1. Spending time with the Lord.
Take the opportunity to draw closer to God. We were busy with our jobs before and it was hard to spend some quality time with the Lord. Let us take this time to spend more time with God in prayer, in reading His words in the Bible and in listening to sermons.
James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
When we draw to God and humble ourselves before Him, the Holy Spirit will show us areas of our lives that need to be changed. Probably He will show us that we still have unconfessed sins or things that we need to let go.
What is important is we draw closer to Him. We submit and surrender our lives to Him.
2 Cor. 13:5 "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"
This is the best time for us to examine ourselves, to examine our faith in God. To examine whether we are living out our faith.
Acts 3:19 "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."
Rev. 3:3 "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you."
We are asked to stay at home. There is a lot of time for us to have the Lord search our hearts, mind, and soul. Let us not waste this great opportunity to be with Him, to get to know more about Him. To let Him heal our wounded soul. To let Him work in our lives. This maybe the only time He gave for us to prepare ourselves before we come to Him face to face.
The book of Ecclesiastes 3:3 said there is a time for everything, a time to live and a time to die.
In Psalms 31:15(a)it says "My times are in Your hands;"
And in Ecc.12:6-7 it says "Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."
In short "The best time to draw closer to God is now that we are still alive."
Isaiah 38:18 "For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness."
From start of this quarantine have we spent quality time with the Lord?
2. Exercise faith over fear
This is a trend in facebook #faithoverfear.
As christians, are we exercising faith over fear in every areas of our lives especially during this time of pandemic?
Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Are we living in fear now? Let us be confident that God is in full control.
We may not know what happens tomorrow but we have to believe that God knows what He is doing.
Whatever the outcome of this crisis is, wherever this is leading us, up to when this crisis will be, trust that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28)
It means that in all circumstances, whether it be good or bad in the present times, God is working out something good for us.
We only need to trust in Him.
We have to practice faith over fear.
Choose to live in faith instead of fear.
3. Let us submit to government authorities.
Rom.13:1-2 "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
As christians it is our duty to obey government mandates. When government says #stayathome, do not loiter around. When government says obey the rules, then follow the rules. Obedience to government authorities is obedience to God.
Up to what extent should we submit to government authorities?
As long as we do not compromise our belief in God. There were many instances in the book of Acts when the early christians were persecuted by Government authorities because of their christian faith. They stood for Jesus and defied government mandates.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."
Mark 8:35 "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it."
There will come a time when we will be asked to choose between our faith in God and the world, we have to choose God.
For now, what government is mandating does not contradict with what the Bibles says, so as christians we have to follow them.
The measurement will always be "Is government mandate in contradiction to scriptures?"
If yes - do not obey
If no - obey
4. We care for others in need.
Phil 2:4 " not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
We need to check on those people around us who do not have anything to eat. Maybe we have more than enough.
We need to stop thinking of ourselves but we need to care for other people's needs.
Share. Show love to those who are in need.
2 Cor. 9:11 "You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
But God will always look into our hearts. In this verse we are told that God enrichly give to us that we may give to others. If our motives are the opposite, we may not be enrichly blessed.
Acts 20:35 "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
5. If you are the one in need be reminded of who your God is.
Philippians 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
When we ask, do not doubt
James 1:6 "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
6. Do not isolate yourself from the Body of Christ.
Heb. 10:25 "not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Quarantine will never be a reason for christians to give up meeting each other. We are blessed to have the resources that we need to still gather together and encourage one another such as the internet, facebook live, facebook messenger, our cellphones, etc. We should make use of these resources.
7. Be the light.
Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
This is the best time for us to show the light of Jesus to our families, our neighbors, our friends.
8. Spend more time in prayer.
1 Thes. 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."
In Revelation 5:8
"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people."
Our labor is not in vain. Our prayers reach heaven's throne.
God hears the prayers of the righteous, so keep on praying!
Take the opportunity to draw closer to God. We were busy with our jobs before and it was hard to spend some quality time with the Lord. Let us take this time to spend more time with God in prayer, in reading His words in the Bible and in listening to sermons.
James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
When we draw to God and humble ourselves before Him, the Holy Spirit will show us areas of our lives that need to be changed. Probably He will show us that we still have unconfessed sins or things that we need to let go.
What is important is we draw closer to Him. We submit and surrender our lives to Him.
2 Cor. 13:5 "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"
This is the best time for us to examine ourselves, to examine our faith in God. To examine whether we are living out our faith.
Acts 3:19 "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."
Rev. 3:3 "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you."
We are asked to stay at home. There is a lot of time for us to have the Lord search our hearts, mind, and soul. Let us not waste this great opportunity to be with Him, to get to know more about Him. To let Him heal our wounded soul. To let Him work in our lives. This maybe the only time He gave for us to prepare ourselves before we come to Him face to face.
The book of Ecclesiastes 3:3 said there is a time for everything, a time to live and a time to die.
In Psalms 31:15(a)it says "My times are in Your hands;"
And in Ecc.12:6-7 it says "Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."
In short "The best time to draw closer to God is now that we are still alive."
Isaiah 38:18 "For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness."
From start of this quarantine have we spent quality time with the Lord?
2. Exercise faith over fear
This is a trend in facebook #faithoverfear.
As christians, are we exercising faith over fear in every areas of our lives especially during this time of pandemic?
Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Are we living in fear now? Let us be confident that God is in full control.
We may not know what happens tomorrow but we have to believe that God knows what He is doing.
Whatever the outcome of this crisis is, wherever this is leading us, up to when this crisis will be, trust that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28)
It means that in all circumstances, whether it be good or bad in the present times, God is working out something good for us.
We only need to trust in Him.
We have to practice faith over fear.
Choose to live in faith instead of fear.
3. Let us submit to government authorities.
Rom.13:1-2 "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
As christians it is our duty to obey government mandates. When government says #stayathome, do not loiter around. When government says obey the rules, then follow the rules. Obedience to government authorities is obedience to God.
Up to what extent should we submit to government authorities?
As long as we do not compromise our belief in God. There were many instances in the book of Acts when the early christians were persecuted by Government authorities because of their christian faith. They stood for Jesus and defied government mandates.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."
Mark 8:35 "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it."
There will come a time when we will be asked to choose between our faith in God and the world, we have to choose God.
For now, what government is mandating does not contradict with what the Bibles says, so as christians we have to follow them.
The measurement will always be "Is government mandate in contradiction to scriptures?"
If yes - do not obey
If no - obey
4. We care for others in need.
Phil 2:4 " not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
We need to check on those people around us who do not have anything to eat. Maybe we have more than enough.
We need to stop thinking of ourselves but we need to care for other people's needs.
Share. Show love to those who are in need.
2 Cor. 9:11 "You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
But God will always look into our hearts. In this verse we are told that God enrichly give to us that we may give to others. If our motives are the opposite, we may not be enrichly blessed.
Acts 20:35 "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
5. If you are the one in need be reminded of who your God is.
Philippians 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
When we ask, do not doubt
James 1:6 "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
6. Do not isolate yourself from the Body of Christ.
Heb. 10:25 "not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Quarantine will never be a reason for christians to give up meeting each other. We are blessed to have the resources that we need to still gather together and encourage one another such as the internet, facebook live, facebook messenger, our cellphones, etc. We should make use of these resources.
7. Be the light.
Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
This is the best time for us to show the light of Jesus to our families, our neighbors, our friends.
8. Spend more time in prayer.
1 Thes. 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."
In Revelation 5:8
"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people."
Our labor is not in vain. Our prayers reach heaven's throne.
God hears the prayers of the righteous, so keep on praying!
