A Response to the Coronavirus

How is a believer to respond to the coronavirus? Every day we hear more and more information about the newest coronavirus, COVID-19. One talking head floats a new theory; another pundit introduces his newest (and flawed) statistical analysis, completely disengaged from reality. And we—the apparently helpless public—are fed misinformation, incomplete data models, and political conspiracy theories fraught with holes.

The Government:

The information the government and the CDC dole out is uncertain and speculative at best. The most certain thing they deserve credit for is having created fear in the hearts and minds of individuals across the nation. Because officials cannot control this virus, they locked down America, depressed the economy, threw fuel on the fires of unemployment, and planted fear into millions. What is worse, they selectively introduce facts and target churches: in California, for example, it is now illegal to sing praise to God in church. Not only is it enough to scatter believers—by requiring them not to meet in the name of public health—we have lost our free speech and even our right to assemble peacefully. All of this is an affront to our privately-held, law-abiding, and God-fearing congregations who love America. It seems that to some, only you and I going to church. Borrowing the famous words of the apostle James, “my brothers and sisters this should not be!” (James 3:10 NIV)

The Ungodly:

In the very first Psalm of the Bible, the Psalmist reminds us of the dangers of following ungodly counsel:

   “Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.”

Social distancing is causing increased mental illness, many experts agree with me: depression, anxiety, and even suicide are demonstrably on the rise while the core of how we can fight those things off—even our very way of life—is crumbling. How can we help those in need without being there for them? Isolation is a punishment for the prisons, a remedy for the sick, and now the miracle “cure” for the healthy? This supposed “cure” for the virus has not worked. All the while we sheepishly give up our freedoms and civil liberties without any kind of a fight. It seems that there is one group of “Illuminati” deciding for millions who wins and who loses. And I assert that people’s lives are being destroyed in the name of public safety. In all of this, what is a Christian to do?

The Godly:

Ultimately our safety is not in the hands of the government. God is our source of help in time of need. God Himself tells us why we are secure:

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”

There it is, a promise directly from the mouth of God for believers. If you are concerned in these difficult times, let’s take hope from His Word and protest ungodly counsel and misinformation.

Romans 1:22 KJV — Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Psalm 46:1 KJV — God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Let’s rise up to be the light and hope of the world in as we believe and trust God.

Just a thought,

PSS

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) — If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. We need God to heal our land.

Humble yourself:

To humble ourselves is to be teachable, to put the word of God first, to recognize God as superior and One worth serving. Once we do this, it will be easier to turn from our ungodly ways. One ungodly thing we will turn from is ignoring God and His word. What we have found is so-called Christian people are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4). People love life, love their life more than they love God. This is one reason people are so compliant to the government.

Submit to God:

The Church doesn’t even recognize when we are being persecuted, and we are definitely being persecuted. We are being dehumanized by face masks and social distancing (for which, by the way, there is no study that definitively proves that it even works). You hear it might, can, may work, but nobody really knows; nonetheless, we submit.

Have faith:

We have become so fearful of a virus which the government thinks they can control. They are trying to play God, but they can’t. They (the government and our governor) refuse to humble themselves before God. So instead, they create and provoke fear in people. We as believers are not to be motivated by fear, but by faith. God’s word says these types of things will happen.

Only believe:

Only God can truly protect us — not a government and not staying away from people. How can we reach the lost if we are fearful and believe this government is the one protecting us? It is time we begin to operate in faith and believe God to heal our land from this virus, plague that is destroying our land.

Matthew 16:25 (AMPC) — For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].

No fear — God is your source!

Just a thought,

PSS

Every one of us is here for a reason. We were put here on the earth purposefully by God to be productive. Titus 2:14 NLT — He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds [works].

Accept it:

When we accepted Christ, we also accepted the jobs God has for us to do. We were brought into the kingdom by God’s grace with the reality of being a productive servant. The works don’t save us, but they do tell a story — a story that we truly are His servants, dedicated to His will and purpose, knowing we must get to work in order to fulfill His plan in our lives. I believe the reason so many are lost, discouraged, and apathetic toward life is that when they did receive Jesus, they never got busy.

Do it:

The only way we will ever be fulfilled on this earth is to follow God’s plan and get to doing the work He already had planned for us to do. Yes, it is His plan. Good works are the means by which we help those in need — not only caring for the poor, but behaving in a godly way towards others: your employer, friends, family, spouse, and fellow believers. Good work is also giving to the work of the Lord (your tithes and offerings), serving Him.

Produce good fruit:

We are not saved by the good works. But once we have received Jesus, the fruit of that is we produce good fruit. So, have you gone to work for the kingdom since you believed, honoring God with your whole life, or are you simply being a consumer? If you are, it’s never too late to get it right.

Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22 KJV).

Just a thought,

PSS

Persecution is defined as hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs; harassment or punishment in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict; a causing to suffer because of belief.

Be not deceived:

The reality is, in our country, up until now we have never really been persecuted by the state where they mean to do harm. Question: Why are the liberals so bent on keeping churches closed? One reason is the true believer opposes them. This is what is happening all over the country and right here in New Mexico. The sad thing is, Christians aren’t sure if it’s happening, and some of the ones who do recognize it aren’t sure how they should react.

Resist oppression:

So, what should we do? I believe we should fight back by resisting it and pushing back against it. If it means civil disobedience, then that’s where we should stand. I believe we should speak out about it, and let the governor and all her cronies know we aren’t going to sit back and watch our freedom of religion being infringed upon anymore. We should assemble together and worship our God, regardless of what the government says.

Choose life:

This governor really doesn’t care anything about human life. If she did, why is she so happy to see innocent babies murdered? If she cared about life, why didn’t she close the abortion clinics? If she cares about life, why is she ruining so many lives and businesses because of her ungodly orders?

We as believers should take our stand and say, Enough is enough! We serve the only true God, and no one will dictate to us how and where we do this.

Just a thought,

PSS

I have a T-shirt that says, “Life Is Good!” I love that message!

Priorities:

Despite all the difficulties and complications, life is still good. It’s a constant reminder to keep the most important things important — things like my family and that life is what I make it.

Choices:

I remind myself that the decisions I make today affect and impact my life in the future. You see, the good and bad experiences of our past affect the decisions we make today, and become the default reason we did this or that. The reality is that we have to accept responsibility for our lives and the choices we make.

Responsibilities:

We should no longer allow ourselves to be the victim, but overcome every obstacle and refuse to blame others for our actions. If we do, we’ll continue to make better choices and realize that life really is good. We get only one life to live, and there are no do-overs or mulligans.

Whatever the poor choices we made in the past, we have to let them go and move on and make better decisions with optimism for the future. Life is good!

Just a thought,

PSS