Sovereign Lord

I've been thinking a lot about how we Christians should be responding to the situation this virus has put us in. One of my conclusions is that we should be different. We should be operating without fear of any kind. That means in our individual lives, and in our corporate lives. We are the body of Christ, and we fear not.

The biggest impediment to fearlessness is that, for many of us, our concept of God is too small. How do we depend on God to protect us if He is just an enlarged version of ourselves? We cannot really picture having all our needs met by a changeless, Mighty God who loves us with His whole heart; a God with unlimited provision for our every need. Reading the book of the Bible, Ezekiel, I was blessed by seeing how Ezekiel repeatedly addressed God as "Sovereign Lord".

Jen Wilkin in the book, None Like Him, shows us 10 ways that God is not like us:

He is Infinite.                      The God of no limits
He is Incomprehensible.     The God of infinite mystery.
He is Self-Existent             The God of infinite creativity.
He is Self-Sufficient           The God of infinite provision.
He is Eternal                       The God of infinite days.
He is Immutable                 The God of infinite sameness
He is Omnipresent              The God of infinite place.
He is Omniscient                 The God of infinite knowledge.
He is Omnipotent                The God of infinite power.
He is Sovereign                   The God of infinite rule.

With a God like this, nothing is impossible.

Living as a new creation in Jesus Christ means living without fear. And, as we put our trust in the Sovereign Lord for all our needs, we become fear-less, and shine like beacons to the world around us.

Good Friday

After two weeks on "lock down" this is starting to get old. I want my life back!  I want to go to church with my friends and neighbors. We have not seen any of our children or grandchildren since coming back from Florida. I want a haircut.  When does the precaution outweigh the harm to society. Who decides what I must to do be "safe"?  Some of you don't feel this way, and that's okay, but this is my rant!!!

Okay, enough of that. Today is Good Friday. People often ask, what's good about it? What is good is that this is the day of the Great Exchange. For the past several weeks we have been willing to stay in our homes to remain free of the Covid-19 virus, but, also, in large part, to keep from spreading this virus to our neighbors. Jesus went a step way beyond this type of sacrifice. He actually takes on the disease of everyone who is ill and bares all the suffering involved. And, in exchange, we gain His health.

 "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21 Jesus becomes infected, we become pure and holy. God's justice is satisfied. Christ has paid in full for all our offenses. "The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and with His stripes, we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

 

Forget the lock down. Today, Friday, April 10, 2020 is a Good day.

Perspective

This whole staying home thing is new to all of us. Blogging a day at home is difficult because it is mostly uneventful. Doing yard work, cooking, working puzzles,TV. Nothing new there. Nevertheless, yesterday was the kind of day that refreshed the spirit and brought out a smile. Sunshine and temps in the 50's. We did take a fun ride on the four-wheeler, but still nothing to write home about.


Someone pointed out that there were many occasions  in the Bible where peoples' lives were put on hold. Mary's nine months of pregnancy must have seemed long. Noah and family were in the ark for forty days and nights - not true social distancing since all of the remaining society was in the boat - but you can see the similarity. The children of Israel were in the desert 40 years. And before that 400 years in slavery in Egypt. Comparatively what we are asked to do is pretty painless.

We have found new enjoyment in the simple phone call, and spoke with at least 5 people by phone yesterday. I'm sure many of you, too, have discovered the joy of "Zooming". We figured out how to download the Zoom app to join the meeting that my daughter, Sarah, set up for the family last Sunday. Getting to see and talk with children and grandchildren via computers and phones is as close to a family get together as is possible right now, but it was a satisfyingly good time. People have names as they show up to the meeting. Several of our grandchildren collaboratively named us G-ma and R-boy.

We are slowly adjusting to our new monikers.

Anything new on your end?

The Art of Staying Put

This is day 1 of a 2 week mandatory "stay at home decree" issued by the Governor of Minnesota. Since we have been staying pretty close to home for the past ten days,  this is going to be "Cabin Fever Plus". Actually, we have been enjoying ourselves. We worked one 1,000 piece puzzle and have already framed in the second. One day we made chocolate cookies, and yesterday found a nice recipe for pork chops. Several parks nearby have lovely walking trails that give us a brisk work out and  fresh air. We have Hulu TV, so usually try to watch a movie each evening (we are out in the country, so our reception is erratic) , and during the day make frequent calls to kids and friends.

Robert still visits the elderly of our congregation who are unable to get out, (are we all shut-ins?) and of course he is not allowed into hospitals and nursing homes right now. Last Wednesday he sat down and wrote each of them a personal note.

Isn't that just the coolest thing?

What are you guys up to?

Back to Blogging

It's been a wild ride since I last posted. This past May, I remarried. Most people know my new husband as Pastor Bob. I call him Robert since we live near his family's home farm and all his family call him Robert. So much has changed it seems like a good time to sort it all out, hence my return to throw some thoughts into the cloud.

 Robert and I just returned from 2 months in Florida. We hurried our trip home a bit for fear of being told to stay in place in a strange place. The world has changed, and one comfort is to be in our own home. I have a new respect for those whose world changes because of war. Many not only find everything in their lives akilter, but they are forced from their homes as well.

Staying home has become a new phenomenon for many. We Minnesotans seem to have less angst about being confined in our homes for long periods of time. It's called winter. But here we are, with time at our disposal, longing to find some meaning in this experience.

This morning I came up with a list I'll call "A Christian's Rules for Living in an Epidemic." My rules for me.

Rule #1: Fear Not.

Someone once said that there are 365 times God says "Fear Not" in the Bible. I have not verified that count, but I know God says "Fear Not" repeatedly. Therefore, I chose to do as Proverbs 3:5 instructs:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

Rule #2:  Be in the world, but not of the world.

For me, that means stop being obsessed with the "news". Turn off the news. That means on the TV or the computer. This is a hard one, I know.

Rule #3: Love your neighbor as yourself.

This is the basic principle behind social distancing.

I love myself and do not want to contract the  Corona virus. I love my neighbor and refuse to pass this disease on to someone else. Stay a safe distance apart or stay home.

Rule #4: Forgive as you have been forgiven.

Living in close quarters with family members can lead to short tempers and frustrating
situations. If I am to put the best construction on everything, I need to monitor my own behavior and always give my husband the benefit of the doubt when we "rub each other the wrong way."

Well, that's my list. What's yours?