Lord, we are listening.

Hearts around the world are stirred and fearful.

The world is watching the news to see what the latest is on this virus.

I heard a pastor share this morning that the news is meant to be checked not watched.

We have to guard our minds and hearts more than ever to be sure we aren't swept up in the chaos.

The Lord most definitely does not desire that for His children.

So this morning, we listened to a devotional for some fresh encouragement.

The scripture that was shared was Acts 17:24 - about the creation of the heavens and Earth.

But, after reading ahead in that chapter, these words came alive in a fresh way in regards to our current worldwide reality.

We couldn't keep it to ourselves.

Acts 17: 24-31

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.  

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Here are the truths that stood out to our hearts this morning.

The Lord created this world and everything in it.

If He created it all, we can stand confident that nothing is bigger than Him.

So, how much should we trust that He is able to handle a virus that caught us all off-guard?

He is not surprised by this.  He is fighting for us as our Defender, Provider, and Protector.

The Lord DOES NOT live in temples made by man.

So much talk over the last few days about churches shutting the doors and canceling services.

So many opinions and judgemental comments.  Pastors are under a lot of pressure to get their response "right".  There's no way to please everyone.

Let this virus serve as a strong reminder that God does not dwell in the four walls that we call the church.

We have become so dependent on the four walls of the church to "nourish" our souls.

In these days, we will have to become our own worship leaders.

We will have to dig into the Word on our own to be fed.

WE are the temples that He dwells in.

The Church is still alive and well.  We have work to do in our own hearts and in this hurting world.

While you are away from your services, take time to pray for & love on your Pastor.

He is commanding us to repent.

By far the most powerful verse for us this morning was verse 30.

"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE to repent".

Could it be that we are watching this very verse come to life?

Is The Lord giving us a chance to truly turn back to Him?

And in His loving-kindness, willing to overlook all of our times of ignorance and foolishness as we turn to Him and truly repent?

Our hearts all along have felt that The Lord is using this virus to get the attention of the world.

So ... now what?

We live robotic lives.

pre-programmed by schedules

 rushed around

performance driven

too busy for interruptions

striving to out-do, out-work, and out-perform those we compare ourselves to 

We have collectively been missing out on His purpose for our lives for a while now.

Is He slowing us down?

Meditate on this scripture.

Repent & remember that this world is HIS.

We were created for a purpose.

But that purpose was most definitely not to arrogantly parade around His world as if we were the ones in charge.

We are praying for each of you as you stay home, protect your loved ones, and slow down for a bit.

We plan to continue to do the same.

This song is so beautiful.  We hope that it will encourage you as it has done for us.

"I'm sorry when I've just gone through the motions
I'm sorry when I just sang another song
Take me back to where we started
I open up my heart to You
I'm sorry when I've come with my agenda
I'm sorry when I forgot that You're enough
Take me back to where we started
I open up my heart to You"