Thoughts for the week - Pastor Larry Quinnell

Greetings Church!

There are those who are saying that this virus and crisis are the  judgment of God. I am not confident enough about this situation to connect those dots. However, I do believe that God is able to use times  of distress to cause people to focus on what is important.  I believe that God causes all things to work together for good to those  who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans  8:28). Later in Romans (8:38,39) it says that there is nothing that can separate us from the Love of God, which is  in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Since those things are true, what am to make of the current crisis? It  is far too easy to complain about what is going on and ask questions  that come from that perspective. Why is this happening to me? Why do I  have to deal with this when I am not sick? I have  found that I need to ask a better quality question. How can God use  this current crisis for His glory and to reinforce in an experiential  way, His love for me and our church?

One of the ways that God can use this crisis is to get our little church  “out there.” In Matthew 28:19,20 Jesus told His disciples to, “Go  therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the  name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with  you always, even to the end of the age.” Then a persecution happened in  Jerusalem, and the early church believers in Jesus Christ scattered to  the ends of the empire and beyond, taking the  gospel with them. God was able to use the persecution that was  distressing them to further the gospel, demonstrate that Jesus was still  with them always, and bring God glory! In like manner, our church now  has a greater geographical footprint as a result of  the services going online. Not only are some of my friends watching  from diverse places, there are friends of others in our church who are  watching from diverse places. God’s message is going out there, not only  from our little church but from many other churches  as well. To God be the glory!

I confess that I do not like the ambiguity of the words “social  distancing.” I believe they should have said “physical distancing.” We  can still be social. We just cannot do that in physical proximity to  each other. What this means for us is that we need to  be more intentional about our social contacts and using other ways to  stay in touch with those we love and those we care about. Rather than  relying on the latest happenstance meeting at the water cooler, or the  shopping line, we will need to be more intentional  with our social media and other options, as we continue our social  relating without immediate physical presence. Please stay posted as we  explore options for our bible study. That we will continue to share,  care, and demonstrate love is a given. However, the  methods for that will change in response to what is going on. We just  need to continue to look for ways to love one another, just as Jesus  commanded. Again, in this area of social relating, this has a chance to  significantly increase our sphere of influence.

I encourage you to begin to see God and God’s opportunities in the midst  of what is going on. Ask the question; “How can God use this current  crisis for His glory and to reinforce in an experiential way, His love  for me and our church?” And then look for how  God responds.