A friend of mine checked in on me yesterday via text. Our exchange gave me greater resolve to build my business into a national brand. I like Dan Miller’s adage about not being poor to help the poor. I agree with that. I know money can easily become an idol, but Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were affluent business men. I know Jesus didn’t have a place to lay his head, but many in his circle of influence were affluent. Calling is an interesting thing, and before you criticize someone for the path they’re on consider God’s moving in their lives. Both of you have been called to glorify Him, and sometimes that’s done on different paths. The end result is the same, but you might shine Christ’s light in different ways.

We’ve been unmerciful to our fellow brothers and sisters because we’ve demanded they be like us. Nothing can be won by force what can only be won by submission, and even though we drink the same wine we should never put new wine into old wine-skins. The wine is the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it’s display and revelation has a plethora of ways to be made known. That’s something the Pharisees never figured out, and it took the Apostles a lifetime to get a fraction of what it looks like. We’ve been blessed to see their failures in the presence of Christ as we ascertain what the Spirit is telling us. Never assume you have it all figured out. You don’t. I don’t. Idols come in many forms, and our own thinking can be an idol. I don’t need this third cup of coffee to reveal that to me, but it certainly helps! 🙂

Jesus was constantly revealing ignorance when he walked this earth, and his Spirit continues to open minds to false knowledge we lean heavily upon to this day. Our salvation does not come from figuring it all out, however our salvation comes from what happened when Jesus breathed his last, lay in the Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb for three days and was raised to appear to many eyewitnesses. Idols are created when anything we depend on deviates from that reality. I like the song lyrics that follow.

He came from Heaven to Earth to show the way from the Earth to the cross my sins to erase. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky LORD I lift your name on high.

That reminds me of some other of my fav lyrics.

Jesus take this heart of mine. Make it pure and holy Thine. Thou has bled and died for me I will hence forth live for Thee.

Yes Jesus loves us doesn’t he? He endured the worst, so that we can experience the best. He longs for every single one of us to cast our 100% trust in Him. His word from Genesis to Revelation continues to be the best selling book year after year, and even Hollywood can’t ignore that in the fiction they create for our consumption.

I can’t write now without giving a nod to the coronavirus. I’m not sure why this is happening, but I know our Father is using it to create these kinds of thought processes. Suffering has a way of bringing the spiritual to the forefront. As as Christian I do not ignore the warnings of people who are much more knowledgeable than I when it comes to disease. I’m also not afraid to die because I know what my eternal destiny is. I wash my hands well. I cover my nose and mouth when I’m cleaning homes. I spray Lysol on door knobs, but I also pray for an increase in awareness of the presence of God. This is not the first pandemic God has been through with his children. He has delivered his creation from bondage before, and he’ll do it again. He is God, and he works through our leaders to deliver us from things like this. Trust in him means we trust and weigh the information we get from our leaders (Acts 17). We aren’t blind beggars completely dependent on someone who has MD after their name, but we also must not ignore the hard work someone with an MD after their name has put in because God gave them the ability to heal us. God is not done with us. He was done with us when he instructed Noah to build a big boat. Remember that story? Only Noah and his family were saved many thousands of years ago because the world had turned its back on God. He’s using this time to bring revival to our land. Have people died from COVID-19? Yes. Will more people die today? Probably. Does that mean we throw up our hands in defeat because another “flood” is coming? No. God loves the entire world (John 3.16). He doesn’t want anyone to perish, but the Bible is clear that some will perish. I trust in the name of Jesus Christ to conquer death even though I will likely experience death. I know he is able to raise my mortal body when that time comes. I also know that he can vanquish the Coronavirus, and we can get back to “normal.”

He healed diseases when he walked in the middle east. The woman who had the issue of blood her entire life reached out to touch a piece of his garment was healed instantly. That was not a fairy tale. It really happened. He felt power go out from him. Power is still going out from him, and even if someone dies death is not the end for those of us who call upon the name of Jesus Christ.

There was a group of us who went out to Colorado Springs years ago, and I’ll never forget walking into the main admin building on the campus of Focus on the Family. High above a stair case on the left side was emblazoned Psalm 127.1 in gold letters. I leave you with that verse.

Unless the LORD builds the house the laborers labor in vain.

I don’t know what He is building, but it’s beautiful I know that.