Temple Prostitution Makes a Comeback

“A brothel in Austria has begun operating as a COVID-19 vaccination center – with the added incentive of a free 30-minute session in the ‘sauna club’ with a ‘lady of their choice’ for anyone who takes them up on the offer” (source). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the brothel reports that “the scheme has been popular.” Those who take advantage of the offer are given the additional incentive of being “legally allowed to visit the ‘sauna club’ once more.” One of the employees told Reuters:

“I think it's a very good idea to have a vaccination street in the Fun Palast, because the name fun palace suggest to have a bit of fun here and return back to normality a bit more. And I also think it's a great idea that this is being offered for women, children and of course men.”

The altruism of this program can scarcely be overstated. Small business owners and sex workers are uniting to promote public health in the shared belief that COVID is a greater threat than sexually transmitted diseases or eternal damnation. One wonders how many of the women and children eligible for the program are also visiting Fun Palast to take advantage of the offer. Given the urgent importance of our public health crisis, one might envision entire households visiting the brothel together in the interests of their family’s welfare.

Of course, those with even a smattering of Bible knowledge or familiarity with religion in the ancient world will recognize the model. Appolyon has used it before, quite effectively, though it did not work out so well in cities like Corinth and Ephesus where, despite a lively sex trade in the temples, Christianity managed to gain a foothold and draw large numbers of worshippers out of the temple cult and into Christian congregations. Temple prostitution is nothing new. It is very old. The Dragon hasn’t managed to come up with anything truly new in a very long time. He simply recycles storylines like a Disney screenwriter working on the latest Star Wars film.

Temple prostitution invites worshippers to pledge allegiance and demonstrate their devotion to the gods by means of sexual communion with the priests and priestesses of the temple. It is like a lot of churches today which assure you that God’s desire is for you to be happy, and nothing says happiness like having sex with a stranger after getting poked in the arm with a needle. But make no mistake, the offer will cost you more than you expect. The first time is always free, or so they want you to think, but in reality although “the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil… in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell” (Prov. 5:3-5).

Set aside for a moment questions about the immunological value of the COVID vaccines. I regard taking the vaccine or not as a matter of personal liberty determined by each individual’s calculation. But the question of mandates aimed to vaccinate everyone, regardless of natural immunity, personal circumstances, or individual liberty is a religious mission which urges, propositions, or demands that citizens of the world bow the knee and pledge fealty to the lords of science in order to participate in the world’s economy and human society. You must burn the pinch of incense to Caesar or find yourself exiled from the world.

Entrepreneurs in Austria have only highlighted the lack of creativity in our American authorities. Imagine how much more popular President Biden’s vaccine mandate might have been if it had included a 30 minute private session in a sauna club. Instead, our executive officer decided to inspire cooperation by threatening companies with heavy fines designed to drive them out of business and threaten employees who do not comply with termination. Fun Palast in Austria has found a gentler approach to wooing participation. But make no mistake, both gambits are wicked and immoral, both are fundamentally religious in nature, and both are in defiance of the King’s rule and law. Both programs should be treated with the contempt they deserve, as devices of the Devil designed to waylay weak souls, offers and demands which like their maker are destined for Hell. --JME

Re-blogged: COVID Fear (and Thoughts on Death) by Nathan Williams

This article is worth a read and thoughtful consideration. --JME

We have been hearing media outlets and our government tell us for a year and a half now that COVID is super-extra-duper dangerous, that it’s a killer, and that we risk everyone else’s lives if we walk around without something covering our faces. It’s hard not to believe that now, even though the risk level has plummeted extremely low.

Even in the worst periods of the pandemic I tried not to listen to fear-mongering but look at the raw data. It didn’t look so bad even then. If I were older, I’d probably have been more concerned, quicker to grab a vaccine. But at my age I have not been greatly concerned. I am certainly not fearful for my kids, who are all under 18 years old. If they get it, it probably won’t hurt them badly and it almost certainly won’t kill them. It will be like a mild flu for them, most likely.

But guess what? We will all die of something at some point. And I mean that in the most comforting and encouraging way possible. I mean, you could go get the vaccine and immediately walk out in front of a semi. You could be diagnosed with some form of cancer. You could have a heart attack. You will die of something at some point. All those who are spreading COVID fear are attempting to sell us on the lie that we can somehow cheat death if we just do the right things. But death is a door each of us will walk through, an appointment each of us will keep. I suppose if you are not ready to die, this is probably not so encouraging, but to someone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ and has faith in His promise of eternal life, death is just the beginning of eternity with God.

Read the article HERE. 

Third Time's the Charm

It was bound to happen eventually, I suppose. I had been tested twice after suspected exposures to COVID, twice quarantined while awaiting results, twice cleared. For most of the day Wednesday I felt just fine. I got up early, as usual, and prepared for a busy day. After a full morning, I completed a midday workout and went home to shower before my next appointment. But something was off. I felt chilly in the shower, even while standing under the warm water. My temperature had been checked at 1pm when I visited a local business, and it was normal at that time. But when I got out of the shower, it was just over 100 degrees. Not a high fever, by any means, but slightly elevated. I assumed it was simply because of the hot shower or recent workout, so I continued checking my temperature every five minutes for half an hour. It remained just above 100. I scheduled an appointment at the local 24 hour testing center and drove over for my third COVID test of the year. Friday evening my results came back positive. I had COVID-19 and was symptomatic.

The first 24 hours after discovering I was running a fever were interesting. Wednesday evening I quickly became increasingly ill. My fever went up, I had a severe headache and chills, and I found it difficult to focus on my work. (If you received any emails or text messages from me during that time that were more incoherent than usual, my apologies.) I isolated myself in my home office, and Kirstie found me asleep on the floor wrapped in two sweaters and shaking with chills. The kids brought an extra mattress into the room, and I tossed and turned there all night. The fever mostly subsided by midday on Thursday, and I have been fever-free since that time. I am still fatigued, but overall I feel much better. If Wednesday evening was the worst of it, then my experience with COVID was as a sudden onset, moderately severe, and very short-lived fever. We could wish this was the case for everyone who contracts the virus. Sadly, that is not so.

The widespread hysteria and extraordinary measures taken by government and medical authorities in response to COVID-19 has been unfounded, at best, and arguably both counterproductive and harmful. Those interested in a better evidenced and more responsible proposal with widespread support from experts in relevant fields should consider Dr. Jay Bhatttacharya’s essay in the October 2020 edition of Imprimis entitled “A Sensible and Compassionate Anti-COVID Strategy”. Most of us should have little reason for alarm from a COVID-positive test. It is inconvenient, no doubt. The thought of sitting on the bench for the next 10-14 days does not thrill my soul. And the consequences for those whom I may have exposed before my symptoms appeared are also frustrating. But like the vast majority of people who contract this version of the Coronavirus, my experience will be most likely limited to mild to moderate symptoms followed by the natural production of antibodies and no long-term impairment to my health.

Arizona has been experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of COVID cases in the last several weeks. This might be explained by a number of factors, but there is no arguing that hospitalizations due to COVID-related illness have increased. Within our own congregation we have gone from having almost no documented cases of COVID to close to a dozen infected households in less than two weeks. As one of our ruling elders observed: “I have gone from not knowing anyone with COVID, or anyone awaiting COVID test results, to having COVID effects all around me in the blink of an eye.” Indeed, this ought to be sobering and humbling. No matter how skeptical some of us may be about the media’s characterization of the severity of this virus or how much we may disapprove of the government’s strategy in seeking to contain and control the spread, we should not deny that the virus is real and has the potential to seriously harm a certain segment of the population, specifically the elderly and those who are already immuno-compromised. This is a reminder that though we have massive brains and an even larger sense of self-importance, we are but animated dust, mudmen inflated by the breath of God, and capable of being leveled by a microscopic virus too small for the human eye to see.

I will be staying at home for the next 10-14 days per CDC guidelines, not because I am concerned for my own health, but because I am obligated to protect yours. We have too many elderly members, and as a pastor I interact with too many vulnerable persons each week, for me to risk spreading the virus. I am not eager for another quarantation, though I have plenty of books and projects to keep me occupied. It frustrates me to be on the sidelines at a time when it seems our congregation needs me more, not less. But part of the beauty and wisdom of presbyterianism is that it does not run on celebrity pastors or individual personalities. The church can do just fine without her pastor. She is served well by her ruling elders and by ministry to one another, and we are all sustained by the love and leadership of our Good Shepherd.

I am not concerned about my own health, and I trust our congregation overall will come through the current outbreak. But we have members who are ill for whom we ought to be very concerned, whose suffering with the virus is far more serious, and whose vulnerability is much greater. This is a time to labor in prayer for them. Our present inconvenience will prove to be a blessing if it turns us more toward more urgent and disciplined prayer and encourages greater brotherly love and concern for one another. --JME

Cheerful Annoyance

Is it possible to be frustrated by circumstances, annoyed by difficulties, concerned about possibilities, and cheerful at the same time? Not only is it possible, to whatever extent the former may be appropriate, to the same extent the latter must be mandatory. We often speak of Christian joy as an attitude based on objective, transcendent, and immutable realities. In other words, Christians rejoice in all circumstances because God’s Word and work is true and unchangeable. Our peace, joy, and hope are grounded in who God is, what Christ has done, and what he has promised to his people. Christian joy is a conviction, decision, and disposition, not an emotion. We can and should rejoice no matter our present circumstances or how we feel at any given point in time. But we must be careful not to divorce this spiritual joy from temporal and personal emotions. The two are distinguishable, but not separable; they are different, but closely related. Christian joy is a decision, expressed in action, and it will transform our emotions.

The Christian’s joy is an attitude that gives priority to what is eternally true over whatever may seem, feel, or even be true at a given moment. My shoulder is sore, but Christ endured the pain of Hell and quenched God’s wrath against my sin forever. Both are true. Which truth will dominate my heart and mind and determine my attitude today? My child fell ill with the same chronic affliction that has been a defining feature of my life for more than 31 years, but Jesus has promised to return and put an end to the curse, to heal every sickness among his people, and to wipe away every tear from our eyes. Both are true. Which truth will I meditate upon each day? I sometimes feel as though my work as a minister accomplishes very little, that hours spent in study, teaching, and pastoral care make almost no difference in the lives of God’s saints, that these labors are no more than beautiful music that people love to listen to but which makes no difference in their lives, but the Lord has urged his servants on to steadfastness, called us to labor for the glory of God and not for earthly fame or fruit, and assured us that no labor in Christ’s Name will ever be in vain. No matter how I may sometimes feel about ministerial labors, I must choose whether to walk by faith or by feelings. Faith is determined by God’s Word, not the ups and downs of my emotional experience. Walking by feelings makes my ever-changing emotional state the arbiter of truth and determiner of reality rather than the revealed Word of God. Who knows what will be true on any given day if my feelings decide it.

I did not inherit a cheerful disposition as a biological birthright, and I can’t say it was modeled particularly well in my formative years. But God has called his saints to joy, not to lives of sorrow, and so even though there must be tribulations and many tears will be shed on the way to Zion, believers have a duty to fight for joy and to deliberately delight in the things of God. When our complaints are set in the context of Scripture and the historical experience of God’s people, most are revealed to be pathetic and rather petty. I do not mean that we should be naively perky and oblivious to the real suffering in our world. It is not spiritual to laugh when we ought instead to weep. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

We will have tribulation in this life, but we can and should be of good cheer in the midst of it. How is this possible? By remembering and rejoicing in the fact our Savior has overcome the world. This is not naive optimism; it is Christian optimism or cheerful realism. Jesus has come and has overcome sin, death, and sorrow. That changes everything. The world is not getting worse, even if certain segments of human society are or appear to be. The world is not going to Hell in a handbasket, only the ungodly are being sent there. Jesus is keeping the world for his Church and preparing a renovation project like you have never seen. Our bodies may accumulate aches and pains, but this is only the approaching death of a decaying form that will soon be reborn and renewed in immortality. Our hope is not escape but resurrection. We do not surrender the field to the enemy; we wait for the King who comes to claim and clear the ground he has already won.

Do we really think our pains, political chaos, or public degradation are worthy of comparison with what Christ has already begun and will one day conclude? We should be realistic, yes, and not oblivious to the real suffering, sin, and sorrows that characterize our pilgrim life. But we should also be cheerful, even when troubled. Not embittered, not depressed, and certainly not fearful. I may be annoyed by my present circumstances, but by God’s grace I can and should be cheerfully annoyed and able to smile in the darkness because the morning has dawned. --JME

Dodging Bullets

Twice I have had a suspected exposure to COVID, twice I have been tested, twice I have quarantined while awaiting results, and now twice I have been cleared. Early Monday morning the family I visited over the weekend received an all-clear from their COVID test, and a few hours later my own results confirmed the same. Evidently there are still some things that can make a person ill besides the Coronavirus. We are relieved, on multiple fronts. First and foremost, we are thankful the affected family is negative and hope the symptoms experienced over the weekend will not become severe or extend for as long as COVID infections sometimes do. Second, we are relieved my test also was clear. If theirs had been positive and mine had been negative, I would have felt obligated to obtain a second negative test before traveling to Presbytery later this week. But since both of our tests showed no evidence of COVID, I feel comfortable sealing myself into a metal tube and breathing recycled air with a group of strangers while flying to southern California. (I may have COVID by the time I disembark the plane, but at least I won’t bring it on the plane with me.) Third, we are happy my COVID test came back so quickly. My first some months ago took exactly 14 days. This one took less than 30 hours. For all of these blessings and many more, we sincerely thank God.

At this point some might be thinking I dodged a bullet, again. Despite my obvious foolishness in visiting ICU rooms and skilled nursing facilities to minister to residents, I have managed to escape multiple times unscathed. God alone knows how many times his secret providence kept me safe from much nearer misses and more serious scrapes. But I assure you I never dodged the bullet. I wouldn’t know how. It’s not like bullets can be faked out by juking and jiving, and I’m much too inflexible to pull off a realtime back-bending stunt like a messiah figure in a sci-fi film. I have never dodged any of the bullets the world, my enemies, and our mutual adversary have fired at me. But by God’s grace, this time as often before, I was spared.

First Kings 22 is a remarkable story which features one of Scripture’s greatest prophets and the death of one of its most villainous villains. King Ahab of Israel proposed to King Jehoshaphat of Judah that they team up to recapture Ramoth Gilead from the Syrians. Ahab realized he was not the most popular fellow in Syria, so he suggested that Jehoshaphat wear his royal robes while Ahab disguised himself as a common soldier. Jehoshaphat--kind-hearted, unsophisticated, not the sharpest arrow in the quiver, southerner that he was--thought this was a splendid idea, so while he put on his fine apparel, with the special red circle on the front and back of his robe, Ahab put on nondescript armor, a helmet, and climbed into a chariot, the ancient equivalent of rolling into battle inside a tank. Sure enough, the Syrian soldiers were particularly interested in identifying Ahab that day. He was the only prize worth finding. When the Syrians saw Jehoshaphat, they assumed it was the king of Israel. They gave chase like a mad sea captain after a white whale, but when they saw it was not Ahab, they lost interest and turned back. About this time a Syrian warrior named Random Archer drew his bow and fired an arrow into the Israelite lines. The arrow flew into Ahab’s chariot, slid between the joints of his armor, and pierced him deeply, inflicting a mortal wound. What an incredible shot! R. Archer must have been one of the most masterful marksmen in the history of the world. But actually, the Bible says he drew the bow “at random.” In other words, he fired blindly. He didn’t aim at anyone in particular. He just released an arrow at the enemy hoping it would hit someone. Sure enough, it did.

Now you may say that was a lucky shot or that R. Archer was a better artilleryman than he thought, but neither luck nor the human operator had anything to do with it. That arrow went where God told it to, and that day, he told it to bury itself in Ahab. Ahab couldn’t dodge it, even if he had seen it coming. It had his name on it, and no evasive maneuver could thwart its deadly purpose. There was not an arrow, spear, or sword that day that could harm King Jehoshaphat, no matter how skillful the warrior who wielded it. And there wasn’t a piece of armor, battlefield vehicle, or bodyguard that could save Ahab from certain death. God had made the appointment, and Ahab would keep it.

God’s servants aren’t always spared injury from the arrows and bullets fired by the enemy. Good King Josiah later died on the field of battle. Almost all of Yahweh’s prophets and apostles had their lives ended violently at the hands of godless men. Serving Christ is no guarantee you will not fall in battle. On the contrary, it guarantees you will be sent there and have arrows and bullets sent with malice in your direction. You cannot dodge them, so don’t bother trying to figure out how. You can usually tell you are nearing your mission target when the antiaircraft fire begins punching holes in your plane. The good news is that until the moment God has appointed, the bullets the enemy fires cannot harm you. They are lousy shots. Like Storm Troopers, they couldn’t hit the broadside of a Star Destroyer.

You can trust God to guide the enemy fire, to lead you safely through the fusillade, and not to allow any harm to come to you, even in death, except what he will use for his glory and your good. This is the confidence we have before him. The enemy’s fury and fire never was what endangered us. It was God’s wrath we justly faced and should have rightly feared. But Jesus took that barrage on himself. He quenched the fury of God’s wrath against our sin, and there is no longer any judgment for those who trust in him as Savior and Lord. So don’t worry about dodging bullets. They obey the direction of a higher power. God’s saints don’t dodge bullets; the enemy’s bullets dodge the saints of God. --JME

Fear, Frustrations, and Faith

Here I am at home on the Lord’s Day, again, not because I am sick, not because a member of my family has proven to be, but because of a potential exposure to COVID and caution while awaiting test results. This is the second time this has happened this year. I hope it is the last. But it may not be. The truth is any one of us could be exposed to COVID or any number of other dangerous pathogens on almost any day of the week. I interact with countless people from Monday to Saturday, some in close proximity, and not all of them masked. I could easily contract COVID or the flu or pink eye or head lice from any number of sources or the bipedal petri dishes known as children. But Saturday afternoon a pastoral house call placed me in proximity to someone who thought they had a simple head cold. We stayed more than 6 feet apart the entire time. I didn’t even give them a fist bump of fellowship or that weird chicken wing thing all of the older folks at church want me to do. When my host spiked a fever not long after my departure and a trip to Urgent Care warned that the symptoms sounded a lot like COVID, I was informed and the elders had to make a decision on a Saturday evening about my participation on the Lord’s Day, which is how I came to worship at home with my family this morning wearing a t-shirt and cargo shorts. (You’ll be glad to know it was a Christian t-shirt with the text of John 1:1 printed on the front in Greek.)

I confess that I am more than a little fatigued and frustrated with our continuing COVID-craziness. I don’t doubt the virus is real and constitutes a real threat to the health and wellbeing of a certain percentage of the population. I have friends and family members who have been ill with it. I have presided at a funeral which resulted from it. But panic-stirring by the media, dubious reporting of cases numbers and deaths, and opportunistic overreach by government authorities in the midst of the “pandemic” make it hard to accept the ongoing level of popular fear concerning sickness. As hard as it may be to believe, some people still get sick from illnesses other than COVID. Some people cough because they have allergies. And most people who contract COVID--the overwhelming majority, in fact--will have very mild symptoms, if any, and recover fully and relatively quickly. God appointed the day of our birth and the hour and exact means of our death long before any of us came into this world (Ps. 139:16). He may have commissioned COVID to kill some of us, but it is certain the virus cannot change in any respect his original plan.

There are terrible dangers at present, but infection by COVID is among the least of them. There is the danger of anxiety and fear, constant worry about our health and lives, as if this will preserve us from harm or help us in any way. Your blood pressure may be in greater danger from worrying about COVID than your lungs are from the virus itself. There is the danger of fear causing us to withdraw from each other, making us reluctant to love, connect, and support when and where our brethren and neighbors need us to. It is not surprising that domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicides have all spiked since the COVID crisis, lockdowns, and social distancing began. There is also the danger of callous carelessness, of arrogance masquerading as faith which prompts us to behave foolishly and so cause harm to those most vulnerable around us. I interact every week with a number of elderly persons, some in their 80s and 90s, and at least one who is 102. Of course it is possible God decreed long ago that I would be the germ carrier to transmit fatal disease to one of these persons, but I would rather assume he appointed me the careful, thoughtful pastor to love, pray with, and encourage them as a herald of Christ rather than a harbinger of death. I have a social responsibility to my neighbor, and even if the risks are small, I don’t randomly fire guns into the air since what goes up must eventually come down, and who knows on whose head it may land.

Last night when we made the decision that I would stay home today, I was not happy. It was not forced upon me. I made the decision, with the ruling elders’ counsel and blessing. But I was not happy about it then, and I am not happy about it now. (Just ask my wife. I’ve been in a bad mood ever since. On second thought, don’t ask her. Just go on believing I am never grumpy.) I could rationalize being in the assembly. I could stay ten feet away from everyone. The chance of my infection is small. We don’t even know the person I met with has the virus. Maybe we’re all worrying about nothing! But if I did contract the virus, and if someone else at the church became ill, even if not as a result of contact with me, it would be reasonable to ask why I didn’t simply stay home. So I did, and even if I am not happy about it, I don’t doubt it was the right thing to do in this case.

Now let’s take that rationale one step further back. Why didn’t I simply stay home yesterday rather than making a house call when someone had a cold? The family made it clear they would be willing to talk on the phone or over Zoom. It’s not as though I had to be there to shake hands or hug as we prayed; we didn’t have any physical contact. We could have stayed miles apart and simply touched our computer screens in a gesture of e-fellowship. I visit and pray with people by phone and video every week, and I’m sure I will continue to do so. But God called me to be a pastor, and shepherds can’t protect, feed, and lead their flock by digital interface from the safety of headquarters. A shepherd sleeps in the field with his sheep. He faces the same weather, the same predators, and the same rough terrain that the flock must endure. I suppose I could create a policy not to make house calls if anyone is sick, even if they think it is only a cold. But that will make it difficult to answer calls from the hospital to come and minister to strangers. They never seem to go to the hospital when they are well, and they rarely call an unknown pastor to come and pray for them until they are dying.

If we assume every sniffle is COVID, we will live constantly in an unhealthy (and sinful) state of fear. If we disregard credible symptoms when they appear, then we endanger our neighbor in an irresponsible (and sinful) way. Both I and the family I visited were trying to navigate competing concerns yesterday. They were not irresponsible to ask their pastor to come, and I remain unconvinced I was irresponsible to go. Our society conditions us to assign blame whenever something unfortunate or inconvenient happens, but this is foolish and unprofitable. We should rather take reasonable precautions, trust each outcome is governed by the sovereign providence of God, and live with reverent (not reckless) abandon.

We will know in a day or two whether there was really any danger to my attending worship today. If there was not, some will second guess my decision to stay home. Some are probably already second guessing the choices that put me potentially in harm’s way. I sympathize with your frustration. I always second guess everything. But that is no more commendable or useful than the person who has no rearview mirror and never re-examines his choices or learns anything from his mistakes. You cannot drive safely forward if you only ever look in the mirror behind you, and if you never look in the mirror behind you, you are the kind of driver who will run over debris, dogs, and other drivers to the detriment of your own journey and those around you. Listen, look, learn, but continue to live. The life God calls us to is an adventure. Meditating on fear and frustration will only be an impediment to living that adventure with joyful faith.--JME

The Church, the State, and COVID-19

 

God's Power, Purpose, and Promise in Suffering

Cheer Up, It Could be a Brain Tumor

Ever since I announced that I and several members of our family had been tested for COVID last week, I have received daily inquiries about how we are feeling and whether we are symptomatic. I am grateful for the concern and completely flummoxed as to how to respond. After all, all of us felt fine when we were tested and in the days immediately afterwards. But over the weekend I had a mildly sore throat for a couple of days, for the last couple of days I have had a moderate headache, and several times I have felt a little winded, usually near the end of my daily run of 3-5 miles. Obviously, I must have COVID and should expect any day now to check into the ICU. Or maybe it is allergy season, maybe I had a mild cold, maybe my voice is strained from reading aloud to my kids for a couple of hours on the Lord’s Day, maybe it is hard to run 5 miles when the temperature outside has already hit 100 degrees. Then there was that monkey bite. He assured me he had not been out of the country recently, but when have you ever known a monkey to tell the truth?

How am I feeling? I’m feeling fine! Does that mean I am well? Of course not. Some of you were feeling fine just before you were diagnosed with cancer. Maybe the sore throat and headache are a sign of something very serious. Maybe I do have COVID and my symptoms will grow worse. If you are feeling unwell at all, it must be COVID. There can be no other explanation. Don’t bother me with statistics and declining mortality associated with the virus. Don’t tell me that hospitals are not overrun and that the vast majority of people, more than 99% of those under the age of elderly, are in no serious danger from this virus. Don’t bother me with facts because I have seen the news and received expert epidemiological insights from my friends on Instabook and Facegram. I know better than you that we are all going to die.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

(Psalm 139:16)

Being born is a terminal condition. Unless Jesus returns first or you prove to be another Enoch or Elijah, every one of us is going to die someday. It may be sooner than we expect, or much later. It may be in circumstances that we will be able to anticipate, or it may catch us completely by surprise. It may result from factors we might have seemed to be able to avoid, or it might be the consequence of factors entirely out of our control. But you are going to die someday, and so am I. God already wrote every day of our lives in his book before the first day of our life began. He did not tell me how many days there will be in my story, and I don’t need to know. I only need to focus on being faithful today in view of that day when I stand before him, knowing that one day today will be that day.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:28-29)

What exactly are you afraid of? “I’m not afraid of death, Pastor, I’m just afraid of dying.” If I had a dollar for every time someone has said that to me, I’d have a lot of dollars. Three times in my life I have been laid in a hospital bed and thought seriously I would not leave it alive. Three times in my life I have prayed what I thought would be my last prayer before seeing Christ face-to-face. Those moments are clarifying. I decided after the first time I would rather not die in a hospital bed. But I don’t have much control over that, and neither do you. I can eat my plant-based diet and avoid heart disease and diabetes, only to choke to death on a brussel sprout. I can run and exercise five or six days a week and control my weight and blood pressure, only to be hit by a car or keel over from heat stroke. Or I can become sick or injured again through circumstances outside of my control and end up, once again, in that hospital bed, praying what I think may be my last prayer, only next time maybe it will be.

It is easy to live in fear. This world is a scary place, and I have a very fragile body. God could have made us gorillas, but the man hasn’t been made who would not be torn limb from limb in hand to hand combat with a great ape. We each have a large brain with extraordinary cognitive capacity and also an easily cracked skull. God made our bodies to heal and repair themselves in ways that defy scientific understanding, but those same bodies grow weaker and more susceptible to injury and disease as long as we live. I don’t know if I have COVID or not, but I have been dying for more than 41 years. Some conditions might kill me more quickly, but being born on this side of the Fall will get the job done. Man is born to trouble, and thus man is subject to fear. But the Bible calls us away from fear, to walk by faith in God’s sovereign and saving purpose.

The Lord wrote every day of my life in his book before my life began. He wrote about the fall from a tree as a young child that wounded my pride but did not seriously hurt me. He wrote about the car crash sometime later that cracked my sister’s skull and sent several members of our family to the hospital but did not kill any of us. He wrote about the childhood illness that became a defining feature of my life and altered my path and career plans forever. He wrote about the miscarriage, about my son’s near-death experience with the same condition that afflicted me, and about the three times I lay in a hospital bed and thought I had seen my wife and children for the last time. He wrote about each of those experiences--and only he knows how many more--and he wrote them into the story so that in some way his glory would be more fully displayed and I would become more like Christ. We know, not we think, not we hope, not maybe if everything works out, we know that all things, not some things, not just good things, not most things, we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are the called according to his purpose. Even my sickness, even my suffering, even my sin, even my sorrow? Especially my sorrow. “Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart” (Ecc. 7:2).

What if everything you fear is part of God’s plan and good purpose to draw you closer to him? Because it is. What if every experience in every moment of every hour throughout every day of your life was planned by God and ordered so that nothing can ever happen that is truly, ultimately, eternally to your harm but only, always, and ultimately for your everlasting good? Because it is. What if the fear you have, which is perfectly natural, is an unspiritual, untrusting, and unnecessary response to circumstances which are completely in the control and under the oversight of the God who loves you more than you know and better than anyone in this world ever could? Because it is.

And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

(Acts 21:10-14)

I am not suggesting we should be indifferent to the dangers around us. I am not suggesting it is possible to be completely without worry and care. If it were possible, God would not have to command us so often in Scripture, “Do not worry; Do not be afraid,” and then continue to forgive us for disregarding what he told us not to do. I believe in taking reasonable precautions. I eat a healthy diet, exercise, lock my doors at night, and wear my seatbelt when I drive. I even wear a mask outside when the government tells me too. And none of these things will make any difference on the day God has appointed for me to die. I am not a fatalist. I believe that God works through means, and our choices are part of how he works, secondary causes that make a difference in daily outcomes. But it is his plan that governs the outcome. It is his will that guides my life, not my own.

Christians should not be reckless people, but we should live with reverent abandon. Reverent abandon recognizes that God is in control, and we can trust him with our wellbeing, our lives, our children, and our future. Reverent abandon recognizes that worry and fear are sinful, even if natural, and are responses of unbelief, not of faith. Reverent abandon recognizes that until God calls me home, I am bullet-proof, and at the hour he calls me home, no amount of preparation or protection can thwart his summons. Reverent abandon recognizes that nothing can happen to me except what he will use for the greater manifestation of his glory and the greater good of conforming me more fully to the image of his Son. He will use even the worst of experiences of my life, the most painful, the most harrowing, and the last experience that will end my life, to draw me closer to himself and more fully prepare me for glory. So what are you afraid of? COVID? Seriously?

Sing, pray, rejoice. Jesus is risen, death has been broken, and the saints of God have been justified once and forever. Love your wife, enjoy your kids, celebrate your grandkids, and pray for the great-grandkids (and great-great-grandkids) you will never know but who are already known to our Lord. Live your life with gratitude and gusto. Stop moping around like someone who has nothing to hope for beyond this life. You were not weaned on a dill pickle. You were re-created, cleansed, consecrated, adopted, and called to everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness, but he did not make it because he needed a world--he made it for you. Enjoy God’s gifts and graces. Live fully, die faithfully, and then rejoice eternally. Maybe that headache is COVID, or maybe it is a brain tumor. Who knows? As a matter of fact, God does. If he is not worried about it, why should I? --JME

Historical and Theological Reflections on Our Present Distress

It may be unhelpful and highly inappropriate to say to someone at the onset of calamity and crisis: “Cheer up, things could be worse!” True, perhaps, but certainly not encouraging. But we are no longer at the beginning of our present crisis, and so some historical reflection and theological context might be useful at this point. If we can take a deep breath, pause our panic, and turn the volume down on the news long enough, it may be helpful to remember that God’s people (and the world) have faced pandemic and global disaster before. Many examples from history could be given, but I have transcribed an account of the 14th century that may be of some interest.

“Another event that set the stage for the life of the church in the later Middle Ages was the Great Plague of 1347. There were at that time weather changes that historians now call ‘the little ice age.’ This reduced agricultural production, increased famines, and in general left the population more vulnerable to disease. Bubonic plague, as we now know, is transmitted by fleas, and black rats act as intermediary hosts…. Suddenly, and with no apparent reason, people began developing strange symptoms that usually began with a fever, then led to loss of balance, and produced enormously swollen lymph nodes, often accompanied by symptoms of dementia. By the fifth day, most who had developed these symptoms were dead. In a few months, between 1348 and 1350, the plague swept the entire [European] continent. According to some estimates, a third of the population died of the plague or of related causes. After those three years, the storm abated, although there were new outbreaks every ten or twelve years…. 

“The plague had far-reaching consequences. Economically, all Europe was disrupted. Entire markets disappeared. Unemployment increased drastically in areas where mortality had not been as high as in the rest of Europe. This in turn created political turmoil, riots, and further economic disruption. It would take Europe several centuries to find a measure of demographic and economic stability. 

“The plague also had enormous religious consequences. In the subsequent outbreaks those who died were mostly the young, who had not developed any immunity, so it seemed to some people that Death had come to prefer younger victims. The nature of the disease itself, which attacked people who seemed perfectly healthy, led many to doubt the rationally ordered universe of earlier generations. Among intellectuals, this led to doubts regarding the ability of reason to grapple with the mysteries of existence. Among the general populace, it encouraged superstition. Since death was always at the threshold, life became a preparation for it. Many went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to Rome, or to Santiago. Those who were too poor to contemplate such long journeys went on pilgrimage to local shrines. The veneration of relics, and trade in supposed relics, gained momentum--in spite of the prohibitions of the Fourth Lateran Council. Fear was everywhere: fear of the plague, fear of hell, fear of the supreme judge, whom many were having to face sooner than expected.” 

--Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Vol 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (Harper Collins, 2010), 390-392.

Now lest my point  be misunderstood, I am not suggesting we should conclude that COVID-19 is “no big deal” and simply return to life as it was before in a hurried or careless manner. I expect our world and social norms have been and will be permanently altered by this pandemic. Over 182,000 people have already died, and no doubt that number will continue to rise. The question is not if there will be a second (or third or fourth) wave of the virus, but when, where, and how severe it will be. The world has changed. We would be foolish to deny it. Instead, we should be focused on being faithful and fruitful as we adapt to those changes.

The point of the historical reference is to put our present frustrations in context. We are wondering: “When can the church gather again? How will this crisis impact my job, investments, future? When will we be able to celebrate the Lord’s Supper? When can life return to normal?” Can you imagine the kinds of questions Christians were asking in the 14th century? Some estimates of death during that plague are much higher than the above historian admits. The Church did not have access to the global information, constant updates, and medical technologies we have today. As I re-read that passage, I wondered what it would be like to see one of my sons develop a fever, lose his balance, then become forgetful, and know that by the end of the week he would probably die. That kind of puts our present questions in a different light, don’t you think?

We have many advantages the Church in the 14th century did not. Do you know what is our greatest advantage? Not ICU beds, ventilators, or drug therapies, and it is certainly not 24-hour news! Our greatest advantage is having the gospel clearly proclaimed from our pulpits, knowing the meticulous sovereignty and goodness of God, and having abundant access to the Bible in our native language. These are blessings many (most?) Christians in 14th century Europe did not enjoy. What a difference the Reformation made! It did not change what the gospel is, but it certainly changed the Church’s ability to hear and live in light of it with clarity and consistency.

The present pandemic will pass, and though many will die and society will change, the Church will survive and continue to worship as we wait for the Lord who comes to judge the world in righteousness and make all things new. Be patient as we await God’s providence in our present distress. Trust God who made the world and everything in it and who holds it together to the present hour. Be sure that this calamity will not extend any farther than the Lord ordains for the eternal good of his people. If the Lord should tarry, future generations will read of this moment in world history. I pray the Church’s testimony in that story will be characterized by gospel hope and trust in God’s sovereignty and not by fear, worldly concerns, and superstition. --JME

Some Thoughts on Suspending Worship During a Pandemic

There is a popular expression, attributed to an unidentified and apocryphal Chinese curse, which malignantly wishes: “May you live in interesting times.” We find ourselves living in such times. Churches around the world are making decisions in response to COVID-19 which has been named a pandemic by the World Health Organization, a national emergency by the American President, and a state/public health emergency by all 50 states in the US. We are living in the midst of a public health scare on a scale unseen since the 1918 Spanish Flu. No doubt many of the popular responses to this crisis are hysterical, ill-informed, and unhelpful. Some of the recommendations from our civil authorities may prove in time to have been overly cautious and unnecessary. But as those to whom Christ has committed spiritual authority and the care of souls in local congregations, church leaders cannot afford to simply ignore these recommendations and risk the safety and welfare of our members and the church’s public witness.

When our elders met Tuesday evening and decided to suspend all corporate, in-person gatherings of our church, including worship on the Lord’s Day, for the next two weeks, we did so with heavy hearts. Several of us voiced our intent coming into the meeting to cancel everything except the morning worship on the Lord’s Day, but after praying for wisdom, reviewing the data, and discussing our options, we all came to consensus that a two week, voluntary quarantine was wise and appropriate. We knew this decision would disappoint many, frustrate others, and be met with scorn by some of our brethren, especially outside our congregation. This was unavoidable. Such responses can never be a major factor in decision-making, if they are ever an appropriate factor at all. If we had decided to continue holding public worship services, as we did on the last two Lord’s Days despite encouragement from many sectors to cancel, that decision too would have been met with disappointment, frustration, and scorn.

Advocates of big government and opponents of religious and personal liberty will always use crises to expand their agenda and influence, and I have no doubt it will be so in this case. Western society may, and likely will, be permanently affected by the measures taken to address the Corona virus, for good or ill. But the recommendations of government leaders and public health agencies at this time are neither an explicit nor implicit attack upon religious liberty or our spiritual obligations. If the government were forbidding churches to ever assemble with more than 10 persons present, the visible Church would have an obligation to defy and disobey that order. But this is not the case. We should be concerned to maintain and uphold our biblical duties and civil liberties, but we should not fight the wrong battle or choose the wrong hill to die upon. Remember Peter’s eagerness to fight and die in the garden, but his lack of preparedness and failure of faith and courage when tested in the courtyard. Zeal without knowledge is neither commendable nor useful.

Are churches sinning who decide not to meet for worship on the Lord’s Day during this crisis? They certainly could be. If the decision is made because men desire to “take a break” from church and religious obligation, then it is certainly contemptible and an offense against God. But is this likely the reason most churches are suspending their assemblies? If the decision is made from irrational fear due to the dangers of illness or potential death, this also is a motive unworthy of Christ and the people of God. If the decision is based on the fear of man and a readiness to submit every activity of the church to civil authorities or popular opinion and pressure, then this too is an unfaithful and wicked position to adopt. But not every concern about public health and safety is irrational, not every decision to submit to the recommendations of civil authorities about public assemblies is an unbiblical capitulation, and not every choice to remain home rather than gathering with the saints for worship on the Lord’s Day is sin.

We all recognize, or should, that the saints have an obligation to gather with the church for corporate worship on the Lord’s Day. But we also recognize that sometimes neglect of this obligation is not only not sinful but prudential. Would we gather with the saints for worship if we were seriously ill? No, most of us decide that if we are sick and likely to infect others, we should stay at home. Most of us have missed corporate worship to care for a sick child or to minister to those who are in crisis, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. So what do we do when the entire community is “sick” and in crisis? That is the situation we find ourselves in. This is not a permanent situation, and if it were, at some point we would simply have to go on and gather for worship knowing that doing so brings a much greater risk for some of us. But is there not a place for wisdom and care in the midst of crisis, to attempt to safeguard the vulnerable and love our neighbors by helping to contain and cut down on public exposure and further infection? Yes, and we should not sit in judgment of those seeking to act with discretion and in faith in these times.

Many churches have chosen to suspend corporate gatherings for a time. Some have no choice because they are in countries or communities which have ordered lockdowns of the population. Others have voluntarily done so in submission to the recommendations of civil authorities and in respect for public health. Some may have taken this course for sinful reasons. They may be driven by irrational fear, be surrendering spiritual authority to civil agencies, or be acting from concern for public opinion rather than biblical wisdom. But you and I cannot know that, at least, not conclusively in most cases. We do not know any man’s heart, and we are not to judge the motives that remain hidden there.

Some churches will continue to meet, and whether wise or not, this remains their right to do. Could that decision be sinful? Certainly, if made for proud, self-righteous, or contentious reasons. The person who is determined to display his piety by attending worship while highly contagious is not only an arrogant man but a fool. But not every decision to maintain public worship assemblies can be so judged, and some of those quick to do so are just as guilty of sinful condemnation as those who are judging the ones who have decided to stay home. Let each be convinced in his own mind and not judge his brother.

These are certainly interesting times, days I never imagined or desired to see, but this is not the end of the story. The Lord calls us to walk by faith, not in fear. The COVID-19 virus is not the first, and is far from the worst, pandemic to sweep across the face of the globe. We take comfort in the promise of our Lord: “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18b). Christ did not need our help to build His church, and no virus or public health crisis or civil disturbance can undo what He has done. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom. 8:35). Not even COVID-19, widespread quarantines, and global efforts to contain the virus shall be able to separate us from the love of God. Sing the psalms joyfully, read the Scriptures reverently, pray boldly and humbly. This crisis will pass, and when it does, the Church will still be standing righteous in Christ. Do not fear. Be strong and courageous. The God of Jacob will defend, uphold, and sustain His people.

--Joel M. Ellis, Jr. (March 2020)