Today the world is engaged in a war with an enemy which neither plays to any known rules of engagement nor respects any borders. The enemy cannot even be seen with ordinary human eyes without the aid of powerful microscopes. But whether seen or not, its impact is being felt across the globe. This enemy is the pestilence named Coronavirus (Covid-19). Governments and institutions were neither prepared nor ready for it and so were caught napping. That alone ought to raise serious questions.

How can nations and peoples who claim to be so advanced and sophisticated as to declare there is no God be almost brought to their knees by a tiny speck of God’s invisible creation?

And so, anxiety and fear have gripped the nations. People are just afraid to meet God!  Many questions are being asked and many erroneous reasons are being given as the cause of this pestilence.

Those who have lost loved ones, those who have had the severe type of the disease and have survived after being treated and those who have been engaged in treating the victims will tell you that this scourge is real and very devastating.

This is not the time for frivolous questions. For it is clear only God knows the why and how of this virus. But human beings as usual will not accept their ignorance. Rather, they will continue to propound theories of causation and proffer solutions that only lead to more confusion. Mark you, the religious crowd is not left out of this.

This viral pandemic has brought certain things that have been hiding in plain sight out in the open to all whether people will accept it or not:

Human beings can only live on this earth. For,

“The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: But the earth hath he given to the children of men.” (Ps 115:16).

When trouble comes, no human being is powerful or wise enough to successfully take flight to another planet to live. We are all limited to this earth until death do us part!

 In the meantime, we all must stay here and face whatever comes our way as best as we can.

But God promises His people His presence and His help

You can claim there is no God. But that simply means you are possibly deluded. Take it or leave it, there is God. He created all known and unknown, visible and invisible to man. God superintends all affairs of life.

You ignore, reject or disobey Him at your own peril. You embrace Him, obey Him, depend on Him, petition Him at this time for your own good and the good of humanity.

By now you must be aware that a life without Christ will be a life full of crisis.

You either give your heart to God and serve Him or you serve the devil and man-made gods including yourself. The Lord Jesus said you are either with or against Him (Mat 12:30). There is no middle cause. There is no neutrality. If you think you can be neutral, you are only deceiving yourself. The Lord wants and demands exclusive relationship with His own and broods no competition.

Remember, truth is still truth even if you don’t believe it! God said He created the earth and gave it to mankind to live in. So any usurper called Corona or any other name will not and cannot make an end of us. Corona has expiry date known to our God.

Do not endanger the lives of others

Most of the governments of the countries of the world have asked people within the areas of their jurisdiction to stay at home as one of the ways to limit the spread of the virus. Only workers on essential duties are exempted. Though the level of the quarantine and degree of enforcement vary from country to country, most people are compliant.  Please, be compliant according the government instructions in your area of residence.

I am aware that there are many that though they have titles of pastors and ministers, are charlatans who cannot perform their macabre dance without the crowd of baying sycophants urging them on as they spew out their errors to their itchy ears.

And so, if you are addicted to having a physical crowd around you to hail you and you are already having withdrawal symptoms because of their absence, or possibly for others of your own personal agenda that you are trying to cover with the cloak of righteousness, God is not with you in this. You are on your own.

But please, do not endanger the lives of others by claiming to have some faith or mandate from God. You neither have the right nor the authority to expose others to danger or to waste the lives of others. As the Holy Scripture commands and I think this is the appropriate time for this, “Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God” (Rom 14:22). Let it be that you alone should pay for the errors of your ways should you chose to disobey the instructions of the government under which you reside.

There are still genuine Christians

Though the charlatans are most vocal and conspicuous, thank God that He has not abandoned His church. For out there are still numerous genuine believers in Christ. Out there are still numerous genuine and committed ministers of the gospel of Christ who are truly labouring for the glory of God and His kingdom. To you I offer my encouragement and prayers. To you I say, do not fear for God is on your side.

Have you lost a loved one to this pestilence? May the Lord console and comfort you at this time of your loss. Are you or a loved one currently suffering from a severe form of this disease? May the Lord heal you and yours. Are your challenged as to the means of daily living? May the Lord send help to you.

Hear the word of God:  

“¹⁰Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ¹¹Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: They shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. ¹²Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: They that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. ¹³For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand,    Saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” (Isa 41:10-13).

This is not the time to ask frivolous questions that no one has answers to but dangerous speculations that lead to more confusion and fear. This is the time for the people of faith, the true children of God who have been ransomed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ to arise, and go before the throne room of grace to ask for help in this time of need for all humanity. 

You see that I repeatedly say “genuine.” This is because we are talking about relationship. Christianity is not a collection of codes of living. It is not morality. It is not about how hard you can shout and sweat claiming to be “anointed.” It is about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

The question is simple enough: “Is Jesus Christ your Saviour and Lord or not?”

This is a simple but very serious question. For the answer has eternal implications. Do not flippantly claim to be a Christian please. It can be dangerous. This is especially important at this time of great upheaval and uncertainty in the world. There is no half-way house. You are either in or out. And the danger is that you may be out and think you are in.

Remember the wife of Lot. She must have thought she was a believer. People around them must have thought she was a believer. What else do you need? Married to Lot, the nephew of Abraham the Patriarch who was the friend of God. They had abundance of the good things of life which many in our day erroneously see as a sign of God’s blessing even though their God is their belly. She possibly was so big that she was an area mother spreading the largess of her husband to nurture a large following of the ungodly like Jezebel centuries after her.

Unfortunately, when the day of testing came, she failed where it mattered most: in her heart. Her heart was not given to God but was given to the world and its poisonous alure. She was found wanting when it was too late to change. To her was the answer to the rhetorical question our Lord asked true,

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mat 16:26).

The answer is a resounding “NOTHING!”

So, please do not depend on your feelings, do not depend on your longevity in church attendance. It will not matter how many titles you have acquired, it will not matter how much tithe and offering you have paid. Works of charity will be worthless if your heart has not been wholly given to the LORD. You may be flying around in private jets claiming you are doing the work of God, while deceiving the gullible because their hearts towards God are so soft that they have become undiscerning.

The portion of hell where you will burn is currently in quarantine and under lockdown in the gym as it is doing press-ups and weightlifting in preparation to receiving you if you fail to repent.

Of course, am aware as the word of God says that like the rich man in the story of Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31, esp. v.25), you may currently be receiving your good things now so when you are burning in hell you will know why.

The word of God makes us to known that performing miracles may not be an indication that God is with you. Indeed, you may perform miracles and do many wonderful things and still end in hell (Mat 7:21-23). But this is the time of grace. Please, I urge you to repent now in this time of grace.

The genuine believer in Christ

Please bear in mind that as it was in the beginning, so it still is now. In the beginning, biblical Christianity started with the heart. It was the heart God demanded and it is the heart that has to be given to God. You confess with your mouth and believe in your heart (Rom 10:9-10). It is as many as received Him and believed in His name that are given the right to become children of God (John 1:12-13).

Hence, Jesus and His early disciples met in the temple precincts of the temple, in homes, in natural environments like hill sides, fields and so on. It was much later that structures referred to as church buildings came on the scene. But the church of Christ has always been and continue to be the people. The church is a living temple joined together by and is the abode of the Holy Spirit.

This is why the church of Christ cannot be closed. Only physical structures can be and are closed. It good and desirable to fellowship together. But when situation does not allow as it is currently the case in most parts of the world, the individual temples of the LORD must still continue to function as we continue to offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to our God wherever we happen to be in quarantine.

Do not let any deceiver lure you into disobeying the quarantine rule. The government is neither in error nor is it asking you to do anything that is ungodly at this time. You are not sinning by obeying the government and staying at home at this time. Not having physical fellowship with other believers but continuing your own private worship at home at this time is not a sin.

Do not neglect your spiritual exercises:

Do as much good that you can to as many as you can. Pray fervently for yourself, loved ones and others. Pray for the leaders of the governments of the world and the community where you live. Prayerfully study the word of God and diligently apply what you are learning. Pray fervently for those workers in the frontline in the war against this pestilence.

Pray for the consolation and comfort of those who have lost loved ones to this plague. Pray for the poor. Petition God for divine intervention to put an end to this pestilence. Be usefully engaged and not be idle.

Pray that even this pestilence will lead to many more turning to God in true repentance, that many more will be saved. Pray for those who are already saved that God will keep and blessed them. Pray that all things will work together for the glory of our God.

Again, continue to obey the instructions of the government that has jurisdiction over

your place of residence.

For all of us believers in Christ, I pray for more grace for us. May the power of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ avail for us at these trying times. May the protective hedge of the LORD around us ever remain intact and strong, and the mark of Christ upon us ever remain very conspicuous so that as the angel of destruction and death is passing, he will pass over us and no plague will come upon us in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Please, cut through the chase and focus on what really matters to God (Matthew 22:36-40).

Please, I encourage you to regularly prayerfully meditate upon these passages of Holy Scripture in any order that suits you:

(Psalm 23:1-6; Isaiah 40:26-31; Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 6:25-34; Matthew 11:28-30; Romans 8:28-39; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 4:6-8; 1 Timothy 6:12; Hebrews 4:12-16; James 1:2-4;).

Feel free to add many more as you dwell in the word of God with the Holy Spirit superintending all of your life.

As we are all quarantined at our homes from this terrible plague I pray we will remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ who became the ultimate spotless Passover sacrifice lamb and by His blood freed us from the slavery of sin and death as we are told, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1Cor 5:7).

May everything in our lives that should be alive and well but are not be visited by the power that resurrected our Lord. And may they come roaring back to life and begin to thrive again. The Almighty God surely see us through this pestilence and at the end we shall all from a heart filled with gratitude give Him thanks and glory in the Name of Jesus, Amen.