The Church & the Coronavirus
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
5 things for Christians to do in the midst of the coronavirus:
1. Continue in faith and fight against fear.
One way you can work at doing that is by memorizing these verses:
“We can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6).
“My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2).
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22).
“From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for Him” (Isaiah 64:4).
2. Feast on God’s word and fast social media & entertainment.
The Bible is the authoritative word of God and as such, it is uniquely profitable (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Scripture is a light (Ps. 119:105,130), sword (Eph. 6:17), hammer (Jer. 23:29), and surgeon (Heb. 4:12). Scripture is more essential than bread (Matt. 4:4), better than gold (Ps. 19:10; 119:72), and we need it to live (Ps. 119:144). Scripture is perfect (Ps. 19:7), true (Ps. 19:9), pure (Ps. 19:8), and eternal (1 Pet. 1:25). Scripture contains the words of life (Jn. 6:68) and the words that are breathed out by God (2 Tim. 3:16). Scripture gives joy (Ps. 119:111; Jer. 15:16), makes wise (Ps. 19:7), equips (2 Tim. 3:17), guards (Ps. 119:9), guides (Ps. 73:24; 119:105), saves (1 Pet. 1:23), sanctifies (Ps. 119:9,11; Jn. 17:17), and satisfies because by it we know God (1 Pet. 2:3). The Bible is of absolute importance.
So, feast on God’s word and spend less time on social media and entertainment.
3. Make a prayer list of 10 people & pray for them every day.
4. Make a check-in list of 10 people & check in on them.
5. Pray for needs across the globe & pray for God to turn hearts to Himself.
An Imprecatory Prayer
A Prayer Thanking God for Adoption in Christ
Father, we thank You that through Jesus Christ we can come to You as Father.
We thank You that we have been adopted through Jesus and are even fellow heirs with Him. Because if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
We thank You that to all those who have believed in Jesus’ name,
You have given the right to become children of God.
And we acknowledge that we are born not of natural origin, nor of human will,
but we are born anew by Your will.
It is You God who chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world for adoption.
God, we thank You for sending Your Son,
to redeem us that we might receive adoption to sonship.
We thank You also for the Holy Spirit.
We know and rejoice that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. We thank You that the Spirit we have received brought about our adoption to sonship.
And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
O’ God we thank You.
We are amazed that You God care for us and welcome us in through Jesus.
We are amazed that You, the Lord Almighty, say that You will be a Father to us,
and we will be Your sons and daughters.
You, the LORD, are the One who defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow.
And You are our God, and through Christ Jesus, You are our Father.
We confess together that we do not count on anyone or anything else to save us.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made,
for in You the fatherless find compassion.
God, we trust You.
You are the One who cares for us.
We trust You who we cannot see,
and not what we can see.
You God, are our good Father.
It is those who hope in You, LORD, who will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
So Father, we trust in You.
As Your children, we know we need You.
LORD, we know it is You that watches over us,
but You frustrate the ways of the wicked.
You see our trouble when we are afflicted;
You consider our grief and take it in hand.
And so, we commit ourselves to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
We come to You Father, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
“Dear God, I want to be very rich…” (and other prayers)
“Dear God, I want to be very rich. I would like a Benz or at least a new Honda Civic with a sweet spoiler and racing stripe…”
Do your prayers sound like that? Probably not. You might prefer a BMW.
Realistically, our prayers don’t very often sound quite like that but sometimes that is about the gist of what we pray for. Stuff, sometimes good stuff, is what occupies the majority of our prayers. I am not saying it is always bad to pray for stuff. I am not saying it is bad for us to pray that our dear Aunt Ruth will get over her cold, we should do that, please do, but we must also pray for other stuff; spiritual stuff.
in X 