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“And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”

Jeremiah 29:7


Every week I get a call or an email from someone asking me, “when is the church going to be open?” And I am always pleased to let them know the church never closed. From the time we first learned of the coronavirus we began to pray for the citizens of Wuhan China who were suffering immensely from it. As the virus began to spread from country to country and city to city we continued to pray each day that God would bring healing, peace, and that most of all revival would break out wherever the virus spread. And though physical healing has come slow, spiritual healing has come much quicker proving, “what the enemy meant for evil God has meant for good.” Because of the fear of Coronavirus millions, if not billions of people are turning to God by faith and are seeking Him like never before. Today, more people have come to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior than the number of those who have died from the virus. Death will never have the last say, Jesus will, as He is the One who conquered death, the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end.  

When God commanded that the church not forsake gathering together in person in Hebrews 10:25, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” I am absolutely certain without any hesitation that God knew the Coronavirus would plague the world one day. Since the inception of the church in the book of Acts, the Christian faith has come under attack from every angle and today the battle rages on and is intensifying as “you see the Day approaching.” What Day is approaching you might be thinking? The Day of the Lord was a day that the readers understood. Maybe it was a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem? It could be speaking of the Rapture of the Church, or the glorious Second Coming of Jesus, or maybe, just maybe it is referencing some future event like a global pandemic. Whatever was coming wasn’t to prevent them from coming together but actually cause believers to come together all the more.

Be open to God and open to what the Holy Spirit has for you. Don’t let the coronavirus keep you from fulfilling your calling. Let’s allow this pandemic to cause us all to have a greater faith in Jesus which will produce a deeper love for God and for His church. Psalm 121:4 teaches us, “Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.” The church is always open because God never takes a nap. We can come to Him any time day or night when we feel the need because of the offer Jesus makes to us…

 
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:16


I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

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