Going viral is when a link, video or image spreads rapidly over the internet.
What have you seen go viral?
Next up to go viral? I’m praying it’s faith in Christ.
Psalm 105:1 (CEV)
Praise the Lord and pray in his name!
Tell everyone what he has done.
Tell a friend. Share the good news!
COVID-19 has not been officially declared a pandemic. Is it time to panic?
According to Science News:
“The last time that the WHO declared a pandemic was in 2009, for a then-novel H1N1 strain of influenza, which some researchers estimate infected 1 billion people in the first six months, and killed hundreds of thousands in its first year. By comparison, over 2,700 people have died from COVID-19 since it emerged in December.
“The Spanish Flu of 1918 is the worst pandemic in recent memory; it claimed the lives of at least 50 million people worldwide from 1918 to 1919.”
What does the Bible say?
Isaiah 49:10 (NIV)
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Panic, no. Pray, yes!
I will not fear bad news, Lord, because You are in control.
I will not fear travel restrictions, because You are always with me.
I will not fear shrinking investments, because You are my treasure.
I will not fear sickness, because You are my healer.
I will not fear death, because You are my life.
I am safe in Your hands.
Isaiah 58:6 (NIV)
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Fasting done right makes you a better person and the world a better place. 
Joel 2:12 (ERV)
This is the Lord’s message:
“Now come back to me with all your heart.
Cry and mourn, and don’t eat anything!
Show that you are sad for doing wrong.”
Don’t fast half-heartedly, by rote, out of duty or because everyone else is doing it. To start, have a short, honest conversation with God. Without a spiritual purpose, fasting from food is simply a diet.
Ezra 8:23
So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
Fasting isn’t some magical method to get God to do what you want. It tunes your ears to hear His plan.
It’s not what we give up. It’s what we go after.
“Prayer is reaching out and after the unseen; fasting, letting go of
all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepens, confirms the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.”
Andrew Murray. (1828-1917)
Lent starts this Wednesday–40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter. A season of preparation. A time of prayer and fasting.
Yes, fasting.
What do you know about fasting?
Fasting is less about giving something up and more about connecting with God. Are you ready to improve your connection? Let Lent begin!
Coronavirus in China. Locusts in East Africa. These twin disasters bring to mind the plagues in the book of Exodus. Both have the attention of the United Nations.
Regarding the virus, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the UN World Health Organization stated:
“We still have a chance of preventing a broader global crisis, WHO will continue working night and day with all countries to prepare them.”
As to the locusts, UN News quoted Mark Lowcock, the UN humanitarian chief:
“I’m calling on the countries concerned, the international community, the donors, to step up and to step up now. There is a risk of a catastrophe. Perhaps we can prevent it; we have an obligation to try.”
While the United Nations looks to the wisdom and wealth of man to solve these problems, let us look to God.
Mighty God, have mercy!
We started the week with Washington’s wisdom. Let’s end it with more of the same:
“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge
the providence of Almighty God to obey His will,
to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly
to implore His protection and favor.”
George Washington (1732-1799)
Wise words, written in hard times:
On principle I dislike an oath which requires a man to swear he has not done wrong. It rejects the Christian principle of forgiveness on terms of repentance. I think it is enough if the man does no wrong hereafter.
Abraham Lincoln, 1864
(Note to the Secretary of War)
Repentance, not denial–still a good idea.
