Category Archives: devotional

Remember Who We Are, June 8, 20202

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

I hope this week will not be like last week. I hope things settle down and the looting, riots, and violence that accompanied the protests over the apparent racial injustice across the country. The swift action of the protestors bothered me as the demonstrations began before investigators and prosecutors even had time to make their case. I trust justice will prevail as courts review the evidence, and a jury of the officers’ peers make decisions about their guilt or innocence.

We need to stop the violence from both sides. Burning cars, breaking windows, looting stores only adds to the illusion that violence requires violence for resolution. But that never works. It only escalates the violent actions from both sides, and innocent people suffer because of it. Certainly, there must be better ways to solve the issues facing the nation than burning down the land where we live and work and raise our children. The destruction makes no sense.

As always, in these situations, we forget that except for the amount of melanin residing in the melanocytes in the epidermis, we are the same. The more melanin, the darker our skin tone. We all have about the same number of melanocytes; it’s just how much melanin those cells produce. Do an autopsy on any of us and cut through that epidermis, and we all look the same inside. Our hearts are in the same place. Our lungs look and operate in the same way. Our stomachs and intestines don’t need different roadmaps to find them based on race or color of our skin. We are very much the same inside.

So why do we become so obsessed with the color of someone’s skin? I think because there is usually something we don’t like about ourselves, so we need to find a way to think ourselves better than them. Whether black, white, yellow, brown, red, or purple, I want to overlook my faults, and to do that, I find fault in those not like me. In Viet Nam, we fought Gooks, not Vietnamese. In Desert Storm, the enemy was ragheads, not Iraqi soldiers or the ancestors of the proud Persian people. In every war, we make the enemy something less than human to make it easier to engage them.

Unfortunately, we have done the same across the world and now within our nation. We are setting ourselves up to destroy ourselves internally in a kind of civil war that has yet to identify precisely how the combatant will align. Politics divide us deeper than in our nearly 250-year history. It is almost impossible to hear a middle ground in any debate anymore. Politics exists only in the far-left and far-right extremes today.

The same seems true as we divide economically. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, our laws support the division of family groups into a widening gap between the rich and poor with fewer considered middle-class. And laws designed to assist the poor, instead keep them below the poverty line and encourage the dissolution of family units or their financial situation would become even worse. While we do all of this, our elected officials make themselves fat at our expense with a national debt impossible to pay. Divided equally, to pay our national debt, every American from the oldest to the youngest now owes about $70,000 each. Any of us handling our personal bank accounts the same way Congress handles our taxes would face imprisonment for fraud, theft, or embezzling. We can’t keep spending what we will never earn.

So how do we fix the mess we created for ourselves over the last several decades? First, we need to remember who we are from the start. Look back at the beginning to see a description of how we began and our responsibilities in this place called Earth. You’ll find it in the very first chapter of Genesis, the beginning.

26 Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our image to resemble us so that they may take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling things on earth.”

27 God created humanity in God’s own image,
in the divine image God created them,[a]
male and female God created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and master it. Take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, and everything crawling on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I now give to you all the plants on the earth that yield seeds and all the trees whose fruit produces its seeds within it. These will be your food. 30 To all wildlife, to all the birds in the sky, and to everything crawling on the ground—to everything that breathes—I give all the green grasses for food.” And that’s what happened. 31 God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good.

There was evening and there was morning: the sixth day. (Genesis 1:26-31 CEB)

We see in these verses; God made all of us. He also gave us the responsibility to care for everything else he created. I think that includes each other. It doesn’t mean coddle, but nurture, teach, bring to maturity. I see that command in Jesus last words to His disciples before He ascended into heaven after His resurrection when He said:

“I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 CEB)

Go into all the world doesn’t leave anyone out. It includes every place, every continent, every people, every race. Teaching them everything He taught goes back to the beginning of time. Be the people God intended you to be. Take care of this place. Take care of each other. Extend mercy and grace to each other. Demonstrate God’s love to one another. Let everyone know the importance of every human life because each one mirrors God’s image, the creator of the universe. Within us lives the spark of God’s creative genius and His breath of life.

How should we treat each other? The videos dominating social media and the news over the last several days clearly demonstrate how not to live. Fortunately, we do not live in North Korea or under Sharia Law. If we did, those looters and demonstrators from the several last days would be summarily executed in front of our courthouses after kangaroo trials. Those reporting the incidents without trying to stop the violence would probably face imprisonment or worse as well.

We still live in a land of opportunity. We must pause and take a hard look at ourselves. Some of our authorities clearly stepped over the line in recent days, but not all of them. Most of our law enforcement and first responders serve proudly without prejudice protecting all citizens’ rights and property. Most deserve our respect and honor. We need a better way to find and root out the bad actors and punish them when they abuse their authority. But as in any community, that percentage of bad actors is small, just as the number of violent actors in the recent protests represented a small percentage of those present.

We must be careful not to let the small percentage of bad actors prejudice our judgment against a community, whether a race of people, a police department, a government agency, or a nation. A few bad actors do not represent the whole. In our haste to stereotype, may God stop us and remind us He made everything very good. We are the ones who damaged His creation, but with His help, we can also restore it in many ways. Before thinking everyone is like the few in the news or social media, remember, God made us all, and He makes all things good.

Then turn to Paul’s last words to the church in Corinth. Listen to his warning to them:

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, good-bye. Put things in order, respond to my encouragement, be in harmony with each other, and live in peace—and the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Say hello to each other with a holy kiss.^[^a^] All of God’s people say hello to you.

¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:11-13 CEB)

If we work to put things in order, respond to encouragement, be in harmony with each other, and live in peace – the God of love and peace will overshadow us. The violence will end. The prejudice will stop. We will become the people God made us to be. I urge you to let His word sink into your heart instead of the political vitriol that pours through the media in the next days.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Not a Big Splash, June 1, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

If you are like me, you probably can’t help but read at least some of the news every day about what’s happening around the world with this pandemic. Here we are with over 100,000 deaths in the US. It’s a little hard to believe something like this would happen in our lifetime with all the advancements in medical care, but we face it every day. And the end still reaches out in front of us with a predicted second wave in just a few short months.

I’m encouraged by some of the news, though. I read a few stories about celebrities giving hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars to feed those less fortunate. Those left without jobs as a result of businesses closing to stem the tide of the viral spread. It’s great to see those stories sneak into the overwhelming number of bad news articles of gloom and doom that bombard us every day.

What I find most fascinating from today’s news, though, is the almost total absence of the little things that neighbors and strangers do in small ways to help each other in this crisis. We tout the big splash people we don’t expect to share their wealth when they do so but never talk about the millions of those who generously share every day, easing the suffering of those around them.

As an associate pastor, I get to watch the actions of my church and its members as they share their lives. A food pantry serves almost four hundred families a week with dry goods, produces, and baked items for a family of four. Hopefully, we will be able to again open the clothing pantry, job assistance, and life skills classes like GED completion when some of the social separation restrictions ease.

I see stories of members making meals for shut-ins, providing contact and comfort for those who have lost friends and loved ones, and cannot grieve as we could before the COVID restrictions in hospital and funeral settings. I hear about drive-by birthday parties and graduation celebrations. I watch zoom groups connect just to share with each other and make sure we are all okay mentally and physically throughout the week. Food at a neighbor’s door. A yard randomly mowed. Flowers left on a doorstep. Cards zipping through the mail. Tokens of gratitude showing up through Amazon deliveries. Dozens of small, seemingly insignificant acts that brighten the day of another person that extends the love of Christ.

Those names will never make the news. Their acts of kindness will go unnoticed by the general public. CNN will not put a camera or a microphone in front of them and marvel at their generosity and splash their picture across the Mega Screen in Times Square. But God takes not of every act we do. Paul enumerates the responsibilities of those reborn in his letter to the church in Rome.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;

Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; (Romans 8:9-16 NIV)

One word sums up our responsibility. Love. Jesus gave us two commands that engulf the rest of what we should do as citizens of his kingdom. Love God and love others. That’s it. He went on to say we can’t love God, who we can’t see, if we don’t love others we can see.

The unusual conditions we face today present an incredible opportunity for Christians to show what it means to love God. Loving him means we must love others, too. Jesus said it. He understood it and demonstrated it for the thirty-plus years he lived with us. We certainly make mistakes in how we present ourselves as Christians from time to time, but now is an excellent time just to show those around us that we care.

Find ways to connect. Take a meal to a neighbor and leave it on their doorstep. Ring the bell and go. We don’t need credit for doing God’s work. We don’t need our names in the paper or CNN showing up. All I care about is that my name is written in the Book of Life. But because of everything he has done for me, doesn’t he deserve my giving something in return?

It’s interesting when you look at some statistics. Congress continually talks about wanting to help those in need through legislation and programs. The average income in the Senate is just over $2M a year and in the House, just over $1.5M a year. Yet their charitable giving according to their tax records average less than 2%. So I guess they just want to help with our money, not theirs. Because middle-income charitable giving hovers closer to 10%, I sometimes wonder where our elected officials’ hearts are. Do they really want to help, or do they want to get votes from those with a heart to help? It does raise an interesting question.

Should we look at Paul’s description of our responsibilities again? Perhaps it will encourage you to be different in this new normal we face. Some things have changed for the better because of our separation from the hustle and bustle of life. Maybe we can focus on what we should do as the body of Christ as some of the constraints lift in the coming days. Listen again and let Paul’s words settle not just in your mind and heart, but in your hands and feet as you daily work as for the Lord.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;

Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; (Romans 8:9-16 NIV)

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

Look for Blessings, May 23, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
As this podcast comes out, we celebrate Memorial Day in the United States. A time to remember servicemen and women who have fallen in service to our country. But the day has become more of an extra day for sales in retail stores and the day that marks the opening of parks and recreation facilities than a day of remembrance.
Perhaps this year will be a little. Most of the country still suffers under severe economic strain, so we don’t have a lot of money to spend, no matter how good the sales might be. Some parks and facilities could open, but remain closed due to the constraints placed on them. Beaches opened in most places, but many remain empty for fear of viral spread.
This year is different in many ways. Doors stay shut. Everyone remains at double-arms length. Masks are not just a fashion statement, but protection against an unseen enemy.
Perhaps we can take time this Memorial Day to think about those who put themselves in harm’s way to protect us. As we continue to struggle through these uncertain days with the Corona-SARS-2 virus wreaking havoc around the world, thousands stand in the gap for us trying to make sense of the disease and stop the flood of sick and dying.
Memorial Day has always been about the Armed Forces in the past. Still, I don’t think it would be out of line to remember the first responders and medical professionals that work tirelessly to keep us as healthy as possible under these incredible conditions as well. Having served in the Army Medical Department, many of my friends and acquaintances still serve in those most dangerous areas, putting their lives at risk for us. Many of those professionals not only suffered the effects of the disease, but as you know, some succumbed to its effects and passed away. They, too, died for their fellow man, just as soldiers and sailors, airmen and marines.
Peter wrote to early Christians suffering under the hands of persecutors. In his letter, he encourages them to rejoice. He wrote:

Dear friends, don’t be surprised about the fiery trials that have come among you to test you. These are not strange happenings. Instead, rejoice as you share Christ’s suffering. You share his suffering now so that you may also have overwhelming joy when his glory is revealed. If you are mocked because of Christ’s name, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory—indeed, the Spirit of God—rests on you.
And later.
Therefore, humble yourselves under God’s power so that he may raise you up in the last day. Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you. Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Do so in the knowledge that your fellow believers are enduring the same suffering throughout the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, empower, strengthen, and establish you. To him be power forever and always. Amen. 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 CE

I think the longer we endure this pandemic, the more anxious people become. It’s natural. We want it to be over. We want to believe science can create a pill or vaccine or something that will take this thing away. Aren’t we smart enough with all our genomic studies, our ability to conquer space, our ability to clone a sheep – aren’t we able to defeat this simple virus?
The answer is…maybe. Scientists are working to change a seven to ten-year approval process into a twelve to eighteen-month process. That skips a lot of policies and procedures the government put in place over the years for our protection. I know it sounds like a lot of bureaucracy and a waste of money. Through the years, those precautions saved a lot of lives, though. So we might get a vaccine in a few more months, but I won’t hold my breath.
I think I will listen to Peter’s encouragement. This suffering isn’t from God. He isn’t punishing the world for its evil. We punish ourselves. God is in the business of rescuing us from our sins. He sent his Son for just that purpose. The suffering we endure comes because Adam and Eve introduced disobedience and corruption into the cosmos and disrupted its perfect order. We contribute to that chaos and destruction with every passing generation.
But remember Peter’s words? “… don’t be surprised about the fiery trials that have come among you to test you. These are not strange happenings. 13 Instead, rejoice as you share Christ’s suffering. You share his suffering now so that you may also have overwhelming joy when his glory is revealed. … you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory—indeed, the Spirit of God—rests on you.”
We may not feel very blessed going through the pandemic separated from our friends and those we cherish. We might long for yesterday when we could go about freely and do as we pleased. We might shake our fist at God, asking why this tragedy sweeps around the world affecting so many of his children.
To your questions and complaints, you might hear his still, small voice in the whisper of the wind, “Rejoice as you share in your suffering now, so that you may have overwhelming joy when my Son’s glory is revealed. You are blessed, for my Spirit rests on you.”
In these uncertain times, recognize the blessings that surround you. God holds all of this in his hands and gives us hope even in the face of what may appear hopeless circumstances. Trust him, and as Paul exhorts us, “Rejoice in all things.” It’s not always easy, but in everything, we can find blessings from God. He loves us and has our best in mind, even when we can’t see it.
You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Scriptures marked CEB are taken from the COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE (CEB): Scriptures taken from the COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE copyright© 2011, 2012. Used by permission.

Discover God, May 18, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of the pandemic news. I don’t think it’s so much the news about the pandemic as it is the debate about who is at fault for the predicament we’re in economically and physically. Here we sit with unemployment at its highest since the Great Depression. That’s understandable with everyone locked in their homes. It’s hard to employ workers when businesses have no income because no one can come to their place of business to purchase goods and services.

So we try to help, and in so doing, put our economy in another tailspin by doubling our national debt with programs that I’m not sure help much. Bailouts that were supposed to provide small businesses funds for wages ran out of money within minutes. A $1,200 check to most adults barely covers groceries for a month these days—and then what? Democrats blame Republicans for delays. Republicans blame Democrats for delays. Neither party seems to recognize the real culprit in all of this drama is a new virus to which no one is immune. So it really doesn’t matter what either party says or does, we were in trouble from the start. Every decision was a bad decision. Pandemics are like that.

We lifted Germany and Singapore as the best models of how to avoid the spread of the virus. The spread appears to have been delayed at best. Their numbers have drastically increased in the last few weeks. So, I’m not sure anyone could do anything about what has happened. At best, we could flatten the curve as governors, and country leaders tried to do in various ways, some more successfully than others perhaps, but none have beat the bug.

The question I’ve been asking myself through these bad news stories is, what good can we find in this pandemic? One important thing I’ve discovered, our priorities changed quickly. Not many ask, “When will I see my football team play again?” Or complain about the dress code at school. Suddenly, those invisible people in factories and hospitals like the janitorial staff become heroes keeping us safe. Teachers and healthcare workers become more important in the eyes of the public than the multimillion-dollar movie stars and sports figures. We find out the researcher behind the microscope is much more important to us than the newscaster in front of the camera.

In the past, we made gods of the wrong people and the wrong things. In this country, wealth, fame, position, power, became gods to us. We worshipped these without saying so. These became the most valued things in our lives. The pandemic is the great equalizer for all of us, though. Wealth doesn’t keep you safe. Nor does fame or position or power. When the virus decides to strike, it will invade and destroy whomever it chooses.

Paul visited Athens in his missionary journeys and found the same problem there. The Athenians had more visible representations of their gods, but our worship of things other than the true and living God is no different than theirs. Here is what Paul had to say, recorded for us in the Book of Acts:

So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.

“The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

“God overlooks it as long as you don’t know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he’s calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:22-31 TM)

Perhaps in this pandemic, we can take some time to reflect on what is most important in our lives. Before we get back into the mad rush of life and everything opens up to a new normal, maybe we can take inventory of our before COVID life and ask ourselves, on what did I focus my attention? To what did I give my allegiance? What was most important to me if someone watched how I spent my time and my money? Could others see that I genuinely worshipped the God of all creation? Did my behavior show that He is more important to me than everything else in my life?

It’s not too late to figure out God is calling each of us to a radical life change. He wants to renew an intimate relationship with His highest creation. Jesus introduced Him as “Abba,” a close, personal term for father, like Daddy. But He also reminds us that Abba is the creator of all things, the Almighty, the Master of the Universe.

While we are enclosed in our homes, blocked from the rat race that consumed us before COVID, maybe it’s time to look for God. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek, but He is God and desires us to come to Him understanding who He is—God. When we find Him, when we worship Him, He brings to our hearts an indescribable joy and peace even in the middle of events such as these. Will He remove us from the pandemic? Probably not. We suffer alongside the rest of humanity, but we live with hope, and that’s the difference.

What is your god? Better yet, Who is your God? Discover Him while you have some time on your hands.

Scriptures marked TM are taken from the THE MESSAGE: THE BIBLE IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH (TM): Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE: THE BIBLE IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH, copyright©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group

You are His Temple, May 11, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We find it easy to think God doesn’t care when we see the devastation man and nature creates around us. Particularly in these times, when we huddle in our homes, afraid of each other. Afraid our neighbor will spread the virus to us. We live in fear today. What happened? In a few short months, we gave up the outdoors. We gave seeing each other. We gave up our extended families. We even gave up our ability to mourn.

I’m not sure God’s desire for us to love each other as He loves us looks favorably on what we have done to ourselves in these last several months. Certainly, we need to take precautions against this new disease about which we seem to know very little. But do we let fear stop our relationships? Do we allow anxiety to be the overwhelming emotion in our lives?

I think it is time we allow God’s rich legacy of peace to take over in our lives and our communities. As His children, we can offer something the rest of the world cannot. We can embrace life with an assurance of hope that a better day is coming. This short time of suffering is not the end, but the beginning of life. No matter what we might face now, it is so insignificant in the face of what we will enjoy with Christ for eternity if we accept Him as the Master of our lives.

Unfortunately, most people today will not agree with me. As in Jesus’ day, most will reject Him. They will call Him a charlatan, a fake, a seeker of fame. That same crowd will declare His followers delusional, gullible, ignorant. But the early followers of Christ held fast for one simple reason. Some five hundred of His disciples saw the physical, resurrected Jesus. Not a ghost or spirit or a delusion, but a physical body. Jesus spoke with them. He ate and walked and touched them. The crucified, once dead, Master overcame the grave and lived. We believe because of the conviction of their belief.

Then Jesus gave those same disciples a mission. The last time they saw Him, He told them to make more disciples and teach them what they knew. Bring them into their fellowship with the rite of baptism in the name of the Triune Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. More than that, Jesus taught His disciples in His last days before His death, that the Holy Spirit would not just come to live with them as He had, but would live in them.

What difference would that make for them? God longs to have an intimate fellowship with His highest creation, human beings. He made us in His image. He touched the earth to walk with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

He touched the earth in the Holy of Holies, the sacred place in the tabernacle He instructed Moses to build for Him as a dwelling place and later in the Temple Solomon made as a place of worship for Israel. It was the spot God came to bring heaven and earth together with His presence.

Then God lived among us as flesh and blood in human form in His Son Jesus, the second person of the Triune Godhead. How is that possible? He is God, and it is beyond human understanding. If we could understand everything about God, he would not be God, just a super version human.

While He was here, Jesus said something incredible about that third person of the Godhead, though. He said the Holy Spirit would live in us. Think about that a moment—God in us.

God touched the earth again—in us. The Holy Spirit, God, lives on earth now, when we accept Him into our lives as the Master of our soul. When we decide to give ourselves to Him, He lives in us just as He lived in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem or the tabernacle as His people moved across the wilderness. We are His temple.

The Apostle Peter writes to the early church and puts the concept in these words:

Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:4-10 NIV)

We are God’s temple when we believe in Jesus for salvation. And when he lives in us, it also makes us a priesthood—every one of us because we are His temple. Think about the responsibility of the caretakers for God’s dwelling place; sacrifices, prayers, intercession, care of the temple itself. If I am His temple individually and we are His temple collectively, we have responsibilities to keep ourselves and His church clean and holy, first of all. Then we have a responsibility to minister to those outside this living church; to make disciples and teach them. Jesus commanded us to love each other and love them. He said to make new disciples and teach them.

How do we do that? We love them into the Kingdom of God. And what better time to do that than now. During every pandemic that has swept the earth, God’s people ministered to those in need. It should be the same with this one. Be careful? Absolutely. Be fearful? Never.

As the psalmist wrote, “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” When we know our destiny, the worst that can happen to us is we wake up with Jesus. Let God’s love shine through you as you live each day for Him.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

Be the Body of Christ, May 4, 2020

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

It’s hard to believe four months of the year are behind us. Days creep along when faced with the daily grind of the coronavirus restrictions. Or when fighting the disease on the frontlines of hospitals watching patients struggle for life. But here we are with a fourth of the year gone by. Life rushes by at an incredible pace. Before you know it, time is gone.

During these days, I am trying to be a little more mindful of things going on around me. Couples walking around the block that didn’t have time to do so before. Kids riding bicycles that have laid idle in garages in the past. Friends and neighbors spending time talking across the yard to each other when before this crisis began, there seemed to be little time for any of these activities.

I’ve also tried to filter the news to which I pay attention. Most of the reports give us the number of sick and dead around the world or in our country. They tell us the worst-case scenarios we can expect with the disease and our economy in the months ahead. It’s all the same. Look for, here’s the dreaded word, “unprecedented” events in the coming months.

I’ve come to really dislike the word. We misuse it. It’s not true of this plague. Many alive today never experienced anything like it, but it certainly isn’t unprecedented. Ask anyone who survived the “Great Depression.” We are nowhere close to that stage in this country yet. If you could resurrect those who lived during the “Black Death” that swept through Europe in the middle ages, they would laugh at us. Between 25 and 50 percent of the population died then. Even the 1918 Spanish Flu took 25 million of us.

We cannot call this unprecedented. We can call it a pandemic. We can call it a disaster. We can call us unprepared. We can say a lot of things about it, but we should stop using the word unprecedented. It’s not.

What is also not unprecedented, but rare are the acts of kindness I’m beginning to see around us. Rather than hoarding, I’m starting to see neighbors making grocery runs for neighbors who are at higher risk of severe symptoms if they acquire the virus. I’m seeing those neighborly actions that were so common in the 1950s and 1960s. I’m seeing people talking to each other with real words instead of through mechanical devices. People are beginning to understand that the entertainment industry and sports world might not be the most essential segments of society. Maybe teachers and health professionals and first responders and janitors play a much more indispensable role than we have given them credit over the last few decades.

Maybe we can begin to charge our federal officeholders to become statemen instead of politicians in the future. We have watched enough of their party politics result in tremendous human suffering. It’s time we stop their petty scramble for reelection and keep the good of the people in mind.

But frankly, governments will never take care of people well. They never have. Rome created one of the best welfare systems for their Roman citizens. It eventually failed. The state couldn’t afford it, even with their world-wide conquests and burdensome taxation. So how were people cared for? The fringe was the concern of Jesus. He ministered to outcasts by the governments and religious organizations. So did those who followed his example after his resurrection. We read about them in the second letter Luke wrote to Theophilus concerning the acts of the early followers of Jesus. We call the letter the Book of Acts. Luke writes:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 NIV)

More people became followers of this new way of life because they saw the joy and peace that radiated from those who ministered to them. They saw something different in these Christians. Even though the Romans and the Jewish leaders sought to destroy them, they didn’t fear death or suffering at the hands of these leaders. They exuded peace in the face of death that could not be explained by ordinary means. It was the presence of the living God in their lives that made the difference. And it was this same presence of God that caused them to joyfully share what little they had with others to ensure all had enough to survive the onslaught of the persecution they faced.

Generosity in the face of poverty. Gladness in the face of persecution. Hope where others thought there should only exist hopelessness in their situation. These are the traits of the early Christians that drew men and women into their fold, adding to the church day by day. Their demonstrated love brought people to them and the church, nothing more and nothing less.

So here we are in the middle of this pandemic. Some states and cities relaxed their shelter at home orders freeing us to move about with certain precautions. The pandemic isn’t over. We will have a second wave in the next few months. More will become sick, and many will die before we see the end of this disease.

As Christians, we have an opportunity to extend God’s love during this time. We can act like the Apostles in the early church and be mindful of the needs of those around us. We can praise God and have the goodwill of the people because of the genuine love we have for those around us demonstrated by our actions. Let’s be the living body of Christ that he intended us to be in this crucial time.

Love Deeply from the Heart, April 27, 2020

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Like most of the world, I’ve been reading different stories about the current crisis. Various news outlets and social media present very different views of happenings. What I know is things are not the same as they were a few months ago. We don’t really know what the future holds. All we know is it won’t be the same.

Some discuss the fact that we have 30,000 – 40,000 deaths a year from the flu, and no one talks about it. And yes, we’ve only had 50,000 COVID 19 deaths…so far…in seven weeks. But we are far from over before COVID 19 decides to quit finding its victims in this first wave. This novel coronavirus is not typical flu. We will lose a lot more people around the world, no matter what we do.

The news about our economy is also real, though. The longer we keep our businesses closed, the more desperate we will become. Job loss. Government debt stacking up to recession and possibly depression levels. Fear and anxiety are growing with every passing day.

How do we handle it all? Let me share some words Peter wrote in a letter to new Christians facing the wrath of the Roman emperor looking to extinguish any religion that did not recognize him as part of its pantheon of gods.

If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.

He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God. Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1:17-23 NIV)

This new Christian faith faced the possibility of extinction. The Roman government saw mystic religions as a threat to their authority. They deemed Christianity, Judaism, and many other religions of the day as mystics and wanted them out of the way. We see a glimpse of the Roman brutality from the crucifixion, the games in the Colosseum, the blood lust that permeated the nation. And that blood lust pointed to these new Christian believers.

The early church by this time began to meet privately in homes, caves, catacombs, out of the way places to avoid the eyes of the Roman army. The church grew under heavy persecution. But as you can imagine, the growth came at a price. The church felt grief at the loss of some of its members. And the deaths occurred quickly and brutally—torturous deaths as spectacles for the pagan Roman authorities.

Families mourned the deaths, but often could not be present, and many could not bury their loved ones properly, or they would suffer the same fate. The church gathered in small groups to encourage each other, but they could not meet openly, for fear of discovery, and summary execution.

It reminds me a lot of what is happening today. We don’t have the persecution in this country that the early Christians had. But we find ourselves isolated from each other. Some of our friends, neighbors, and family members find themselves alone in hospitals fighting a disease about which we know very little.

We hide behind closed doors and separate ourselves to avoid the reach of the disease as much as the early Christians hid themselves to avoid the Roman soldiers. We don’t have answers for the reason this plague has come upon the world, but we see the suffering that so many must endure.

Death touches so many households, and when it does, the victims face it alone. Those left behind then grieve alone. The comfort we usually find in the relationships we build in our lifetime are not there to wrap arms around us. It seems we must suffer alone.

Yet we don’t. We are fortunate to live in an age in which technology joins us. We can reach out and engage others through social media that can also be such a detriment in our lives if we do not use it carefully. Churches and individuals are finding new ways to use the media plagued by bullies, disreputable characters, child molesters, pornography, the list is endless. But that same media can be used by God for good. We can turn it around and spread the message of Jesus to those who might never come through the door of a church. But they will listen to an interesting discussion or podcast. They will spend time exploring ideas that will help them through life’s journey. People will cling to rays of hope in times like these that appear hopeless on the outside.

The church will not be the same when this is over. Already, church leaders discuss what the next generation of church will look. Many will be afraid to come indoors and sit shoulder to shoulder as we have in the past. The risk of spreading an uncontained virus is too high. Limiting attendance, seating by families and spreading them out, conducting multiple services to accommodate the number of people desiring to come, escorts from the entrance to seats to the exit, monitors to ensure separation safety. We don’t know what church will look like in the next months, but it will not be what it was in January and February.

It’s an excellent time to think about what church means and the mission of the church. What did Peter tell the church in his letter? Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. I think that means more than lip service. It’s more than words. It means letting God use our hands and feet to demonstrate his love to a community desperate for hope in these trying times. Now is the best time to exercise that love. Show someone you really care about them – today.

A Pandemic of Love and Grace, April 20, 2020

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We have a phenomenon going on across the country and around the world that baffles me in some ways. I’m sure it depends partly on how much you trust the news, social media, and other sources of information. It also depends on where you live and how this pandemic touches people you might know. But there is a significant segment of the population that thinks the novel coronavirus is no big deal. They wonder why we are disrupting our lives so much and taking such extraordinary measures for something that so far in this country seems like a nasty flu epidemic.

Of course, when you try to explain the properties of a pandemic and how they spread to those unbelievers, they wish it away and tell you you’re crazy. They don’t want to believe the catastrophe that is happening in New York City or Baton Rouge or Italy or Spain or many other places around the world. More than two million people have died, as of this podcast, that have been identified as coronavirus victims. Scientists tell us more died of the disease, but the dead are not tested.

The social separation states imposed works. In this country, when people work hard to enforce the rules for separation to curb the spread, it seems to be working. Cases are down. Hospital beds are available. Death rates are lower than in other places around the country and the world. Breaking the chain works. But there will continue to be those who doubt what the leaders enforced.

Our economy is in shambles right now after just a month of isolation. That shows you just how fragile this global system has become. When we close our doors for just thirty days, we fall apart as a nation. How much longer can we sustain the separation and closures to allow the virus to burn itself out in this first wave to enable us to find cures for it? I’m not sure.

We already have an increasing number of suicides, domestic violence, hungry children, and the list goes on in the most vulnerable parts of our population. Those on the fringe of society are clearly at the highest risk during pandemics, and this one appears no different.

Still, some doubt the reality of what is happening around us. The coronavirus is a hoax, they say. It’s a ploy to gain power by one political party or the other, they say. It’s a means of getting rid of a race of people I heard one doubter of the pandemic say. Some of the comments I hear and read flabbergast me. I don’t know where they get their ideas.

The doubt in the beginning, though, I understand. I think many of us thought the coronavirus was only a news item when we first heard about the epidemic in Wahun, China. Only when it reached the nursing home in Washington state did many begin to realize the jeopardy of the situation. And only when New York City’s hospitals and morgues begin to overflow did we come to understand the danger the country faced and begin to take active measures to slow the spread of the disease.

Doubt. The same doubt Thomas had when the other disciples told him Jesus appeared to them behind locked doors the night of the resurrection. We don’t understand how he suddenly appeared or what kind of physics allowed it to happen. But we know they could touch him. He could eat and drink. They could hear him speak, and he could hear them talk. But Thomas wasn’t there. He didn’t see it and wouldn’t believe it. John tells us the story.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:19, 24-29 NIV)

Thomas wouldn’t believe unless he saw Jesus himself. Some don’t want to believe what is happening with the pandemic unless it happens to them or someone they know personally. We have this big issue with trust sometimes that keeps us from realizing our full potential with God and others. Faith is a crucial part of life. Without faith, we cannot survive. It allows us to walk out the door and get in our car believing we will not be hit by another motorist when we drive down the street. It allows us to go to work, believing we will be paid for our labor. It keeps us motivated to raise our children, believing they will grow to become productive adults.

Faith is critical in our everyday lives. It is also vital in our spiritual lives. Faith for Thomas, and us, means believing in the truth that Jesus is alive. He rose from the dead, not as a disembodied spirit, but as a physical, touchable, breathing person. We don’t understand the physics that let him appear and disappear as the narratives tell us. We don’t understand the physics that let him feed more than 5,000 with a boy’s lunch. We don’t understand a lot of things. But we can exercise faith and believe.

Just as we can believe the devastation that the pandemic creates around the world without being in the middle of it, if you live in a part of the country or part of the world that has so far been only mildly touched by it, we can believe Jesus rose from the dead.

It was the disciples’ witness that gave them the courage to share the message of the resurrection. But it was the faith of the hearers of the message that continues to spread the message. Like the pandemic we see in our world today, there are a couple of truths we can learn. We don’t have to catch it to know it’s real. We can see it’s evidence around us.

The same is true of God’s grace. It doesn’t take a believer to see God’s grace, but experiencing God’s grace makes so much difference and solidifies the knowledge of his grace in our lives so we can never forget it.

Second, like the social distancing in our current pandemic, if we fail to share his love with those around us, how will his love spread? But live a virus, when we touch others with his love, he has a way of sparking love in them, and then one becomes two and two becomes four, and suddenly, we can see a pandemic of his love and grace when we exercise faith and spread his grace to those around us.

A New Pandemic, April 13, 2020

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

It seems like all we hear about these days is the coronavirus. 80% or more of the news stories talk about it. Conversations on the phone or in emails or wherever you might find yourself (at home, hopefully), continually focus on the dreaded little organism that begins to touch so many lives around the world.

Unfortunately, the crisis isn’t over by a long-shot. The scientists tell us the first wave might be slowing in some parts of the world, but there will be another wave that comes through, and in the United States, we haven’t seen the peak of our first wave yet. The numbers seem to climb relentlessly. It is the way of pandemics.

My podcast today is starting to sound like a lot of gloom and doom, I know. But there is good news ahead, I promise. We can compare this pandemic to others that have torn through the world and see that many have been far worse. The Spanish flu killed an estimated 25 million people in 1918 and 1919. The Black Plague took away about 25% of the total population. Smallpox wiped out entire tribes when introduced into communities without immunities.

We hear more about this one because of our instant global communications. And don’t get me wrong, the numbers of people affected by the current crisis are enormous, but we misuse the word unprecedented. Pandemics have happened before and on a greater scale than we’ve seen so far. Partly, because we understand the mechanisms by which viruses spread, and we are taking precautions through social distancing, wearing some protective gear, disinfecting high touchpoints, and so forth. We are battling the bug, and although it may look like we are losing in many areas, we really are doing a much better job than in decades and centuries past. Keep up the rules the CDC has given, and we will get through this.

The best news today, though, comes from the correlation I find from the pandemic and the Easter message. You see, as I mentioned before, pandemic comes from a Greek word that means all people. And that’s who Jesus came to save. Listen to a short sermon Peter gave to a group of people gathered in a Roman centurion’s house in Caesarea. It’s found in the book of Acts, Chapter 10.

Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ–he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:34-43 NIV)

The coronavirus shows no partiality. It doesn’t care what country you call home. It doesn’t care about your race or religion or socioeconomic position. You can’t buy your way away from it. You can’t wish your way out of it. Pandemics are indiscriminate in their advance through communities. Pandemics, like the word implies, affects all people.

Jesus came to change the lives of all people. In his words, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NIV) Whoever is all-inclusive. No one is left out.

Peter reiterates that message when he says, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Peter’s message to Cornelius and all of us reminds us that Jesus came for all of us. He does not discriminate. Regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, nationality, political party, or any other characteristic that seems to divide us, Jesus accepts everyone who believes in him for forgiveness for their sins. His redemption encompasses all believers everywhere.

I would so like to see a different pandemic in our world today, not one that causes fear and illness and death. I don’t want to experience another pandemic that takes the lives of thousands or causes us to continue our social separation. I’m not anxious to go through another crisis that causes our medical systems to collapse and panic to race through our societies.

The pandemic I’d like to experience, remember the Greek word meaning all people, is one in which we all understand Jesus is Lord, repent, and follow him. Can you imagine what kind of world that would be if it happened? No more theft. No more lying. No more deceit. The covetousness that drives people to destroy others to gain their own wealth would stop. Drug addicts would find healing because drug pushers would quit their businesses. All the illegal activities across the world would come to an end. People would care for each other and show God’s love toward each other. Can you imagine such a place? Can you imagine a pandemic like that? It’s that prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” – a pandemic of God’s will here and now.

Stay safe and may God bless you richly.

Pray, Believe, Act, April 6, 2020

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

If you keep your eyes and ears glued to the news, things seem a little hopeless right now, don’t they? The number of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 or novel coronavirus or COVID 19 or whatever name you want to call the tiny creature that is raising havoc among the population keeps growing with seemingly no end in sight.

It gets a little scary when you have kids that depend on you for food and shelter. It gets a bit scary when you know you have comorbidities that could put you at significantly higher risk for what victims describe as a horrible time if you catch it. It shakes us a little when we hear conflicting information from our city, state, and federal officials. Then there are all the anecdotal stories on Facebook and Instagram and the rest of the social media outlets. We sometimes don’t know what to believe.

Some say stay put and slow the spread so the healthcare system can keep up with the spread. Some say go back to work, so our economy doesn’t implode and drives us into a recession that makes the final outcome worse. Some say it doesn’t matter what we do because the end of the world is here, so don’t sweat it.

What are we to believe in this pandemic? What are we to do? How should we act as Christians?

The current debates between politicians, healthcare workers, economists, epidemiologists, and others remind me of what happened during Holy Week 2000 years ago in a little village called Bethany just a few miles outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus went to visit his friends Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha. You’ll remember Lazarus. The guy whose corpse spent four days stinking up a tomb before Jesus raised him from the dead. Jesus and his disciples were having dinner with Lazarus and his sisters, and a crowd began to gather. John says some came to see Jesus, but some came to see Lazarus, the dead guy walking. But I want you to hear the end of that story as John describes it. It’s in chapter twelve of the story he wrote of Jesus’ life and ministry.

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus. (John 12:9-12 NIV)

We’re in this debate about what we should do as the pandemic stretches across the country. Should we continue social separation? Should we go back to work like nothing is happening? Should we do something between the two? Should we listen to the CDC and stay home? Should we get the economy back on track before Easter? What should we do in the middle of this crisis?

I know a lot of people suffer right now. I look at the hospital census in places like New York City, San Francisco, and Detroit and see doctors having to choose between who lives and who dies because there isn’t enough equipment to take care of everyone. It was reminiscent of Italy and China just days and weeks ago.

We still have shortages, not only of vital medical equipment and supplies but of food and things those on the margins of life need for survival. How do we continue to ensure they have the necessary support when businesses close and we live in a day when so many live from paycheck to paycheck. What happens when the paychecks stop? The $1200 or $2400 that may come in the mail doesn’t go very far these days, and then what? And the small sum that is coming adds $2 trillion to our out of control national debt. That’s another $5,300 every American owes on top of the $48,000 every American already owed to pay off the mortgage Congress has given us.

The Pharisees voted to kill Jesus and Lazarus so they could keep their positions of power. The common Jews voted for Jesus so they could understand the power and authority Jesus demonstrated in his words. The Pharisees understood God as the giver of prosperity and position. Their national pride came from him. Jesus knew God as the one who calms the storm, the peacemaker, the healer, the giver of life.

I would not want to be in any of our leaders’ position today. They have no-win jobs right now. No matter what decision they make, it will be wrong for hundreds and thousands of people. Whether they choose to keep us sheltered in place or put everyone back to work, all of us will be affected in ways that are detrimental to individuals and the country. Pandemics are no-win situations; they always have been. Pandemic comes from a Greek word that means all people. It affects everyone. All of us will be touched.

So what does that mean for Christians when any decision detrimentally affects many of those around you?

First, we need to pray for our leaders. Pray for them as you have never prayed before. It doesn’t matter what side of the political spectrum you fall. It doesn’t matter who you voted for or who you like as a candidate now. No one, party, race, religion, gender, age, ethnic group, no one is exempt from what we face. The people in office must make some very tough decisions; none of us would want on our shoulders because all the decisions carry adverse outcomes. So pray for their wisdom and divine guidance.

Second, let Christ into your life and learn more about him through experience. He is our hope, our peace, our calm in the middle of this storm. Read about his life from the authors that lived with him. Read John and Luke and Mark and Matthew again and again, and understand the resurrection power Jesus wants to share with those who believe in him. He is our hope in this crisis. If you don’t know him as your savior, you can start with a simple prayer. Acknowledge your need; believe in his power to forgive your sins; declare him as Lord and Leader of your life from this point on. Mean those words, and he will enter your heart and life. He will make you into a new person.

Third, when you can do something for someone in these crisis times, no matter how small it might seem, do it. We can be a blessing to others and show Jesus’ love for us by showing his love to others.

One day all this will be in the past. Our grandchildren and their grandchildren will remember it only as a little piece of history. What we do as God’s children will make it a tale filled with heroic and loving stories or stories filled with only pain and agony. It’s our choice in how we allow God to work through us to make the difference.

Stay safe and may God bless you.