If uncertainty were a virus, more people would test positive for that one than for COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men & women all over the world are dying to know what the future holds, why we\u2019re in this mess, and what to do to make it stop. With information changing by the hour, even Christians are left to question what God means by all of this: How are we supposed to be remain \u201con mission<\/em>\u201d with so many social restrictions? What will we do when \u201ctwo or more<\/em>\u201d are no longer able to legally \u201cgather<\/em>\u201d? How are we supposed to \u201cseek and save the lost<\/em>\u201d? Through Snapchat?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer is simple: God is allowing the Church to suffer like she is because it\u2019s a vital part of her beautification. It\u2019s always been<\/em> this way, and it\u2019ll always be<\/em> this way until the Lord returns. His goal from the very beginning has been to \u201cpresent the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish<\/em>\u201d (Eph.5:27). He’s removing the “spots & wrinkles<\/em>” through a process He calls \u201csanctification<\/em>\u201d. He employs the use of trial & tribulation to enhance the Church. That\u2019s what He\u2019s doing right now. He\u2019s making her prettier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certain crises throughout the history of the Church are largely responsible for the way she looks today. From the very start, God\u2019s people have been intermittently hit with sudden, unexpected emergencies that forced her to either adapt or die; to become beautiful, or to remain ugly. These were watershed moments; paradigm shifts. Undesirable at first, but vital for the overall strength & success of the Church. Situations that initially seemed to be disastrous, were actually being used by God to customize an attractive Bride for His Son. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A difficulty like this one is nothing new for the Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nher infancy, for example, when Christ ascended into heaven, He left the Church\nbehind to learn how to navigate life with a different \u201cHelper<\/em>\u201d (Acts 1 & 2). As uncomfortable as it was, the change needed\nto be made. Had she not been forced to depend upon the Holy Spirit, the Church\nmight still be trying to serve the Lord in the strength of her flesh. But she\nstayed true and learned to put her trust in the Spirit, all for the One she\nloves. How beautiful<\/em>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or how\nabout when she was so severely attacked that her people were \u201cscattered throughout the regions<\/em>\u201d (Acts\n8:1)? Had the Lord not exposed her to persecution, the Church might have been\nstopped dead in her tracks, going no further than the city limits of Jerusalem.\nBut, she remained faithful and learned to adapt herself to a different routine,\nall for the One she loves. That\u2019s<\/em> beautiful!\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And\nthen there was the time when the Church realized that Gentiles were every bit\nthe object of God\u2019s love as the Jews were (Acts 10:28). A hard pill for a\nHebrew to swallow, but had the Lord not forced the issue, many of us would\nstill be in the dark, to this very day. Difficulty came upon the Church, but\nshe faithfully rose to the occasion, and she\u2019s never looked the same since. She\u2019s beautiful<\/em>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n In classic form, the Lord has introduced the modern Church to another sudden & unexpected emergency. In only a few short months every area of life & living has become governed by COVID-19. Our physical, social, emotional, financial, vocational, educational, and even our spiritual purviews have all been brought under its domain. We are, and will be, forced to make decisions that will affect the trajectory of the Church for generations to come. Worship, service, and fellowship have already begun to look different for us. Will we adapt, or will we die?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s true that we didn\u2019t ask for this. But God saw that we needed<\/em> it. Sometimes, the only way to move forward, is to go through a wall of fire. But when the fire is lit by God Himself, we know that He doesn\u2019t plan to kill<\/em> us with<\/em> it, but to purify<\/em> us through<\/em> it. What\u2019s happening today is no accident. The Lord brings a crisis upon His Church whenever He sees that the Church needs a crisis. We might not like what He\u2019s doing, but it\u2019ll be hard to argue against His decision once you see the outcome. The discipline of God can look and feel extreme, but the results are no less stunning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But\nmaybe you think you\u2019re pretty enough as it is. Perhaps you don\u2019t feel it\nnecessary to make changes or adapt yourself to the Lord\u2019s ideal because you\nassume that you\u2019re already there. The truth is, when a person sees themselves as\nnaturally<\/em> irresistible, they inevitably\nreject God\u2019s attempt to sanctify them any further. People like that can\u2019t see a\nneed for God\u2019s help at all. They don\u2019t think they need to be made<\/em> appealing, because they believe that\nthey already are<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adapt or die…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Experts are saying that the world will never be the same again after this, and I suppose they\u2019re right. I hope you won\u2019t be either. Without compromising any of our core beliefs, I hope the Christians of our generation will allow the Lord to make the changes He wants to make. The Church will be more beautiful if we do. Especially in our knowledge of Christ, and our role in this world. I hope that each of us, as individuals, will embrace our plight and remain true to the Lord. We won\u2019t be getting any prettier unless we do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to become the person God\u2019s designed you to be, now\u2019s the time. It\u2019s important for us to understand that our current situation was orchestrated with that in mind. This is one of God’s sovereign purposes for the Coronavirus. There is nothing like a global pandemic to reveal the true heart of the people in a church. When all of this is said and done, the Church will either be more attractive than ever, or no better than we were before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, the only way to move forward, is to go through a wall of fire<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n God wants us all to learn and to grow through the crisis He\u2019s provided. Our main interest during this pandemic shouldn\u2019t be so much in keeping our hands clean, as it should be in remaining faithful. We need His help in becoming a different Church, a better Church, and these are the circumstances He\u2019s provided through which that can happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Serve the Lord, remain faithful, and I can guarantee you, the Church will never look the same again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How far are you willing to go to let yourself become more attractive to Jesus? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If uncertainty were a virus, more people would test positive for that one than for COVID-19. Men & women all over the world are dying to know what the future holds, why we\u2019re in this mess, and what to do to make it stop. With information changing by the hour, even Christians are left to … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pastors-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}God\u2019s Purpose in a Pandemic:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A Classic Technique:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Beauty School:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Another Treatment: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Help We Need: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pretty\nAlready:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A Better Bride:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n