Have you noticed that during these days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the birds continue to sweetly sing their praises to the King of kings?  The spring flowers burst into bloom displaying their grandeur.  The flock of 5 geese continue to navigate their way over the roof of my home in perfect formation toward their destination.  And, scampering up the tall pine tree, the squirrel is still being harrassed by the cat in a seemingly playful game of chase.  Life goes on as normal and yet our lives have drastically taken a turn in a direction that we would have never gone on our own!

Do you have feelings of anxiousness as you see people are donned in a new apparel of mask and gloves? The stock market teeters like a see-saw. The grocery stores are still running bare.  When you HAVE to get out, you suit up like a surgeon going into surgery, and pray that as you dodge people in the aisles, that you stay safe.  It's a new scary time for us.  My family chuckled when we realized that we are all out of work except my niece and her new husband (the youngest couple in our family) and teased them about all of us having to be cared for by them!  Actually, it was a startling realization and not funny at all, that there are no certainties that any of us would have jobs when we get back to normal...if that would ever happen.  I'm sure that many of you reading this can relate to the feelings of an anxious heart.

Today, our friend Margaret Kemp shares a personal story and provides some encouragement for us and how to deal with our nervous energy and anxiety.
Please welcome Margaret as we "look at the birds of the air!"
Praying for all of our readers,
​Sherry

 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 
Are you not of more value than they? 
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 
 Matthew 6:26-28 (ESV)

I felt my heart rate accelerate. My jaw clenched. My muscles tightened. My body and mind were suddenly on alert: Stressful situation approaching!

My husband and I were discussing our finances in view of the sudden upheaval in the world’s economy. I’d tried to ignore graphs of the stock market jumping up and down like a kid on a trampoline. But as my husband and I talked, my heart rate was bouncing up, too.

The world is in a crisis unlike any I’d experienced in my lifetime.  We don’t know what the future holds. What if we make the wrong decision? 

If I let my imagination run wild, I could envision us in a Depression Era scene, empty bowls in hand, shuffling in line to get our daily ration at a soup kitchen. 
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Then I had to take a deep breath and remember where our hope is anchored. It’s not in our bank accounts, our jobs, or the economy. Our hope is in God…the very same God who’s provided for us all along, through past upheavals, recessions, and natural disasters. 

​In Matthew Chapter 6, we read Jesus’s wonderful illustration of how God cares for the lilies and the birds. It’s important to note this comes right after Jesus says not to lay up treasures on earth, and that we can’t serve both God and money. Jesus tells us to focus on the important things; God will provide for our needs.

​After those lovely, reassuring words about taking care of the lilies and the birds, Jesus says this:

“Each day has enough trouble of its own.” That’s a discouraging statement.  I looked it up in the Greek, and it sounded even worse. Trouble is “kakia,” which is also translated “evil,” “malice,” or “wickedness.”  So much for my vision of lilies blooming and birds singing. 

But then, life isn’t always birds and flowers, is it? Many people are now in the middle of painful, desperate situations. But we don’t need to compound our difficulties by worrying about tomorrow. 
The Living Bible paraphrases the words of Jesus this way:

God will give believers the strength to endure whatever comes our way today. Live one day at a time.
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One of my heroes of faith is Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian whose family hid Jews in their home during WWII. She and her family were eventually arrested, and Corrie and her sister were sent to a concentration camp. Corrie survived and wrote of her experience in a book called The Hiding Place. In the book, she recounts an incident from her childhood when she was afraid that her father would die. 

It's been years since I read the book, but I’ve never forgotten that story. When tomorrow comes, God will give us grace for tomorrow’s trials, but not before. 

In the meantime, we make the best decisions with the information we have today, but we don’t fret. We can take our nervous energy and redirect it into positive things, like seeking God and doing our part to advance His kingdom.

Write that letter. Make that phone call. Say those encouraging words. Help where we can. Be faithful to fulfill the responsibilities we have today. 
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Remember God’s tender care for us in the past---then tell others what he’s done.

 He’s been faithful in the past. He’ll provide for us in the future. 

I just finished reading A Journey of Faith and Collection of Treasured Memories, written by Cathi Popp Smith, a member of our own church body. The book reminded me that God is actively involved in the lives of individuals today.

What about you? Instead of worrying about tomorrow, what can you do today to draw closer to God? 

Look at your sphere of influence. What can you do today to make a difference? 

I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I know God’s in control.
And I know I have today.

​A myriad of faces lined the street as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.  The roar of the crowd screaming, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ and ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ filled the air as many citizens spread their cloaks and cut branches from trees, paving the road for this triumphal entry.  The whole city was stirred and yet some asked, “Who is this?” 

​Louisiana is the place where there seems to be a parade for every occasion. There is much anticipation, preparation, and celebration for every parade that is proclaimed in our area.  Even Trader Joe’s closed it’s doors due to the celebratory chaos that would take place during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and all of it’s festivities.  It is hard to comprehend the gathering of any large crowd and anyone asking, “What’s all the commotion?!”  I remember the week that our Governor shut down the big Saturday St. Patrick’s Day Parade due to the possible COVID-19 Pandemic. The news media focused more on the loss of the parade rather than what could actually happen when a single droplet of Coronavirus could do to suddenly shut down the whole world!  The only parades now are the ones that drive by as people try to celebrate their friend’s birthday or special occasion.  Today as I am on the porch writing this blog, a parade of cars covered in balloons and posters, drivers honking their horns, and families hanging out of the windows, scream out in celebration over someone in my neighborhood.  I question, “Who Is This?” that they celebrate?

​The day that Jesus paraded into the Jerusalem was epic, especially when it was just days prior to Passover. Jesus was celebrated, but for different reasons.  As He was accompanied by some disciples who were zealots, He was seen as the leader of the insurrection, to bring peace and victory over the Roman Empire. Some celebrated Him for He was a “great prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”  Some celebrated because they had been healed of their infirmity.  Some knew the truth of who He claimed to be but silently watched as rode by.  I think of Joseph of Arimathea (Luke 23:50-51) a member of the Sanhedrin council who was in disagreement with the others, as he was a secret follower waiting for the kingdom of God.  And yet the question lingers, “Who is this?”

​We as believers know well the story and events that took place leading up Easter.  I came across this incredible timeline of Passion Week from Bible Gateway and wanted to share it with you.  I encourage you to follow each day as it leads up to the parade of the Via Dolorosa, the events of Christ’s crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and to the points of His many appearances. I found it helpful as a visual aid to help me process the story line in the way my brain operates and receives information.  Look at it closely as use the scripture references as a study guide for each day. I suggest that you download the file and print it so that you can see it better.

One revival night, the teachings of Jesus' parade down the Via Dolorosa was a turning point in my life.  The visiting Jewish Evangelist spoke of Christ's great love and described the great suffering that Jesus took as my substitute.  I cannot even begin to adequately describe the imagery that this pastor used to unveil my eyes to the scenes of that day.  The Holy Spirit began to tug at my heart and move me to want to know more of that great love and sacrifice.

​Every April is remembered as a special time in my life!  It is the month that I made my own parade down the aisle of that little Baptist church; not to be recognized as anyone special, but to be recognized as a sinner ready to be saved by God’s grace.  The events of Jesus’ sacrifice and death on the cross were vivid in my 9-year-old mind and heart.  Overwhelmed by His pursuing love, I gave my heart to Christ and committed myself to a life of following Him, obeying Him, and sharing Him with the world.  

Remember, that Christ viewed as living, and not as having died, is not a saving Christ. He himself saith, “I am he that liveth and was dead.” The moderns cry, “Why not preach more about his life, and less about his death?” I reply, Preach his life as much as you will, but never apart from his death; for it is by his blood that we are redeemed. “We preach Christ.” Complete the sentence. “We preach Christ crucified,” says the apostle. Ah, yes! there is the point. It is the death of the Son of God which is the conquering weapon.  Charles Spurgeon
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And we know that it was completed with the Resurrection!  Jesus took the keys of Death and Hell and by His sacrifice, He made a way for us to reign with Him forever! Thanks be to God for His marvelous plan.

So, I ask the question to you, “Who Is This?” How well do you know Jesus?  Do you really know Him intimately? Don’t let this COVID-19 Pandemic rattle you.  I don’t want to think it a small thing but a tool that draws us deeper into fellowship with Christ. Hopefully you have read the ending and we as believers in Christ are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb.
 
Put it into practice:
Take some time to make a list of who Jesus is to YOU and how you have overcome.  Jot a memory of ‘why’ beside each title.  I think that you will find it a rich practice and one worth celebrating over.  Why, you might even decide to do your own celebratory parade!  Wouldn’t that be a site and raise questions!  

Celebrating the Risen Savior,
​Sherry