“Lord, I have heard the report about you; Lord, I stand in awe of your deeds. Revive your work in these years; make it known in these years. In your wrath remember mercy!” (CSB – Read the chapter)
What do we pray at such a time as this? How do we call on the Lord? Chaos seems to reign and the news doesn’t feel like it is getting any better. For every step forward it seems we take, there are more steps back than we can count. Anxiety is building. Fear is rising. What do we pray at such a time as this?
“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me; let us exalt his name together.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
How are you supposed to be happy when everything is falling apart around you? Let’s face it: The news that keeps coming out about the coronavirus isn’t good. The number of cases grows every day. The number of deaths goes up too. More and more states and nations are shutting down…everything…in their attempts to limit the human contact responsible for the virus’ spread. All of the things to which we would normally turn to distract us from bad news are being shut down as well. How do we avoid falling into the trap of perpetual negativity and despair?
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
I got some hard news the night before last. In the midst of a pandemic like we are facing right now, hard news like this comes with a particularly bitter aftertaste. Someone I counted a friend died suddenly leaving behind a grieving wife, two young boys who won’t understand, and a family who are all hurting. Yesterday morning as I woke up thinking about it, praying for those involved, something Paul commanded came to mind that I think is all the more necessary for Jesus followers to be putting into practice these days.
How do you combat a virus? With an anti-virus. The wider the spread of the virus, the more vigorously you have to spread the anti-virus. When it comes to the spiritual virus of sin, there is a powerful anti-virus. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have it in you. What you need to do now is something Jesus pointed us to in an interesting little episode from His life. It’s also something we talked about yesterday. Check it out.
Contagious Holiness
It is a good day to be a fan of comic book and superhero fare. Never in the whole history of the silver screen or the small screen have we had as many offerings featuring one comic book storyline or another. And it’s not just that the volume is high. The quality is great too. The comics giants Marvel and DC are in a growing competition for audience loyalty and while Marvel has so far dominated the games, the level of excellence they have achieved has set a high bar that DC is doing their best to clear which in turn simply spurs Marvel on to keep upping their own game. Well, for a fan of this genre, the net result of this is a ton of great movies and tv shows to enjoy.
“In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near–at the door. . .Now concerning that day or hour no one knows–neither the angels in heaven nor the Son–but only the Father.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Something a little different for you this morning and we’ll get back to Habakkuk early next week. With all the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world there is a growing question on the minds of many folks with even the slightest amount of spiritual sensitivity: Are we in the end times? Personally I’ve been asked this twice this week. So then, are we? Let’s talk about it.
The Nexus 