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The issues surrounding the pandemic continue to affect us all and yet it is the Lord’s desire that we fully trust Him and press on for the glory of God. I am concerned that many have decided to never come back to church. In the vast majority of cases, I think this is ill advised and ungodly. We are commanded to gather for worship and praise of our King! Now, let’s be clear. If you have symptoms or you are sick, then you must stay home. But this is not a new “rule” so to speak. I believe we have taken the necessary precautions, we have sanitized the church, and we are practicing social distancing and encouraging all to wear masks. Some may not agree that these measures are necessary but we will continue to operate on the safe side.
We have apparently given some the impression that staying home and watching the service online is equivalent to being present for worship. That was never our intent. It is NOT the same. So, if you are not sick and do not have symptoms related to Covid, then I want to encourage you to come back to worship in person. We are not to be fearful! The Apostle Paul writes, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).
This past Sunday our prayer emphasis with Mark Mirza of Common Thread Ministries was a tremendous blessing. Mark is one of America’s leading experts on prayer, and he did a masterful job speaking to us about the importance of our prayer lives. He said that your prayer life is the barometer of your spiritual life. If that is so, and it is!, then how is your spiritual life measuring up?
I am very grateful that I have regained enough strength to be back in the pulpit this coming Sunday and I am very much looking forward to completing the series in Daniel 9 with “Daniel’s Prayer of Confession, Part 3.” Please read Daniel 9 and come looking for God to speak to your heart. The church of today is in great need of repentance.
There has never been a better or more appropriate time to call the church to repentance. On January 20, our nation will transition into the new administration of President Biden. It will likely be the most wicked and anti-Christian administration to ever take office. But we are not in despair! God is on the throne and maintains His sovereign control over all things! Perhaps God is giving us a wake-up call.
One of the most significant and important issues remains abortion. As a nation, we continue to slaughter the innocent at over 2,600 per day! How can we expect the blessing of God when this amount of innocent blood is being shed? Technically, last Sunday was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, but since we were doing our prayer emphasis, we have delayed our emphasis on SOHL. We will pray and clarify our position on LIFE this coming Sunday.
As always, I am looking forward to what God will do at Tabernacle this coming Sunday. Please be present with your Bibles in hand as we worship the Lord together!
Blessings, YFJS, Bro. Tom