Sickness

21
Apr
2020
What Is More Dangerous Than Covid-19?

What Is More Dangerous Than Covid-19?

What Is More Dangerous Than Covid-19?

A guest post by my friend, Ian McNaughton. Ian is a retired minister in the UK (so he writes with a British perspective), author of several books, and an encourager of the right use of Christian literature wherever there are readers!

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a)

As a nation we have fallen away from the Christian foundations fixed in this continent over 2000 years.  It is now a time of social upheaval and spiritual anarchy, fear and bankruptcies; what is to be said?  Spiritual anarchy is a dangerous plague of the 21st century in UK and Europe and it is even more dangerous than Covid-19.  You’d better believe it!

The World Today

God’s laws are being rejected and His holy righteousness is abhorrent to this generation.  The rejection of the Ten Commandments as a rule of life and in politics is a clear example of how far we have transgressed as a western society.  When whole societies rebel against God and truth then there is a waiting for judgment.  Remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah?  Remember Pompeii?  God is not mocked.  Remember the Old Testament prophets especially Jeremiah, who preached against the sins of Israel warning of coming chastening?  The outcome of unbelief and anarchy is seen in God’s purifying judgments throughout human history.  Nor are the churches immune from God’s loving discipline (cf. 1 Peter 4:17; Rev. 2: & 3).

Anarchy is the rebellious child’s response to good advice and caring love and it is more dangerous than any earthly plague.  However, God is love and all he does is out of caring and kindly love.

To define love is to define God our Creator and Father in heaven.[1]

‘Who is the Lord?’

There was a plague in ancient Egypt–sound familiar?  However, it took ten plagues from God to break the hardened stubborn heathen heart of Egypt’s despot ruler.  God’s self-revelation in Scripture and in nature is clear for all to behold but our leaders need to listen.  Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice?’’ in a retort to Moses the servant of God (Ex. 5:2).  This God, whom Pharaoh disbelieved in, is our God and Savior.  There is a call to the nations during this pandemic; it is a call to repentance. But who will blow that trumpet so it is heard?  The mainline churches and their leaders are running silent.  Until a voice is raised up to broadcast this important point ?we can expect hardened hearts to harden more; unbelieving hearts to blaspheme more; confused and mislead professing Christians to remain unregenerate.

Pray for a Conviction of Sin

Why is it that we ‘Moderns’ think ourselves free from the judgment to come and suppress the fear of God the Almighty?  Christians want the best for all citizens but the gospel churches are mocked.  God’s people want eternal life‘s blessings for their neighbors but they ignored the good news that Jesus has risen from the dead and offers life in all its fullness.  Believers pray for a conviction of sin in the hope of revival of true religion in the soul and throughout the land.  However, the lost are insensible to the fact that to neglect true spirituality, found only in Jesus Christ and his gospel, is to be lost forever.  To deny the reality of God and the free offer of eternal life from God who loves us is to live a lie.  To reject Christ Jesus’ free offer of free salvation found in the gospel is to live without hope.  What more can we say?  I end with a borrowed comment (from a friend) that needs to be heard:

‘Christianity does not offer a remedy for Covid-19.  Christianity offers a remedy for sin, “the blood of Jesus Christ his (God’s) Son cleanseth us from all sin”, (1 John 1:7).  It offers a remedy for death, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25 & 26).  This is Christianity’s unique and glorious message.’[2]

Abide in the Vine

“My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2)

This parable is telling us God is looking for holy fruit from our lives. He has blessed us and helped us and kept us and provides and been very patient too. But have we been thankful? Have we worshiped? Have we witnessed? The branches that are barren are pruned to remove or stimulate growth so that fruit is produced. The Gardener does it: God does it. Jesus is the Vine. This is how God works and this is what he is doing during this pandemic.  He prunes, ‘that it may bear more fruit’. History records epidemics, pandemics, disasters, and judgments in the providence of God. Remember the great London plague of 1666 (c.100,000 died). In the Spanish ‘flu’ pandemic of 1918, millions died.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (v.6).

© Rev. Ian S. McNaughton

revi@talktalk.net

[1] Let me know if you would like my tract ‘God’s love’.

[2] http://spimomder.blogspot.com/

Posted by Jim Holmes in Current Issues, Friendship, Gospel, Sickness, Worldview, 0 comments
24
Feb
2015

Secret for the Time Being!

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Launch Pending

I am not going into details at present, but anticipate being able to update you with an interesting development in the next few weeks. For the time being, consider this as being classified information that I’ll let out of the box below when I am ready.

Blogspot52_Favicon As the saying goes, watch this (Blog)Spot!

 

Box secret Blogspot

 

 

Posted by Jim Holmes in Biblical Creationism, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Current Issues, Family and Friends, French Christian Literature, Friendship, Heritage, Humor, Hymns, Interviews, New & Noteworthy, Publishing Books Today, Reflections, Sickness, Spirituality, Technology, Theology, Travel, Westminster Standards, Worldview, 0 comments
21
Oct
2014

Relevant Thinking: Ebola

Join me as I try to think consistently and articulate freshly about life under the sun…

StethescopeThe Ebola crisis is a significant feature in the news. First coming to the world’s attention quietly and unobtrusively, the virus was originally identified by Belgian doctors. As is now common knowledge, developments in West Africa have precipitated global concern. Talk radio in the USA articulates just what an immense cause of concern it is to average Americans.

How should we think about this illness? Here are several lines of thought:

  • Illness was never a part of the original creation. When our first parents triggered the entrance of sin into the world, several collateral developments took place, including burdensome toil, illness, agricultural challenges, a breakdown in relationships that were meant to be harmonious, and many other catastrophic elements.
  • Illness, as horrible and unwelcome a feature of life as it is, drives us to think about our short time to be lived on this planet. Where to after this life? How can I be prepared for what comes next? Thankfully, God’s Word, the Bible, provides helpful answers.
  • Illness ultimately is a temporary condition for those whose faith and hope is in the Redeemer. In the final state, there will be no more sin, sickness or sorrow.

Being better resourced to help people who are ill…

There are several resources that offer help to ordinary people who face the challenge of grappling with issues such as this. Below I mention five helpful resources:

colinmercer-03Resource #1: Colin Mercer, Pastor of Faith Free Presbyterian Church, Greenville, South Carolina, preached a pertinent message entitled Ebola and the Bible. Pastor Mercer is a fine preacher, a faithful messenger, one who always applies the Bible with relevance. You could listen online at SermonAudio here or download the audio file. There is also a video of the sermon at the same URL.

Resource #2: J. C. Ryle, long ago the bishop of Liverpool, England, had a heart of compassion for his congregants. With his life spanning much of the nineteenth century, it is important to understand that medical care was not as easy to come by as it is today, and often people succumbed to illnesses that would have been easy to treat under our modern conditions. Ryle counseled people to pay attention to the urgent message of sickness to get into a right relationship with God. His book, Practical Religion, has a chapter which you may also read online here, simply entitled Sickness. I shared this with my father over eleven years ago as he lay on his death bed, and I believe it may have helped him to find the Savior of sinners.

Resource #3: My friend Brian Croft, pastor of a church near Louisville, KY, is the son of a medical doctor. When he was a boy, his dad would take him on house calls as he visited his patients. As a result, Brian learned sensitivity to people who are unwell. So it was natural that, when he entered the pastoral ministry, he had the background and skills to engage with people suffering ill health. I highly commend Brian’s blog, Practical Shepherding, and the excellent resources he offers.

Two other publications to think about and use are:

Resource #4: Help! I’m Living with Terminal Illness, a mini-book written by Reggie Weems, pastor of a church in eastern Tennessee. Here’s how the book is described:

We don’t find it easy to face death, and the diagnosis of a terminal illness can be devastating. Yet every life has an expiration date. Written with a pastor’s heart for those suffering with a terminal diagnosis and for their family and friends, this publication conveys practical advice, spiritual consolation, and, most importantly, an eternal hope which the dying process cannot diminish and death cannot extinguish.

Reggie’s book is presently available as an eBook download, either from the site listed or from Amazon. Or you could sign up with Shepherd Press to buy the book when it is brought into print.

How_can_I_face_terminal_ChrispinResource #5: How can I face terminal illness with peace? This is the question addressed by Gerard Chrispin in a 32 page evangelistic booklet.

Writing sensitively, Gerard demonstrates how facing the fact of death can be a big advantage and lead to personal blessing, once the initial shock of a diagnosed illness has passed. That is true also for those seeing a loved one suffer serious illness.

This, too, is available from Amazon.

 

 

 

Posted by Jim Holmes in Current Issues, Reflections, Sickness, 0 comments