March 18, 2020 -- Psalm 119:136 -- Streams of tears for the right reasons

My eyes shed streams of tears,

because people do not keep your laws.

Psalm 119:136 English Standard Version

Beloved in the LORD my eyes are streaming tears as well this day. As Christians we are abandoning our posts exactly when we are most needed! We are commanded not to give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:23-25). We are to place our trust in the LORD God of Heaven and Earth rather than in human rules and regulations.

Hands up those of you who watch crime shows. Hm. That is a lot of you. When you watch the show, you get to see the criminal up close. You know the crime he has committed. Then the police bring in a psychologist. This man reconstructs the crime and determines the criminal to be this age and pieces together a psychic profile and so on. As viewers we are so impressed. Wow, this man knows so much. He is playing the part of god on these shows. It translates to us, people in the audience, as instruction on how to view authorities in our world. They are oracles from on high. We are fooled into keeping our eyes earth-bound rather than on Him Who rules the heavens and the earth.

How does this play out today? Consider the heroes of previous centuries in times of plague and disaster. The Christian Post (an on-line opinion piece) of Oct. 16, 2014 notes in the times of plagues in 200’s in the Roman Empire, it was the Christians who ran towards the scenes. They stood out as examples of steadfast confidence in God in the times of disaster counting themselves blessed to be counted worthy to suffer.

Far more recently, in the Ebola virus scares of the previous decade, it was well documented that Christians helped out. While so many ran in panic, Christians were prepared to stand their ground for the glory of God. Please read the article at the end of this devotional blog. And long after these plagues, many Christians adopted orphans, provided schooling, and protection for these who’d otherwise we targets for child prostitution or recruited for various factional guerrilla armies.

We do not need to huddle in fear. Now understand me correctly. I believe Christians should be wise! We should not run and seek to get sick. We should do all the hand-washing while taking other precautions as outlined by our government. However, I believe we must gather. We must pray. We must declare our faith to be of infinitely more value and worth than our health. There are to be no other idols, no other prizes in our life other than the greatest prize of all: Jesus Christ as King of our hearts.

Believe me, I preach this to my own heart as much as I preach it to you this day. Consider, dearest readers, how we can stand as lighthouses of hope in the Great and Glorious Name of Jesus. We are not those who cower in fear. We have the Spirit of Sonship (Romans 8:15) , the Spirit of Adoption (Ephesians 1:5) so that in sickness and in health, in times of poverty or riches, in times of famine or plenty, no matter the circumstances of our lives we declare triumphantly we belong to the High King of Heaven—our Saviour and our God.

Mighty Father in heaven, we praise You with thanks for the work of all those on the front-lines: nurses and doctors, paramedics and police officers, fire-fighters and researchers, palliative care workers and nursing home staff. We mention before Your throne of mercy prisoners and prison guards, grocers and truck drivers and so many others who work behind the scenes. We bless You for all those in key positions who You have placed in these positions for Your glory and for the good functioning of our society.

King Jesus, we bless You for the assurance of our salvation. We thank You that neither death or life, angels nor demons, plague nor peace can steal our salvation from Your glorious protection Great and blessed are You.

Spirit of Truth, thank You for our government leadership at all levels. Thank You for the men and women who serve to the best of their abilities. We praise You with thanks for those who are Christians and who are on their knees interceding for our land. We confess, Spirit of Truth, how feeble we are. We confess how we can waver and succumb to fears which are not warranted where You are guarding us in Christ. May the Church of the Risen Saviour once again rise up and show herself to be the Bride of the our Bridegroom Jesus Christ—the Desire of All Nations, the Hope of the hopeless.

Triune God, Holy and True, direct us as Christians to live out our faith fully and courageously in these times. As the world lurches towards the end times, strengthen us as Your people, to stand firm so that at the Day of Jesus’ return He will find faith on the earth. Amen.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/running-toward-the-plague-christians-and-ebola.html