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Here we are after celebrating the Last Day of Unleavened Bread for 2020 amidst the pandemic named COVID-19 aka Coronavirus. It is very different this year because of staying at home and attending church services on-line. Social isolation is not for everyone. How are you doing? This time last year I took the whole week off work to withdraw from the world like I do for the annual Feast of Tabernacles which occurs later on during the year in September/October. It was a good decision made as I gained more spiritually than I would have otherwise. This is what I had planned to do again this year and, God willing, every subsequent year for the rest of my life, or so I thought, however God had other plans for me. I have worked from home some of the time but only about half of what would be achieved usually as I am finding that there are many distractions here including our kitty cat which likes to sit on my keyboard! It has been rather relaxing nevertheless and there have been some valuable lessons to learn that are unique to this time...more on this later.
While celebrating Sabbaths, high holy days and seasons like Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, God sees the choices we make while we are by ourselves at home without brethren present. Do we relax a little and wear slippers while sitting on the comfy sofa while attending a service? I did, but then felt guilty about it and made sure I wore my best shoes the following week. It is easy to get very comfortable at home. To my amazement one individual commented on Facebook with “bet some will wear pyjamas to watch the service”. While I cannot imagine doing this unless seriously ill, we simply should not say that we never will. My experience through life has been that if I say I will never do something, I then find myself actually doing that very thing, quite astonished but acutely aware of how God can bring the exact same circumstance into being. We must watch our thoughts and words very carefully and examine why we do what we do.
In amongst all the information out there relating to this pandemic we know that not all we are told is true or accurate. Realising that lies, deception and wickedness abound in the world, we understand that God allows this for now as Satan, the fallen angel, is fully demonic despite disguising himself as a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15), or as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He has temporary rulership over humanity but this will not last...it serves God’s purpose for now. The only people the devil does not receive worship from are us, the firstfruits, the elect, who keep God’s 7 annual holy festivals including the weekly Sabbath. We were once blinded and deceived until we were rescued by God from the deception that currently saturates this world. It is hard for us to see our friends and loved ones deceived to what is going on in this world, but for now we know they will eventually have their opportunity in God’s time, which will be the best for them. I need to regularly remind myself it is simply not their time now.
For all of us Christians who keep the Sabbath, the time is right now, straight away, today, not a moment to lose, to get ready for what is to come. We will need to draw from scripture to understand God’s will for us when things become really “pear shaped” — and that time is fast approaching. Most importantly we will not be able to do that unless we are reading daily to draw from the refreshing waters of God’s Word. Some will become dreadfully stressed, worried and confused about events around them because they have not sensed the urgency for Christ’s return — they have not been listening and heeding the warnings from God’s Holy Spirit. These are the ones who have fallen asleep thinking it is far off. The others are drowsy but can be shaken up to awake from their comfortable lives. We know that the return of Jesus Christ will happen with absolute surety, therefore we must be ready, otherwise we will fiercely regret that we did not prepare. This cannot be overemphasized too much as that is how important it is. Here is a list of some recent lessons learned…
Getting Practically Active By Activating God’s Spirit In 7 Ways
1. Daily preparation means not one day is to be lost in diligent preparation to get ourselves ready for the troubling times ahead. Currently we are experiencing the beginnings of how things will change in the world where Christians will be persecuted. We may not like to think about this to any degree but it will happen as we see these words prophesied in our Bibles.
2. Spiritual preparation means reading, studying, praying, meditating, going to God and developing an extremely close relationship. If you haven’t already done so sit down and map out each day of the week to maximise your time which will ensure you have a plan in place — make it a sustainable plan where you can be the most productive. There was once a time where I was spiritually weak yet physically strong. These attributes are now reversed as studying is more pleasant than physical exercise to me. We need to do both.
3. Physical preparation means building your immune system up with daylight time outdoors for vitamin D and healthy exercise such as a half hour walk in the local park. If you can walk for an hour, even better. If you cannot walk more than 10 minutes, then build upon this a minute each day or a minute each week, anything productive in order to be moving forward with success. God sees your efforts and will bless you. The main thing is to be willing and get out there to show Him your temple is being repaired. We are in a war, brethren. If I had the choice, I used to want to be in the grave, one place of safety out of the way from end time events such as The Tribulation. That was the wrong attitude. God has done some work with me over the past decade or so and now I choose to fight by wanting to remain alive to help others or in any way God can use me. This is utterly remarkable to me and I marvel at how God works...so brilliant, so perfect!
4. Each and every decision is important. The devil is very delighted when we compromise which is so easy to do, especially when stressed or out of our comfort zone. Don’t let him tell you to indulge in a “little bit of sin” because this is a trap and you want no part of it if you are fully alert and paying attention. Get out of his clutches quickly and put on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). Run for your life to higher ground where you can take shelter (Proverbs 18:10, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 31:20, Isaiah 25:4, Jeremiah 16:19, and Psalm 91 in all its splendid entirety).
5. It is easy to slide back into the ways of the world once the holy days have been celebrated and it takes a planned and concerted effort not to. Being haphazard or just letting things happen day to day will not get any of us to where we need to be. Start out small if this helps and add another item to your daily “must do” list each day and weekly. These items pertain to both spiritual and physical preparation with balance; prioritise spiritual over physical so the most important needs are met first.
6. Between now and the next holy season of Pentecost, why not write up a schedule of events spanning 50 days. Day 1-30 may look like this...Day 1 read Proverbs 1, Psalms 1 and chapter 1 from any book of the Bible you like. Try to build a little each day, add in a sermon off the member’s site. Get prepared for Pentecost...there are so many ways you can boost or supercharge your knowledge and wisdom which will have a flow on effect in helping others.
7. Last but not least...use your talents in making this challenge fun! For those of us who are artistic you could make up a laminated colourful planner such as a chart to place on the fridge door — one for the adults, one for the kiddies! They will love it. Perhaps have random acts of kindness on slips of paper in a glass jar...get the kids involved to think of ideas and write them up...if they cannot write, get them to draw a small picture such as feeding the dog, getting the mail out of the letterbox, making their bed, picking up toys, giving a hug...anything they can reasonably manage.
So get energised and on board with nurturing God’s Holy Spirit between each holy day season to counteract the effects of worry, boredom, stress, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness and lack of control while in mandatory lockdown. It will make all the difference as a positive attitude is exactly what we all need to ensure that our precious possession of diligence from Proverbs 12:27 is valued. If we fill up on truth, goodness, and kindness there will be no room in our hearts for lies, deception and wickedness.