(Part One of Two)
“Don’t burn out! KEEP YOURSELVES FUELED and aflame…Don’t quit in hard times; instead pray all the harder.” Romans 12:11-12 (The Message)We need help. We need to admit we need help. COVID-19 has taken over all of our thinking and behaving. It has affected our worship and continued learning of God who knows and was not surprised by the virus, by the way. When we replace God with whatever is going on around us, putting all our energies on the virus and how to avoid it or combat it, we lose focus. We drift into melancholy, dangerous thinking.
We move away from what we know about God who gives peace and restores our joy to what we think we know, based on media influences bombarding us daily. Now, we are beginning to see a rift among God’s people who are taking sides in a new argument based on current circumstances. Mask or no mask. Oh, how the real enemy, Satan, must love that! Is the virus a real threat, conspiracy or just a way for the government to control us? That seems to be the disagreement. Wow, this is mostly a case of losing focus on the One who loves us most.
We need to pray “ALL THE HARDER” as Paul reminds us as God’s believers. “Don’t quit in hard times”. How can we stay fueled and on fire with God as our trusted Voice above all other voices?Daily Hope by Rick Warren pulled my attention this week to ten ways to build our faith that leads to better emotional health during this current COVID crisis. It has been very helpful to me so I pray it is helpful to you. I have given you only my notes and thoughts on this topic with practical ways I can apply this to my life. The reference to the full message will be included.
This is such good, practical advice that we will talk about the first five today and finish with the last five tomorrow.
1. SHOW GRACE to myself and others. “God loves to give us more grace. He opposes the prideful, but he gives grace to the humble. James 4:6
It hurts all over to be quarantined. Admit it. What we used to be comfortable in doing we cannot do. This brings stress. 
THAT is normal. Stress makes us more tired than usual. THAT is normal. So if you feel tired after the smallest of tasks, then rest. Allow your family to rest. Online teaching is a humongous stress for the entire family. Take time to rest in between tasks of all kinds. Don’t add new challenges at this time. Don’t make major decisions, either. Do what you can, when you can, and rest. Just rest. Even God rested on the seventh day. Rest in Him, with Him. Be amazed at what He will say to us in the rest.
THAT is normal. Stress makes us more tired than usual. THAT is normal. So if you feel tired after the smallest of tasks, then rest. Allow your family to rest. Online teaching is a humongous stress for the entire family. Take time to rest in between tasks of all kinds. Don’t add new challenges at this time. Don’t make major decisions, either. Do what you can, when you can, and rest. Just rest. Even God rested on the seventh day. Rest in Him, with Him. Be amazed at what He will say to us in the rest.
2. START AND END each day refueling my soul. “…Humble accept God’s Word planted in your heart. It is able to SAVE your souls.” James 1:21
Develop a habit of placing your open Bible on your nightstand. We are more likely to read a word or passage if it is open. Read only a verse or two, wherever the Holy Spirit leads you, as your last act before your head hits the pillow at night. Then read that passage or another passage next to it the next morning from your open Bible. Leave it open to remind you.
“Every morning thank God for his love and every evening thank him for his faithfulness.” Psalm 92:2
3. STICK WITH A SIMPLE ROUTINE.“Carefully consider how you live. Live wisely, not foolishly. Make the most of your time because these are difficult, evil days.” Ephesians 5:15-16
Continue to set the alarm for getting up for work, even it is working from home. If you had a commute to work before, then take a walk before and after that equals your commute time so you can distance yourself from work at home to time with your family. Do this even if you don’t have family so your mind can switch from work to rest. Living in limbo with no set schedule creates stress. We, as humans, like a good rhythm and flow to our lives.
For even greater focus, ask God, “What do YOU want me to accomplish today? “What do you think is best? “Lead me, Lord.”
4. STOP WATCHING SO MUCH NEWS Jesus: “Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your vision is good, your whole being will be full of light. But if you’re focused on the bad, your life will be full of darkness!”
Matthew 6:22-23
“Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless.”
Psalm 119:37 (TEV)
What is the best way to find peace and wisdom? Turn off the computer, TV and any other device that gives you advice on how to think and live. Aren’t you weary of every PSA or commercial that begins….”In these challenges times…” “In these difficult times…”? We all are! TURN IT OFF! Go take a walk or sit outside and just be still, let go and listen to God’s higher thoughts that He is lovingly ready to give to those who seek Him.
While I’m on this, if you want to really know what the weather is like right where you are…go outside! (Smiling) Don’t let a weather man be the god of your destiny!
5. SCHEDULE A DAILY CONNECTION WITH PEOPLE I LOVE“Speak encouraging words to each other. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, with no one left out, and no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it!” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (The Message)
Whether you are working from home or at a place of business, set your phone alarm if you have to, for a scheduled break to talk to your loved ones who are in this with you.
We love each other at our church, so as leaders working from home, we are CALLING them often to see how they are doing. We have prayer with them as needed. With a couple of thousand people, this has been quite an undertaking as a staff but the blessings in this act of love have reminded us of the importance of real connection from a heart of love and care, not duty or obligation.
Here’s a very old idea…write a small note of encouragement to those you love. Put it where they will find it the next morning. To those who do not live with you, MAIL it. Get a book of stamps, note paper and envelopes (yes, they still sell these!) and send a note as God’s Spirit leads. If you are open to Him, He will place people on your heart.
I heard of a church of over 4000 people who are handwriting notes to their congregation! Wow! I don’t know how often, but wow.
I remember in my old days of youth ministry, I hand-wrote notes occasionally to my kids. Years later, I saw one of those kids all grown up. She carried that note in her Bible! Does it make a difference? You decide.
What do you think so far? Great stuff, right?! So applicable “in times like these”, (smiling as I make fun of the media).Tomorrow…Part Two…six through ten more ways to build our faith.
Dear Lord and Savior,
You have saved us by your own blood of sacrifice. You defeated death by rising from the grave. The grave could not hold you and it will not hold us! Help us to leave our tombs of doubt, despair, depression, and fear and rise up in hope, peace, and joy as a result of knowing and realizing the depth of your love, mercy and grace.
In Jesus Name, Amen
GOD KNOWS ME
Psalm 139
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
GOD MADE US
GOD HAS A PERFECTLY PURPOSED PLAN FOR US
Dear Heavenly Father,
I look up to the mountains—
Our spiritual communities are as susceptible to disease as our physical bodies. but it is easier to detect whatever is wrong in our stomachs and lungs than in our worship and witness. When our physical bodies are sick or damaged, the pain calls our attention to it, and we do something quick. But a dangerous, even deadly, virus in our spiritual communities can go undetected for a long time. As much as we need physicians for our bodies, we have even greater need for diagnosticians and healers of the spirit.
There is far more, of course, to living in Christian community than protecting the faith against assault or subversion. Paranoia is as unhealthy spiritually as it is mentally.
Fight with All You Have in You
Lost Stars in Outer Space
12-13 These people are warts on your love feasts as you worship and eat together. They’re giving you a black eye—carousing shamelessly, grabbing anything that isn’t nailed down. They’re—
17-19 But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: “In the last days there will be people who don’t take these things seriously anymore. They’ll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts.” These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There’s nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!
Not only are God’s saints set apart, but they are also preserved.This means “carefully watched and guarded.” The believer is secure in Jesus Christ. 
Because of Christ’s work on the cross, believers enjoy peace. The unsaved person is at war with God and cannot please Him (Rom. 8:7–8), but when he trusts the Savior, the war ends and he receives God’s peace (Rom. 5:1). 
Certainly those who know Christ as their Savior enjoy a unique position. They are called BY God to be set apart FOR God that they might enjoy love WITH God. 
How can we discern between the “soulish” and the “spiritual”? By using the Word of God which is able to divide soul and spirit (Heb. 4:12) and by paying close attention to the witness of the Spirit of God within (Rom. 8:16). 
One of the best ways to draw people away from the false teachers is to magnify all that they have in Christ and to share His love for them in practical ways. Make their salvation so wonderful and the Word so exciting that they will lose interest in the teachings of the apostates. It is not enough merely to refute the false doctrines. There must also be a warmth of love that assures the young believer, “We care for you.”
We don’t have to stumble. 
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20, NIV
John, Jesus beloved disciple, has a vision of prophecy, led by God’s Holy Spirit. His vision REVEALS Jesus once more with loving warnings of what will happen when, not if, Jesus will return to claim those whose hearts are completely His. 
Introduction to The Big Reveal…The Revelation
Our times are not favorable for worship. The times never are: the world is hostile to worship. The Devil hates worship. As The Revelation makes clear, worship must be carried out under conditions decidedly uncongenial to it. Some Christians even get killed because they worship.
The Revelation – Chapter 1
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”[b]
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
Take note that John was at worship when the revelation began. It seems God speaks to us when we are fully engaged in our worship and love for Him. It is when He has our full, loving attention that He speaks to our hearts.
The word translated “revelation” simply means “unveiling.” It gives us our English word apocalypse which, unfortunately, is today a synonym for chaos and catastrophe. The verb simply means “to uncover, to reveal, to make manifest.” In this book, the Holy Spirit pulls back the curtain and gives us the privilege of seeing the glorified Christ in heaven and the fulfillment of His sovereign purposes in the world. 
Why did John use symbolism? For one thing, this kind of “spiritual code” is understood only by those who know Christ personally.If any Roman officers had tried to use Revelation as evidence against Christians, the book would have been a puzzle and an enigma to them.
There is a third reason why John used symbolism: symbols not only convey information, but also impart values and arouse emotions. John could have written, “A dictator will rule the world,” but instead he described a beast. The symbol says much more than the mere title of “dictator.” 
Wow, so we will be careful and prayerful in our reading and understanding of what god is saying to us. Keep it simple. Jesus is coming back! Our decision and commitment to Him reveals our response to the mews of His return. Do we live in fear or joyful expectancy? 
The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love and God. More often than not, the mess people make of their lives can be traced to failure or stupidity or meanness in one or both of these areas.
HOLY PAUSE
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
LOVE AND HATE
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
The way Peter handled himself in that position of power is even more impressive than the power itself. He stayed out of the center of attention, didn’t “wield” power, maintained a scrupulous subordination to Jesus. Given his charismatic personality and well-deserved position at the head, he could easily have taken over, using the prominence of his association with Jesus to promote himself. That he didn’t do it, given the frequency with which spiritual leaders do exactly that, is impressive. Peter is a breath of fresh air.
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (Jesus called Simon, “Peter, the rock upon which I will build my church”, so it is now wonder Peter uses building stones as the analogy.)
..you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
“Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”
“Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.”
We are called to grow in His love:
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Randy and I went to a pastor’s convention of sorts to learn from great leaders of the faith, those who had served with wisdom, those who “knew the ropes” of ministry. One particular day, we clamored to get into a packed room where one of the famous ministers would be speaking. 
When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business–and dishonest business at that. Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners.
The letter of James shows one of the church’s early pastors skillfully going about his work of confronting, diagnosing, and dealing with areas of misbelief and misbehavior that had turned up in congregations committed to his care. Deep and living wisdom is on display here, wisdom both rare and essential. 
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
James 2 – No Favorites!
BELIEF AND BEHAVIOR
James 3 – The Tongue
Good Morning, Saints!…Good Morning, Sinners!
James 4 – Ask What God Wants
“Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
“You have hoarded wealth in the last days.” (This includes toilet paper, just saying.)
“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.”
PRAYER
The assumption is that people sin against each other, not just against God, and at work that is certainly the case. We face daily pressure to produce and perform, and we have limited time to act, so we often act without listening, marginalize those who disagree, compete unfairly, hog resources, leave a mess for the next person to clean up, and take out our frustrations on co-workers. We wound and get wounded. 
Evaluate. Do you feel like a saint or a sinner today? Talk to God about it. He already knows and knows you. He is the best one to ask.
What is our motivation for confession and healing? So that we may serve the needs of others. “Whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death”. Saving someone from death is serving a very deep need! And perhaps— since we are all sinners—someone else will save us from death by turning us from the error of our ways.
It seems odd to have to say so, but too much religion is a bad thing. We can’t get too much of God, can’t get too much faith and obedience, can’t get too much love and worship. But religion–the well-intentioned efforts we make to “get it all together” for God–can very well get in the way of what God is doing for us.
“This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
Hebrews 3 – Focus on Jesus, He is Our Hope
“Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 5 – Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God
Hebrews 6 – We are Challenged to Grow Up!
Hebrews 7 – Jesus, our Perfect Intercessor
Jesus Cleanses us from the INSIDE Out!
“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
Hebrews 11 – FAITH IN JESUS
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Hebrews 13 – Do What Jesus Would Do
HOLY PAUSE
