In Proverbs 20:18, God tells us that “Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.”
We have been told by President Trump, "We're at war, in a true sense we're at war, and we are fighting an invisible enemy…" And our political leaders are dispensing, not just medical necessities, but also medical wisdom and counsel which they have received from their medical experts and are passing along to us.
Is this whole thing overblown? Are we becoming a bunch of “tornado chasers,” seeking our next thrill ride, or should we be thinking more along the lines of Joplin, Missouri, which was struck by a catastrophic EF5-rated multiple-vortex tornado late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011? After that tornado, Joplin did look like a WWII European war-bombed city. Or is the White House coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, correct in being "very worried about every city in the United States" projecting 100,000 to 200,000 American deaths as a best case scenario? Do we dare contrast this pandemic with the “Swine Flu” pandemic, in which the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimates that between April 12, 2009, and April 10, 2010, there were 60.8 million illnesses, 273,304 hospitalizations and 12,469 deaths in the United States? And churches were not being closed down then!
To some degree, we are forced to react. I am not a medical expert, and if the coronavirus is exponentially more contagious than previous strains of the flu, then we should take the counsel of those experts in the field very seriously. If this is our latest war (The USA suffered 291,557 battle deaths in World War II) then we should make very sure that we are, with good advice, making that war! I do not claim to have all of the answers, but we have decided to be very careful. We meet on Sundays, but most of our members choose not to. Our numbers are very low, generally conforming to safety standards. We are not hugging, holy kissing, or hands-touching-hands, reaching out. We are trying to be wise as serpents, so that we remain harmless as doves to one another!
With this in mind, please make note of the following. Our LORD’s Supper will be held on Sunday, April 5th at 5:00 p.m. Pastor Enoch will handle all of the preparation of the elements personally, and they will be distributed in this manner: each individual will personally pick up his or her elements from a table monitored by Pastor Enoch, and take them to their pew. There will be no other “handling” of the elements. In this way, those who are comfortable will partake, and those who are not may prayerfully read the Scriptures at home during that time, and LORD willing, we shall return to basics in another year, remembering right now that we are not “under the Law.” The Tuesday evening celebration of the LORD’s Supper will not be observed this year!
I pray this information is here communicated to our beloved members in a logical, loving manner. “Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.” Pro 20:18
May God bless you! More to come tomorrow, LORD willing!
Love and prayers to all!
Pastor