Reflections on irresistible Christianity during the COVID19 crisis: Please visit days 71, 77, 83, 89, or 95 for previous posts in the series. Tomorrow we will resume our daily Scripture readings, meditations, and reflections. Together we will discover stability in studying Scripture! Our Finest hourEveryone will have pain points from the downstream casualties of the COVID19 crisis and every Christian has a role in leading and loving for restoration and renewal. Christians must steward the final days/weeks of shelter and stay by listening to God and others, discovering what He is doing through the crisis and how we can join His work. By God’s grace we dare to discover the greatness of our generation by joining God’s work of redemptive restoration. Now is the moment for the abundance of Christian heritage in crisis to form our steps of faith.
The Crisis: The health and economic crisis of the COVID19 global pandemic is fracturing systems in our cities. Today you see headlines of food lines but the coming season will be hard times for many more. Every city will flood with casualties from loss of connection, rising domestic violence, spiking addiction, silent victims of abuse, untreated mental health, exponential rising joblessness, floundering family finances, and diseases of despair such as depression, anxiety, and suicide. Our finest hour will be unifying to “…satisfy the desire of the afflicted” from this season. Dawn will break through the night as our “light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom shall be as noon day.” (Isaiah 58, especially vs 10b) Addressing the affliction of our cities will require sacrifice and struggle but through the strain we will find renewed life and shine a bright light. This struggle will deepen our identification with Jesus Christ and lead us to rediscover our purpose of blessing families of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3) Redemptive restoration of our cities- God’s call for God’s people (Nehemiah 1-2) Nehemiah was in exile when he heard about the ruin of Jerusalem (1:3) and his response leads the way to Jesus’ work of redemptive restoration as it compels us to examine our call in this hour. Every Christian will have a role in loving our cities from fracturing to flourishing. Wisdom compels us to wake up with Divine urgency! Nehemiah felt the pain of the brokenness of his city, weeping and fasting for days after hearing the news. Would Jerusalem flourish again? Yes, redemptive restoration would be brought through God’s people and a pattern of preparation is clear: 1 -Intercessory prayer is the foundation. (Chapter 1) Take time to read Nehemiah 1 and follow the beautiful flow of Nehemiah’s prayer. Nehemiah’s intercession focuses on the character of God, His covenant faithfulness, confession of sin, claiming covenant promises, petition, and faith. Without intercessory prayer the Church will not care or dare to act in faith, discovering the finest hour for our generation. 2- Inspection is the essential starting point. (2:13, 15) Nehemiah inspects the rubble of the wall compelling Christians to inspect through listening. Christians must listen to God, discerning what He is doing. Christians must listen to the pain points from the fracturing of systems in our cities as we listen to experts who already serve in those areas. The Church must listen to ourselves in order to discern gifts and passion for deployment. Nehemiah’s inspection is so thorough he will use available resources from the rubble to finish the restoration of Jerusalem’s walls in 52 days. God does great things through Christians who takes time to listen and discover. 3- Inspire with vision. (2:17) Nehemiah challenges the people of Jerusalem with a vision- We can rebuild the wall! After listening and discovering Christians must cast vision to activate, daring to act in faith for restoration. What is God’s vision for the flourishing of children, families, neighbors, and neighborhoods in our city? How will we work together to move from fracturing to flourishing? What is your role? 4- Initiate when providentially prompted (2:18) The people in the rubble of Jerusalem heard God’s call and said, “Let us rise up and build.” (2:18) God has prepared the Church today for leading and loving after the storm. The redemptive work of Jesus Christ compels us to be a voice joining the chorus of the people of Jerusalem- Let us rise up and rebuild! Christians must “rise up” in job training, placement, and creation. The Church must “rise up” with holistic health resources including mental, physical, spiritual, and financial. Christians must “rise up” on behalf of children, families, our neighbors, and the neighborhoods of our cities. Every person in every city will feel the affliction of the season. Every Christian has a role in participation in God’s work of redemptive restoration. Discover Your Role In Rebuilding By God’s grace the Church will rise up and rebuild. We encourage every person in Christ’s Body to: -PRAY for God’s mercy, God’s Spirit to work in us, and for His pleasure to take our meager offering, to bless it, and to feed the multitudes with what we offer together. -LISTEN to God’s Word, leaders in your church, to the pain points of fracturing systems in your city, to leaders working in those spaces, and to the Spirit’s nudging inside of you. -DISCOVER the shared purpose we have in running toward the ruin of this season with the hope of God’s redemptive promises and power. God has a role for you. -EMBRACE the struggle and sacrifice the Spirit of God leads you to make. You will identify on a more intimate level with the person of Christ as you participate in the fruitfulness of His work. You will find life through loss for other’s gain. You will be strengthened when you live with surprising generosity. -Buckle up for the ride. Keep your hands and feet inside of God’s providence at all times by trusting your heart fully to Him. This will be a long season and, together, we will emerge more full and fruitful than when we entered. God’s Kingdom come, His will be done, in our cities as it is in Heaven. Comments are closed.
|
AuthorPastor Mitchell celebrates twenty-five years of marriage with Lisa & together they have four adventurous children. |