Hi Folks,
I hope you are having a productive week and you and your families are staying healthy and well. I have something different for you today.
I have been reading encouraging stories this week of folks giving away face masks to health workers, health workers being applauded from the balconies of homes in the evenings all around the world, party companies that rent tents giving them away to set up as field hospitals, and churches who are obeying God given authorities and 'sheltering in place,' yet finding creative ways to worship, have encouraging Bible studies online
and also find safe ways to help their neighbors.
Our county is banding together to support, encourage and help each other, Believers are having the chance to share the love of Jesus and the Gospel that saves, how exciting! Yet one theme I am hearing among many who have trusted Jesus as their Savior and Lord is the fact that this time at home has given them a chance to look into their souls, to 'take stock' of the spiritual condition of their hearts and see where spiritual 'spring cleaning' needs to be done.
Below are such reflections of a pastor who travels overseas to encourage Believers around the world. My pastor knows him, sent my church body the below email with permission to share it with you all.
I hope his email helps you to start looking at the condition of your heart, mind and life in light of our current and in light of eternity. I have also included a devotional. below on spiritually 'spring cleaning' your soul, an encouraging story for your week and a way to help health workers at this time. We certainly have more time to think and evaluate how our spiritual walks are with the Lord right now. Pray you are encouraged! Lord bless you and yours this week!
From the Pastor;
"So with all the Covid 19 issues that have put me in a place where I feel incarcerated, it is a good time to post.
In times like these I find it good to do some pondering and reflecting. Adversity and disappointment are always God's way of revealing so much about my heart's motivations and perspectives. What have I seen within my heart in all of this? More than I want to admit for sure. Nevertheless, one thing is more preeminent, I love to have my way. I love to control the direction of my life. I think my ideas are overwhelmingly the best. I like to be sovereign over the details of my life. I like to understand all the "Why's" of what is happening. I struggle with questions regarding why is my ministry on hold. How long will this covid hinder ME from MY plans to do MY ministry. Wow, it is hard to see those words in front of me.
God is teaching me the same lesson over again, in order to find a life of joy, hope, and peace, I must die to my prideful aspirations and live to His glorious aspirations. I need to remind myself that God can be trusted. He is kind, loving, gracious, merciful, sovereign, faithful, all-knowing, impassable, and so much more. How can I even entertain a notion that my ways are better. Adversity is God's way of introducing me, to me. He does so because He loves me so much He does not want me to waste my life but rather give it away out of love for Him and love for others. God calls me to trust and surrender. To raise my white flag!
Another thing God has brought to my mind is what it means to really love with compassion. Providentially, last night I had a call from overseas from my translator who is serving the Lord. Minutes later I had a call from another overseas contact, who lives in a remote part of his country. In particular he informed me of the suffering they are facing in the midst of covid 19 entering their state. People there are restricted from work. They work daily for their daily bread. There are no stockpiles of food. In the best of conditions it is a daily struggle to procure what we have in abundance, food. To get to the point, speaking purely for myself, I know little or absolutely nothing of suffering in any real terms like my 2 friends. I am an American, a child of my age. I lack categories of suffering, persecution, and deprivation such as the vast majority of the world holds. They have categories for those things that just don't exist in my frame of reference. James 2:14-17 pierces my heart, "How can I say that I have a genuine working faith as I see a poorly clothed and hungry eternal soul in need, and reply "Go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things NEEDED for the body." (James 2:16). In my pondering, God is really speaking to me about a biblical love that acts with compassion and mercy in order to bring about the greatest possible benefit to another person. Christ has done that me in massive proportion. My greatest sacrifice to bring benefit to another person is microscopic compared to what Christ has done for me.
My pondering and conclusions? God wants me to love and trust Him. He is control. To stop thinking about me, myself, and I. To act as Jesus would towards those suffering persecution and deprivation in order to bring about benefit to them in their need. Daily NEED. Not daily desires but genuine daily need. So in the end, this PAUSE from God is a good thing. No I am wrong. It is totally an essential and necessary for me.
Soli Deo Gloria! (To God be the Glory!)"
(Used by permission. Taken from https://www.dayspring.com)
Encouraging Story: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-minnesota-trooper-pulled-over-a-doctor-for-speeding-then-he-gave-her-his-n95-medical-masks/ar-BB11VuF1?li=BBnb7Kz
A Way to Help Health Workers: https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/this-app-lets-you-send-pizza-to-health-care-workers-while-theyre-on-the-job/ar-BB11OpHc?li=BBnb7Kz
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