Tag Archive | faith

Peace in the Midst of a Pandemic

Mar23

Can it be possible?  We are literally experiencing a global pandemic…a new virus previously unheard of in humans, although veterinarians have been vaccinating cattle against a strain of it for many years!  Perhaps the fear and media hysteria surrounding this new Corona Virus have created more panic than reason, largely because this event is unprecedented.

 

One thing we as Christians can be assured of:  This event has not taken God by surprise!  He in His ultimate sovereignty has allowed this crisis to take place and as His children, we can believe Romans 8:28,  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  (NASB)  We know God is at work and has allowed this to happen!

Let’s take a look at a few facts:  Global pandemics are not new; the term means, “an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population.”

In 1918, the most severe pandemic of influenza in recent history took place.  It was the H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin, and it is estimated that about 500 million people (1/3 of the world’s population at that time) became infected with the virus.  At least 50 million worldwide died; in the United States there were 675,000 deaths.  This dwarfs the current pandemic by huge amounts!  My grandmother’s sister sadly lost her one-year-old twin sons to this horrible plague.  In 1956-1958 the “Asian flu” caused 1.1 million deaths worldwide, 116,000 here in the United States.  The flu epidemic of 1968, the “Hong Kong flu”, caused a death toll worldwide of over 1 million; and most recently  the H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010 infected 60.8 million worldwide, with nearly 13,000 U.S. deaths.  Do you remember this one?  Our Federal government passed a supplemental funding aid bill of $350 million dollars.  It seemed life went on pretty much as usual, although it was obviously horrific for those affected.

The Corona Virus (Covid-19 is apparently a bit different than the flu in that the bacteria attack the lungs instead of the stomach and is extremely contagious.   Also, the death rate is a bit higher than that of the flu, although most cases range from very mild to severe with a death rate a bit over 2%, and the vast majority of people with it recover.

Some people feel this is God’s judgment on people who have refused to repent of their sin.  There are a number of passages in the Old Testament where God sent plagues, pestilence, famine, wars and thousands and thousands were killed, because the nation of Israel refused to obey His laws and keep His commandments, preferring instead to worship in idolatry and  commit acts of debauchery.  You may want to read about some of these instances:  II Kings 17:6-20; II Chronicles 34:24-27; Isaiah 24:4-6,10; Amos 4:6-12.  In these cases either prophets were predicting horrible events in the future if they did not repent of their sins, or God Himself was explaining why He had done what He did… if they would not obey and serve Him instead of other gods, He would do thus and so; and then He would end by saying, “Yet you have not returned to me!”  But He continued to love them.

It is easy to see why God might want to send judgment on wicked people.  However, this is something that we must leave up to Him and not proclaim judgment if He has not directly stated that this is the case!  Of course, during the great tribulation on earth before His second coming (when the Church has already been raptured out), He will pour out His wrath on the earth by sending mighty plagues such as boils, hail, fire and other judgments.  These are detailed in Revelation 16.  Does the Word of God say that the people repented?  On the contrary it states that “they blasphemed God!”

 

So, you say, if this is not a judgment at this time, just what is it?  While we do not always know everything God is up to, I promise you we can trust Him!  He is at work and is allowing this pandemic not only to wake people up, giving them a chance to turn to Him, but to give us as His people a chance to show the world we do not fear these things, but our trust is in the Lord God! Our reaction during this time is so important!

When Habakkuk turned to God and asked the question, How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear?  I cry out to You, “Violence!” yet You do not save….Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises.  Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld….”; God answered Him,  Look among the nations!  Observe!  Be astonished!  Wonder!  Because I am doing something in your days—-you would not believe if you were told.  Habakkuk 1:2-5 (NASB)

 

Wow!  If God really told us everything He is up to, we would probably not be able to handle it!  He truly knows the end from the beginning and all He asks of us, His children, is to “trust, obey and leave the results to Me!”  That really frees us  from worry, doesn’t it?  So, in these trying days where you are perhaps feeling a bit inconvenienced, perhaps stressed because of the constant barrage of negative information flowing from the airwaves each day, afraid for what lies ahead, perhaps worrying that your finances will be drained, not to mention the fear of you or your loved ones succumbing to the virus itself, rise up in faith and stand on the promises of God!  II Timothy 1:7 says,  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV)   Philippians 4:6 &7 tell us,  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (NASB)

Psalm 91 is one of the best psalms I know of to read, memorize and quote each day!  It speaks of God delivering us “from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence”; “a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you”; “no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling”, and on and on!  What beautiful words to live by!  Verses 1 and 2 start out,  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” (NKJV)  What is there to fear when God is on our side?

I would like to close with a song I wrote several years ago called “In the Secret Place“….I took the title from Psalm 91 and I pray it will bless you in your worship time today!  Remember:  “For the child of God, as believers, the best is yet to come!”

 

 

Rebecca’s music is available on Pandora and Spotify, and by going to the link to the right on this page to “purchase Rebecca’s music”.

 

Lessons I Learned from a Bird

Jan5
In Job 35:11 (NASB) we read, “Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?”  Could God use a bird to deliver a spiritual lesson to us?  My husband, Russell Bafford, had a chance to experience this very thing and I invited him to share it with us today on my blog:
Several years ago, I had this encounter with a bird….
While walking along the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky one sunny morning I saw a bird standing still at the edge of the river.  He had long, skinny legs and a long, narrow beak … probably a heron of some kind.  He remained motionless for the longest time.  I became mesmerized at the sight of him standing there, and focused on him wondering what was going to happen.  Then, all of a sudden, bam!  He poked his long beak down into the water just a few inches in front of his legs, and he came up with a small fish which he promptly swallowed.  Shortly after that he flew off.  After reflecting on what I had just seen, here are the nine things I learned from that episode.
1. This bird knew where to go to find what he needed.  Not to a junkyard… not to a barnyard…not to a desert…not to a mountaintop … not to a mall parking lot … not to a football field … not to a rooftop … but rather to the river.  Are you looking for a job in the wrong place?  There aren’t many cowboy jobs in downtown New York.  If you want to make surfboards, you better not look for a job in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  If you are looking for a Christian companion, go to where those Christians hang out … probably not to the local taverns and bars.  (He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.   Prov. 13:20)
2. He had to leave his resting place to find what he needed.  This took some effort on his part.  It would have been easier for him to stay in his bed, and hope the food would come to him.  But even this bird, with his bird brain, knew better than that.  He knew he had to go out and look for himself.  Do you wish you had a job, but wish someone would come to your door to offer you one?  Do you wish you had more friends, and wish they would come to your door offering to befriend you?  Get a bird brain … go look for what you desire!
3. He didn’t know the exact location of where his food would appear, but he did know the general vicinity of where it was most likely to appear.  Even though the river is about a mile wide, he only went to the river’s edge.  A fish that was 20 feet beneath the surface wouldn’t do him much good; he had to have something just a few inches down.  A 50 pound fish would be too much for him to handle, but a one ounce fish was just about the right size.  Could you really handle a million dollars right now if it was dumped into your lap?  Would a thousand dollars be easier for you to manage?  Our Lord told us to pray for our DAILY bread … not a year’s supply!  There must be a reason for that.
4. He looked for his needs using the physical characteristics, senses, skills, and attributes with which God had endowed him.  Those skinny legs look an awful lot like another reed growing up out of the water’s edge.  His eyes were several inches above the water giving him a pretty wide view of the water around him.  Be real with yourself.  God gave you much more than a bird’s brain!  Make a serious assessment of your skills, talents, attributes, and interests keeping in mind they are a gift from God proportioned to you in just the right amount according to His divine will.  Don’t be surprised if others don’t have the same exact mix of attributes … that’s because God made you unique!
5. He had patience… he stayed at it until his needs were met … he never gave up.  This took time.  He was willing to spend the time needed.  How long are you willing to wait on an answer to prayer from the Lord?  Look at some examples we have from scripture … when Moses went up Mount Sinai to seek the Lord, he was more than just a new believer.  He was more than a neophyte in spiritual things.  After leaving Egypt the first time, he spent 40 years biding his time in a foreign land most likely gaining some maturity in his spiritual life.  Then God finally told him to go back to Egypt, and bring His people out.  Moses saw and participated in some mind-boggling miracles brought about by God’s own hand.  And now this giant of the faith was summoned by God himself to ascend Mount Sinai for further instructions.  But once he was up there he waited … one hour … two hours … three hours … then one day … then two days … then three days … still no response from God … (How patient are you when you pray?  If we were really spiritual, we would all get an immediate response from God, right?) … Moses waited another day … then another … then after seven days had past, God finally spoke to him.  If this spiritual giant of the faith had to wait a full week before God answered him, how long should we be prepared to wait on our sovereign Lord?
6. He was focused on the task at hand … not distracted by other things going on around him.  There was a lot of background noise around him.  There was a lot of other activity by animals and people going on around him while he was trying to stay focused.  These other distractions did not care about his needs; they were unconcerned about his goals and objectives.  The distractive influences had their own agendas that were different from his.  Do you start with good intentions only to take your eye off the ball when the first distraction comes along?  Then, once distracted, do you go back to the task you started?  Did you ever begin a discipline of regular prayer & devotion time only to be distracted?  Did you go back to resume the practice?  There is a reason they are called DISCIPLES … because it involves discipline.   Let us learn from this bird and resolve to emulate his focus and his discipline.
7. He recognized what he needed when he saw it.  He had a pretty good idea of what his goal looked like.  Things that did not match his goal were ignored.  It has been said, “If you don’t know where you are going, then any road will get you there.”  People often struggle for years to get a goal established in their lives.  Most Christians want to know what God’s will is for their lives.  This is a good place to remember Romans 12:2 which says: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)  Are you looking to the celebrities in America’s popular culture for advice and direction?  Look somewhere else.  The key to knowing God’s will is to renew our minds to think His thoughts, to look at things the way He sees them, to respond the way our Lord would respond, to embrace and exercise the same value system our Lord has demonstrated for us.  This is not easy, but it is something to which each serious Christian should aspire.
8. He took what he needed when it got within his reach.  Even if he spotted a perfect fish 10 feet away it wouldn’t do him much good because it was beyond his reach.  It had to be within his reach.  Is it a surprise to you when God provides that for which you have prayed?  Should it be a surprise?  It should be a cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving, but should it really be a surprise to us when God answers our prayers?
9. When his need was met, he went on to something else … as if he was confident God would meet that same need again on another day in a similar way.  Remember how Jesus told us to pray   “… give us this day our daily bread …”
I really learned a lot from that bird.  How about you?

Being “Salt and Light” Where You Are!

Jun13

She was a delicate, beautiful, slightly built young woman who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent.  After walking into my teaching studio in Tyler, Texas and shyly introducing herself as Sheron,  she told me she was interested in her five year old son, Ali, beginning piano lessons.  She seemed a bit unsure of herself, and I noticed she also had a two-year-old son who appeared to be very hyper-active with disciplinary challenges!  I gladly enrolled her little boy in lessons and decided to take him myself, as I had a few openings.

Ali did fairly well when he practiced, but I don’t think piano was his main interest in life; probably, more than likely, it was his mom’s idea for him to come!  As the weeks passed and he came to his half-hour lesson, I would visit briefly with Sheron and discuss her son’s progress, among other things.  I learned that she was new to our country, having recently moved here from her native country of Iran.  She had a degree in biophysics and after moving to the U.S. had met and married a fellow Iranian who owned several gas station/convenience stores in the area.  She was always very pleasant to talk with and our friendship grew.

One day she confided to me that she was very lonely and did not seem able to make many friends in our country.  I told her I would be her friend and that seemed to please her.  I knew she had her hands full with two very active boys and I just tried to help her feel comfortable.  The next time Sheron brought Ali to his lesson, she said to me, “I want to know about Jesus!  I have been reading some and hearing about Him.  Can you help me?”  I excitedly shared my testimony of receiving Jesus as my personal Savior from sin and asked her if she had a Bible.  She did not, and I told her I would get her one, which I promptly did.  When I presented it to her the following week, she was very excited, telling me she was fluent in English and could easily read an English edition.  She also began reading materials about the Gospel in her native Farsi language.

The next time she came I asked her if she would like to receive Jesus as her Savior.  She eagerly said, “Yes!” and after explaining what conversion was all about, I led her in the sinner’s prayer and Sheron became a Christian!  I asked if she had a church home and invited her to come to our church.  She said she would try, but that her husband was a Muslim and did not like the Christian faith.  She seemed a bit concerned about this fact, and I told her I would be her prayer partner and together we would pray for her husband.  Then she shared with me the fact that she had suffered with severe back pain for some time; I prayed for her healing and she told me the pain left!  The next week she was jubilant when she told me she had not suffered any more pain all week and that she was still rejoicing in her new-found salvation through the blood of Christ!

Not too long after this a young woman in her twenties, with a remarkable voice and to whom I had taught voice lessons when she was in high school, came back to refresh and sing again with me.  During her first vocal lesson, she confided in me that she had recently converted to the “Wicca” faith, a variety of witchcraft, although she had been a Baptist when I had taught her years earlier.  Although I was somewhat aghast and surprised, I simply told her I would pray for her.  She knew how I believed and week after week at our lesson, she would still sing some Christian songs along with Broadway and operatic tunes she was working on.  At times I would have a chance to witness to her of my faith, once again.  One day, she came and told me about some heart-wrenching things in her life, and began to sob in anguish.  As the tears streamed down her face, I said, “Michelle (not her real name), it’s time to come back!  Jesus is waiting for you and you know you will never be happy until you surrender to Him!”  She nodded in agreement, and prayed the sinner’s prayer with me.  Great joy flooded her countenance and the next week when she returned for her lesson, she glowed with a peace that made her look almost like an entirely different person!

Both Sheron and Michelle moved out of my life, Ali discontinuing his lessons and Michelle moving away.  I never saw either of them again, and perhaps I never will, but out of the thousands of people I have taught, I never forgot them!   I know God used me in that little studio to help two young women come to Christ.  Sometimes when I became discouraged about teaching kids who didn’t want to be there, or when it seemed that my work was in vain, I thought about them and others who had come for lessons, many pouring out their hearts and problems to me with tears streaming down their faces, often saying as they sang worship songs, “I don’t know why, but this just brings something out in me that makes the tears flow!”  I would tell them this was the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

When you get discouraged or feel like giving up some days, just remember God can bring people into your life and down your path, even in the workplace!  You don’t have to preach them a sermon; just be their friend and bring Jesus to them as He leads you!  I found out through these experiences that “music really is worship”…being “salt and light” in a dark place!

 

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