Coronavirus Reflections

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A lot has happened this past week and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have been hitting closer and closer to home. The NBA, NHL, MLB are suspended or pushed back. Church conferences, gatherings, and events are being cancelled or postponed. “I’d go to Costco during a zombie apocalypse,” is being lived out. For public and personal safety, mitigation and social distancing are being encouraged, recommended, and practiced by the government, businesses, and other organizations. 

In light of all this, how are we to respond in a way that is wise and beneficial? To not respond at all would be to turn a blind eye to the reality of the world we live in, yet to respond to each wave in the tides of information can evoke fear or panic. Just wanted to share some thoughts and encouragements that I’ve been processing through. 

Trusting God in a fallen world

We know this the reality of the world we live in. We may not be face to face with it each day, but the reality is that there is something wrong in us and around us, yet there is still hope. The worst situations can bring out the worst kind of selfishness in mankind, yet can also bring out the image of God in His creation. It all points back to our Father in heaven meeting us where we are, in the midst of unfathomable brokenness, and providing Himself as the means and ends of hope. 

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He spent time washing his disciples feet, teaching them to abide in Him, and promising the Holy Spirit would come to comfort them. In the midst of all that He encourages His disciples with this: 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

He has overcome, and He is with us and in us. Peace lives in us. 

An opportunity to slow down

With so many plans, activities, and events being cancelled, we’re being forced to do something we’re not used to doing: slowing down. We can sometimes get caught living in a frenetic pace of life that we just get used to doing. Letting our souls and emotions catch up with us can be foreign to us, yet it can be what we need. Jesus regularly took time to be with His Father. He did a lot of things but wasn’t busy (in the connotation that we would infer). He was always present with His Father, and the people that He was with. 

Jesus walked on water, but He also walked everywhere. I wonder what He did while He walked. Maybe He prayed, maybe He mediated or recited Scripture, maybe He talked to His disciples, maybe He was silent. May we learn to walk with Him, at a pace that is kind to us. Take the time to sit and read His word. Pray. Reflect. Journal. Whatever we need to do to help us engage with His heart for us. We need Him more than we know. 

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

As we slow down, in the midst of our worries, may we choose Jesus, our good portion. 

Social distancing does not mean isolation

As an introvert, there’s a part of me that rejoices in cancelled plans. Fine with me if I need to stay home 🙂 Don’t let it be an excuse to isolate though, which I easily fall into. At the end of the day, we were made to live in community. We were made for relationships. Even when we think we’re better off alone, that once we have our emergency supplies from Costco, we’re good to go. We’re blessed (yet sometimes cursed) with technology in our modern era. Hearing people’s voices, seeing their faces, reading their letters has been easier than at any point in history. Just because we’re being told to limit social interactions or are feeling the need to, don’t fall into the trap of thinking we’re better off this way. People are just a text, phone call, or (insert social media / messenger app of choice) away. 

Reach out for your own sake and for others. Check in with people. Talk about what’s happening in your weeks. Play games together. Encourage one another. Share Scripture. Ask about how each other is feeling. Whatever you need to do to remind yourselves and each other that we’re not alone. Our phones can be a source of isolation, but can also be a source of life. 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

May we learn to love one another, especially now. 

Shine your light

There’s a lot of panic going on right now. A lot of us are still working jobs that require a lot of interactions with people. At some point we’ll all have to go to the stores, which can sometimes be chaotic. Friends and family will be a lot more open to sharing opinions about what’s going on in the world right now. There may be opportunities that He may be leading us in to show His love and hope to this world.

Be filled by Him. May His presence in you seep out and overflow into your interactions with people. As the Spirit leads, be open to being a light to others. May we be kind, patient and loving to those that we come across.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Bless and be blessed fam.

Be proactive in keeping all the health recommendations, but don’t panic. Be safe. Keep washing your hands (it’s Biblical). And don’t touch your face (which is surprisingly hard to do).

Pursuing God’s Heart: The Life of David

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It’s crazy that this year’s all church retreat was only a few days ago… (but it already seems like it was ages ago!) For those of us that went, we got to experience His love, His refreshment through community, breaking down of walls and lies in our heart, and the power of truth and vulnerability. We got to learn the way of Jesus, and how He was affirmed and led by His Father. Up. We saw how Jesus was sustained by God’s Word, and was firm in His identity in the wilderness. In. We saw how Jesus moved in power because of who God made Him to be. Out.

After this weekend, we’ve already entered back into the hustle and bustle of life with work, school and everything else charging at us at full speed. As more and more things get put on our plates, how can we continue following the way of Jesus? Our prayer, as CORE, is that we focus simply on ONE thing that will permeate into ALL aspects of our lives: Seeking God’s heart.

These past few months, we’ve spent walking through and reviewing how we as a church body, as a community, and as a family should treat each other through the “One Another” series. Each encouragement was not difficult in its concept, but in its practice, can take a lifetime to grow in.

As we continue to walk together, and not alone, it will be a struggle as we strive and strain to love one another. There is only one way to spark and sustain that love though. It’s only through God Himself. We need His truth, His encouragement and His refreshment to sustain us. Along with that, we need Him to wash away the lies we so often believe, in order that we can live in our true identity as His children.

To that end, how we want to move towards that, is to simply seek His heart. Whether it be in the green pastures of our lives or the darkest caves, may we learn to seek His heart. Whether we’ve defeated giants or are struggling to survive, may we learn to seek His heart. Whether we’re defamed or well respected, may we learn to seek His heart. Whether we feel alone or in community, may we learn to seek His heart. Whether we’re in obedience or in flat out rebellion, may we learn to seek His heart.

We’ll be spending the next few months examining the life of David and what it means to pursue God’s heart. David is by no means a perfect man. More than David’s victories, he is remembered as the “man after God’s own heart.” In any season, despite success or failure, in blessing or in trial, in victory or in sin, David continually turns and returns to the Lord. Our desire is that we would be such people. May we be men and women after God’s heart.

One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4, a psalm of David

_____ One Another

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The Bible is full of these statements. Love, encourage, confess your sins to, bear burdens of, don’t judge, speak truth to, comfort, pray for… one another. And the list goes on.

The Bible, through its many authors, writes a lot about how we as the church should relate to each other. A lot of these commands and encouragements are simple and straightforward, but actually doing them is difficult.

As CORE has been reflecting on this past year, evaluating feedback from the “notes” activity a few months ago and other feedback from leadership, we’ve noticed a common theme: community (I know.. obviously!). This is why many of us have come and stayed in our church. Our community has been shaped and formed by the Lord through each of us, but there’s still many ways it can still grow. We want to move even more into being an intentional community that points each other towards God. If I may be so bold to say… it’s not enough to feel welcome and accepted by the church, if we never move each other to see the God who welcomes and accepts us through His Son. We want our church community to provide even more spaces for discipleship, healing, accountability, encouragement, and much more… but ultimately pointing ourselves and each other to Jesus Himself.

In the simplicity of the “one another’s” that we walk through, we hope that these encouragements will move us towards that intentionality and provide a practical way for us to do so. We know it’s not enough to simply hear what should be done, but we pray that the Lord would mold and shape in us willing hearts.  A willingness to love and obey Him through the people He’s placed in our lives. May our desire be for Jesus to be seen in the ways we act towards and treat one another.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35 (NIV).