CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 2020

“Shelter in place,” they said.

“Stay home,” they said.

“Don’t go out,” they said.

 People are dead.

“No more groups,” they said.

“No more sports,” they said.

“No more school,” they said.

 Count the dead.

“Keep social distancing,” they said.

“No more church,” they said.

“Don’t go to work,” they said.

 You could be dead.

“Watch the news,” they said.

“The enemy’s fierce,” they said.

“No known cure,” they said.

 See how many are dead.

FEAR gripped the heart,

We stayed apart.

“Fear not!" HE said.

“I am with you,” HE said.

“Be not dismayed,” HE said.

“I am your God.” 

“I’ll not leave or forsake you,” HE said.

“I am the Way, Truth, and Life,” HE said.

“I give you MY peace,” HE said.

“Do not be troubled or afraid.”

Turn off the news,

Open the Word,

Talk to the Lord,

Rejoice in HIS love.

HE is alive,

And still on the throne.

HE knows ALL things –

To HIM nothing is unknown.

HE’S doing a work

HE’LL see us through

Encourage each other,

Do what you CAN do.

Reach out to the lonely,

Make phone calls, write letters.

Connecting electronically 

has never been better!

Listen to praise music,

Pray for each other.

Build some new bridges.

Forgive one another.

Wait on the Lord.

Peacefully resting in HIM.

“Be still and know HE is God.” 

Let THAT sink in!

HE IS!

HE.   IS.   GOD!

Praise and worship HIM,

Trusting HIM without fear.

You're never alone

When you know HE is here!

Hallelujah! Amen.

Take courage from the following Bible verses:

Isaiah 41:10; Hebrews 13:5; John 14:6; John 11:25; John 14:1, 27, Psalm 46:10

COVID 19 ... BUT GOD!

In mid-March Kansas declared that schools would close for the rest of the school year.    Other states soon made the same determination. 

Very quickly we started hearing terms like “Shelter at Home” and “Social distancing.” “Quarantine” was a word seldom heard in these days…until now when we hear it daily. 

The words “Pandemic” and “Plague,” although foreign and strange to the younger generation, engender memories giving rise to fear in minds and hearts of the oldest among us.

Businesses and churches closed, 

The economy faltered, 

Violence at home is increasing, 

and Deaths from the virus are reported daily. 

Many of us have only seen times like these in movies or read about them in books.

Depression, 

Frustration, 

and Discouragement are on the rise, exacerbated by the news reports and accompanied by weather fluctuations from cold and wintry to mild and spring-like and back to wintry again.

And we are all wondering, "How long???" 

Nothing is certain except that nothing is certain.

But GOD…

I always love it when I read those words “But God” in my Bible. Often they follow bad circumstances or evil, offering hope to a situation that would otherwise seem hopeless.

But God…

For example – Joseph after all the hardship he had gone through told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

In Psalm 73:26 the Psalmist records “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Another such passage can be found in Ephesians 2:3-10. ".......But God who is rich in mercy..."

So… Covid 19 …That’s the bad news.

But God … That’s the good news!

So, what can we do? 

We can follow the example of King David when things were so bad his own people wanted to stone him to death! 1 Samuel 30:6 says that he “was greatly distressed…but David encouraged himself (some versions say ‘strengthened himself’) in the Lord his God.” (kjv)   He encouraged himself in the Lord! He took courage in the only one able to save him. He drew strength from God! David also wrote in Psalm 29:11, “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” (niv)

Secondly, we can heed the words of the Apostle Paul, when writing to the church at Thessalonica he said, “… encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 

We can encourage others! 

When we do that we bless others but we are encouraged also!

So, dear friend, be encouraged in the Lord today. Let Him be your source of strength and peace in the middle of this storm. And then in His strength, look for ways to encourage others.

Blessings,

Ruth

Perhaps you would like to share ways that you have found to encourage others during this pandemic. If so, please put your ideas in the comments. 

GOOD FRIDAY! WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT?

It was a TERRIBLE day!  A day of hostility, gloom and darkness, abuse, brutality, hatred and death.

Yet we call it “Good.”

This makes no sense.

It may actually seem foolish.   (1 Corinthians 1:18 “…For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.”)

So why call it good?

Here's the BAD news:

We’re all sinners – Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Our sin separates us from God – Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

Sin condemned us to death – Roman 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”

Our forgiveness had a price. - Hebrews 9:22 “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sin.”

All BAD news so far, right?

But the GOOD news is….

The CROSS!!

Good Friday was the day that changed everything.

Christ’s death on the cross changed our relationship with God! – Ephesians 2:13 “But now, in Christ Jesus you who were once far off are made near, by the blood of Christ.”

The cross demonstrated God’s love for us – Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was for our forgiveness – Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…”

His death gave us a great gift – the gift of life! Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We can have peace with God because of the cross! I Peter 3:18 “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous (that’s Jesus) for the unrighteous (that’s us) to bring you to God.”

Jesus paid the price! -Romans 4:25 - 5:1 “He (Christ) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So now what?

Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:13 “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Sin had a price,

Jesus paid it!

“Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.”  Elvina M. Hall (1865)

THAT’S why we call it GOOD Friday!

And hold on … God wasn’t finished.  EASTER’S coming! Hallelujah!

Blessings,

Ruth

FIGHT – The INTERNAL BATTLE During the Pandemic

So we find ourselves in unusual circumstances – confined to home, working from home offices, or not working, thrust into the school teacher role or doing schoolwork online, no sports or social gatherings - far removed from our usual routines and schedules… off-kilter. At first we may have enjoyed the “home time” thinking it would be short-term, like a "staycation” maybe. But as days turned into weeks, it is apparent that life is not the same, the staycation is over and we are adapting to new ways of “doing life” for now.

It's being called a “war” against the enemy virus. And mandated guidelines are supposed to keep us safe while the unrelenting enemy runs its course and researchers try to develop a vaccine.  We follow those mandates – staying home except for essential needs, “social distancing” not coming within 6 feet of another person living outside our home, not visiting loved ones in nursing homes or hospitals, good hygienic practices, washing and sanitizing and face masking.

But what about the Internal Personal Struggle in our THOUGHTS?  This struggle is also very real.  Who am I now? What am I doing? What should I be doing? How do I make productive use of these days?  How long will it be like this? How do I stay on even-keel on this stormy sea? 

We must FIGHT.

Using the acrostic F-I-G-H-T  here is a partial battle strategy.

 F – Feed on the Right Things

·         Spiritually – Feed on God’s Word, Christian Radio, Praise Music, Church services online.

·         Mentally – Feed on Good Books, Good Conversation – (Avoid watching News 24/7. Stay informed, yes, but a constant diet of fear inducing depressing coverage only discourages us and makes us afraid.)

·         Physically – Take care of yourself. Eat good nutritious food. Get outside if possible for fresh air and sunshine. Get some physical exercise.

 I – Inspire Others

·         “Encourage one another and build each other up.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

·         Have a positive uplifting attitude – this helps everyone in the house.

·         Write and send encouraging cards, notes, texts, emails.

·         Make phone calls to someone who is alone and may feel isolated

·         Online conferencing with your usual groups

·         Have an on-line book club

 G - Glorify God

·         “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

         1 Corinthians 10:31

·         Get up, get dressed, make the bed, keep a schedule.

·         “Do the next thing” and do it with excellence. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

·         Be thankful – “Be joyful always, Pray continually; Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

·         Memorize a Bible verse

 H- Help Those You Can help.

·         Spiritually – pray for one another – Government leaders, researchers, first and last responders, healthcare workers, sick, elderly, family, friends, neighbors, etc.

·         Emotionally – encourage each other creatively

·         Physically – run errands to get needed supplies for those who need help. Check on your neighbors and friends. Contact those who live alone to ensure they are well.

Participate with those who are endeavoring to help – give financially, donate supplies, volunteer.

T- Think on the Right Things

·         “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

·       Think about what you DO have and count your blessings.

·       Think about what you CAN do and do it!

·        Do not worry!   “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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

Blessings and peace as you fight on!

What are YOU doing to fight the internal battle? Comment and share your ideas.

Ruth