Category: Articles and Devotionals

Hey, are any besides me still trying to regain their bearings in a post-COVID world?  Many of you are dealing with the same types of restrictions, having the same types of thoughts, and what I really want to know is what people think of masks and hydroxychloroquine.  (Just joking of the “really want” part.)  Opinions are more plentiful than apolitical answers.  But in an election season which seems to have begun right after the 2016 election, everything is political.

I’ve jumped into the E-Learning on two different platforms.  I’m sympathizing with Americans who are struggling at home, struggling as parents, struggling to work, struggling without work, struggling to keep their home when they are without work… and realizing deep in my soul that this whole thing is unsustainable.  We can’t keep doing this for very long before it breaks the spirit of humankind.

And I’ve been thinking.  Dangerous, I know.

What I’ve been thinking about most is “What makes something essential?”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes essential (n) as “1: something basic; 2: something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable.”

Hmmm.  I don’t think God sees “essential” the same way as Merriam-Webster, Uncle Sam or whoever’s defining it or running your government in your state or nation.

In one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Jesus spells out what is essential.

“As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’  ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed– or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:38-42)

Did you catch it?  “Indeed only one.”  That sounds essential to me. 
But maybe it’s more than essential because it’s enduring. 
“It will not be taken away from her.”

Much of what we’re considering essential can be taken away or has been.  We can find ourselves with no food, no home, no freedom, no peace, no safety, no church, no school, no hospital rooms, or heaven help us … no mask … when the store sign says “No mask. No entry.”

How upside down!  What is essential in Jesus’ eyes is knowing Him because that relationship will endure.  Martha’s preparations and meal-planning worthy of a TV show “Near East Woman” or an Ina Garten meme, will disappear as fast as men once the meal is over and there are dishes to be done.  It’s not that Martha’s work wasn’t of value– its only fault was that it was of this world.  Mary’s work of knowing Jesus lasts into eternity.

So, when faced with a world of lootings and shootings, learning by zoom and retreating to inner rooms, all of this will pass, but one thing is needed.  One thing is essential.  One thing is life or death.  Only one will last.  It will never be taken away.  It’s an anchor for your soul in the storms of life.  Jesus is essential, even more as the Day of His Return approaches.

The coronavirus has devastated businesses- large and small- which are core to the US and global economies. Everyone has felt the pain on a consumption level. We cannot shop like we once did, and for some, that means panic and hoarding.

Some people have been insulated from pain on their income earning–for example, hedge fund managers who bet against the economy, public sector/government workers who still get paid whether we reopen or not, and those who are heroically working in essential businesses so our economy doesn’t have an entire meltdown economically, medically, or socially as part of a larger world.

I have likened this “closing of the economy” to a medically-induced coma,
necessary to preserve life while giving us time
to stabilize and make adjustments to achieve a new normal: America 2.0

I am no economics expert, but I read a lot and think a lot. One of the podcasts I found particularly helpful regarding the coronavirus and the future of business was WarRoomPandemic and their interview about the economy with Dallas Mavericks’ owner and Shark Tank “shark”, Mark Cuban.

(For those of you who fear I’m too political, please don’t let that stop you from watching this particular segment and please don’t get wigged out by Steven K. Bannon. His podcasts have been cutting edge on what the research and journalism worldwide reveal about the coronavirus.)

Mark Cuban obviously was willing to share his wisdom and opinion there. In the first segment he raised some really important issues about what reopening looks like in reality and how businesses will someday be identified brand-wise by what they did during coronavirus and how they treated their employees. It reminds me of that scene in “It’s a Wonderful Life” where there was a run on the bank and how George Bailey treated people during a time of great panic.

In the second segment of @WarRoomPandemic with Mark Cuban which I highly recommend everyone watch, Cuban outlines what America 2.0 will look like with his predicted top 3 growth areas: artificial intelligence, robotics, personalized medicine, (adding in all advanced technologies). He insists that our future will require new ways of approaching commerce as we move forward. Hence, what I’m outlining below regarding positive lessons from coronavirus for business.

On an economic level:

1. Parts of our economy which are often overlooked or belittled have been revealed as “essential.”  Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” was ahead of his time. We should give thanks to God for these people.
2. Everyone’s job is essential to him/herself and we should pray for those in need right now.  No one should have to suffer because the Chinese Communist Party didn’t keep their virus safely contained.
3. Some jobs are system-essential ones like supply chains of food and medicine of which we all benefit down the line.  We need to keep our supply chains local, free, and open.  Big learning lesson.
4. Shop in the ways you can locally.  Buy American whenever you have the option.
5. Tip well…even if you normally do…do it even more extravagantly if you’re able.
6. Trusting hostile governments with our investment portfolios is a bad idea.  Revisit your investments.
7. Letting hostile governments purchase significant parts of American real estate and enterprise is a bad idea.
8. Trusting hostile governments with our health and food safety is a bad idea.
9. An economy built primarily on leisure/entertainment is weaker than an economy built on manufacturing and agriculture.  But we are refreshed by sports and entertainment which is why they remain important to revive to full economic strength.
10. Monetary policy is complicated, and God understands it better than any of us. He even knows what’s been done in secret.  Those robbers hidden behind balance sheets will not escape eventual justice.
11. Economies can be rebuilt.  People can be rehired. God is able.  We honored Him with valuing people’s lives.  He will repay what the locusts took away.
12. We will need updated models of operation within every type of business for America 2.0
13. New or ancillary business options with contingency regulation easing will help the next time we need to interrupt business whether for pandemics, mass-tragedy, or weather events.
14. There’s a psychology to economies and optimism is contagious.  Fear and discouragement are enemies of God’s people. Be optimists. Believe by God’s will all things are possible! He is faithful!
15. Economic war is–and has been a reality–with numerous nations.

To all my friends who are small business owners and have suffered greatly during the pandemic, I’m so sorry you are bearing the weight of this and the devastation of your life’s dreams.

Do I believe the economy will recover? Absolutely!!!
Will Trump do it a second time? No.
Because God is the One who did it the first time and
He’ll do it again because we’re passing the test,
proving to ourselves and testifying that life is more valuable than money.

God will repay what the locusts have taken away.
This I believe with all my heart.

This series so far has included 100+ positive lessons from coronavirus as overarching principles, personal applications, societal lessons, and things we can learn about government . There have been lessons for the Church, too. There are so many positive lessons if we’re willing to look for them, digging deep, mining for them as if they’re precious metals or gemstones. Let’s not waste this opportunity to grow and become better through this pandemic.

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To be continued…

For the first time in around 2000 years of the Christian Church,
our holiest days were spent with church doors closed. Lights off. Nobody there.

Let that sink in.

Many churches still haven’t opened on account of coronavirus. This should not be the case ever again. There are lessons to be learned if we’re to be wise Christians, refusing to let the Gospel be sidelined during such times.

It’s more important than ever that the Gospel shine forth.
People need that kind of hope!

To keep ourselves focused on the positive things to be learned in our series on 100+ positive lessons from coronavirus, so far we’ve looked at personal applications, societal lessons, and things we can learn about government itself. Today, I want to focus on the Church because only if we–as citizens of 2 kingdoms– learn today’s lessons will we be found faithful tomorrow and when Jesus returns.

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but to those who have faith and are saved.
Hebrews 10:39

Coronavirus lessons for the Church include:

1. Modern tools like web sites, livestreams, and online giving are no longer luxuries.  The virus has shown us they are necessary for the modern mission field.
2. A 1950s Church mindset cannot minister in a modern context where 2 or 3 are gathered, even underground.  This has been a test, a drill, and we’re likely to see it again.  Prepare now.
3. Cultural adaptation doesn’t need to mean Gospel compromise. In fact, new communication pathways find new people with a historic Gospel message.
4. Sorting out civil disobedience and plain old disobedience is tricky, more so for the Christian.
5. Church leaders have shirked their responsibilities in teaching there are 2 kingdom worldviews for the Christian. Way too many feared political blowback and didn’t want to get their hands dirty with controversy.
6. Governments shutting down churches and police arresting pastors for congregating is forcing pastors out of complacency and cowardice.  Time to start leading again as fearless disciples.
7. The Church needs to teach an expectation of suffering and storms of life.
8. The Church needs to help people understand the line between God’s responsibility and our own–how fear and faith interact in these responsibilities.
9. Programs in a Church setting are more often inward than missional, and the virus has shown us which are which.  The Church exists for mission and worship and should direct resources accordingly.
10. The Church needs to look hard at its budgetary priorities as stewardship of God’s resources.
11. Ego builders like large staff and big buildings are unnecessary for an underground, missional Church.
    Any Church that has had multi-site or online presence for enlarging the pastor’s fame should repent and humbly recognize that one man’s folly can yet bear fruit in the hand of God.  It was never about you.  It was always about Him and He can take what man did for himself and produce good from it.
12. The Church must set forth a biblical model and instruct individuals on the value of being cheerful givers … even from home when no one is looking. (When I was in seminary, I did a cross-cultural ministry experience at a local reform Jewish synagogue. At the end of the 13 weeks, I asked the Rabbi how they fund things when no one passes a plate like they do in Christian churches. His reply was “We bill them.”
    The amount was not decided by the Rabbi, but the person who pledged in giving. He saw the astonishment on my face since it’s not how we do things in churches. He continued, “Why should service to God’s work be of any less value to anyone than his electric bill or refuse removal?” That stuck with me. )
13. People are more likely to give where they see results and they need both feeding with the Word and exercising of their faith through deeds.
14. The Church is under attack on spiritual and earthly battlefields. Make no mistake on a spiritual level, THIS was all about the destruction of Christian churches and demoralizing the faithful, removing us from the very community that has held the Church together for almost 2000 years.
15. Prayer needs to be elevated in priority since only God can truly save people. Put on the armor of God. It’s a battle out there.

Let’s not get mired in negativity and fear, shrinking back. There are many positive lessons if only we look for them.
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To be continued….

How can a person look at coronavirus without seeing how much this virus has revealed about the nature of bureaucratic government and our leaders? So far in our series, looking for anything positive in a daily barrage of bad news about the pandemic, we’ve seen there are positive lessons ranging from basic principles, personal applications, and for society and more.

It’s important for Christians because we are citizens of 2 kingdoms, never more evident than when we look at government. Jesus had a lot to say about that.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave– just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

It’s clear that God wants us to look at government differently…
and in perspective.

Some view Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease specialist advising the coronavirus task force, as being like a god in a white coat. They couldn’t be more wrong in taking his words as gospel because his story changes more than a runway model. Others view Fauci as being little short of Josef Mengele or Dr. Death for Fauci’s oversight (or lack thereof) of US funding for the now infamous lab in Wuhan for “gain-of-function” research which had been banned in the US between 2014 and 2017. (Note that gain-of-function work is on many viruses and explains why the reported $3.7 million number needs clarification. Read the comments in the linked article above and you can see people were warning about a pandemic 2 years ago from such research. In 2014 the US Government paused funding in principle for gain of function research, but in reality, grants did an end-round and new guidance was issued on Dual Use Research of Concern.)

All this to say the world’s scientists and governments have been playing with fire and Dr. Fauci’s NIH farmed out research to China which failed to have the oversight and safety procedures necessary to prevent a pandemic.

Worldwide, the coronavirus has resulted in death of people often considered to have lesser utility: the elderly, comorbid, and infirmed. Fauci is either blind, naïve, ignorant, incompetent, or downright evil, using human subjects for pandemic research as if it’s all a detached abstraction. All in the name of Science: the post-modernist’s god.

“Many scientists have criticized gain of function research which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans because it creates a risk a starting a pandemic from accidental release.”—Newsweek 4/28/2020

The Gateway Pundit takes it even farther. They add greed to the mix. Which considering Fauci’s war against anecdotal treatments (like hydroxycholoquine), greed makes more sense than one really wants to contemplate. Why his ongoing insistence for a vaccine (which we don’t have one for SARS or HIV) if there are therapeutics that allow people to recover?

Therefore, wise Christians living in 2 kingdoms ask rightful questions of our government based upon what has happened scientifically/medically (before, during and after the outbreak), economically, and politically.

Learning lessons on government seems particularly timely right now:

1. God establishes governments to protect us and preserve justice.  
2. Yet governments are nothing more than a group of sinners.  It’s important to prayerfully elect those who will (a) follow God , (b) govern by His will and (c) appoint others who will do likewise.
3. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
4. Laws can be helpful, but not always.  We’re learning that the hard way.
5. Authoritarians make unhelpful laws that control rather than set free.  We’re seeing it in action.
6. The American system of federalism inspires freedom.
7. Americans of all ages are learning the Constitution not by rote but by realizing they still want to live by it.
8. Politics is a seductive god because we think we can control it.  We’re seeing we can’t.
9. There are positive things governments can do that individual people or small groups cannot which is why national emergencies and interstate cooperation are helpful.
10. We can safely assume our governmental leaders know things they cannot tell the public.  That’s why it’s important we elect godly leaders.
11. Representation can be good, but only as good as our representative.  Accountability is a must in a representative democracy.  It’s time.
12. Once the government wrests control of education from parents, local teachers, and administrators, curricula trends toward agenda-driven, not education-driven. Education-driven schools would be opening.
13. Once the government takes freedom or money from individuals, it’s hard to reel it back.
14. Governments don’t produce income. They reap it from elsewhere.
15. Governments cannot pay everyone without taking money from somewhere else (or someone else) to do it. 
16. Socialism and Communism do not elevate but oppress.  The lie of those systems is their reputation of being for the worker, the little people, when in fact they are for the elite and built on the backs of the workers, the little people. Many in Wuhan died nameless from coronavirus.
17. There is a way to question the actions of authorities without questioning their authority.
18. Disrespecting our elected leaders disrespects God who put them there.
19. Government is no substitute for God.  Period.
20. When a government becomes authoritarian, the rulers separate from the masses.  Once a totalitarian takes control, there is but one ruler over everyone else.
21. Globalism trends from councils to authoritarians and into totalitarianism. A “one world government” is not beneficial until Jesus returns.
22. Power and control in hands of evil people is insatiable and bad for everyone.
23. “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Lord Acton)
24. Free people reject bonds of tyranny.
25. The Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world will be in opposition until Christ returns.  Christians must keep their priorities straight.

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There are many positive lessons if only we look for them.
To be continued….

Continuing in our series on 100+ positive lessons from coronavirus, today we’ll look at society and community…how we live among each other in light of the virus. God’s people must live faithfully in the world, but not of it.

When we’re talking about social implications, it’s important to recognize that coronavirus has an origin. We don’t know for certain yet who “Patient 0” was but we do know that coronavirus originated in Communist China and from there, it spread. To be fair in discussing this, it’s REALLY important to draw distinctions.

The ethnic Chinese of Hong Kong and Taiwan are not Communists. They live under different systems of government and are always under threat from the mainland.

There are people living in mainland China who are ethnically Chinese, but they are not free. Of the 1.4 billion people living in China, most are subjugated slaves of the Communist Chinese Party which is an elite group of around 90.59 million people.

To say that coronavirus originated in Communist China, it’s not a xenophobic statement. It’s reality. It’s not the fault of those Chinese who are enslaved, living under an authoritarian regime, but the Communist government (CCP) is expected to truthfully account for what happened to its own people and then to the world with coronavirus. That’s what China agreed to in membership of the World Health Organization. Of course, that implies their system of beliefs promotes transparency and honesty. Communist China is a self-proclaimed atheistic society, therefore their view of social responsibility is different and their WHO activities reflect that.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations,
“Overall, “religious groups have been swept up in a broader tightening of CCP control over civil society [PDF] and an increasingly anti-Western ideological bent under Xi Jinping,” writes Freedom House. China is home to one of the largest populations of religious prisoners, likely numbering in the tens of thousands; while in custody, some are tortured or killed, rights groups say. 

No Christian should ever embrace Communism or Socialism because there is no concept of “Two Kingdoms in cooperation” in such a system. Do not conform, but be transformed…

How now shall we live as societies and communities during the pandemic while living also as citizens of 2 Kingdoms?

For citizens of 2 Kingdoms, on a societal/community level:

1. I am my brother’s keeper.
2. Looking out to the interests of others glorifies God.
3. Everyone’s work is essential to them.  Be gracious and patient with those needing to return to work.
4. Understand the reason for peaceful protests to reopen the economy.
5. Everyone’s safety is a priority. We care for each other. Safety is harder with so many unknowns.
6. Understand the reason for the initial lockdown in most major world economies because even today, the virus is not a known entity. 
7. It’s okay to be America first (and peacefully expect every other nation can/will do the same).
8. Love others as Christ has loved us.
9. Sacrificing what one can voluntarily (for the benefit of others) is better than forced compliance.
10. God gives us leaders throughout families/society and our choice is binary: obey or disobey (which can be civil disobedience or rebellion).
11. Social architecture is complex and interactive. We are all connected.
12. Because of that connection, societies are like organisms where rhythms develop.  These rhythms are threatened when changes in one area impact another.
13. Not all societies value people equally.
14. Not all societies welcome religious affiliation or diversity.
15. Not all societies want to peacefully coexist. Some want world domination with all other countries as tributary states.
16. Nations in a global world are always on an unequal playing field.
17. The true American spirit works hard, cares deeply, assists others, and loves freedom.
18. The spirit of the American revolution is alive in the hearts of patriotic Americans who persevere, standing our ground, to remain free.
19. For my Christian readers in other countries, the same Holy Spirit lives in you as in your Christian brothers and sisters in America.
20. It’s not wrong to point out evil in society. In fact, Scripture tells us “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11
21. It’s not wrong to take our stand against evil. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”  Ephesians 6:13
22. We are called to distinguish between people and their governments, mindful that the redeemed in Christ include those from every tribe and language and people and nation.

The first 20 (of this non-exhaustive list) are outlined at http://seminarygal.com/100-positive-lessons-of-coronavirus-for-citizens-of-2-kingdoms/ , the next 27 on personal applications are at http://seminarygal.com/more-positive-lessons-from-coronavirus-getting-personal/

To be continued….

The coronavirus has been teaching us many positive concepts. In the last installment, we began seeing lessons for those desiring to live as God’s people in a free society. Two kingdoms, both of which matter.

Today we’ll get personal, asking “How now shall I live?” and seeing its application for each man or woman personally. Not in a selfish way. Just a personal application.

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Galatians 5:13-14)

Storms of life turn our thoughts inward and we discover who we are and who God is. In Mark 4:35-41 Jesus sends the disciples into the storm. They just didn’t know it. Just as Jesus knew He could calm the storm, He knew precisely what He was sending the disciples into and He knew why. We see that same situation in Matthew 14:22-33. Jesus made them get into the boat so that after they were rescued, they’d have a more defined view of God and comfort in future storms.

Do you see Jesus in the storm or in the pandemic?

Many of these personal lessons remind us that we can live as free people,
but to love our neighbors as ourselves.

On a personal level:

1. Saving money for a rainy day is good self-preservation and wise stewardship.
2. Routine preparation with supplies is helpful to avoid panic-hoarding in an emergency.
3. Storing treasure in heaven is more reliable than storing anything up on earth.
4. I can depend on things or on God who provides the things I need.
5. I can buy only what I need for now. Hoarding is not a trait of faithful people and deprives others of what they need. 
6. Jesus sends us into the very storms that He controls to grow/purify our faith and teach us humility. 
7. I can learn to ask for and receive help from those who are wanting to help.
8. God has responsibility but so do we.  Our responsibility is to look to Him and not at the storm.
9. For one’s own sanity, it’s helpful to maintain as normal a life as possible, in spite of executive orders.
10. Freedom from tyranny is very important, but it’s balanced by using my/our freedom for good.
11. Fear crouches at my/your door.  I/we must master it. Perfect love drives out fear.
12. Love God, love family, love others…and love self.  In that order.
13. Going negative in one’s speech reaps bitter fruit.  Being an optimist or encourager never leaves one looking mean, rude, or ungrateful.
14. We can be part of the solution or dwell in the problem.  It starts with the man in the mirror.  What will I do?
15. There are things about this virus we don’t know and if it were known, perhaps I’d be more understanding and patient.
16. I can be thankful for people whose work is often underappreciated.  Health care professionals, truckers, farmers, people who stock shelves, etc.
17. This time of quarantine has been bad on many levels, but it has reminded me of the value and love of work.
18. It has deprived me of interaction with some people, teaching me the value of partnership and how to creatively maintain those relationships.
19. It has provided valuable extra time with other people. It’s time to cherish because we’ll never get it back.
20. The family—a God-given institution–is instrumental in setting forth values that last a lifetime.
21. Having children at home also reminds us that public education is a great convenience for parents, particularly working parents.  We can be thankful for our teachers.
22. Public education on values, however, is only as good as the godliness of individual teachers.
23. Teachers don’t want to be responsible for raising anyone’s children as de facto parents.  They want to educate… face-to-face. The virus has reminded me of both.
24. Train a child in the way he/she should go is good advice for parents.  How a parent lives will be mirrored in the lives of one’s children.
25. The minds of children are precious and never return to blank slates.
26. I want to remember the lessons of preventing the spread of any germ.
27. Once this is over and everything is back to normal, my tendency will be to forget the lessons.  I can find ways to memorialize this. I must remember lessons learned.

Saint Augustine of Hippo is reported to have said, “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” It sums up personal lessons of coronavirus. Join me next time for coronavirus lessons for society, living in community.

The first 20 (of this non-exhaustive list) are outlined at http://seminarygal.com/100-positive-lessons-of-coronavirus-for-citizens-of-2-kingdoms/
To be continued….

Are you sick of the negativity? I sure am.
How now shall we live?
Let’s try to find life in light of the many positive lessons to learn from the horrible coronavirus pandemic.

For starters, let’s just acknowledge that God could have stopped the coronavirus from ever infecting anyone. But He didn’t. The real amazing part will be…. why?

“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)

I have no idea how this will all work out.
But one thing I do know: God is in the redemption business.
He redeems bad things for eternally good outcomes.
The coronavirus, or rather its function as domestic terrorism, is no exception.

Plenty of people want to minimize the coronavirus to no worse than a seasonal flu and in doing so, unintentionally promote a false sense of security. Others want to maximize it to the end of the world as we know it to instill panic. Both are extremes failing to align with reality.

MAKE NO MISTAKE: It is serious. Reality is coronavirus was an uncontained pathogen that has claimed more human lives than 9/11 (2977), more than the total casualties of Pearl Harbor (2500), and the atom bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima (105,000) combined. At the time of this writing, the worldwide death count is 265,366 and the American death count is 74,809.

If this virus had been a bomb, it would have been the mother of all bombs,
dropped in an unprovoked surprise attack, an act of war on the entire world.

While we still don’t know if the Communist Chinese intended to inflict harm, engaged in clandestine self-preservation, or it was merely a terrible accident that spun out of control and in a shame based culture, the Communist Chinese leadership didn’t want to admit it, what our adversary Satan would desire is to steal, kill, and destroy…everyone!

To divide and conquer. To put this world firmly under our adversary’s evil control.

Let’s not let the accuser win. Let’s look for the lessons God might want us to learn as the down payment on His redemption of this tragic event. There are positive lessons for the world, for our nation, for communities, for churches and businesses, and for individuals.

First principles as a foundation:

1. God can take human evil and turn it for humanity’s good, if we are willing to see and learn.
2. Not all people are good people.  Some are evil.
3. Faith/trust are only as good as the person or entity in which we are placing our trust.
4. Fear is easier than faith. 
5. Emotional decisions often lead to bad places and preventing panic requires controlling fear.
6. Facts are only as good as the providers of them.
7. You are what you read.
8. Not all people prefer or speak the truth.
9. Hindsight is 20/20.  Decision-making in the unfolding timeline or fog of war is rarely clear.
10. Not all wars are fought with guns.
11. Change is always happening.
12. Life is valuable, irrespective of age or nationality.
13. People matter more than money.
14. It’s easier to give up freedom than to get it.
15. Hope looks forward.  Blame looks backward.
16. Fixing complex problems is rarely simple—it requires ongoing reassessment.
17. The impatient person rarely wins over the prudent person.
18. Proper prior planning protects against poor performance.
19. God is not confined to a building or a temple.
20. The Gospel can use modern tools without compromising the Truth.

To be continued…

It’s easy to see why God wouldn’t bless America.
But why would He give us an American dawn?

Let’s continue to explore why God might bless America, in particular the Church in America…through the coronavirus pandemic. So far, we’ve seen (1) Purification, (2) Love of Freedom, (3) Following Christ, (4) a hope we can be that City on a Hill, and today’s reason (5) Priorities of Sparrows and Pennies.

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:1-7)

Maybe this coronavirus response–from God’s perspective–has been all about our soul-searching and rediscovering our priorities.

Maybe it’s the journey. The self-reflection.
I couldn’t say. I just don’t know.
But here are my soul-searching Questions to Think About:

1. I have wanted to be cautious, but I haven’t panicked or been afraid. Many people have. Some view the protective masks and gloves as their sole protection and a badge of good citizenship. What about you? Where does the line get drawn between caution and lack of faith? Where does God’s responsibility end and mine begin?
2. I have found I like my conveniences…maybe a little too much. What about you?
3. I have found an intimacy in worship of Jesus because I haven’t been distracted with all the hoopla. What about you?
4. I have missed being with people. What about you?
5. I have desired to speak life and hope and encouragement. But I’ve gotten discouraged. I’ve had a heavy heart on many different occasions. I’ve been grieved at how many bandwagon Christians there are, getting into mud-slinging like one who doesn’t believe Jesus. What about you?
6. What if God was using this virus to reveal the real from the pretenders? “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) How are we doing?
7. We’re all home, each alone or with limited few. What have we been saying in secret in the inner rooms? How have we treated our family?
8. If Alexa or our home security system was hacked and broadcast our words to a listening world, what would that world hear? Words of hope? Words of life? Words of complaint? Where is my heart?
9. I’ve been thinking about how God loves the sparrows knowing they’re sold 5 for 2 pennies. He knows the numbers of hairs on your head. He values life. Do I?
10. He cares about your job and your income. He knows you need food and we live in an economic world that requires money. In the passage (above middle) He tells us who to trust and what to fear. How are we doing?
11. Living people can be rehired and economies reborn. Dead people won’t be rehired. The only way they will rise to life is through resurrection. Have I made the most of these opportunities? How is the Church doing at pointing to larger concerns of eternal significance?
12. I’ve been thinking about information and ignorance. There’s so much I don’t know. I am in awe of God who can know everything and bear it. I’m weary with just the little bit I have. What about you?

Tomorrow I’ll finish out with lessons I’ve learned from the coronavirus and the world-wide response. But for now…

Lord Jesus, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and awaken me to discipleship. May I learn from You and pass it to those who need to hear from You in these troubled times. When I fear, please comfort me. When our circumstances have us looking at our bank accounts, knowing our closed businesses mean workers without work, seeing empty streets and parking lots, sidewalks so desolate it feels like we’re the last man on Earth…when we find ourselves worrying, Lord comfort us with Your peace. Help us to have a long-range perspective and faith as small as a mustard seed. Grow our faith and fill us with Your Spirit more and more as the Day of Your Return approaches. When You return, may I be found hard at work for You, faithful to the end, persevering for Your sake, trusting You because there is no other Name in heaven or on earth by which we will be saved. May the actions I take, the thoughts I have, the words I speak be a beautiful sound in Your ears and glorify You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

It’s easy to see why God wouldn’t bless America.
But why would He give us an American dawn?

Let’s continue to explore why God might bless America, in particular the Church in America…through the coronavirus pandemic. So far, we’ve seen (1) Purification, (2) Love of Freedom, and (3) Following Christ. Today, I’d like to look at a fourth reason why God might desire to bless America: City on a Hill.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Matthew 5:14

Most of us see historic America as a land of opportunity, of freedom, and a refuge for those who have been persecuted, particularly in religious terms. It’s been a safe harbor for those who want to freely practice their Christian faith.

In the coronavirus pandemic, with our worshiping Christ largely behind closed doors, Americans have been blessed to see a glimpse of what the persecuted Church knows every Sunday, week in…week out. And every day in between.

Our enemy, our adversary, Satan, and all that is evil tries to bury the Church, extinguish her light, and block her ability to shine in our witness to our Savior Jesus Christ.

In the verse from the photo above, the light of witness is prominent. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isaiah 60:1-3).

If we’re honest, America had lost her Christian witness many ways and times, even now has been such a time. On the world stage, we’ve blinked blindly in collective darkness along with the rest of the world. We’ve loved and hated but not in godly ways. We’ve loved what is self-satisfying and evil. We’ve had no shame in hating. Even in our cursing God. We’ve failed to address the evil within our midst and shielded our eyes to the evils elsewhere. We’ve exalted ourselves and cared little about others, about other nations, and we have engaged in national behavior that has not been a light of witness to God or to the reasons Jesus came, died, and rose from the dead.

Is God is using a virus to call us back to Himself
…and to usher some of us home?
Is now an American dawn and a coming revival?
Not just as Americans, but as a City on a Hill, a light of nations.

Sure, there have been daily doses of darkness, a morbid obsession with death. The death count and infected peoples are recorded, monitored, assessed, and charted. That’s the panorama of the pandemic. But look closely and maybe we see individuals coming to grips with mortality and what it means. Maybe we see individuals–all of whom matter to God–seeking the light of answers to eternal questions. We’ve had a hard reset of our priorities–who and what we worship–a re-learning sacrificial love and the joy of work and recreation in balance. We’ve rediscovered our need and love for our Savior. The light of God rising.

Questions for thinking:

1. How does death reorient our thinking from the superficial to the significant?
2. How does a worldwide threat from an invisible enemy mirror the spiritual battle going on around us and create an opportunity for the Church to share the Gospel of hope?
3. The United States–with its vast economic engine employed full-throttle to prepare for battle in producing therapeutics, ventilators and other protective equipment–isn’t producing offensive weapons, only defensive. We are making these available to other countries. In what way does this help nations to come to the light, to see the brightness of our dawn in Christ, and the hope of His gospel?
4. With online sermons/services–even those our President has highlighted–and many people stuck at home, but seeking answers and a message of hope, soon the Church will see new faces in the pews. Have we experienced enough personal renewal to welcome new people and show them the hope we know?

Lord God, Almighty Father, please help us to remember the lessons of the pandemic. Our reliance needs to be first upon You. You are our Light and salvation. You are our eternal hope because You conquered death and experienced the wrath our sins deserved. A justified wrath of God that would have been ours. Remind us not to fear what man can do but to have a holy fear of You. May that fear be respect and childlike joy that–though we are sinners–yet You would welcome us as our Father in heaven. Give us sensitive hearts to those You have newly called and delivered, to do as You have asked: make disciples. May we continue to experience purification so that we will embrace the work You have done. That we will know the joy and the responsibility when we see the secret harvest You have been doing by a Church planted underground, now visibly bearing fruit that will last. It is to Your glory that we produce much fruit. Gladly I am Your harvest worker and humble servant of Christ. I offer You praise and all glory in the mighty Name of Jesus! Amen.

It’s easy to see why God wouldn’t bless America.
But why would He give us an American dawn?

Let’s continue to explore why God might bless America, in particular the Church in America…through the coronavirus pandemic.

So far our reasons have been as ongoing purification of God’s Church and His people, and for our respecting freedom. Today, I’d like to look at a third reason for God to bless America: the open desire of many Americans to follow Christ.

I wish I could say that following Christ is easy. It’s not. I wish I could say that following Christ is simple to explain in these frightening times to those whose walk is new or marginal, troubled or tired, those afraid for their future, or who are observing from the outside. It’s hard to explain quite frankly, especially when we hardly understand it ourselves.

Faith, a trusting in God, is every bit as hard to do as to explain. The reasons are often confusing and don’t make sense. Trusting God might be simple given that it is more effective (that’s what Scripture says). It is far less within our control than trusting one’s own self, our own judgments, our own information, and looking for our own way through the thicket.

The coronavirus is a really big thicket and everyone has more opinion than available knowledge.

Truth be told: I challenge my heart often about my motivations for wanting the economy open ASAP

My heart WANTS to say it’s total compassion…because I’ve weighed my understanding of harm to those who might die versus the ongoing danger to those suffering deeply in economic terms and have concluded (with facts available to me) that it’s all overblown. We can do both: keep people safe and go back to normal…just like a light switch.

My mind QUESTIONS that since I have no specific word from God to rely on. He doesn’t talk about THIS plague in clear terms or tell us how it ends. All I have is incomplete information from imperfect sources and the infallible Holy Spirit to chop through the thicket on this old heart of mine so I can see the dawn when it eventually rises over the pile of dead brush.

You see, I know one person in my sphere who has succumbed in death to coronavirus. I’m confident he has entered glory. I know people whose businesses are suffering. They aren’t rich people. Many live from paycheck to paycheck. My heart breaks for both those who have lost loved ones and those whose life savings and dreams are at risk of dying on the vine.

My hands want to HELP. So, I buy things online and encourage curbside. We have essential businesses (small family businesses still working with masks and protective gear) engaged at work because they can and we’re able. Once the economy opens, I’ll be there to support those who are struggling to recover in other businesses too.

As people in the Church, we do what we can there as well. Cheerfully giving so the Church can do its job of caring for people, too.

More than anything, though, I want to follow Christ.

Yeah, that Guy who says to deny myself, pick up my cross daily, and follow Him. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Mark 8:34-37).

The same One who tells me I cannot serve two masters. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:24-27)

The same God who tells me to trust (John 14:1), to have faith (Mark 11:22), to pray for daily bread (Luke 11:3) that He will provide (Luke 12:22-31), to rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30), to overcome (1 John 4:4-10), to persevere to the end (Matthew 24:12-14), and to learn from His example (1 Peter 2:21).

What would Jesus do?
I suspect His end goal is far beyond what’s in the news.
More than masks, ventilators, therapeutics or vaccines.
More than reopening an economy.

Questions for thought about what it means to follow Jesus:

1. Would Jesus be speaking words of life, hope, and patient endurance, or griping with words of discouragement, impatience, complaint, and accusation? What does it mean to follow Christ?
2. If Jesus were a reporter at news briefings, what kind of gotcha would He do? Don’t worry, gotcha covered with My blood? Gotcha name written on My hands? Gotcha held tight where no one can snatch you out…eternally? Gotcha protected under My wings?
   
3. If Satan were a reporter at news briefings what gotcha questions would be designed to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10 )?
4. What results from following Christ?
5. How has this pandemic highlighted the contrast of who we follow and given Christians a chance to offer His light in the world’s darkness. In the next installment, we’ll explore this more, but how can we…by following Christ…display Him to a watching world?

Dear Lord Jesus, please let me follow You in everything I do and say.  May I take to heart that I may be the only Bible some will ever read. May the words I speak be encouragement and hope, pointing always to You as the only source for all eternity. May I trust in You when the times are dire. May I trust in You when death tries to steal, kill, and destroy. May I trust that all events will work together for good (in an eternal sense) for those who love You. May Your Holy Spirit build up this nation again so we might be Your light of freedom and hope to a world in decline and despair. May many be drawn to You as they see the faith of Your people. May we devote ourselves in prayer so that we may have joy even in suffering and hold on while You advance Your kingdom. I thank You, Lord, that You are in the restoration business. You reclaim. You renew. You give new birth and new life. May Your Kingdom prosper and grow for our good and Your glory. Amen.