God and COVID-19

Recently, I did a special message recently called REAL TALK, A Conversation About God and COVID-19. I tried to answer as many of your questions as possible but obviously couldn't get to all of them specifically in the time we had. So, I'm following up with a blog post to try and address some of those that we may have missed that morning.

I'd like to hear Tom explain the difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament...how He brought on plagues and floods, yet operates completely in love now.

That's a great question. Actually, it's a great, HARD question. I believe that the Bible plainly states there is one God and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His plan and desire have always been to bring the whole world to Him. His method of doing that in the Old Testament was to create a nation, Isreal. They would be an exclusive group of people He created out of nothing. He would make them a unique and different group of people who lived in a totally different way than any other nation. While all the nations surrounding them worshiped many gods, these people would worship only one God. The nations surrounding Isreal lived a life without any moral absolutes but God provided a moral compass for His people. Even though they were smaller, weaker, and totally homeless, He promised to bless, protect, and strengthen them far beyond their own capabilities... if they obeyed Him.

God's plan was always clear. Not necessarily to the people He chose...the Jews but it was clear to Him. He clearly stated to them, if they would worship, love, and obey His commandments, He would bless, protect, and strengthen them. This was not for their sake but for the nations surrounding them. He wanted His people to be a "light to the nations".  In other words, He would be their God, they would be His people and they would be supernaturally blessed by Him so all nations would know that He was the one and only true God...and that He desired to be their God as well. 

As a result, you see God protecting them in a variety of circumstances. That might involve plagues or natural disasters or...whatever was necessary. He wanted to show Himself to the world through them.

Somewhere along the way, that part got lost in translation. The Jews remembered the "I will bless you" part but they seemed to forget the, "so that you may be a light to the nations" part.

The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament is the same God. His plan and purpose have never changed. His methods, however, have. He has always wanted to bring all peoples of the earth to Him because of His great love for them. In the Old Testament, He chose to do that through a group of people He chose...the Jews. In the New Testament, Jesus makes it clear that His desires are still the same. He wants to make His love known through an extended group of people...His people, the Church.

The word Testament simply means, covenant. A covenant, is like a contract, only more so. The Old Testament is God's covenant with His chosen people, Israel. Israel simply failed to keep their end of the contract...to be a "light to the nations." The New Testament or new covenant, is God's contract with all believers. Even though it is offered to a broader segment, the terms are still the same...to be a "light to the nations". 

Same God. Same purpose. Different plan. Oh, and He says if we don't do our job, He'll use the rocks and trees!

Is it true that the book of Revelations tells us how we're living right now?

First off, let's start with the name of the book you're referring to. Its full name, The Revelation of Jesus Christ or Revelation, as we may refer to it in its shortened form. Notice the beginning words of the book, "The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place." It was written some 2,000 years ago about things that would soon take place. Obviously, God's idea of soon and our idea of soon is different. His Word says that to Him, 1,000 years is like a day. 

I had the opportunity to live through the '60s when books were written on how 'clearly' the images in the Revelation meant one thing. Then, in the '90s books were written that claimed that the imagery was something totally different. 

I do think several things:

1. The Revelation is given to us to tell us to be prepared for Jesus' return, whenever it may come.

2. It's a warning for the Church to be pure and holy or risk seeing God's presence removed entirely.

3. It warns us it's going to get worse before it gets better.

4. But, mostly rather than being about specific prophecies, it assures us that God triumphs in the end. Satan will be history and heaven will be a place where our greatest joy will come from once and for all being face-to-face with Jesus, the author and finisher of our salvation. 

5. Earth is good. Heaven is way better. 

Oh, and are we living in the End Times? Absolutely, just like they were in the First Century. The End Times, is that period between when Jesus left the earth and His return. 

I work in the healthcare industry. I realized my fear is that if we reopen our economy too fast this virus may get out of control and people will be dying in the streets and we will have to choose who we will save and who we don't. How do I deal with that fear. 

You're wrestling with anxiety. That's the fear of the "What-if." "What-if" the virus gets out of control? "What-if" the economy collapses? "What-if" someone I love dies? "What-if"...well, you fill in the blank. All of those things have several things in common:

1. You have no control over them. 

2. They aren't happening today. 

God's Word is clear about what we worry about... Jesus said, "Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough trouble on its own". We're simply to live in today. Today is what IS. That's where our mind and thoughts should be dwelling if we are wrestling with worry. 

Second, His Word is clear that worry, fear, and anxiety have no place in the life of a believer. NONE. It comes down to, we can either worry ourselves to death (literally to death) or we can trust our loving Heavenly Father. Pick one. You can't have both. 

The trouble with "What-if" living is that, "What-ifs" are endless. There's always another...and another...and 1,000 others. If allowed, they control and define your life. They ruin your life. The only things we should concern ourselves with are things we have control over. You can wash your hands. You can keep socially distant. You can stay at home as much as possible. Oh yeah, and you can pray and trust God.

I hear people praying and asking God to "heal our land", but not many folks praying for God to work in them. Is it wrong to ask God to heal a nation when we aren't asking Him to work in our own lives?

OK, let's break this question down into a coupe of parts:

Is it wrong to pray for God to heal our land?

Absolutely not. In fact, when we pray for God to heal our land, I hope our land is in reference to the whole earth. When that prayer was first recorded, it was a command of God to tell Israel to ask Him to heal Israel. But, before the "heal our land" part comes the "If my people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray, seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, then from Heaven I will hear, forgive them of their sins...and heal their land". Interesting how we leave out that part.

Is it wrong to ask God to heal a nation if we aren't asking Him to work in our lives?

Read the answer above. I think that's pretty clear. Humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, turn from our wicked ways...that is the preamble to asking God to heal our land. It's a conditional covenant. Only as we do our part does God promise to do His.