Sam Chan is an evangelist with City Bible Forum in Sydney, Australia. His book Evangelism in a Skeptical World received the 2019 Apologetics/Evangelism Book Award from Christianity Today. A medical doctor and theologian, he blogs at EspressoTheology.com.

I am rhythmically challenged. I can’t dance, rap, or do high fives. I miss the other person’s outstretched palm every time. I also don’t know what to do when someone approaches me to greet me. I never know if I am supposed to do a handshake, bro-hug, or curled-fingers hook. Last month a guy offered me a fist bump and I shook it by mistake. It felt awkward and horrible at the same time. That’s why I love watching people who’ve got rhythm. I love seeing an NCAA college basketball home crowd as they chant and throb in unison. Wedding guests on the dance floor doing the Bus Stop. Two friends performing their signature handshake—slap, slap, bump, slide. When people are in sync with each other, I see rhythm. I see harmony. I see joy.

In the same way that I am out of sync on the dance floor, we are out of step with God our Creator. God moves left, but we move right. God claps on the off beat, but we clap on the on beat. This is because we are ultimately on opposing sides (Eph. 2:12). In fact, the Bible describes us as “God’s enemies” (Rom. 5:10). We have stiff necks and ears that do not hear (Jer. 7:26; Ezek. 12:2). No wonder we can’t dance in time! We’re not merely rhythmically challenged—we refuse to dance in time with God.

But through his death and resurrection, Jesus puts us back in sync with God our Creator. His death and resurrection put an end to the hostility between us and God, resulting in the supreme blessing of peace (Eph. 2:13–19). God has “reconciled us to himself through Christ” (2 Cor. 5:18)! One aspect of reconciliation with God is that we are now put back in rhythm with our Creator. Paul goes on to explain that God has done this “in Christ” (v. 19). We are in Christ—thus, reconciled to God in Christ, we participate in perfect unison, rhythm, and harmony with God.

In most cultures the joy of reconciliation is expressed by eating together. Whenever my Chinese relatives eat together, it’s always at a round table—never a long rectangular table—because we’re eating together, face to face. The food is placed in the middle of the table and shared—we all eat the same dishes. And the host will pay for the whole meal—the bill is never split. It’s the opposite of Western individualism where everyone eats and pays for only what they order for themselves.

Interestingly, in the New Testament, often when someone is reconciled to God because of Jesus, the person celebrates this with a joyful meal. For example, immediately after leaving his tax office to follow Jesus, Levi throws a banquet for him (Luke 5:27–30). When the jailer in Philippi is saved, he is “filled with joy” and brings Paul and Silas back to his home for a meal (Acts 16:31–34). When Zacchaeus comes down from his tree, it’s to welcome Jesus into his home—with joy (Luke 19:5–7)! It’s the perfect expression of our reconciliation with God in and through Christ—a joyful meal with Jesus!

But even more interestingly, in the New Testament, after becoming reconciled to God, often the person tells as many of his or her family members, friends, and neighbors as possible about Jesus and invites them to the banquet with Jesus as well. It is a shared celebration. For example, Levi invites his tax-collector friends so that they, too, can eat with Jesus (Luke 5:29). Similarly, the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at the well invites her village to come and meet Jesus, and they in turn invite Jesus to stay with them to meet as many of their friends as possible (John 4:28–30, 39–42). Likewise, the jailer’s whole household eats with Paul and Silas and also hears and believes the word of the Lord (Acts 16:32–34).

Source: Christianity Today

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LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to a hospital with the coronavirus.
  
Johnson’s office says he is being admitted for tests because he still has symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus.
  
Downing St. said Sunday the hospitalization is a “precautionary step” and he remains in charge of the government.
  
Johnson, 55, has been quarantined in his Downing St. residence since being diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 26.

Copyright 2020. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 
 

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“Remembering the Forgotten,” by A.W. Tozer

Gospel churches which mostly begin with the lowly are usually not content till they attain some degree of wealth and social acceptance. Then they gradually fall into classes, determined largely by the wealth and education of the members. The individuals that comprise the top layer of these various classes go on to become pillars of the religious society and are soon entrenched in places of leadership and influence. It is then that their great temptation comes upon them, the temptation to cater to their own class and to neglect the poor and the ignorant that make up the swarming population around them. They soon become hardened to every appeal of the Holy Spirit toward meekness and humility. Their homes are spotless, their clothes the most expensive, their friends the most exclusive. Apart from some tremendous moral upheaval, they are beyond help. And yet they may be among the most vocal exponents of Bible Christianity and heavy givers to the cause of the church.

Let us not become indignant at this blunt portrayal of facts. Let us rather humble ourselves to serve God’s poor. Let us seek to be like Jesus in our devotion to the forgotten of the earth who have nothing to recommend them but their poverty and their heart-hunger and their tears.

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Dozens of defiant Christian pastors across the country are preparing to open their church doors to their congregations for Palm Sunday, despite strict lockdown orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

‘We’re defying the rules because the commandment of God is to spread the Gospel,’ Louisiana pastor Tony Spell told Reuters Saturday.

More than 8,000 Americans have died from the highly contagious coronavirus in recent weeks, prompting officials and medical experts to plead with the public to practice social distancing.

But Spell, whose Life Tabernacle megachurch in Baton Rouge boasts 1,000 members, plans on holding three services on Palm Sunday.

It’s unclear how many of them will crowd inside the building to hear their pastor preach.

‘The church is the last force resisting the Antichrist, let us assemble regardless of what anyone says,’ Spell told Reuters.

For Spell and others, the public health orders are a threat to religious freedoms and constitutional rights.

‘Satan’s trying to keep us apart, he’s trying to keep us from worshiping together. But we’re not going to let him win,’ Kelly Burton, pastor at Lone Star Baptist Church in Lone Star, Texas, wrote in a post on Facebook.

Lone Star has been holding services in the parking lot – what it calls ‘Church on the Lot’ – and will do so on Palm Sunday.

Meanwhile, in California’s Sacramento County, officials stated Friday that they have identified one evangelical church that has a cluster of 71 positive cases. They offered few details but said that while the church itself is closed, church members continue to gather in fellow parishioners’ homes.

Others in California are defying the ban.

Rob McCoy, the mayor of Los Angeles enclave Thousand Oaks, is one of them.

He also serves as the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel, where he will offer communion on Palm Sunday – though encouraging worshipers to stand six feet apart.

‘It’s very important theologically that communion not be taken alone,’ said McCoy. ‘What we are doing is exercising our inalienable rights. Communion is non-negotiable for us.’

About 400 miles north of Thousand Oaks, police in Lodi, California, interrupted a service late last month at the Cross Culture Christian Center, an evangelical church with about 80 regular attendees, to tell members they were violating stay-at-home orders.

They have since been given a warning posted on the church door, a ‘Notice of Public Nuisance,’ demanding the center stop holding services, according to local officials.

‘This is a serious public health threat,’ said city spokesman Jeff Hood.

Still, the pastor plans to hold services on Palm Sunday, said the church’s attorney, Dean Broyles.

‘Simply put, no, we’re not going to obey it,’ Broyles told Reuters. ‘The virus does not suspend our constitutional rights, the right to assemble, freedom of religion and freedom of speech.’

Broyles said the church is taking steps to mitigate risks, including sanitizing the building before services and asking that the elderly or those with health problems remain at home.

‘We’re much safer than a Walmart or grocery store,’ said Broyles.

‘Think about it, you’re crammed into (store) aisles inches apart from other shoppers. Here we’re sitting six feet apart.’

Meanwhile, Ohio megachurch Solid Rock has been holding its 1,000-strong gatherings in person, and plans keep the church open on Palm Sunday.

Solid Rock did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters but in a statement on its website said, in part, that ‘we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of anyone who comes to Solid Rock Church. We have scaled back our normal services; and there are not large numbers of worshipers in the facility, but we are open and continuing to practice and sustain our faith.’

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 3,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 7,000 had died.

SOURCE: Daily Mail, Andrew Court; Reuters

Her house sits on a tidy, peaceful suburban street outside Cincinnati. For the past few weeks, she has been doing everything right: sheltering at home and working out of her makeshift office to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

The Ohio megachurch down the road, Solid Rock, has charted a different course. Despite warnings from local and state officials, Solid Rock had been holding its 1,000-strong gatherings in person, and plans keep the church open on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week in Christian churches.

“I think they should obey the laws of the land, like the way the Bible tells us to,” said Sandra, who lives a few miles from the site and asked not be identified by last name. Reuters was able independently to corroborate her address and identity.

The local mayor and health officials have asked the church to close, so far to no avail.

Solid Rock did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters but in a statement on its website said, in part, that “we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of anyone who comes to Solid Rock Church. We have scaled back our normal services; and there are not large numbers of worshipers in the facility, but we are we are open and continuing to practice and sustain our faith.”

Millions of American Christians will observe Palm Sunday at home this weekend, as the vast majority of U.S. churches have moved services online to comply with stay-at-home rules.

But, like Solid Rock, pockets of churches from Florida to Texas and across to California are keeping their doors open and inviting worshipers to attend services this weekend.

“We’re defying the rules because the commandment of God is to spread the Gospel,” Louisiana pastor Tony Spell said in an interview with Reuters.

Spell, 42, who plans to hold three services at his 1,000-member Life Tabernacle megachurch in a Baton Rouge suburb on Palm Sunday, has defied state orders against assembling in large groups and has already been hit with six misdemeanors.

“The church is the last force resisting the Antichrist, let us assemble regardless of what anyone says,” he said.

For Spell and others, the public health orders are a threat to religious freedoms and constitutional rights.

“Satan’s trying to keep us apart, he’s trying to keep us from worshipping together. But we’re not going to let him win,” Kelly Burton, pastor at Lone Star Baptist Church in Lone Star, Texas, wrote in a post on Facebook.

Lone Star has been holding services in the parking lot – what it calls “Church on the Lot” – and will do so on Palm Sunday.

Gatherings organized by at least two churches – one in France, another in South Korea – have been linked to the spread of the virus.

In California, Sacramento County officials said on Friday that they have identified one evangelical church that has a cluster of 71 positive cases. They offered few details but said that while the church itself is closed, church members continue to gather in fellow parishioners’ homes.

Others in California are defying the ban.

Rob McCoy is one of them. He is the mayor of Thousand Oaks, in the Los Angeles area, but also the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel, where he will offer communion on Palm Sunday – though encouraging worshipers to stand six feet apart.

“It’s very important theologically that communion not be taken alone,” said McCoy. “What we are doing is exercising our inalienable rights. Communion is non-negotiable for us.”

About 400 miles (644 km) north of Thousand Oaks, police in Lodi, California, interrupted a service late last month at the Cross Culture Christian Center, an evangelical church with about 80 regular attendees, to tell members they were violating stay-at-home orders.

They have since been given a warning posted on the church door, a “Notice of Public Nuisance,” demanding the center stop holding services, according to local officials.

“This is a serious public health threat,” said city spokesman Jeff Hood.

Still, the pastor plans to hold services on Palm Sunday, said the church’s attorney, Dean Broyles.

“Simply put, no, we’re not going to obey it,” Broyles told Reuters. “The virus does not suspend our constitutional rights, the right to assemble, freedom of religion and freedom of speech.”

Broyles said the church is taking steps to mitigate risks, including sanitizing the building before services and asking that the elderly or those with health problems remain at home.

“We’re much safer than a Walmart or grocery store,” said Broyles, who is also president of the National Center for Law & Policy, a legal advocacy group based in San Diego. “Think about it, you’re crammed into (store) aisles inches apart from other shoppers. Here we’re sitting six feet apart.”

SOURCE: Reuters, Michelle Conlin and Rich McKay

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Welcome to the How to Stay the Coronavirus Plague Briefing Podcast #14. My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International.

Numbers 14:37 said, “Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.”

Matthew Henry said, “Here is the sudden death of the ten evil spies. While the sentence was passing upon the people, before it was published, they died of the plague before the Lord. God hereby showed his particular displeasure against those who sinned and made Israel to sin. They sinned themselves, in bringing up a slander upon the land of promise. Note, Those greatly provoke God who misrepresent religion, cast reproach upon it, and raise prejudices in men’s minds against it, or give occasion to those to do so who seek occasion. Those that represent the service of God as mean and despicable, melancholy and uncomfortable, hard and impracticable, needless and unprofitable, bring up an evil report upon the good land, pervert the right ways of the Lord, and in effect give him the lie. They made Israel to sin. They designedly made all the congregation murmur against God. Note, Ring-leaders in sin may expect to fall under particular marks of the wrath of God, who will severely reckon for the blood of souls, which is thus spilt. God hereby showed what he could have done with the whole congregation, and gave an earnest of the execution of the sentence now passed upon them. He that thus cut off one of a tribe could have cut off their whole tribes suddenly, and would do it gradually. Note, The remarkable deaths of notorious sinners are earnests of the final perdition of ungodly men. Thus the wrath of God is revealed, that sinners may hear and fear.”

Leonard Ravenhill said, “When there’s something in the Bible that churches don’t like, they call it legalism.”

NEWS

According to Reuters there are now over 60,000 deaths from the coronavirus worldwide as confirmed coronavirus cases rose past 1.1 million.

According to the Wall Street Journal Henry Kissinger says that The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Forever Alter the World Order.

According to CNBC Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the coronavirus represents a “potential global catastrophe” and “we need to get very prepared because next late fall and early winter, like most respiratory viruses, coronavirus 19 will be an enemy that we’re going to have to face again.”

HOME CHURCH

John 4:23 says, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”

Jason Helopoulos said, “Family worship encourages peace in the home. We are sinners living under the same roof in tight quarters. That is a recipe for disaster or at least pain! We know our family members, and we know them well. Family worship helps us confront our sin and understand its effect upon one another. For example, it is awfully hard for a father to lead his family in worship when he has just yelled at his wife. If he is going to lead his family before the throne of grace, he will first have to ask for forgiveness from his wife. And she will find that it is hard to worship unless she willingly forgives him.”

——

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.

But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The phrase “For God so loved the world” means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.

The next phrase, “that He gave His only begotten Son” refers to Jesus Christ. He is God’s son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.

Our next phrase is “that whosoever believeth in Him”. The word “whosoever” means anybody at anytime. The phrase “believeth in Him” means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.

Our next phrase, “should not perish”, refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.

And, lastly, the phrase “but have everlasting life” means to live eternally in Heaven with God.

The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

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Dozens of defiant Christian pastors across the country are preparing to open their church doors to their congregations for Palm Sunday, despite strict lockdown orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

‘We’re defying the rules because the commandment of God is to spread the Gospel,’ Louisiana pastor Tony Spell told Reuters Saturday.

More than 8,000 Americans have died from the highly contagious coronavirus in recent weeks, prompting officials and medical experts to plead with the public to practice social distancing.

But Spell, whose Life Tabernacle megachurch in Baton Rouge boasts 1,000 members, plans on holding three services on Palm Sunday.

It’s unclear how many of them will crowd inside the building to hear their pastor preach.

‘The church is the last force resisting the Antichrist, let us assemble regardless of what anyone says,’ Spell told Reuters.

For Spell and others, the public health orders are a threat to religious freedoms and constitutional rights.

‘Satan’s trying to keep us apart, he’s trying to keep us from worshiping together. But we’re not going to let him win,’ Kelly Burton, pastor at Lone Star Baptist Church in Lone Star, Texas, wrote in a post on Facebook.

Lone Star has been holding services in the parking lot – what it calls ‘Church on the Lot’ – and will do so on Palm Sunday.

Meanwhile, in California’s Sacramento County, officials stated Friday that they have identified one evangelical church that has a cluster of 71 positive cases. They offered few details but said that while the church itself is closed, church members continue to gather in fellow parishioners’ homes.

Others in California are defying the ban.

Rob McCoy, the mayor of Los Angeles enclave Thousand Oaks, is one of them.

He also serves as the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel, where he will offer communion on Palm Sunday – though encouraging worshipers to stand six feet apart.

‘It’s very important theologically that communion not be taken alone,’ said McCoy. ‘What we are doing is exercising our inalienable rights. Communion is non-negotiable for us.’

About 400 miles north of Thousand Oaks, police in Lodi, California, interrupted a service late last month at the Cross Culture Christian Center, an evangelical church with about 80 regular attendees, to tell members they were violating stay-at-home orders.

They have since been given a warning posted on the church door, a ‘Notice of Public Nuisance,’ demanding the center stop holding services, according to local officials.

‘This is a serious public health threat,’ said city spokesman Jeff Hood.

Still, the pastor plans to hold services on Palm Sunday, said the church’s attorney, Dean Broyles.

‘Simply put, no, we’re not going to obey it,’ Broyles told Reuters. ‘The virus does not suspend our constitutional rights, the right to assemble, freedom of religion and freedom of speech.’

Broyles said the church is taking steps to mitigate risks, including sanitizing the building before services and asking that the elderly or those with health problems remain at home.

‘We’re much safer than a Walmart or grocery store,’ said Broyles.

‘Think about it, you’re crammed into (store) aisles inches apart from other shoppers. Here we’re sitting six feet apart.’

Meanwhile, Ohio megachurch Solid Rock has been holding its 1,000-strong gatherings in person, and plans keep the church open on Palm Sunday.

Solid Rock did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters but in a statement on its website said, in part, that ‘we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of anyone who comes to Solid Rock Church. We have scaled back our normal services; and there are not large numbers of worshipers in the facility, but we are open and continuing to practice and sustain our faith.’

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 3,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 7,000 had died.

SOURCE: Daily Mail, Andrew Court; Reuters

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Don’t Just Shelter in Place, Preach in Place: Daniel Whyte III Who Has Preached the Gospel and the Word of God to Millions Face to Face and Online in Nearly Every State in the United States and Many Countries Over the Past 40 Years Tells Pastors the Power is Not in Us or Where We Preach From, the Power is in the Holy Ghost and the Preached Word. He Encourages All God-called Preachers to Preach at Least Once Every Day This Week All the Way Through Easter. If They Need a Little Encouragement They Can Listen to His Podcast Proclaim:

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Welcome to the How to Stay the Coronavirus Plague Briefing Podcast #6. My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International.

Deuteronomy 28:59 says, “Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “In carrying out the curses on disobedient Israel, God would undo all the previous blessings He had lavished on her. Whereas Israel had previously escaped the fearful plagues and diseases of Egypt, God would bring them on Israel. He would also bring other kinds of sickness not recorded in this Book of the Law. Whereas God had multiplied her number as the stars in the sky, Israel would be reduced to a few in number. Once she lived in security, but now she would live in anxiety, despair, and in constant suspense and fear for her life.”

Leonard Ravenhill said, “The Church right now has more fashion than passion, is more pathetic than prophetic, is more superficial than supernatural.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Revelation 2:18-24 says:

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

2 Samuel 24:9-15 says:

9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

10 And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.

13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

1. Mr. President, God is not going to allow you to open up the country or even part of the country successfully by Easter, neither will most churches be packed on Easter Sunday morning as you would like. That is a great thought but that will not be happening. Therefore, we are calling on you to go ahead and shut down the nation completely and immediately for at least a full thirty days. Please understand Mr. President even though you may be very smart when it comes to politics and the economy, this is not a political issue and this is not an economic issue and it is really not a medical issue, it is a spiritual issue. And until the spiritual issue of sin in the church, in the government, and in the nation is dealt with, the plague will not be stopped.

2. As I have already told you, if you want this plague to be stayed or stopped, you need to ask Franklin Graham, Jack Graham, Tony Evans, Dwight McKissic, John MacArthur and Anne Graham Lotz to lead a massive nationwide prayer time morning, noon, and night, each day in churches across the nation and publicly at the White House. And basically what you can do is have Franklin Graham or someone appointed by Franklin Graham to open up your briefing everyday with prayer. As you know Mr. President, this is not unprecedented as many presidents in the past have done something similar. We do not want to get into this with you, you can let Paula White keep her job so she can support her family but you need to remove her from over your advisory council and replace her with Franklin Graham or someone else. And these people and others need to lead all churches to publicly denounce all of the sins that are common in the church today such as: adultery, fornication, taking God’s blessings for granted, unthankfulness, ungratefulness, child molestation, and the church’s increasing support of homosexuality, homosexual marriage, homosexual adoption, and the homosexual agenda.

3. You need to immediately roll back everything that President Obama has done regarding having the government to sanction homosexuality, homosexual marriage, and the homosexual agenda, including starting something in the lower level courts that would go to the Supreme Court to overturn the decision regarding homosexuality, homosexual marriage and the homosexual agenda just as you did about abortion. You must understand Mr. President, that God hates all sin but He especially has a problem with the abomination of homosexuality because it is a satanic attempt to turn God’s world upside down. You need to take back and apologize for what you said in support of homosexuality, homosexual marriage, and the homosexual agenda. And you need to immediately remove the openly homosexual Ambassador Richard Grenell from over United States National Intelligence. Mr. President, one of the main reasons why God worked a miracle and put you in office was to turn back the foolishness that President Obama started of sanctioning men with men and women with women and to this point you have not done so probably because of your friend and mentor Roy Cohn who was an openly homosexual man and died of AIDS and because of your daughter and son-in-law who have many dealings with the homosexual community. If you don’t do what I’m telling you, you will go down in history as one of the worst presidents along with Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter and you will lose your legacy just like Obama has lost his legacy.

NEWS

According to the AP, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first leader of a major nation to contract COVID-19.

According to the AP, health officials said Britain had 14,579 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 759 people have died — 181 deaths in 24 hours, the country’s highest daily toll yet.

According to Daily Mail, Italy has reported 919 new deaths from coronavirus, the highest number of fatalities any country has reported in the space of 24 hours since the outbreak began late last year.

CHURCH

Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Jason Helopoulos said, “A Christian home must be centered upon Christ, and if it is centered upon Christ, then it will be filled with worship. Most Christians are aware of the importance of secret and corporate worship, but fewer have even heard of family worship. What is family worship? It is pretty simple. Tonight, sit down with your family on the couch or at the dinner table. And then pray together, read the Bible together, and sing a great hymn of the faith together. There are many reasons for doing family worship, but let us just mention a handful. Family worship glorifies and honors God. Family worship has the wonderful effect of centering our homes upon Christ.” And daily Family worship will not always make family life easier but it should be better. And it will give each family the grace to deal with other family members providing each family member is saved.

——

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

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Welcome to the Literature and Spirituality podcast #49. My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International. Literature is defined as “imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value.” Spirituality is defined as “the quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters.” The purpose of this podcast is to examine how these two subjects intersect with one another and how they relate to our lives.

Our Passage from the Word of God today is Proverbs 1:7 which reads: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Our quote today is from Emily Dickinson. She said: “There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry”

In this podcast, we are reading The Confessions of St. Augustine. This is part 13.

To these words I should have listened more attentively, and being severed for the kingdom of heaven’s sake, had more happily awaited Thy embraces; but I, poor wretch, foamed like a troubled sea, following the rushing of my own tide, forsaking Thee, and exceeded all Thy limits; yet I escaped not Thy scourges. For what mortal can? For Thou wert ever with me mercifully rigorous, and besprinkling with most bitter alloy all my unlawful pleasures: that I might seek pleasures without alloy. But where to find such, I could not discover, save in Thee, O Lord, who teachest by sorrow, and woundest us, to heal; and killest us, lest we die from Thee. Where was I, and how far was I exiled from the delights of Thy house, in that sixteenth year of the age of my flesh, when the madness of lust (to which human shamelessness giveth free licence, though unlicensed by Thy laws) took the rule over me, and I resigned myself wholly to it? My friends meanwhile took no care by marriage to save my fall; their only care was that I should learn to speak excellently, and be a persuasive orator.

For that year were my studies intermitted: whilst after my return from Madaura (a neighbour city, whither I had journeyed to learn grammar and rhetoric), the expenses for a further journey to Carthage were being provided for me; and that rather by the resolution than the means of my father, who was but a poor freeman of Thagaste. To whom tell I this? not to Thee, my God; but before Thee to mine own kind, even to that small portion of mankind as may light upon these writings of mine. And to what purpose? that whosoever reads this, may think out of what depths we are to cry unto Thee. For what is nearer to Thine ears than a confessing heart, and a life of faith? Who did not extol my father, for that beyond the ability of his means, he would furnish his son with all necessaries for a far journey for his studies’ sake? For many far abler citizens did no such thing for their children. But yet this same father had no concern how I grew towards Thee, or how chaste I were; so that I were but copious in speech, however barren I were to Thy culture, O God, who art the only true and good Lord of Thy field, my heart.

But while in that my sixteenth year I lived with my parents, leaving all school for a while (a season of idleness being interposed through the narrowness of my parents’ fortunes), the briers of unclean desires grew rank over my head, and there was no hand to root them out. When that my father saw me at the baths, now growing towards manhood, and endued with a restless youthfulness, he, as already hence anticipating his descendants, gladly told it to my mother; rejoicing in that tumult of the senses wherein the world forgetteth Thee its Creator, and becometh enamoured of Thy creature, instead of Thyself, through the fumes of that invisible wine of its self-will, turning aside and bowing down to the very basest things. But in my mother’s breast Thou hadst already begun Thy temple, and the foundation of Thy holy habitation, whereas my father was as yet but a Catechumen, and that but recently. She then was startled with a holy fear and trembling; and though I was not as yet baptised, feared for me those crooked ways in which they walk who turn their back to Thee, and not their face.

We will continue reading The Confessions of St. Augustine in our next episode.

Let’s Pray

Dear friend, if you do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, may I encourage you to get to know Him today. First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Until next time,

God bless you!

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