Touch the keypad on the gas pump. Hold onto a rail going down stairs. Turn a doorknob. These simple everyday tasks now are accompanied with dread. Could I be contaminated?

We are afraid of our own human biology. Lysol and liquid soap are indispensable to cleanse and keep healthy.  We are cautious about what touches us.

In Mark 7, Jesus addresses a group people who were preoccupied with washing their hands and cups but ignored washing their spiritual lives. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, he says

‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ (Mk 7:6–7, Isa 29:13).

While we worry about this current pandemic which threatens to kill millions, we take for granted a pandemic that already exists killing millions upon tens of millions every year.

The whole human race is infected with the disease of sin. The effects of this disease are real and costly. Sin is destructive and deadly ruining lives and killing people in its wake, but we live with it. Humanity makes all kinds of rules with the illusion that we can manage sin.

We see the effects of sin in poverty and famine, war and street violence, in disease and pandemics, in crime and corruption, in broken families and mentally ill people, and in unbelief and despair. Hardly an affliction in this life exists that cannot be said to be the result of sin contamination. Sadly, this contamination has affected every human being. We are all infected and polluted with sin. Jesus addresses each of directly about our infection.

Jesus went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.  For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mk 7:20–23)

While we deal with this COVID-19 infection, I pray we will recognize this greater infection. The amazing good news is that Jesus took on our infection. He came to embody our sin who had never known sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). He bore in his body our affliction, took on the curse of this infection so we could be cured of sin (Isaiah 53:4-7). For this we give God all the praise and honor. As Christ has conquered sin, death and the devil he gives us new life.

Beloved, you have been uncontaminated!  While we deal with the biological disease, let us rest assured and draw hope from Christ who has delivered us from our spiritual disease.

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)

As we know Christ has conquered let us lift up our prayers in hope that God will deliver us from this global affliction.

“LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.” ~ Isaiah 33:2

Pastor Douglas

Almost 500 years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther wrote about responding to pandemics. When Luther was asked about how to deal with The Black Death Plague, he responded in words that should serve to inform our approach to the pandemic crisis our nation and the world is now facing today.

In a letter “Whether one may flee from a Deadly Plague” to Rev. Dr. John Hess, Luther writes:

“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence.

If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others.

If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash no foolhardy and does not tempt God.” (1)

Today in the 21st century, the faithful should go and do likewise.

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 30:17)

~ Pastor Douglas

(1) Luther’s Works, Volume 43 p. 132,

The Psalms are the prayerful songs of the Old Testament. These are always a good source of faith, comfort and praise. This morning I read through Psalm 86.

 Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. (Ps 86:1)

We cry out to God because even when we think we have everything, we are spiritually bankrupt, poor and needy.

Consider also how this Wuhan Flu will disproportionately affect the poor and needy around the globe. During this crazy pandemic the poor and needy are struggling. They may not have the resources to hoard three months of food. So if you know someone who is less well off, consider ways you can help them. One way is to give food and money to the local food pantry.

Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. (Ps 86:2)

Look to the One who has the real power to guard your life. Put your faith and trust in the LORD God. More than Costco or the CDC trust in the Lord. Cry out to him. Pray to him all day long.

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. (Ps 86:5)

Remember the character of our God. Celebrate that the one to whom we call is faithful. The Lord is forgiving, even though we go after other gods and do not give our worship (Rom 12:1). Our God who overflows with so much love that he sent his one and only Son is ready to respond to our prayers.

When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me. (Ps 86:7)

We all are in distress during this crisis. Right now I don’t have just one family “in the hospital or sick”, everyone of my families is “in the hospital”. I am calling on God for each and every family. Trusting in God whose hands are far more powerful and gracious than my weak and feeble hands.

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. (Ps 86:11).

We are all going through a Lent like no other! We are all being called to rely upon God in new and deeper ways. Lent has been imposed on us to pray, to read scripture, to give to the needy, to worship. I hope all of us learn a new and deeper way of following God.

For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. (Ps 86:13)

We are filled with fear and panic. Not because we are afraid of catching a cold. As we are filled with fear over this Wuhan Flu we should look to the LORD God Almighty. For not even death can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus (Rom 8:39). God has rescued us from death.

Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. (Ps 86:17)

Our ultimate enemy in all of this is Satan who is always trying to steal our joy and rob us of our faith in God. Our enemy seeks to kill and destroy. But we have received a sign of God’s blessings. We have the sign of the Cross through which Jesus Christ crushed sin, death and hell underfoot! Praise God! Amen.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” ~ Psalms 73:26

Pastor Douglas

In the 1^st century Corinthian church the believers were irritated with each other over eating meat that had been offered to idols. The meat was heavily discounted and since idols have no real importance, why not? But other believers thought it was wrong to have anything to do with an idol sacrifice. To eat the meat was to partake in the idol’s feast. Christians accused the others of being unfaithful to God.

Rather than just discount meat, we have a beef about worship practices that could make someone we love sick. We know that with COVID-19 disease the elderly and the immune compromised are at greater risk. They could die. The risk for the average American is very low, but we could transmit it to someone is higher risk. This is more than simply idol barbeque.

I have read some Christians suggest that if people still meet, they are breaking the 5^th commandment against killing. While I think this is extreme, I do believe we have an obligation to limit our exposure to this disease.  Some members of our church are deciding to stay home to protect themselves or loved ones from the disease.

Some Christians are struggling with this crisis in other ways and desire the strength that comes from being in worship. They intend to follow safe practices. We trust that Christ is present with us where 2 or 3 gather in His name and rely on his presence in times like this. (Mt 18:20, Heb 10:23-25).

All of us are bumbling our way through this crisis. After this crisis ends – which we are all unsure when that will happen – we will need to come back together as a community in Christ. We will need to understand people had different perspectives on their faith. We all need to remember we are united in Christ as Concordia Lutheran Church, where we are “of one heart and mind in Christ” (Phil 2:2, 4:1).

Do not become a stumbling block to the weak. Neither of these approaches is weak. Each has merit. Paul said the measure of our actions was not how much knowledge we had, but our care for our brother and sister in Christ. Christ died for our fellow believer. They are of ultimate value because they have been purchased with the blood of Christ. We cannot out bid Jesus, so we better love and respect his children.

I can tell you that the leaders and myself are assessing the situation day by day. We are trying to minister to everyone in our congregation during this pandemic. We are considering what is safe and prudent to do as recommended by health officials while at the same time continuing to honor God above else.

Our one constant through all of this is the Lord.

“There is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” (1 Cor 8:6)

I encourage you to take the time you have at home to read God’s word and to pray.

“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”   (3 Jn 2)

Pastor Douglas

What do we do when we are feeling desperate? Do you continue just to put your head down and soldier on?

In Mark 5:21-43 we meet two people at the end of their resources. A father whose daughter is so sick she is dying. He has done all he can. He has prayed. He is desperate.

Even though it is ignoble or embarrassing he throws himself at Jesus’ feet. HE’s done pretending it is gonna get better. He begs. He pleads. “Please come.” Please come and put your hands upon my dying daughter.” “Please come so she will be healed and live.”

Will you beg and plead for Jesus. Will put yourself at his feet and ask for his healing? We are surrounded by the fear of death right now. Will you ask in prayer, on your knees?

As they make their way to the house where the daughter in dying, a desperate woman reaches out to touch Jesus’ cloak. All around people are pressing on Jesus out of curiosity and novelty. She reaches to him in desperation for healing. She has spent all she has to restore her health. She is literally and slowly bleeding to death.

Jesus knows who reaches out to him in desperation. “Who touched me?”  Jesus knows who has given up on working it out themselves and reaches with a desperate faith. Desperate to trust God’s power even when we are filled with fear and doubt.

Just as Jesus had power to heal the desperate woman, just as he has power to raise the dying girl, Jesus Christ, your friend and Savior has power to work in your life – right now. He has power to free you from your suffering (v.34).

When fear and death appear to have won the day, when everyone has given up hope and abandoned themselves to despair, Jesus says to you, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (v.36)

Believe what?!!? Believe what in the midst of the crying and wailing that we see on the TV and amongst our facebook friends? Believe what in the midst of the crying and waling as people search for toilet paper and stock up on ammo?

“Don’t be afraid; just believe.”  Believe in Christ alone. Believe in the one and only Son of God who gave himself as a ransom for a world sick with sin. Believe beyond your fear, beyond your doubts. Cling to your desperate trust in God like that woman that grabbed the cloak.

Don’t be afraid, just believe.

Pastor Douglas

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by a new form of coronavirus that started in Wuhan China. This is a form of the flu. As of March 12, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) says there are a total of 1220 cases and 36 deaths in the US. The World Health Organization reports that worldwide there are 119,00 confirmed cases and 4300 deaths, 70 percent of which are in China. The mortality rate for this disease is “estimated” to be less than 3% which includes part of the world with less health care (Less than 1% in countries with advanced medicine). Those who are elderly are most at risk as with any infectious disease.

CONSIDER:  The CDC estimates that in the US alone so far this 2019-2020 flu season there have been more than 34 million illnesses, 350,000 hospitalizations, and 20,000 deaths from the flu. The CDC estimates the seasonal flu kills 291,000 to 646,000 people worldwide each year. When Suspected Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) also known as the Bird Flu broke out in China in 2003 more than 8,000 people became sick. The global Mortality rate for SARS was 10%.

PREVENTION: COVID-19 should be taken seriously as a disease. The virus is able to last longer on hard surfaces.  So all of us should take precautions, especially for our sisters and brothers who are more susceptible to getting very sick.

• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. (Time of saying Lord’s prayer)
• Avoid touching nose, eyes, and mouth.
• Wipe down hard surfaces with disinfectants – like soap.
• Drink lots of fluids at all times, especially hot liquids.
• Stay home if you’re sick.
• Make sure you have a plan in case you get sick that includes a list of friends, or community health care workers who can help.

DO NOT FEAR:  If you see the hoarders and preppers buying all the toilet paper at the Costco’s you recognize this a mass panic. Where Americans seem can’t bond over the good, but we all join together in misery. That said, I believe governments, agencies and businesses are taking severe actions to try to stop the spread of this disease over the next 30 days.

As people of faith, we accept that illness and death is part of the human existence. But we have a God greater than all the war, plagues, and disasters of this life.

LIVING BY FAITH: Jesus encourages us not to be afraid, but to have faith. The one who has taken on all the forces of sin, death and the devil has overcome them.

• “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1:8
• “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2
• “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Pastor Douglas

We are all aware of the concern and fear surrounding the CoronaVirus. This Sunday, Kent Reimer, a physician assistant, will address this medical issue at each service.

We live in a society with very good health. While people contract illnesses and get sick with cancer, overall we enjoy a high standard of health. So when a pandemic like this strikes we are apprehensive. In our very interconnected global community various governments, businesses and other organizations are taking extreme action to limit the spread of the CoronaVirus.

But how shall we respond as a community of faith?

Christ’s bride the church has faced far severe tests and threats than this illness. The church has endured through plagues and pandemics, through economic depressions and riots, through war and persecution. The message of the Revelation even is that the Church is called to continue to witness to it’s trust in God even when it is beleaguered and harassed.

Not Meet? I know some congregations are not meeting. I am sorry to hear this. I recognize that large congregations may need to find different ways of worshipping together, but the vast majority (80%)of congregations average less than 250 in worship. We are missing something when let fear of our own biology drive us apart.

Koinonia: The Christian faith is not an individualistic endeavor. Christ himself teaches us that we are a community, a body in Christ. Whereas some religions and philosophies encourage isolation, the very name of the Church in the bible is Community (Koinonia).  By our gathering together we give witness to our hope in the light of God in spite of the darkness in the world.

I commend the following:

Pastoral Letter from Bishop Dan Selbo, North American Lutheran Church.

C.S. Lewis on the Coronavirus

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I invite and invite. I pray and pray. I hope all my people will gather in the presence of Christ Jesus. Sadly many Christians see Sunday worship as a burden or an obligation.

Unfortunately they see worship as a hindrance to their harried and hurried lives. They don’t see the riches of heaven being poured out for them.

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27–28).

Sabbath worship is a gift from God to you. In the Sabbath time of Sunday worship, God promises to give us rest.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,  he refreshes my soul. (Psalm 23:1–3).

In Sabbath worship, Christ speaks to us in the WORD and gives us the Word of life.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36).

In Sabbath worship, Christ gives us himself that we would be nourished.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35).

Sunday worship is a gift for you. You were not made to go through Sabbath worship as a hurdle and obstacle course. The Sabbath was made for you to give you rest, relief, nourishment, joy, and made rich in Christ.

Can you receive the gift of Sabbath Christ has for you?

When I first moved to the Central Valley of California I was overwhelmed to see fruit trees in people’s yards. To see orange trees, grapefruit trees, peach trees, lemon trees and even avocado trees in people’s yard was amazing to me. I know I am not the only newcomer amazed by the bountiful blessing just sitting outside a front door.

To those who come from other places where fruit can only be found at a price in the supermarket, the bounty of free fruit is a deal too good to pass up. The free gift of ripe fruit!

After moving here I was talking with friends back in Texas who came Fresno about my astonishment of all the free fruit. They said I would be welcome to pick fruit at her mother’s house. So I made arrangements to go over to pick oranges. Her gracious mother even provided a ladder for me. I picked bags and bags of oranges. Too many oranges.

Now that I have lived here for four years I feel foolish for climbing into that tree when there is so much fruit around here; an overwhelming abundance of fruit everywhere. Now that I have lived here four years I take the free gift of ripe fruit for granted.

Blowing Off A Free Gift: Unfortunately as Christians we too take the free gift of grace in Christ Jesus for granted. Even though we get lost in overwhelming darkness and choke the scarcity of life, we have received “God’s abundant provision of grace” (Rom 5:17).  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”(Eph 2:8)

• How is it that we feel that “the boundless riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8) poured out on the cross for us can be taken for granted?
• How is it that we become blind and indifferent to “the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7) ?

The unspiritual perspective of life is what blinds us to the wonder of fresh grace. For this reason we are each called into the community of faith to be reminded to celebrate the gift we take for granted. Paul reminds the people in the Corinthian church how God is constantly showers us with all spiritual blessing:

 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.  For in him you have been enriched in every way . . . God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.  Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. (1 Cor 1:4-7)

More than Citrus Pulp:  This free gift of grace, this free gift of new life, comes to us every moment from the Lord. This free gift of grace is a miracle of God’s love poured out for you in the cross of Christ. The best way to savor the riches of this grace is to see Christ more in your every day life.

“May Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through knowing God, and of Jesus our Lord.” (2 Peter 1:2)

Your friend in Christ, Pastor Douglas