Elijah: Man of Prayer

Elijah was faced with terrible apostasy during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah prayed, and the answer was a three and a half year drought. This was the answer to his prayers, but it sure was inconvenient. Elijah's 401k lost value. He lost his residence. He didn't have a way to make a living...

Is it possible that the whole pandemic is an answer to our prayers? What can we learn from Elijah?

Trust In The Lord

Hezekiah became king during the height of Assyrian expansion. As a young king he watched the Assyrians conquer his nearest neighbor, the kingdom of Samaria, and relocate the survivors to distant lands. He knew that the Assyrians would turn their attention to him next.

The account of what happened next is found in 2 Kings 18 and 19 and it is worth reading. The main idea is very clear. The most important thing we should do is to trust in the Lord!

Besieged AND Blessed

Just because there is a pandemic and we have to stay at home doesn't mean that we are not blessed! God is still on His throne! We can trust in him! He is our light and our salvation! He is our fortress - our refuge. And we have the privilege of worshipping Him in all his beauty and holiness!

Our Spiritual Health

The COVID-19 pandemic is dangerous to our physical health and the shutdown that is intended to "mitigate" the health crisis is creating a financial crisis of its own. I think most people would consider these things bad rather than good.

But the truth is, God can use these "bad" things for good in the area of our spiritual health. We tend to be happy just cruising along on whatever spiritual plateau we are on. But crises like the pandemic can be used by God to push us out of our comfort zone and make us reassess our spiritual strength.

May God cause us to grow in grace and bring him the glory due to his name.

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

In the midst of the Corona Virus pandemic and the upheaval that it has caused, it is good to remember the steadfast love of the Lord. Everything in our lives might be turned upside down and inside out, but the Lord still loves us. He is still Almighty God. He has not lost his grip on us and is working out his good purposes for us.

There is no need for us to become discouraged or disheartened. We need only to stand by and we will see the glory of God in what he accomplishes. Even in a world-wide pandemic.

The First Resurrection Sunday from The Four Gospels

It has been roughly 2000 years since that first Resurrection Sunday and we tend to forget what the Scriptures really say about that day. We might think that the disciples were expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead - or that they would at least be ready to believe he was alive when they were told so.

But our assumptions would be wrong! I hope this message will be a blessing to you.

The Triumph of the Cross of Christ

The "Triumphal Entry" was fleeting and in a few days Jesus was arrested, tortured and crucified. On Palm Sunday crowds had praised him saying, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." But a few days later the crowd was shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him! We have not king but Caesar!"

Our society is obsessed with another word for triumph - winning. It is important to note that the true win was not when Jesus was being praised, but when he went to the cross. On the cross he was doing what he had come to earth to do.

Our own true win is similar. We win when we deny ourselves, take up our own cross and follow Jesus.