"Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old..."

"We will not hide them from their children,
    but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
    and the wonders that he has done..."

"so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
    but keep his commandments"

Why do we so often turn from God despite evidence to the contrary?

We meet again as an ecclesia of believers to consider the example of the life of Jesus before taking of bread and wine memorials. The theme for our exhortation today is to trust in #God despite the troubled times we live in. #BeNotAfraid #ComeToJesus #Memorial #COVID19 #Bible

We are reminded in our exhortation this morning that today’s anxieties are temporary and that God’s peace can guard our hearts and thoughts.

There are many Bible verses that address fear, anxiety and worry. Let us meditate on this important message:

“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones” (Proverbs 3:5-8).

“Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?’” (Luke 12:22-26)

The apostle Paul found his strength in God, He reminds us that, “I …have …been in prison …frequently, been flogged …severely, and been exposed to death again and again...…[God] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 11:23-12:10)

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7)

For our first memorial meeting exhortation we considered the message of the life and saving of Noah, who with his family lived through the first recorded quarantine in history. We rejoice that we have a loving and longsuffering God:

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

Noah and his family boarded the ark and God shut the door to shield them from his judgement on the earth. Jesus offers himself as the door of salvation for us:

I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9 

Let us be like Noah

• who saved the lives of family through his actions and way of life,
• who actively listened and  placed trust in the Lord despite the circumstances before and during their quarantine  
• who praised God for his family's deliverance.

FROM HIS pauper’s birth in a stable in Bethlehem, to his criminal’s death on the cross outside Jerusalem, Jesus lived his life in poverty. He once said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).

His was a voluntary poverty. It’s very clear that someone with his gifts could have made themselves very comfortable, but instead he chose the life of a wandering teacher. In the Gospel records we get hints of how he and his band of disciples lived in the three years of their ministry: they travelled systematically through the land of Judea (Luke 4:43), accepting offers of hospitality when they were made (Luke 19:5), and there was a network of women who made it their business to see they were looked after (Luke 8:3). Jesus and his followers had a communal purse and it seems they never had much money because he was in the habit of giving any surplus away.

[Read More of the Glad Tidings Article]

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