23rd March 2020. Daily Devotion

Good day everyone,

We have taken the first steps to keep everyone safe by suspending our meetings for worship and we are all adjusting to this new-fangled business of “social distancing” which is perhaps better called physical distancing to prevent transmission of the Covid 19 virus. It may seem that not very much is happening, because now it is a bit like the Phony War of 1939 when it hardly seemed as if there was a war at all. We don’t know what the next few weeks may bring, but the forecast is not good. So, maintain social contact and remember the more isolated with phone calls and emails.

When a crisis comes, we turn to our faith and seek to strengthen it with prayer and reflection.
Here are some Bible verses to undergird our devotional times and to deflect anxiety and fear
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
He is still the God who oversees his creation.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Pray, be grateful, trust, smile and get on with your life with a calm heart and mind.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
An eternal truth. Days of trouble have come to us and though they may last a while, they too will pass.

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

I liked this comment: “If you hold a lit candle next to a wall and shine a flashlight on it, you’ll notice that the light or flame itself does not cast a shadow. That’s because light cannot create shadows as it shines through light, it eliminates them. As the light of the torch shines through the flame of the candle it intensifies it. So, the light of God intensifies as he shines through your light.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
Life is precarious, but it is also precious to God and he reminds us to trust him through it with the reassurance of his presence with us every day.

Isaiah 43:19 Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive I? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Already there are commentators asking how this threat might trigger new ways of thinking and living that will change humanity for the better. Crisis can change us more into the likeness of Christ because we are driven to greater dependence on Him.

Keep well, keep safe and may God bless you.
Colin