Corona Virus Pandemic

Is the Covid19 Virus Pandemic a Judgment from God?

First of all, God did not overtly orchestrate this Covid19 Pandemic as a judgment to punish the world or His people.  However, it is a judgment from God.  It is not the “wrath of God” that the Bible speaks about that is to come upon the world in the last time as the final judgment on the wicked.  I know some have said this is not a judgment of God and it comes from the devil.  Yes, it does comes from the devil, but our problem is we need to get a Biblical definition of what “the judgment of God” is in order to understand what is happening now.

Although judgment usually has an evil connotation to it (the execution of the penalty for sin), it also has a positive side. Judgment has to do with the sowing and reaping process. This is defined in Galatians 6:7-9  “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

From this we can see that the negative side of judgment is that evil reaps destruction, while on the positive side; good that is sown through Jesus is rewarded. God’s judgment on evil is seen by the curse that is on wicked men. While God’s judgment for the righteous will manifest in His blessings and rewards on them. This is true for individuals as well as nations. Negative judgments have been hanging over our nation for some time because of the many sins that we have corporately committed.  Now we are reaping the fruit of our national sins.

Romans 6:23  “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

As a nation (the USA where I live) we have sown good and evil.  I believe God has been gracious and merciful to us because we have reached out to help the other nations of the world.   The church has sent many missionaries around the world.  Christians in this nation have supported many missionary works, while Christians and others have supported humanitarian works in every nation. The United States government has poured billions of dollars into foreign aid and forgiven billions of dollars of indebtedness to other countries. We are one of the first on the scene to arrive with aid and assistance when natural disasters, such as earthquakes, strike other countries. America has helped the oppressed and poor of other nations.  She has helped rebuild infrastructures, railways, etc. after nations have been ravaged by war. I could name many more, but this should suffice.

As a nation, we have also sown much evil. We have exported our ungodly music, movies, pornography, tobacco, alcohol.  Our tobacco companies cannot sell their wares to the young people in our nation, but they are allowed to export it to the youth of other nations. We have been hypocritical in calling ourselves a Christian nation when we allow abortion. Many Americans are drug addicts, and are consumed with pornography and vile movies.  We commit adultery without blushing and are sex-crazed. I have noticed that the most prevalent types of ads that daily come across the Internet are ads pertaining to sex and money. They are selling something pertaining to sex, ads that tell you how to become a millionaire so we can live indulgent lives. There are those that encourage gambling, as a means to obtain wealth quickly, instead of pursuing wealth by honest work. They are trying to take a shortcut to obtaining wealth.  We export our vices instead of being a good example to the world.  Sharing Christ with other nations is difficult when they see our lust and materialism. (more…)

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Dry Season Instead of Fire Season

2019 Fire near Prescott Arizona
2019 Fire near Prescott Arizona

Since we live in Arizona, the Lord reminded me this year not to refer to Arizona’s dry season by the phrase Arizona’s “fire season.”  The first reference is to the season of dryness before the monsoons come and the other is actually a confession that we expect fires to come, as it is the season for them.

As God’s people, and especially His praying people, there is power in what we say and what we pray, according to these verses in Proverbs:

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”

Since we can speak “death” or “life” to our situations, we should ask the Lord how to phrase the things we say and pray, because we reap what we “say” or “confess,” according to the above verse.  For example, if I am under attack with symptoms of any kind of illness, I do not confess that it is mine, even if a doctor states that I have some infirmity.  I simply say, this is what the doctor has diagnosed me with, but I declare I am healed according to the Word of God that says, “By His stripes I am healed.”  This is not denying that I am experiencing the symptoms of an illness, but rather I confess the Word of God over it, as God’s Word and His power is greater than any sickness the devil may want to inflict me with. As Christians, we must always side with the Word of God in every circumstance as circumstances or feelings should not rule our lives. If we line up with the Word of God then the devil will have to flee. This is how Bud and I overcome any disease that tries to invade our bodies.  The verse below says if we submit to God and resist the devil with the Word of God, that the devil will have to flee.  It does not say “maybe” he will flee, but that he “will” flee!  Praise God!

James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
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Godly Fear versus Tormenting Fear

Proverbs 2:1-5 Amplified Bible (AMP):  “My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you, Making your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding [applying all your powers to the quest for it]; Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, If you seek [Wisdom] as for silver and search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures, Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of [our omniscient] God. For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

1 John 4:17-19: “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.”

In these blogs dealing with Bible Answers, one of the most puzzling topics to some is the difference between godly fear and tormenting fear. We must resolve what may seem like a contradiction when the Bible tells us that Jesus loves us and came to set us free from fear, while on the other hand we are told to fear God. The two scriptures above define those two kinds of fear and will give us a better understanding of what the Bible has to say about the subject.  (more…)

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Overcoming Fear So We Can Yield to the Call of God

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Jesus knew we would live in a time where we would be exposed to multiplied fears all around us; yet the Bible tells us in many places that God does not want us to be fearful. He also explained that fear does not come from God, but rather God wants us to walk in His power, His love and to have a sound mind. People who yield to the spirit of fear can, at some point, become emotionally unstable or end up in bondage that keeps them from functioning normally. I have known a number of people that allowed fear to rule them to such a degree that they no longer fly on an airplane because of fear of it crashing, or they refuse to drive on freeways for the same reason. No longer can they make decisions based on the will of God, but rather fear keeps them from doing the things the Lord wants them to do. Fear has torment and it can even affect our bodies by the stress it causes. Actually fear is at the root of stress and anxiety. Years ago, I personally suffered with this tormenting emotion until the Lord set me free. I was one of those people who was tempted never to fly again after a long stressful flight years ago. However, I was determined not to allow the enemy to keep me from doing anything the Lord wanted me to do. (more…)

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Overcoming Fear with Faith

 Mark 4:37- 41:  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Jesus Calms the StormJesus spoke these words to His disciples when they became fearful because of a storm that arose while they were with Him in a boat on the sea. Jesus was resting, asleep in the boat when the storm hit and in panic they woke Him up and asked Him if he really cared for them, as it looked like they would perish. As His children today, when we become fearful, we take this same attitude when our personal “storms of life” look like we might sink. Even though the Lord is with us, we act as if He is not there to do anything. The disciples forgot that Jesus told them to get in the boat and go with Him to the other side. Since He told them where they were going, they could have trusted Him to get them there. They had seen Him do miracles for many, but doubted that He could do a miracle for them. They forgot He was the true Master of everything, even the wind and the storm. We can find ourselves in the same place if we look at the storm instead of looking to Jesus, the Master of the universe, who has power over the storm.  He is the One that can bring peace into any situation and has the answer for every problem we face.

We need to understand that fear is the opposite of faith. We cannot operate in fear and faith at the same time. Now, how can we overcome fear and walk in faith? (more…)

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