Coronavirus, Christ and Common Sense

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. How many times have we heard this scripture in sermons, songs and writings? Trusting in Jesus is so easy when things are going well. When we are healthy, happy and prosperous. When our jobs are secure and our loved ones well. But how do we react to adversity? Where do we turn when life becomes challenging? When the days turn dark and fears attack like arrows? This isn’t how we thought this Christian life would be. Turning our lives over to Jesus and repenting of our old ways was supposed to bring blessings and bounty right?

The truth is that Jesus never promised that we would be exempt from trials and tribulations. He did, however, promise to be there with us through whatever it is we experience. John records how Jesus revealed the events that were about to unfold just before His darkest hour.

Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone.

And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation;

but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 16:32-33 NKJV

In the world you will have tribulations. Notice He never promised to keep us from experiencing difficulties, trials or tribulations . He did promise to be with us always even to the end of this age (Matthew 28:20) and that He would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5 )

So, as we see the events unfolding around us we as believers should take a stand against the fear and hopelessness that wishes to overtake us. We, now more than ever, are not alone.

There’s an old saying I remember from my early days in my walk with the Lord. It goes – Work each day as if it all depends on you and Pray every day as if it all depends on Him.

Some take offense with such a suggestion but I came to believe that as Christians we must put feet to or faith. After all no man lights a candle and hides it under a bushel.

With this in mind I would encourage the Body of Christ to exercise their faith in a way that shines a light into the darkness of this Coronavirus trial. We are not of this world and so we can wear this life like a loose coat. Hold fast to the love that Jesus has shown to you and share that love with the world around you. Jesus sent His disciples around the world but first He told them to preach the Good News to those in Jerusalem, then Judea. For us that means our homes first, then our town then as far as our influence can reach.

I encourage the use of common sense here. Exercise social distancing, personal protective equipment and hand washing. Stay at home except for essential trips out as directed by those in authority have outlined. Fortunately being home these days does not hinder our ability to interact with the world outside our doors. Social media can be used to spread fear or faith. Use it to shine the light of Jesus and calm fears.

Look at the big picture. History has taught us that unthinkable things have happened in the past and yet the world survived. Currently we can watch endless news coverage of this ever growing crisis but it leads us down a rabbit hole of despair. No one knows what tomorrow will bring but we can look around us at the blessings we do have and be grateful. We can sleep at night while this darkness looms because we know Jesus and we trust Him at His Word. We can live out these days without fear and uncertainty because we know that this world is not our home and that whether we live or die we will live forever with Him. We can defeat this virus together by shining the light of Jesus love into the darkness it wishes to cast.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Be Blessed A&B

Friend Me

A man who has friends must himself be friendly,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24 NKJV

Here we are in 2014 and, oh my!, how things have changed. The advent of the internet and social media has changed the way we interact with each other and the world around us. In the click of a phone camera and a post to a web-sharing site we can tell anyone listening where we are and what we are doing. Just as quickly we can be “friend-ed” and don’t we love to see our friend count or likes grow! But just how close are these friends?

Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between two or more people. Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an association.

Friendship for most people is a combination of affection, loyalty, love, respect, and trust. The general traits of a friendship include similar interests, mutual respect and an attachment to each other, and in order to experience friendship, you need to have true friends. The emotional safety provided by friendship means not having to weigh your thoughts and measure words. Definition of Friends

Friendship is one of life’s intangibles. It’s something we all have felt but we all may not have the same idea of what makes up a “friend”. Just the word brings to mind days gone by where friendships were started or activities shared with friends. But if we use the scripture verse found in Proverbs as a guide – a man (or woman) who has friends must show himself (or herself) to be friendly –  we can ask ourselves am I a true friend?

Have you ever heard a one sided phone conversation? Do you know someone who texts or tweets you but doesn’t read or respond to your texts? It’s so easy for people to get caught up in the “sharing” without really caring. Selfies epitomize this kind of self absorption social media has brought us to. It’s the “look at me” revolution of superficial friendships that make up too much of our interaction with each other. Social media sites have been used to raise people to over night stardom and fame as well as knock someone down to despair and suicide. Not discounting the ability of social media to rally people for a cause I still have to ask – how many real friends do you have.

The second part of today’s scripture tells us about One who sticks closer than a brother. This tells us two very specific things – one – it’s assumed that family ties are closer than friendships. Secondly, that there is one person referenced who may only be a friend but will defend and protect as if He were a family member.

Jesus is that friend Who is closer than a brother. He did what few “friends” would do. He died in your place for the sins you committed. AND He did it gladly and would do it again even if you were the only person who needed it.

For over two thousand years – long before social media was invented – He has been saying – FRIEND ME!

 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Rev 3:20 NKJV

Be Blessed, Al

PS, All social media icons shown here are registered trademarks of the respective site/organization and are used here in editorial fashion only.