
But if our God can make it right I’ll get up, up, up, up

But I won’t vegetate no more, oh Lord,
I’ll stand up straight — I’m cured
Guess I’ll need to compensate that guy for sure
Whose roof they made a door
So doo-ja doo-ja doo-ja doo-ja
Doo-ja doo-ja doo doo doo doo-ja doo-ja
Want to come help?
Scoot that ladder over here
And I will the make the repairs
Soon there won’t be any hole

I’ve been spending way too long thinking my trouble was merely
Dependin’ on my back and legs but now I see it clearly
But now I just got off my back
And, Lord, it’s You and your grace that I lacked
I guess that I’ll be stayin’ up and make my bed for sleepin’
Forgiveness was the very biggest gift that I was needin’
It’s what You came to do
How lame is our excuse
CHORUS

Open up to Mark in verse 2:3
Open up to Luke in 5:18
Look in Matthew 9 and you’ll find
I am cured
To please God, please God, please God
First you need to come in faith
Seek out Christ our Lord
Listen kids ’cause this one’s got legs
I’m cured

[ ApologetiX “Soundproof” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evwFPfb1tDQ

*****************************

DEEP THOUGHTS:

“The most valuable commodity of the 21st Century will be undivided attention.”
[ Phil Cooke ]

“What gains the most attention may not always be the most valuable.”
[ Steven Redhead ]

“Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
[ Mary Oliver ]

“What is your heart worth?
What about your time?
What holds your heart, holds your attention.
What holds your attention, holds your time.
What holds your time, holds your life.
And if it’s possessions that holds these things,
It will demand it all.”
[ Eric Overby ]

“Where attention is placed is obviously the most critical.”
[ Steven Redhead ]

“Saying ‘I’m sorry’ earns you my attention; proving you’re sorry earns you my heart.”
[ Matshona Dhliwayo ]

“Habits determine what attention is placed upon.”
[ Steven Redhead ]

“When we give our attention and love to anything in life, it is a significant offering. We only have so much time. What we spend it on and who we give it to will determine the course of our life.”
[ Donna Goddard ]

“Be mindful of all the outside influences that are competing for attention.”
[ Steven Redhead ]

“Paying attention to the ethical implications of our choices has never been more pressing—or more complicated—than it is today.”
[ Sharon Salzberg ]

“It is imperative to choose carefully what captures your attention.”
[ Steven Redhead ]

“When you want something to move out of your life, don’t focus on it. Give attention to what you want.”
[ Hina Hashm ]

“Seek Connection Not Just Attention Because It Lasts Longer.”
[ Wesam Fawzi ]

“Fate is shaped half by expectation, half by inattention.”
[ Amy Tan ]

“The first problem of communication is getting people’s attention.”
[ Chip Heath and Dan Heath ]

“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.”
[ Jon Kabat-Zinn ]

“The most basic way to get someone’s attention is this: Break a pattern.”
[ Chip Heath and Dan Heath ]

“When you experience a negative circumstance or event, do not dwell on it. Be proactive — put your attention on what you need to do to bring the situation to a positive result.”
[ Rodolfo Costa ]

“…a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention…”
[ Herbert A. Simon ]

“Depth gets context when breadth gets attention.⁣”
[ Richie Norton ]
“You can’t inspire and lead people without earning their attention. You achieve that in a counter-intuitive way – by paying close attention to what interests them.”
[ Phil Dourado ]

“In large measure, who we are with respect to any choice is where we are, attentionally, in the moment before the choice.”
[ Robert B. Cialdin ]

“Every moment of attention we spend scrolling through social media is attention spent making money for someone else. The numbers are staggering: a New York Times analysis calculated that as of 20414, Facebook users were spending a collective 39,757 years’ worth of attention on the site, every single day. It’s attention that we didn’t spend on our families, or our friends, or ourselves. And just like time, once we’ve spent attention, we can never get it back.

This is a really big deal, because our attention is the most valuable thing we have. We experience only what we pay attention to. We remember only what we pay attention to. When we decide what to pay attention to in the moment, we are making a broader decision about how we want to spend our lives.”
[ Catherine Price ]

“If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: ‘God with us.’ We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth.”
[ John F. MacArthur ]

“When we live in the love of God, we begin to pay attention to people the way God pays attention to us.”
[ John Ortberg ]

“The error that God brings to my attention is error He wants to deliver me from.”
[ Pastor Mensa Otabil ]

“Keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t pay any attention to what the devil says, and what the critic says, and what the unbeliever says. Keep your eyes set on Calvary, saying, ‘Lord, You promised it.”
[ William Marrion Branham ]

“You can’t live a positive life with a negative mind. Pay attention to your thoughts today!”
[ Randy White ]

“Don’t pay any attention to the messenger; watch the Message. Keep your eyes, not on the messenger, but on the Message.”
[ William Marrion Branham ]

“We are so caught up with the affairs of this life we give little attention to eternity.”
[ Billy Graham ]

“If fear is cultivated it will become stronger. If faith is cultivated it will achieve the mastery.”
[ John Paul Jones ]

“Pray as if your safety completely depends upon God and take precaution as if your safety depends completely upon you.”
[ Robert Jeffress ]

“God’s meticulous sovereignty—whether we live or die—serves His holiness and righteousness and goodness and wisdom. In Christ, we are not His dispensable pawns. We are His valued children.”
[ John Piper ]

“Restore
When life caves in, you do not need reasons, You need comfort.
You do not need answers; You need someone.
And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation; He comes to us with His presence.
We are always seeking the reason; We want to know why.
Like Job, we finally want God to tell us just what is going on.
But God does not reveal His plan, He reveals Himself.
He comes to us with warmth when we are cold, Fellowship when we are alone.
Strength when we are weak,
Peace when we are sad, and
Bread when we are hungry.
He is with us on our journeys.
He is there when we are home,
He sits with us at our table.
He knows about funerals and weddings and
commencements and hospitals and jails and unemployment and labor and laughter
and rest and tears.
He knows because He is with us. He comes to us again and again.”
[ Bob Benson ]

“Make sure you test positive for Faith. Keep distance from Doubt, and isolate from Fear. Trust God through it all.”
[ Author unknown ]

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”
[ Greg Laurie]

“The test of a person’s Christianity is what happens in the storm, when the house is battered in the winds of affliction.”
[ John Murray ]

“Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”
[ Tony Robbins ]

“Better to have bad news that’s true than good news we made up.”
[ Eric Ries ]

“The good news about computers is that they do what you tell them to do. The bad news is that they do what you tell them to do.”
[ Ted Nelson ]

“Adversity is a bridge to a deeper relationship with God.”
[ Charles Stanley ]

“No one likes trials, yet no one can escape them. We can let them ruin our lives—making us bitter, angry, and resentful—or we can look for the treasure that will let us love and serve others.”
[ Gary Smalley ]

RELATED SCRIPTURE VERSES:

Getting Our Attention

Hebrews 12:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

Hebrews 12:6 ESV / 3 helpful votes
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

2 Peter 1:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes
By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

James 5:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

James 1:2-4 ESV / 2 helpful votes
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Hebrews 12:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:5 ESV / 2 helpful votes
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Ephesians 1:11 ESV / 2 helpful votes
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

2 Corinthians 12:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

1 Corinthians 12:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; …

1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.

Romans 8:28 ESV / 2 helpful votes
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 5:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 3:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

John 16:33 ESV / 2 helpful votes
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 14:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 6:53 ESV / 2 helpful votes
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Luke 10:25-37 ESV / 2 helpful votes
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” …

Luke 9:1-62 ESV / 2 helpful votes
And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” …

Mark 10:17-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” …

Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV / 2 helpful votes
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Isaiah 53:5 ESV / 2 helpful votes
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

Proverbs 4:1-27 ESV / 2 helpful votes
Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. …

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 2 helpful votes
A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. …

Deuteronomy 28:27 ESV / 2 helpful votes
The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed.

Numbers 13:1-33 ESV / 2 helpful votes
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; …

Genesis 3:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes
Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

Genesis 1:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

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“A quick summary of the Christian “Gospel”:
JESUS’ PROPITIATION made our SINS FORGIVEN and IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS to us so that we have GOD’S ACCEPTANCE into His Heaven and ETERNAL LIFE.”
[ Mark Besh ]

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Hope you enjoyed some of these insights—share them with your friends and colleagues—so we can have a larger ’pool’ to receive from, and more to share with! Also, remember to include your name as the “source,” if some of this wisdom is of your doing—I would like to give credit where credit is due!

 

FOCUS VERSES:

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.”
[ Lamentations 3:25 ]

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
[ Isaiah 41:10 ]

“But now, thus says the Lord, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! And when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. And when you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.”
[ Isaiah 43:1a-2 ]

“My counsel shall stand. I will do all My pleasure. Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will do it.”
[ Isaiah 46:11 ]

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
[ Joshua 1:9 ]

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”
[ Proverbs 27:1 ]

“God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”
[ Psalm 7:11 ]

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
[ Psalm 23:4 ]

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”
[ Psalm 27:1 ]

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
[ Psalm 46:1 ]

“Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.”
[ Joel 1:15 ]

“For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible.”
[ Joel 2:11 ]

“Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the heat of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by Him.”
[ Nahum 1:6 ]

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
[ Matthew 6:34 ]

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” [ Matthew 6:33 ]

“Enter through the narrow gate.”
[ Mathew 7:13 ]

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell.”
[ Matthew 10:28 ]

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
[ Matthew 10:29-31 ]

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
[ Mathew 11:28 ]

“Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”
[ Matthew 24:33 ]

“You know when this happens, this is going to begin the generation that’s going to see all these things come to pass.”
[ Matthew 24:34 ]

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
[ Matthew 24:36 ]

“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
[ Matthew 24:44 ]

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
[ John 14:27 ]

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
[ John 16:33 ]

“But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed..”
[ Romans 2:5 ]

“The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is yet to be revealed to us.”
[ Romans 8:18 ]

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
[ Romans 8:28 ]

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
[ Romans 8:38-39 ]

“Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?”
[ Romans 9:19-21 ]

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!”
[ Romans 11:33 ]

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
[ 1 Corinthians 2:9 ]

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”
[ 2 Corinthians 4:16 ]

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
[ 2 Corinthians 4:17 ]

“Fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
[ 2 Corinthians 4:18 ]

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.”
[ 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 ]

“For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.”
[ Philippians 1:23-24 ]

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
[ Philippians 4:6-7 ]

“I can do all things through Him, Jesus, who strengthens me.”
[ Philippians 4:13 ]

“God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
[ Philippians 4:19 ]

“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
[ Hebrews 10:31 ]

“Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
[ Hebrews 12:1-2 ]

“Whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.”
[ Hebrews 12:6 ]

“yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
[ James 4:14 ]

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
[ 2 Timothy 4:7-8 ]

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
[ 1 Peter 1:6-7 ]

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
[ 2 Peter 3:9 ]

“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love.”
[ 1 John 4:16 ]

“And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

“And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
[ Revelation 6:12-17 ]

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
[ Revelation 21:4 ]

Mark

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If you have a ‘neat’ story or some thoughts about an issue or current event that you would like me to try to respond to, I would be glad to give it a try…so, send them to me at: mbesh@comcast.net

Disclaimer: All the above jokes & inspirations are obtained from various sources and copyright are used when known. Other than our name and headers, we do not own the copyright to any of the materials sent to this list. We just want to spread the ministry of God’s love and cheerfulness throughout the world.

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