“Quarantine “ Are we done yet?

By now we all know what the word “quarantine “ means.  We’ve all experienced it first hand.  We’ve figured out how to manage with much less food in the house. Mostly because we do not feel like going out with a mask and gloves on.  We have figured out “social distancing “. We are using our devices for social media now more than ever.  And the list could go on and on.
I would say the majority of us are getting through this much easier than we had thought. Even parents home-schooling their children. Let’s look at that for a moment. Home-schooling, really now.  The teachers are still providing the plan and work the student is to complete.  And we still hear of parents struggling.  I chose to home-school our son from kindergarten all the way through.  And I have no regrets. We actually had fun.  And plenty of time in a day to relax or do other things. If I wasn’t particularly good in a subject, my husband would do that one, like science. I cherished that time with our son. Was it always easy, absolutely not.  We all have a bad day at times.  When that was the case, we took the day off.
My point here, this doesn’t have to be a time of frustration, or being angry, etc.  Ask the Lord to pour His grace over you.  Ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him to guide you.  This can be a very rewarding time for your family.
There are other areas of hardships also.  The most important, financial.  Many are not working.  This is the time as the church to be creative and bless others. If you know of a need, spread the word, get your community involved.  If you have a need, seek help from others. Notify your pastor.
We watch church online. This is totally foreign to most of us. It is hard for some to get into the mode of having church in this way. For me, I am used to this. I have been “ quarantined “ for months due to a severe flu season, and the fact I am immuno-suppressed because of the leukemia and treatment. Therefore I have been at home since last November.  So I know how difficult this is, and I do understand.
But we can get through this.  God is more powerful than any “coronavirus”. His plan for us is to be victorious. Yes,we will have struggles. But we can get through those struggles with victory. Our Lord Jesus is always by our side and waiting for our prayers. He wants to hear them, and He wants to answer them. The following verse, especially part B, tells of the power that is in our prayers.
James 5:16
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.”
Our Lord Jesus wants us to have joy and peace in our lives. The only way to have that is through our relationship with Jesus Christ, and through His Word, the Bible, and through prayer. Prayer-having a conversation with Him.
During this season we have seen many miracles, many hardships, and so much death.  Does that mean God didn’t move or hear your prayers? No, it doesn’t. We may never know the reasoning, until we are in heaven with Jesus and we ask Him.
It doesn’t change the fact that we must stay in His Word, and in communion with Him. Because we cannot come through this life without Him, and be victorious. The enemy will make it seem like we have victory, to trick us. But we do not want the enemy’s kind of victory.
We want eternal life in heaven with Jesus.
My friends, hang in there. We will see the glory of God. We will experience the promises of God. Stay true to Him.  Worship Him.  He will give you the desires of your heart.

 Psalms‬ ‭37:3-6‬ ‭HCSB-
‬‬ Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.”
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Holy Week

When we think about what our world is going through right now, it can be overwhelming. It is hard not to think about this plague that has affected our whole world. Many see it up close and personal. Many of you have suffered a great personal loss of loved ones. Many of you feel like you are a prisoner in your own home. We have so many restrictions placed on us. But for our own good.
With all of this staring us in the face, we reach Holy Week. Then we wonder, why is this happening now. After all, this is the most important time as a follower of Christ. This week reminds us of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. But has that hope been clouded over by this global pandemic?
On "Maundy Thursday", the day Jesus had the "last supper" with His disciples, Jesus told them about one who would betray Him. He explained about breaking bread and drinking of the wine, in remembrance of Him, to us we know that as communion.
Then Jesus went to the garden to pray to the Father. He knew what He was about to face.
He was betrayed by Judas, He was arrested. Then He was beaten beyond what our minds can comprehend. He went through the most horrible, physical beatings. Yet He would not deny His Father in heaven, or deny that He was Christ, the Messiah.
We ask, why did He do that? Why would He go through all of that. Why-all for love! He loves us so very much. He knew He had to save His creation, His children.
Jesus was hung on that cross, His blood ran down, He cried out "It is Finished". And He gave up His Spirit.
Isaiah 53:3-5:
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.
Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
 But He was pierced because of our transgressions,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.
Then Jesus' body was taken down and His body was prepared for burial, and placed in the tomb.
The tomb was guarded 24 hours a day, and a very huge rock was rolled in front of the opening. The officials didn't want anyone to come and steal Jesus' body from the tomb.
Even the guards remembered what Jesus had said, "in three days I will rise again".
Sunday morning came, The two Mary's went to the tomb. A violent earthquake came. An angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled back the stone. His appearance white as snow. The guards fell down in fear like dead men.
The angel told the women "Do not be afraid, Jesus is not here." "For He has been resurrected."
He told them to go quickly and tell the others.
When the women went to tell the others, Jesus met them. He said "Good morning."
They fell at His feet to worship Him.
I wanted to go through those days when the disciples wondered, where is hope?
I wanted to refresh our minds, how horrific it must have been for those followers of Christ to witness the beating and death of Jesus, their Lord.
Hope must have seemed like a million years away to them. Then in three days hope returned, in glory.
Jesus promised to be with us always. We have His Holy Spirit with us always. We can talk to Him, and He hears us. He loves us more than we can comprehend.
I write to you this Easter weekend to remind us all that we have hope. We have the promises of Jesus, and the hope He gives to us.
The world is in turmoil presently with this global pandemic. But I write to you to say, Jesus is bigger than any pandemic. He is stronger, He is Lord over all, He is faithful in His promises to us.
Jesus already fought for us and won the battle between life and death.
Yes we have seen a great loss.The enemy will "try" to use this pandemic to wipe us off this earth. But it cannot. Jesus already has victory. Why have we lost so many? I do not know. However, we must continue to pray.
This, I do know, we cannot lose hope. We have to hang on to Jesus with all of our strength. Grab ahold of His hand and hold tightly. Call out to Jesus. He is our Savior, our redeemer, our hope.
If you have not asked Jesus into your heart, and for redemption and forgiveness, please, grab ahold of Him this Easter. Let Him come in and be Lord of your life. Open your hearts and receive all that Jesus has for you, hope, love, faithfulness, healing, security, and most of all, eternal life with Him.
Another thought, we cannot meet in our churches, with the other believers. I would like to remind you, Jesus isn't a building. Church isn't a building. Church is the Body of Christ. We are the Body. He lives in us. We can still worship Jesus this Easter Sunday in our homes. We can watch services on line. Jesus will be here with us, with you, in our homes.
I pray for you all, that you have a beautiful Easter, and that hope fills your hearts and your homes.

Quarantined, not Quarantined.

Who would have thought at the beginning of April we would still be under quarantine.
Some of us are under mandatory quarantine. Some of us choose to quarantine. Either way, we all are in the midst of this global crisis.
However, we all have the same choices. We can choose to listen to those in authority and hope we can soon return to the normalcy we all desire. Or we can choose to rebel and not listen to those who have much more wisdom than we do in regards to this crisis.
Whatever you choose, I think I can be assured we are all feeling a bit cramped and tied down at this time.
I am at a level of quarantine that is more detailed than most of you. I have had to cancel appointments, cancel any social time with others, and absolutely stay out of public places.  I must wear a face mask when I am out of my home. This has been all winter for me. The regular flu can be just as dangerous for me.  So trust me, I know how frustrated you all feel.
With those points being made, let's take a look at how we can make the most out of this time.
My first thought is we have no excuse to keep us from reading God's Word and praying to Him. This should be top priority for us. This war we are in, this unseen enemy, is fierce. The enemy wants to wipe us off the face of this earth. But it cannot! Jesus already won that war. He is in charge, not the devil. The devil has no authority, but Jesus has ALL authority.
With that being known, it doesn't excuse us from spending time with Him. Now more than ever, we must be on our knees in prayer. We must pray for protection that our Lord Jesus has for us. We must pray for our families, our jobs, our country, our President and leadership. We must pray for those who have lost loved ones from this virus. Pray the Lord comforts them.
We all are familiar with this verse:
2 Chronicles 7:14:
... and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
We are not exempt from this. Take advantage of this time together as a family. Teach your children this verse. Say this verse several times a day. Write it down. Have it sealed in your hearts.
Here we are just a week from Easter week. And we cannot attend Easter services. We cannot worship with the church on this very special day. As Christians, it is our most important holiday.
But why can't we? We can, from our own homes.
Every church these days has the ability to post their service on line, or through a live feed. If by chance your church cannot do that, there are plenty of others you can worship with. You may be thinking it's not the same. Why isn't it? Jesus says "where two or more are gathered, He is there also.
Matthew 18:20:
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.”
Jesus is still there amongst you, in your living rooms. There is no need for us to be discouraged. We can still worship with the Body of Christ. We can still receive from the spoken word on Easter Sunday. Jesus will meet you wherever you are.
Faithful readers I pray for you all, that you remain encouraged. I pray that the Lord gives you something special during your time with Him. Our Lord Jesus will take what is meant to destroy us and turn it around for His glory. I totally believe that. Hang on to those promises the Lord gives you. Write them down. Go back and read them over again. Pray those words out loud.
I am excited to sit back and watch what our Lord God is going to do. I cannot imagine the greatness He has planned. In the midst of the devastation, in the midst of this storm, I fully believe we will see God's glory.
I pray for you all, hold on to your faith, hold on to Jesus, He is in charge.