20/03/2020
Dear Trinity Family:
I hope you are are taking care of yourself and those close to you... main things to remember and to do are:
- good personal hygiene (wash your hands often),
- careful cleaning/sanitizing of the areas/surfaces you use/touch regularly
- social distancing (keep at least 3 feet from anyone else, and avoid groups)
- and PRAY!
Many are questioning why this virus has spread around the world. I’ve heard the suggestion that it is from the devil, and he is trying to kill many people off before they have a chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve also heard the suggestion that it is from God, and is a way of getting our attention and making us think about spiritual things, and forcing us to change our life. Both can’t be right! There will be many variations on the ‘why’ of this virus... many confusing theologies of what God is doing, what God is allowing, and what God cannot stop from happening. I hope you are not confused, but your faith in God is strengthened through this experience.
The ‘how’ of COVID-19 seems to be more and more clearly determined by the health care experts and the research scientists who are investigating this disease. They are educating us everyday from what they are learning. We have faith in God, yes, and we trust God to help us, even spare us. But this not mean that we ignore the experts and their guidance. We have to make wise choices to follow instructions, in order to slow down the spread and give our country a better chance of coping with this health challenge. The officials are doing whatever it takes to prevent our health care system from being overwhelmed... and we all need to do our part.
Let me use an example from the Bible to illustrate how faith in God, accompanied by following instructions, saved another group at another time and place. In Exodus chapter 12 we have recorded the instructions that God gave Moses to pass on to the Israelites -- it’s a long chapter, but worth your while to read all of it. Several times in the course of these instructions being given, the people are reminded how important it is for them to follow, and to do exactly as they are told. The last part of verse 27, along with verse 28 summarizes it for us:
The Israelites knelt down and worshiped. Then they went and did what the Lord
had commanded Moses and Aaron.
In the Epistle of James we are reminded that “faith without works is dead” -- read James 2:14-26. This is the point: Our faith in God is real, and it is demonstrated when we wisely follow the instructions given us -- instructions based on information revealed by God. This is how the Israelites survived the last plague and were liberated from Egypt. This is how we will get through this trial... as we are strong in our faith, and wise in our actions!
In our Lenten Study Guide today we read about the responsibility we all have to guide, encourage and strengthen each other. And there is a wonderful prayer by Carol Micklem and Roger Gomes, which I will repeat here -- make this your prayer today:
God our heavenly Father, you are light and life to us. You have promised never to leave us or forsake us: you are with us always, to the end of the world.
All the same, things do come between us and you. Sometimes it is our own fault, as when we are so full of our own virtue that we are no longer looking in your direction, or when angry thoughts blot you out. And sometimes it is not our fault, but the way the world is. Chance often brings us some worry or sadness which fills our minds so that everything is darkened.
Lord, when we are in the valley of that shadow, be with us still. Even if we cannot see you, stay by us so that we never get lost. And let your Holy Spirit show us day by day how we can better keep you in view.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I hope the Lenten Study is proving helpful and encouraging. That’s a resource you already have (if not, download it from our page, from our website, or request it and I’ll send it via email). There are some other resources that you can link up with -- from a few of our churches, and our Conference -- in order to get spiritual food and encouragement. These are listed below:
Facebook:
- Trinity Methodist Church
- The Bahamas Conference of The Methodist Church
- Global Village Methodist Church
- St. Michael’s Methodist Church
- Ascension Methodist Church
- Grants Town Wesley Methodist Church
- Ebenezer Methodist Church Events
YouTube:
- St. Michael’s Methodist Church
Radio: on ZNS AM 1540, FM 104.5, www.znsbahamas.com, or the ZNS App:
- “Renewal” on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. (30 minutes)
- “Prayer & Share” Service on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. (1 hour)
Stay safe... be careful... pray hard!
Blessings,
Bill
