This past week Jews commemorated Passover while Christians celebrated the Resurrection of Christ. Yet people could not gather in their churches and synagogues for special services as every year before. All of us, remembering Passover, can see the parallel between the plagues of Egypt and the Covid-19 pandemic that has hit the world this year. The night the firstborn of Egypt died, the children of Israel put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes, stayed inside, and waited for the death angel to pass over them. The next day, Moses, the deliverer that God had sent, led them away from Egypt and into the wilderness, from which they eventually crossed over into the Promised Land.
Then John the Baptist, many years later, proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world!” Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified, buried, and was raised from the dead. He lives, and He is our Deliverer. A few days ago, an old song by Rich Mullins, “My Deliverer” popped into my mind. Our Lord will deliver us!
We have been waiting. Waiting for this scourge, plague, pandemic, to end, so we can resume our normal routines, and maybe some of us get back to church to have a special, late Easter service. But is getting “back to normal” what God wants us to do? People ask, “Is this a judgment from God? Is God doing this? Of course, he is allowing it, so what’s the difference?” Well, we know several things we can consider:
One, The Old Testament indicates that he brought judgment on his people who were called by his name when they would not hearken to his voice calling them back to him. (See II Chronicles 7:13-14) Also, he showed ungodly people, unbelievers, his power over this earth in awesome ways in order to prove to them that he is the Lord (Exodus 7:5)
Two, God’s Word indicates that he chastises his beloved children, which is proof of his love for us. (Hebrews 12:5-8; Proverbs 3:12)
Three, Jesus told his disciples that, in the time of the end, there would be “famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places,” but that it would not be the end; instead, it would be the “beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:7-8)
Could it be that this worldly woe is a combination of these purposes of God? Those who have a biblical worldview know that Americans are not living lives that line up with the standards of godly living as outlined in God’s Word. Instead, some people have even called good evil and called evil good, insisting on legalizing things that God, in his Word, says are abominations. (Isaiah 5:20) Even if some of us have not been committing those particular sins, we somehow have not fought against these changes in our society and culture as we should have. We know God is not pleased.
Why does there have to be a “beginning of sorrows?” That verse is in one of the chapters in which Jesus explained what would happen when God terminates life and time on this earth as we know it. Believers, who are looking for his coming and who “love his appearing,” will be protected from the wrath of God, as he comes to bring judgment on this earth with its rebellious nations of people who will lift their fists to the heavens and curse their Creator instead of repent of their evil deeds.
The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is called the “Blessed Hope” for the Christians of this world, when we are taken out of it, and are taken up, to always be with him in a glorious existence, whether up there or down here. But Jesus gave warnings throughout his prophetic discourse, such as how we should be careful to guard against deception, and how we should pray to be accounted worthy to escape all that is going to come on the earth. (Matthew 24)
Until that great day arrives, so many people are praying for another “Great Awakening,” along the lines of the ones in our country during past centuries. We believers surely need an infusion of spiritual strength, and we see our loved ones racing down eternity’s path in the direction of their doom, blindly refusing to hearken to the truth that we know and that has saved us. Great revivals of the past caused thousands of people to be saved, society to be reformed, with cities and communities being transformed by the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. Ivy League colleges were even founded as Christian institutions, but they are far from Christian now.
The revivals to which I refer were centuries ago, yet there have been revivals within the past century that have had lasting effects here in Decatur. I have talked with a number of people who were saved during the James Robison Crusade that was held at the East Central football field in 1972, or at a county-wide revival several years later. Many rededicated their lives, while they were already Christians.
Others, though having attended church services ever since birth, were saved in a single church revival meeting when the Holy Spirit moved on them to come forward and give their lives to Christ. Those revivals have impacted the lives of so many people, causing their influence through the years to be felt by many all around them, particularly through the way they have worked in their churches throughout the years.
America is in her time of greatest need, when Christianity is no longer respected but hated, and people of faith are beginning to be persecuted for daring to be outspoken. Thousands of American citizens live lives of substance abuse, having lost everything dear to them. For others, materialism, success and worldly pleasures do not satisfy their hearts’ longings. Also, what hope do we have in this country while resisting those who are trying to destroy the foundation and freedoms of this great nation?
We need revival, yet revivals in the area have had to be cancelled because of the lockdown. We must pray for God to give us mercy, to send his own worldwide revival, or “Great Awakening,” for him to pour out his spirit upon all flesh, as he promised in “Joel 2” and in “Acts 2:16-21.” Let us not hope and pray for things to “get back to normal.” Instead, let us pray for a new normal, when the “earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
Live for Jesus, He’s coming soon!
You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
