Old Ernest Lee has been taking some time off- social distancing they call it now. Sorry for not posting sooner about the virus. We need to make sure we understand during this time that GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. He is still in charge and nothing happens He doesn’t know about. There is a lot of misinformation out there and the media loves to ‘stir it up.’ It is also important we understand terms. Here are some definitions of infectious disease terms you need to know about:
PANDEMIC: the geographical spread of a disease that affects a whole country or the entire world.
EPIDEMIC: an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high percentage of the population
PLAGUE: a vector-borne infectious disease caused by the bacteria known as Yersinia pestis. There are three forms of plague in humans: bubonic plague, septicemic plague, and pneumonic plague.
COVID-19 is not a plague. It is a virus and a virus spreads by contact. When a person touches a person or a surface an infected person touched, they can potentially be infected. Apparently COVID-19 is a hearty virus and can be fatal to the elderly and those with underlying health issues. There isn’t a cure yet, so social distancing is probably not a bad idea until the virus settles down.
But COVID-19 has changed the world and those changes will be permanent. Like 9-11 created TSA and removing shoes to go through airport security became the norm, COVID-19 will probably make handshaking and causal hugs a thing of the past. But back to the spiritual lesson of COVID-19. Did God create it? The Bible says He created all things and so He must have created it. If so why did He create it? Here are some takes by some theologians on the spiritual implementations of COVID-19:
(1) Ralph Drollinger believes God sent COVID-19 to punish America for sin. Heres a link to his thoughts on it: https://capmin.org/is-god-judging-america-today/
(2) John Piper says COVID-19 is God’s ‘thunderclap.’ He says the message of Jesus to the world at this moment in history is to repent. Heres a link to his thoughts on it: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-we-make-sense-of-the-coronavirus
(3) Anne Graham Lotz, Billy Graham’s daughter, says COVID-19 is a sign of the end of the world. Here’s a link to her thoughts on it: https://billygraham.org/story/anne-graham-lotz-is-the-coronavirus-a-sign-of-the-end/
In Ernest Lee’s opinion, they all could be right. America and the world deserves the wrath of God and punishment for wickedness, but I wouldn’t go as far as Drollinger and Lotz in ‘connecting the dots.’ We deserve God’s wrath and punishment all the time and the wickedness of man gets worse every day, so why did God send COVID-19 today. Piper’s take is more in line with scripture- God does things sometimes to get our attention. If his goal was to kill people, our feeble attempts at social distancing wouldn’t matter. As Luther said during the black plague, if God wants me, He will find me. Hiding in a bunker or at home watching TV will not protect you if its your time.
Ernest Lee lives in Oklahoma- I’ve been here for 113 years- born the same year as the state. Our governor, Kevin Stitt, called for a statewide prayer meeting in which several people prayed and a pastor repeatedly had people chant- LET HOPE RISE. If you want to watch the meeting, heres the link: http://www.kten.com/story/41943896/watch-live-statewide-prayer-and-worship-event-in-tulsa
Now, don’t get me wrong- Ernest Lee believes in prayer, but not the way Stitt and others in my state do. At his Governor’s prayer breakfast, Stitt and Craig Groeschel of Life Church stated PRAYER MOVES THE HEART OF GOD. See here: https://kfor.com/news/local/stitt-seeks-to-build-coalition-of-nonprofits-faith-based-organizations-through-be-a-neighbor-program/ What? I can change God’s mind? I can plead my case to a sovereign, eternal, UNCHANGEABLE Creator and He will change His mind? Stitt’s expressed view of prayer is dangerously close to a heresy called OPEN THEISM. If you want to know more about that, here is a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_theism
So does prayer change things? It does- it changes Ernest Lee. It changes you. It’s a tool that conforms us to God’s will. But prayer doesn’t change God. GOD IS IMMUTABLE. That means He doesn’t change. God’s eternal decree(just one) is for eternity. It doesn’t need revision or changing. If God could change, He wouldn’t be God. For more on God’s Immutability, here is a link to a good article by Sam Storms, a fellow Oklahoman: https://www.samstorms.org/all-articles/post/the-immutability-of-god
So what should a believer do about the COVID-19? (1) Pray for God’s mercy! While God knows what He is going to do, we don’t. If Piper is right and this is ‘God’s thunderclap,’ then we should be listening. (2) Use this time as an opportunity to present the gospel. Death is on people’s minds. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and after that, the judgment. Point unbelievers to Christ. Encourage them to seek Him in repentance and faith. (3) Don’t panic or become fearful. The worst that can happen to a believer is they die and go to heaven. (4) Don’t be reckless and careless in your interaction with other people. (5) Obey the authorities. God put them there. No doubt your ”liberty” will be limited for a while, but do something for the greater good. (6) Don’t play victim. Use this time as a time to ‘go deeper with God.’ Piper has an excellent article on how you can do that. Here is the link: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-i-go-deeper-with-christ
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER- GOD IS IN CONTROL!
Ernest Lee Contendin 