Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.’” – Luke 3:11

As John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, he preached a simple, yet brutally direct message: repent of your selfish, sinful behaviors and then take actions that demonstrate you were truly sorry. When asked what that looked like, this verse is how he responded. He told everyone to be generous with their possessions, sharing with those in need. This is a perfect practical example of what Jesus means by loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:38).

As we stand at the beginning of a crisis that may well last a few months (this isn’t just a blizzard that will melt in a week), I certainly hope that no follower of Jesus was among those grasping and hoarding toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and staples for life. If you were, repent and share! To repent means to be truly sorry, to fully change your mind away from your past behavior and to ask God’s forgiveness. In Christ, He will always forgive (1 John 1:9).

Far more likely is that as this situation stretches on, many around us (and among us) will begin to face genuine hardship. That may include sickness, but for far more people, the threat is financial. As businesses cut back or close down, lay offs rise, and demand for services falls, there will be many who genuinely need help with buying basic essentials of life. Then there are those who are at greater risk from this disease, who must stay isolated or quarantined and may not have the technical skills to order delivery for daily needs. As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to be ready to be generous, kind, and helpful, and to do so with dignity and respect. We must be open handed and sacrificial toward neighbors and toward those organizations in our community who serve the most vulnerable among us (e.g. food pantries and services that deliver to seniors).

As followers of Christ we must daily bear fruit – taking actions – that reveal how profoundly Christ’s presence in our lives has changed us. Generous love of neighbors is certainly part of that fruit. As the church, we should be seeking to bless our community so that Christ is revealed and God is glorified powerfully during difficult times.

“I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.”
– Psalm 35:18

It is a great blessing when our relationship with God grows to the point where we can praise and thank Him even in the midst of a terrible situation. In this Psalm, David laments deep personal betrayal by those he knew well and had previously prayed for diligently. Nonetheless, despite ongoing attacks, he praises God and gives thanks.

That isn’t because David is oblivious, naive, or in denial. Reading the surrounding verses, you see that he clearly isn’t. In the previous verse, David questions how long God will leave him in his miserable state. However David’s love for God has matured beyond praising God only for what He does to help him. David’s love and praise for God isn’t situational or transactional. Rather, his love is grounded in who God is: Creator, sustainer, all-powerful, all-wise, all-good, merciful, gracious, patient, loving, faithful, righteous, just, holy, and the list goes on.

This is an excellent model for us, teaching us how to love and praise God even when we’re miserable with no relief in sight. For many, the weeks ahead will be very difficult: physically, socially, emotionally, financially. Even as we pray diligently to pass through this season of coronavirus unscathed, may we deepen in our love and praise for God and experience the profound richness of His love and presence amidst suffering!

“Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his salvation.
All my bones shall say,
‘O Lord, who is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?’”
– Psalm 35:9-10

Through faith in Christ, God delivers us from all that tries to overwhelm and rob us of life and joy! When we put our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, our sin and guilt are washed away, we gain eternal life, and God’s Spirit indwells us to strengthen, convict, comfort, and transform us. His salvation is total, ending in our glorious resurrection as we spend eternity with God.

Consider just a few of the enemies that would rob us of our joy and life, but which God delivers us from through Christ:

1. He delivers us from slavery to sin that humiliates, shames, and degrades us, stealing joy and peace while pretending to give us both. Romans 6:6, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

2. He delivers us from being separated from the God who loves us. John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.

3. He delivers us from loneliness. Matthew 28:20, “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

4. He delivers us from fear. 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

5. He delivers us from anxiety. Matthew 6:31-32, “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.”

6. He delivers us from death. John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Remember what Jesus promised in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

“May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”
– Numbers 6:24-26

God taught this ancient blessing to Moses to teach to Aaron and the priests of Israel to pronounce upon the people of God forevermore. May this profoundly beautiful blessing be upon each of you today and in the days to come!

“Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.”
– Psalm 33:22

In the Bible, the word hope means to have confident assurance of something. We often put our hope in familiar and visible structures of society, government, and authorities. We put hope in our own plans, skills, and abilities. We put hope in the notion that tomorrow will be pretty much like today. Then comes something like the coronavirus that reminds us that these are not things upon which we can have confident assurance. Strength and skill will eventually fail us. Structures and leaders will eventually fail us. Sometimes tomorrow is not like today.

Only God, who is sovereign over all things, will never fail. He is our refuge and strength. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good. He operates from an eternal perspective we can’t even comprehend and He works all things together for the good of His creation and those who love Him. It is in God alone through faith in Christ that we should place our hope, for He alone is steady through the storms and chaos, the fear and sickness. Let us place our hope firmly in God and nowhere else.

Then may God’s steadfast love – which never changes, never flickers, and never fluctuates – rest upon us. His love is not transactional or contingent, it is not self-serving or manipulative. God’s steadfast love is pure and holy, ever present and freely available to all who call on His name in Christ. In this challenging time, know that God’s love is always upon you, and we pray that you may have an especially clear sense and experience of His steadfast love throughout the days ahead!