Dear Family —
As we daily need to remember that fear is not listed among the fruit of the Spirit, we need to remember that love is. “Love, joy, peace, patience, …”. Love is first in that list of what is titled not “fruits” but “fruit.” In other words, they all are part and parcel with the work of God’s Spirit. It is not like we have one of “them” but that we have this “fruit” and they are all there. That list in Galatians 5 is placed in contrast to the works of the flesh, which are obvious. Notice the fruit of God’s Spirit begins within -- it is made “obvious” by how we act, how we behave in this life.
Like Corrie Ten Boom wrote after WWII (she was a survivor of the Nazi regiem’s campaign of horror), “The world does not read the Bible -- it reads you and me. The godly man is the ungodly man’s Bible.” (quoted from her book Each New Day). And what people “read” is the Spirit of God in our lives. The beauty, the presence, the peace, the resolve of God’s Holy Spirit at work in our lives is what puts on display the Gospel through our lives. That “fruit” of God’s Spirit, that love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, all get displayed in our character and the best time to put the fruit on display is during times of stress.
People have commented upon the spirit of fear that is in the atmosphere. I felt it shopping for groceries. I only found one person brave enough to say hello back to my greeting. Fear is not the answer but it is what is being preached all around us by the purveyors of information. If you are feeling afraid then the fruit of God’s Spirit is not being given a chance. So, today I would encourage you to:
Stop watching the news. Certainly you need to check in on it, maybe once a day? But friends, there are people glued to news broadcasts in their homes. That is all they are hearing. And that is not healthy. The best way to experience fear is to keep listening only to that 24/7. Our media has mentioned the coronavirus more than 2.1 billion times since December. That outstrips anything else in history. And a billion is like counting one number per second for 31.7 years. It is this really large number. That’s so many mentions. I know, it is a big deal, but it is also something around which there is a ton of fear. So, stop watching and pray, read Scripture, go for a walk, breathe the air, laugh, give a virtual hug INSTEAD!
Start every day turning to Jesus, giving Him your attention, asking for directions on how to walk through the day. Prayer is so essential in times like this. Grab a verse or devotional thought and live from that. Jesus wants our hearts and our attention especially now, and the more attention we give Him the more His Spirit will be free to produce fruit through our lives.
When you are out, greet others, look at them (across that 6 foot gap) and give them sincere greetings, check in, ask how they are faring, how you could pray, what their needs are. Just be present.
When you are home, reach out to people every day via Zoom, Skype, phone, text or email. In times when people are quarantined, we need touch points with others all the more. So, call people up from the church and from your lists of acquaintances and friends to check in. An acquaintance wrote to me this week just to ask how I was doing in all this. We need each other.
The thing about this quarantine is how much more people need one another because of it. All the normal means of distraction removed, people need connection. We cannot come to the building as a group due to governmental policy from wisdom, but we are able to connect. “The coronavirus leaves over 95 percent of its victims still breathing. But it leaves virtually every member of society afraid, anxious, isolated, alone, and wondering if anyone would even notice if they’re gone. In an increasingly atomized society, the coronavirus could rapidly mutate into an epidemic of despair,” says the author of an excellent article detailing Christian responses to epidemics over history (there have been other pandemics). Find the whole article here.
As you start with Jesus and get outside, and breathe, may the Spirit bring forth that fruit of His Spirit in and through your life that others in looking how you are walking in this season might be tempted to ask, “How is it that you have such hope in you?” And you then can tell them.
Join Mondays at 12 noon with our District Superintendent for a check in and prayer time: Here is the link
Join in for Zoom prayer and connection -- Tuesdays 1 pm: Here is the link. Or phone in at this number: 669 900 6833.
Join in for worship on Sundays at this weekly location -- 9 am each week. Here is the link.
You might need to sign up with webex.com in order to download the drivers onto your computer. Some older systems need a boost.
Join in worship during Holy Week (Monday 4/6 through Friday 4/10) each day at 5 pm for a 45-minute time: we will connect, pray, meditate on one passage of Scripture from that which happened during the last days of Jesus’ life. Here is the link Join in!
Let’s stay connected and keep being the church to others around you. Throughout history this is how the church has put Jesus on display especially during plagues, epidemics and pandemics. The church was on the front lines.