Good morning and happy Saturday. The weather is supposed to be great today so go out and take advantage of it. Spring is just around the corner (praise the Lord!). Last night was incredible as a group of us gathered for worship and prayer. Omar and the team did such a wonderful job leading us. It was truly a special time.
By now, most people have seen the news about the Coronavirus that started in China and is now making its way around the world. It seems like something straight out of a movie or a book (which people are already pointing out the similarities to). The scenes from China and elsewhere seem rather surreal. Massive numbers of people quarantined in place. People wearing masks and other protective gear. And yet, there is a lot of uncertainty to how or if it can be adequately contained. With over 80,000 reported cases and around 3,000 deaths so far, it is causing widespread panic. Governments are taking drastic measures. People are frightened. Peoples routine of life has been severely upended. I can’t imagine what it might be like if it breaks out in the US on a larger scale. It may be pandemonium like we have not seen in our lifetime. Let’s hope and pray that it doesn’t come to that. It has been amazing to watch the stock markets plummet this week. Up until now, it had seemed unstoppable. They continued their climb to record levels. Unfortunately, there were many people fooled into thinking that the pattern would continue indefinitely. They had come to believe that this time was different. That the returns would keep coming like clockwork. Big surprise, when everyone was focusing on corporate earnings, consumer spending, overnight lending rates, and liquidity in the markets, a pandemic broke out in China. All of this is a good reminder that what we come to expect as routine can be interrupted quite suddenly. Sometimes it is when you least expect it. Often it is in a way that you never would have predicted.
It hasn’t got a lot of attention on many of the news stations, but there is something incredible going on in Africa right now. They are having an infestation of locusts like they have not experienced in decades. In fact, one headline referred to it as a plague of biblical proportions. The videos from some of the hardest hit areas are a bit frightening. The swarm of locusts looks like a black cloud descending upon the trees, grass and crops. The bugs are literally eating everything in sight. Some report that if it isn’t contained very soon that the multiplication of the locusts will spiral out of control. If that happens, the crops will be decimated and an already fragile situation could become catastrophic. Over the years, I have seen various reports on a few locust infestations. I don’t know why this one grabbed my attention like it did. Here we are in the 21st century. There have been so many advances in technology, sciences, farming, chemicals, pest control, you name it. And yet, here we are with a story about a plague of locusts, a variation of the coronavirus running rampant, and the most advanced economy in the world suffering a freak out moment, all recognitions that there are many uncertainties in life.
The apostle James wrote:
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them (James 4:13-17).
Praise the Lord that there are some things that are absolutely certain. God is God and there is no other. He reigns supreme over His creation. Nothing ever catches Him by surprise. And He loves you and sent His Son to die for you.
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children ofGod (John 1:12).
I hope you can join us tomorrow as we gather together to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Love God. Love others. Impact our community. Change the world.
Pastor Larry
0 Comments