opinion

What can Christians uniquely do to serve our world and our Lord in these critical days? 

I believe that this unprecedented crisis presents the most unprecedented opportunity for spiritual awakening in my lifetime. As with the Civil War and World War II, the fact of mortality is more obvious for more of us than ever before. A deadly disease that anyone can get is a deadly disease everyone can get.

Could it be that God would redeem this global medical outbreak by using it to spark a global spiritual outbreak? Could he be calling his people to the front lines of this spiritual battle?

Trials are tests that authenticate our faith. They are painful, but they strengthen us spiritually and build our character.

Right now America is living through one of the greatest trials we have faced as a nation.

All of these opportunities for women and girls were created because we recognized that the physical difference between men and women shouldn’t prevent women from having the opportunity to compete. Today, we are being asked to pretend that the only difference between men and women is the way we feel.

In the past, it was considered misogyny when men took opportunities from women… Today, it’s called equality.

The news we’re all waiting for is the announcement that a vaccine or cure for coronavirus has been discovered. We trust that day will come one day.

When it does, as with crises of the past, we will remember then what people are doing now. From the president and members of Congress to our local leaders and those we know personally, actions taken (or not taken) today will echo for many years to come.

Hope is a foundational idea in both the Jewish and Christian faiths. In fact, it has been argued that Judaism brought the concept of hope to the world in the first place. When the biblical Abraham lived, the prevailing belief was that the “gods” determined man’s fate. People had no control in changing their destiny. Their fate was left in the hands of the capricious gods. Abraham, however, taught of a loving God with whom anything is possible.

After finding out that I was in contact with someone who has contracted COVID-19, I went into self-isolation. While under quarantine, I was convicted of the fact that as a Christian, I’m called to lead with my example as well as my word. Here are three ways to love by example during this pandemic.

Josh Imhoff and his group YWAM Emerge is being used by God to bless my community… through lettuce…thousands of heads of lettuce.

 If the coronavirus pandemic is not the end of the world, is it nonetheless the judgment of God on the world?

Biblical judgments are preceded by prophetic warnings and they are sent in response to specific sins. Well, I am not aware of any prophetic warnings before the coronavirus pandemic started in China or particular sins that produced it.

During difficult seasons we often ask, “Where is God?” The irony is that it often takes stormy seasons to turn us back toward safety. The COVID-19 virus is serious and I believe that God wants us to take this pandemic seriously and be concerned about the health and safety of others.

Despite having one of the best health care systems in the world, we dropped the ball because we did not take the coronavirus seriously at the beginning and had little testing. Now, the fear is that the U.S. will begin to look like Italy.