INFECTUOUS DISEASES STRIKE FEAR IN THE WORLD

Currently we are in a world of panic over a particular infectiuous disease called Ebola, or Ebola Virus, the hemorrhagic fever caused by the Ebola virus – AKA: Ebola Fever.

The media (and certain governers) are intent on causing panic over this whole situation, even though our learning curve is high and in force, changing as needed for each situation, and containment has been close to miraculous.

But Ebola is definitely a very dangerous virus. And there is no doubt that it must be contained.

However, all reason has left the reporting and panicking over this disease. It has clearly been shown that people who do not attend to someone in end stage Ebola have very miniscual chance of getting the virus. At the very least they have to have touched the person in some way and would have to have been direct in contact with some form of that person's bodily fluids in order to even be watched for symptoms.

The fact that American doctors and hospitals are getting ahead quickly in this invasion of a virus has not really come through in the reporting and speculations about the coming catastrophe. Right now, everyone who comes down with a fever seems to be a cause for fear.

Panic is a strong

I was having a conversation with a stranger over a year ago, maybe two, and as we discussed our aches and pains in our aging years, she suddenly said this mouthful:

You know our bodies are not made to fail like this. They are supposed to be perfect, but they have flaws. Someday science will figure out what to do about that.

As my jaw dropped and my mind was grasping what she had said, the person we were there to talk with came up to us. I was blown away that she had given me a perfect opportunity to explain that situation in testimony for Christ and that the opportunity flashed away as quickly as it had come! I was dumb founded, to say the least.

She was so right: Our bodies were not meant to be weak and vulnerable. But Science is not the answer. God, and God alone is the answer.

As for the Ebola “epidemic,” the truth is that even with the few patients brought into this country, and even with those in this country coming down with this, we are nowhere near the need for panic. But that is the big buzz for now: Epidemic sure to follow! We will all be killed.

Actually we like to panic about a lot of things - check this list I borrowed from facebook:

But, truly, there is one infection that will kill us all and which we cannot avoid. No one can.

It is the most destructive infection of all infections. Way too many people refuse to recognize that it even exists, let alone panic about it; rather, they keep trying to obliterate any thought of it from their lives.

This is an infection that all of us are born with and it came “genetically” down the line through our ancestors, destroying lives left and right for centuries; bringing all that were born to a time of dying: no exceptions. Well, okay, there were a couple of people whom God reached down and brought up from the earth before they had a chance to die; But even they were destined to die from this disease if God had not taken them home to be with Him, out of his deep love for them.

This disease is SIN. Even before we are born we have begun to die, because sin has permeated this world and no one can escape it. Even before we are born distress effects our lives; dead cells collect as hair and nails; and some things begin to go wrong with our development: some of those being life threatening, while some are actual impairments or simply distressful annoyances once we are born.

In this day and age the word sin is laughed at. Even the word evil is frowned upon, though we see it at work every single day of our lives and it enriches the imaginations of those who love horror.

But sin and evil do exist. It is a topic of much discussion ,not only in Christianity, but in religions world wide. There are many remedies suggested, and many ways to express it are shown constantly in movies and TV shows, even in innocent comics, movies and TV shows.

Why are Super Heroes needed? Because there are evil forces at work all around us. Someone has to save us from them. If there is no good and no evil there cannot be such comics and movies and shows. But they do exist, so... on some level we all pretty much acknowledge the struggle between good and evil.

Christians did not make this up. It is “Good Guy vs Bad Guy” all over the place, all over the world. Christians are simply trying to tell you the truth about good and evil: that evil is led by Satan, who is Evil itself; and good is led by God, who IS GOOD.

Satan came into the lives of Adam and Eve and established his reign on earth by infecting them with his Evil. God, knowing this test would come, had already planned the only way out of this predicament through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And God kept His word that Christ's Blood would be shed for the sins of all mankind. And that all who asked would be forgiven their sins through that shed blood.

This is a very short summary of this truth of sacrific which can be found in Christianity, but also in many other religions who developed their own sacrificial lambs to artificial gods.

The point is that knowing Christ is a life changing thing. Following a religion is slavery to rules and regulations, none of which help change or cure the conditon of sin.

There are many ways to begin seeking this truth, but the important one is to choose Christ with your heart and voice: let yourself hear Him call you, and answer Him with a ”Yes, Lord, I am here.”

Christ is wooing you even now, let Him into your heart and your life and change your direction from sinning and doing evil, to following Him through this sin-filled world, with a goal of seeing Him one day in the true home of God, where Love lives.

What are the benefits of accepting this truth: Eternal life with God in Heaven and expert assistance for getting through this life as the Holy Spirit of God enters your life and brings you Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness (a God who is faithful to you and helps you to want to be faithful to Him), Gentleness and Self-Control. As you follow Him, you will grow and grow away from the sinfulness of your earthly life to the eternal faithfulness and peace of the next.

If you are sick of sin and greatly disturbed about the evil going on around you, take the time to seek God now:

God so loved the world that He gave (to death) His only Son (Jesus Christ) that whoever believes in Him shall not perish (to eternal death) but (shall instead) have everlasting life (with God in Heaven.)

For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him, might be saved (healed from sin.)

(Whoever) believes on Him is not condemned: but he that does not believe (on Christ) is condemned already (to eternal death) because he has not believed on the Name of the only Son of God (Jesus Christ.)

Check out John 3:16 online at Bible Gateway and you will see many translations of this truth.

Seek Him while he may be found. And, if you are reading this, He may be found right now. Just ask Him for His help for you to believe this. He is listening for your prayer.

May those who hear (by reading this) also respond to it and find the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior today.

THE ENEMY WANTS MY FAITH

This morning I am trying to get my faith back. Pretty silly on one hand but really important on the other.

THE ENEMY WANTS MY FAITH. That is his number one goal for my life: He wants me to doubt God's work in and through my life. He wants me to fear making moves because they may be the wrong moves. He wants me to think that what I say or what I write is wasted time and effort. He wants me to believe that I am useless on this earth.

He also wants me to fear my immediate future: Will I ever be able to walk comfortably again and get some exercise? Will my heart and lungs ever be strong enough again to support me through a serious health crisis, since I have not been walking and they are getting weaker and weaker? Is my car finally falling apart? Will I have a car to drive at all in the near future because I cannot afford to get my car fixed? Can I rely on my current income to ever fill my cupboards again with the staples I need to fix meals for myself that I will be willing to eat? (As if I am anywhere near starving, or even hungry, compared to “those little children in foreign countries.”) Okay, I am a little sarcastic about that, but one can easily see that I am not starving or even close to it – Just frustrated that my idea of how to sustain me is apparently different from “Someone” else.

Apparently I have been building up a lot of faithless ideas lately and it has come to my attention that one of the things I feel called to do has been blocked by this lack of faith. I am currently convinced that what I write is senseless and not a blessing to anyone. I have written many things that I then drop and leave in file rather than post. I am sure that those things are stupid and a waste of time for whoever reads them. I have been convinced that no one is actually interested in reading them, even though my goal is not to have readers, plural, but to reach out to someone who may just need to consider the points I am making.

I write and then I do not post because I have lost my faith that this simple thing is what I should do. Talking and writing and loving on people are about all I think I can do, so if I drop any of these things, I truly become useless.

What I need is prayer, but...

Well, maybe this is the way to reach out for that prayer. Will you pray for me?

Sometimes I hesitate to ask for prayer because my requests seem so wrong. But asking for your help is not wrong. In my Bible study, I have asked for prayer for gaining some clarity because of my confusion. This morning I looked up to God and said, “My brain has gone nuts: I cannot keep it focused on one subject long enough to grasp it or form ideas from that subject. Help me pull things together and be more focused and less confused.”

Perhaps you can help me with this? I am currently working on a post that I think is relevant and purposeful but I am being discouraged from posting it. Perhaps I should not, but maybe I should.

Pray for me to regain my focus and ability to step up to the plate and do what God wants me to do.You do not need to answer this request. Just pray, please. And, thank you.

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO HAS REGARD FOR THE WEAK

This blessing is found in Psalm 42:1, NIV version. My first thought when reading this was of Techno-man. He is my hero when it comes to technology. One of the weaknesses I experience as an “elderly” lady, is that I am a Tech-not!

Though I have managed to learn to use a computer, self-taught over the years, I nevertheless have no real technical knowledge of PC's. I once took a class in programing (before PC) and found that my logic was very rusty and may never be any good again, even with a good dose of Naval Jelly. (Look it up.) I may never understand the “how did it get this way,” but I do know some things about “how do I use this thing?”

Techno-man is a young man, with a young family, who works from home developing all kinds of techno-things that I do not understand. He also helps with training and serving in technology areas in our church. But, if I have a question, he will stop for a minute and try to answer it. He always has a really good answer, calms me down from my worries, and even has invaded my computer to put a few things to rest.

The point is that he - a very busy, very knowledgeable young man - has “consideration for the weak.” And a huge smile as well. He has won my heart, and He makes God glad.

In the King James, the word “poor” is used; but as in many cases, this is probably not specifying just the unrich. For me “the weak” seems a better understanding than “the poor.” I am weak. Many of my friends are weak. Not all of my friends are poor. Yet they all have a weakness somewhere. And many join me in my modern weakness as a Tech-Not.

Meanwhile, there are other weaknesses all around us that are even more serious than a failure to understand technology:

There are those who are weak physically and have a hard time getting around. I have dear friends in that situation. One accompanies me to church on Sunday. Church is greatly important to her and she needs the help of those “stronger” than her to get her there and into the church. When we drive up, the men who are greeting move right out to help her; they get her out of the car and up on the sidewalk, so that she can go in and enjoy the time of worship. These men “have regard for the weak” and they are blessed.

We also have people in our church who come in weak of spirit and weak in self-control. We welcome them and nourish them and help them grow into stronger people through the comfort and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who pray for them, those who do what they can to guide them, and those who befriend them in the Love of Christ are showing “regard for the weak” and they are blessed.

And, not the least of them, are those who show regard for the children (the weak) will be blessed: This includes actively, and prayerfully, supporting the lives of the unborn children; speaking out for abolition of “sex-trafficking;” and caring about food and shelter for the homeless children here and around the world.

It also means loving the children around you and sharing your children with others for loving attention. Teaching, nursery care, youth group leading and simply befriending; all of these come under the umbrella of loving in Christ in a way that reaches out to the weak. Those who do will also be blessed.

Basically, a little compassion goes a long way with the Lord. Those who show it – compassion, not pity – have “regard for the weak” and are blessed.

May we step up to the plate and put ourselves out there, with a smile on our faces, to encourage and build up the weak, no matter what the weakness. Then, we too will be blessed.

God help us to see and recognize the weak and help us to reach out in your love, with regard for them. In Jesus name, Amen.