Four Lessons in 45 Days

"Stay-at-home." The words even sound harsh. 

For the past 45 days, those of us who live in North Carolina have been inside. Conversations with friends are filled with, "Could you ever have imagined a time like this?" "I can't understand the homework assignment for my middle school son." "I hope I don't run out of toilet paper." 

For an introvert who pretends to be an extrovert, these days at home have been useful with increased time to think and read and pray and complete projects that have been on my To-Do list too many months.

What have I learned during these 45 days?

1. God is sovereign, wise, Holy, and He loves me. I have always believed this, but now God is more real than ever. 
2. His purpose, the "why?"  for my life has not changed: Love God with my total being - totally submissive to His purpose for my life; Love my neighbor - serve others selflessly; Make disciples as I go - live intentionally.
3. God has disrupted the world - stopped us in our tracks; He has given us a clean slate. The old normal for the most part is gone - never to return. I must become more flexible as I create a simple new normal for my life, centered on three character traits - submissive, selfless, and intentional. 
4. Church is much more than Sunday morning. Church is living in the community, (virtually for the time being,) Monday thru Sunday. Church is looking for hurting, needy people and getting as messy as required to show them that Jesus really is the better way. Church is being the hands and feet of Jesus every day, all day. 

45 Days ane Counting

Passion Week

The final days before Jesus’ death are filled with action, intrigue, drama, teaching, compassion, and passion. We know from the Gospels much of what Jesus did and said during the week preceding his crucifixion.

Jesus Final Six Days before His Crucifixion[1]

Saturday marked the end of a grueling ministry for Jesus as he journeyed from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Passover. His encounters with people, miracles, and prediction of his crucifixion during this are detailed in the four gospels, beginning in Matthew 19:1, “When Jesus had finished these sayings, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea ….. The corresponding passages from the other three gospels begin in Mark 10:1, Luke 18:15 and John 10:22.

Saturday. March 28, AD 33.

As he neared the end of his journey to Jerusalem, on Saturday evening, March 28 AD 33, Jesus was honored at a dinner given by a Pharisee. [Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-50 and John 12:1-8]

·       Hosted by a Pharisee

·       In the home of Simon, the Leper.

·       Lazarus was present.

·       Martha served.

·       Mary (probably the Mary from whom Jesus removed the evil spirits earlier) anointed His feet with expensive perfume.

Some of the attendees at the banquet complained about Mary “wasting the expensive perfume” on Jesus' feet – “She should have sold the perfume and given the money to feed the poor.” Judas, who was the treasurer of the Apostles voiced these sentiments. The Bible reveals that Judas was skimming money from the treasury for his benefit. Jesus rebuked the disciples and Judas, telling them, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of my burial.  For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:7-8'

This incident convinced Judas that Jesus was not the Messiah, and he went to the chief priest to make a deal to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas, who had no conscience, returned to the disciples and remained a part of the group through the early evening the following Thursday.

Also, on Saturday, the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus, whom Jesus had earlier raised from the dead.

Prayer

Father, thank you for including the story of Mary anointing Jesus' feet in the Bible. I pray that each of us is reminded of the glory of Jesus when we read this story because he is worthy of everything we claim as our own. Keep us from becoming greedy and inward-focused like Judas. Do not let us deny your Son who is our Savior and Lord.

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The Disruption is Huge

The coronavirus disruption will be as impactful throughout the world as the parting of the Red Sea was to the Israelites when they exited Egypt in 1486 BC. Devout Jews, 3500 years later, still consider the exodus as the pivotal event in their history.

The possibility that I am right demands we ask, “What is God saying to the entire world?”

His message is clear: Wake up. Follow me.

God is calling believers – those who have trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord to wake up from their apathy and indifference and greed and selfishness and pride return to Him. We (believers) have given lip service to worshipping God; less than 20% of the population of the USA is in church on Sunday, less than 10% read their Bible daily and even fewer live a lifestyle that pleases God.

God uses all things to advance His kingdom, and He will use the coronavirus to grow the kingdom; He is pleading with believers to wake up and follow the commands of Jesus:

• Love God with our entire being by sharing the good news that Jesus satisfied each person’s sin debt by his death on a cross and subsequent resurrection, and 
• Love your neighbors by meeting their needs.

If believers respond to this message from God, the world will witness the greatest revival ever.

God is calling unbelievers to wake up to the good news that Jesus is the way to God. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” God created a perfect world – until Satan tempted Adam and Eve, and they sinned. Their sin separated them from God, led to their physical death and introduced sin in their children and all future generations. Man cannot solve the sin problem, but God sent Jesus to die for sinners and by believing in Jesus anyone can be saved. The wake-up call from God is worldwide and intended for everybody. Some people will heed the message from God while others ignore the call. Each of us can either follow Jesus or remain asleep in our broken relationship, trying vainly to find the peace that only comes from God.

Looking Forward to a New Normal

I find myself trying to go back to the way life was a month ago.

What if God is saying to believers –

“I don't want your life to be like it was. I am preparing a new normal for you. Stop looking back and look forward to the new normal I have planned for you.”

Until this morning, my daily prayer time has followed the same outline as the past 10 years. Should it be different during this time of social distancing?

Yesterday I wrote that God is saying to us “Stop; wake up; follow me.” If God is talking to us, then the question today is, “What do these commands mean in our current world?

Stop. Usually, God confronts an individual, or a church or a nation. This time,  the entire world has stopped. Quit doing what you're doing. Listen to the still small voice of God. Where are you going? What road are you on? Is it the wrong road?

Wake up. A good analogy would be a coach calling a timeout when his team is behind 20 to 2 in the 1st quarter of a basketball game. He might say to the team, “You are running hard but you aren't following the game plan. You are playing hard but not on the plan.”

Follow me. Continuing our analogy the coach would tell the team, “Follow my coaching. I designed a game plan for you to win. Just follow the plan.

For the believer, our coach is the true, triune God. He planned our life, created us, redeemed us, and adopted us so he has the right to say, Follow me”. 

Follow me means to love God with all your heart soul and mind. It means to share the gospel with believers and unbelievers. It means teach The Bible. It means meeting the needs of the helpless. It means fellowship with one another. It means practice spiritual disciplines.

God's message hasn't changed. Our purpose for being alive has not changed. So, let's get back in the game of life, adapt to the world around and submit to God’s command, “Follow Me.”