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

The people who make the biggest impact on us are the people in our family, for good or bad. God created us to be in family and intends for family to bless us in our development and to protect us against the brokenness of this world.

We all know families are not perfect. Every family goes through incredible struggles. The challenge is that these struggles become opportunities for us to grow in character and faithfulness. If we want to learn how to have a healthy family life, looking at Jesus is a good start.

In Luke we hear the story of how Jesus is at the temple as a 12 year old boy (Luke 2:40-52). His family went to worship together as was their custom. Did you catch that?  Jesus’ family had a custom of going to worship together. Joseph his father took Jesus and his siblings to worship. If we want to be followers of Jesus, we should imitate what his family did.

After the festival worship, the family begins their trek back home, but Jesus stayed behind.

Now as crazy as this sounds, I want to assure you that it is not. One time Richard got left behind at church. I don’t know where he was doddling around, but his mother and I took separate cars. Drove home. Walked into the house by separate doors and assumed the boy was home and up in his room. I was flabbergasted when a father and his son dropped off Richard at our door asking if the boy belonged to me. Yes, I am a bad father.

So, Jesus got himself left behind because he was excitedly hanging out with the rabbinical teachers. HE was sitting with them and listening to them talk about the great deeds of God in the lives of God’s people. He was asking questions about the scripture passages. And in the form of good teaching, they were asking him questions to elicit the answers to his questions. Luke tells us everyone who heard the 12 year old Jesus were amazed at his understanding of the LORD and His ways.

Typically we blow this off thinking, “Well, he is the Son of God. He came down from heaven with all this scriptural knowledge downloaded on his hard drive.” But that is not the true answer.

We affirm that Jesus was born as a human baby. We know human babies are not born with knowledge. All the knowledge we have we learn. We learn through observation and experience. And much of what we know we learn by being taught. Which begs the question – who taught Jesus?

While Jesus had a thirst to seek God, who taught Jesus about the LORD and His scriptures?  Mary and Joseph and the people at his local synagogue or church.

Well, if this is true for Jesus. If Jesus needed to be taught by his family and church friends to know the deep truths about God, isn’t that true for you?  Isn’t that true for your children and grand children?

Our church, Concordia, is dedicated to equipping moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, and the whole family to share and grow in the faith.

“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the LORD my savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” Psalm 25:5

Investing in Eternal Futures,                                                                                                         Pastor Douglas

• Are all the Christmas feast leftovers eaten up?
• Are all the sweets consumed?
• Did all the returns get returned?

The holidays have wound down. Maybe you are using this time to veg out and regroup before the schedule kicks in again.

Making the journey across from Persia to Judea was the three wise men and their entourage. The wise men gave gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh. Gifts worthy of the King of kings. Most of all they gave the gift of their time. They took the time to trek across the region to visit with the newborn king. They employed their time to be in the presence of the Christ child.

I want to encourage you to take this Sunday to restart your journey of faith.

Take time to restart your spiritual schedule. Don’t let yourself just be swept up in the busyness of everyday task.

Join the wisemen in giving your gift of worship to the newborn king, the redeemer of your soul.

Who then can be saved?

In Matthew 19 a young rich man comes to Jesus in the asks what he must do to have eternal life. He details the way he has followed God’s law and then Jesus encourages him to give to the poor. But the young man goes away disheartened because he had great wealth.

Jesus than announces how hard it will be for the rich who are supposed to be blessed by the Lord to get into the kingdom of heaven. He says it would be easier for a camel to go through a night of a needle than for the rich enter the kingdom of heaven.

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  – Matthew 19:25–26

The disciples did not ask how then can the rich be saved. They asked how anyone can be saved. The answer Jesus gives is critical for us to hear. It is impossible for human beings to save them selves and get them selves into the kingdom of heaven on their own efforts. But with God all things are possible. But with God even those who are sinners can be saved!

For Christ came to save sinners.

Christ is the only one who can.

Luke 5:32 – I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

1 Timothy 1:15 – Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

One of the greatest outcomes of your faith is the gift of Joy. More than happiness in circumstances, Joy buoys your life through the mountains and valleys, the ups and downs.

Joy, abiding joy, is not something the world can give. Joy is one of the gifts of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). You have joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17)

“You will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”( John 16:22)

The very calling of God’s people is to be people who are filled with joy. Repeatedly you are encouraged to sing for joy, (Isa 43:23, Ps 98:8, 1 Chron 16:33, + 124 references) Or you are commended to shout for joy. (Isa 54:1, Ps 100:1-2, Isa 49:13, + 104 references)  For those who are in a right relationship with God, joy is a blessing God gives. “The prospect of the righteous is joy.” (Proverbs 10:28)

Joy strengthens you to face each and every day, no matter what it brings. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:18)  “For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)   The very example having joy in the face of adversity is your Lord Jesus. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) . Even in the midst of hardships, your joy grounded in God remains. (Hebrews 10:34, James 1:2)

Your joy springs from our relationship with Christ Jesus. The angels proclaim that the birth of Jesus will “cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)

In the life of believers, joy is natural result of having received salvation. Irrelevant of whatever other circumstances are happening in your life the joy comes on account of what Christ has done for you. When the disciples encountered the risen Lord, they worshipped him and returned to their lives “with great joy.” (Luke 24:52)

Joy comes because God is victorious over all your adversaries. Joy belongs to you because you belong to Christ and he has overcome sin, death and the devil. Jesus has spoken his good news into your life “so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)  Christ gives you a joy in Him that no one and no circumstance can take away.

“You will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”( John 16:22)

May Heavenly Father, the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Christ, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Pastor Douglas

In our day and age, Dystopian novels and movies are common from Orwell’s 1984 to Blade Runner to Mad Max movies to even Disney’s Wall-e. We are overwhelmed with the perception that humanity is not progressing, but regressing. Dystopias are often characterized by dehumanization, totalitarian governments, ruthless mega-corporations, environmental disaster, or other characteristics associated with a dramatic decline in society.

The Book of Revelation is not a dystopian disaster but an unfolding of God’s magnanimous grace in a world of brokenness, wickedness and outright evil rebellion.  “Revelation is about an exile and the visions which John describes for the benefit of seven churches, about a throne and a scroll, seals, trumpets, and bowls, horsemen, locusts, and scorpions, a dragon and a monster, two women, one clothed in heavenly, the other in earthly finery, and two cities, the one worldly and the other not of this world.” (The Revelation of St. John the Divine,  G. B. Caird)

Luther and the End of Days

In the early days of the Reformation in 1520, Luther wrote to a friend: “I am convinced the last day is at the door.” He stressed this again 20 years later: “it is the last hour.” He believed that Jesus Christ would return soon, destroy the old creation, and usher in a new heavenly earth. Luther could not have conceived of the earth still existing in our day, 500 years after the launch of the Reformation. At in his time, he was convinced that the world “could not last another hundred years.” As we are bombarded with atrocious and ridiculous news we might think the same.

Martin Luther saw many signs for the imminent return of the Lord Jesus in his time. He believed that most of the prophecies given by Jesus Christ and the apostles were being fulfilled in his day. We could look back in our smugness and say that Luther was mistaken; one might even smile about his seeming ignorance. But that attitude would not be justified, because our Lord will definitely come back one day. Luther often said Christ will come “when one has forgotten about it.”

Pastor Luther was sincerely convinced that his interpretation of the end times was in agreement with God’s Word. He saw his world full of “examples of God’s wrath and judgment.” To him, humanity seemed ripe for the Day of the Lord—that is, the day when Jesus Christ returns to judge the world and to establish a new righteous earth. We probably feel the same way?  Luther saw himself as an end-time prophet like Noah.

Waiting for Jesus Christ can never be wrong; rather, it is a duty for every believer. Luther fulfilled this duty. Luther thought the gospel was spreading as never before.   Rather than our lives bearing the mark of the beast and Satan, our heads and hands, our thoughts and actions should bear the imprint of God on our lives (Deut 6:4-9, cf. Rev 13:16-17)

When asked what he would do if the LORD’S day was tomorrow, he responded, “If I knew that tomorrow was the end of the world, I would plant an apple tree today!”

The end of all things is not a rupture with the present age. It is its fulfillment. That sapling will have time to grow in the eschaton — indeed, all the time in the world. Deeds of hope begun now will flower in eternity.

Come join us each week as we explore the powerful message of Hope in the Book of Revelation.

May your ears hear what the Spirit is saying.

Pastor Douglas