{"id":350,"date":"2020-04-23T11:07:10","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T18:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/e-votional\/e-votional-april-23-2020-by-dr-terry-swicegood\/"},"modified":"2020-04-23T11:07:10","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T18:07:10","slug":"e-votional-april-23-2020-by-dr-terry-swicegood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/e-votional\/e-votional-april-23-2020-by-dr-terry-swicegood\/","title":{"rendered":"E VOTIONAL APRIL 23 2020 By Dr. Terry Swicegood"},"content":{"rendered":"

DON\u2019T JUMP <\/strong><\/p>\n

In the past few days six states announced an official end date to the stay-at-home orders implemented by their respective governors. Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas announced they will be reopening their local businesses in the coming weeks. Churches may also resume in-person worship.<\/p>\n

My immediate reaction was disbelief. The curve has not flattened. Not even close. There\u2019s no cure in sight and testing is still woefully inadequate.<\/p>\n

On April 21 there were 25,000-plus new cases and nearly 2,500 new deaths.<\/p>\n

Some wag commented: \u201cIt\u2019s fine for churches to resume normal worship services as long as people don\u2019t mind stepping over the bodies on their way into the sanctuary.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago President Trump asked Dr. Anthony Fauci what would happen if he were to open up the country. The stark answer, \u201cThere would be a lot of deaths, Mr. President.\u201d Fauci has said this about re-opening the economy: \u201cUnless we get the virus under control, the real recovery, economically is not gonna happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every Tuesday and Thursday at one p.m. the pastors of De Cristo and Grand Canyon Presbyteries meet via Zoom. The stress level among the pastors is generally high. A parishioner in a nursing home is dying and the pastor can\u2019t visit. The church budget is taking a hard hit. One church wants to furlough its pastor. In a couple of churches there is a hard push by members to start Sunday worship again.<\/p>\n

As I struggled to wrap my mind about the chaos Covid-19 has created. I discerned God telling me \u201cDon\u2019t Jump.\u201d This is good advice for pastors and parishioners alike.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t jump on the bandwagon and think you MUST do anything now.
\nDon\u2019t jump into crisis mode and start over functioning again.
\nDon\u2019t jump into fielding calls and answering text messages before you consult with God.
\nDon\u2019t jump to conclusions. The world needs our open hearts and open minds.
\nDon\u2019t jump into a scarcity mind set. They will know us by the abundance of our hearts.
\nDon\u2019t jump to the beat of the sirens song of the urgent, and forsake what\u2019s really important.
\nDon\u2019t jump at the opportunity to follow. You are called to lead.
\nDon\u2019t jump to return to business as usual,
\nDon\u2019t react to the ever-changing news.<\/p>\n

The time to rest in the presence of God is now.
\nThe time to discern and reimagine possibilities is now.
\nThe time to be still and know that God is God, is now.
\nThe time to be faithful is now.<\/p>\n

Whatever you do, don\u2019t jump!<\/p>\n

\u201cA Mighty Fortress Is Our God\u201d \u2013Martin Luther<\/p>\n

A mighty fortress is our God,
\nA bulwark never failing:
\nOur helper He, amid the flood
\nOf mortal ills prevailing.
\nFor still our ancient foe
\nDoth seek to work his woe;
\nHis craft and power are great,
\nAnd armed with cruel hate,
\nOn earth is not his equal.<\/p>\n

Did we in our own strength confide,
\nOur striving would be losing;
\nWere not the right Man on our side,
\nThe Man of God’s own choosing.
\nDost ask who that may be?
\nChrist Jesus, it is he;
\nLord Sabaoth is his name,
\nFrom age to age the same,
\nAnd He must win the battle.<\/p>\n

And though this world, with devils filled,
\nShould threaten to undo us,
\nWe will not fear, for God hath willed
\nHis truth to triumph through us.
\nThe Prince of Darkness grim,\u2014
\nWe tremble not for him;
\nHis rage we can endure,
\nFor lo! His doom is sure,\u2014
\nOne little word shall fell him.<\/p>\n

That word above all earthly powers\u2014
\nNo thanks to them\u2014abideth;
\nThe Spirit and the gifts are ours
\nThrough him who with us sideth.
\nLet goods and kindred go,
\nThis mortal life also:
\nThe body they may kill:
\nGod’s truth abideth still,
\nHis kingdom is for ever.<\/p>\n

Cut and Paste this strong hymn in your browser:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SZWTcDqkoSE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

PS: Just as I was completing this E Votional I learned that Debbie Olsen and her daughter, Kylee, had tested positive for the virus. They are both very ill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DON\u2019T JUMP In the past few days six states announced an official end date to the stay-at-home orders implemented by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-e-votional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoriapresbyterianchurch.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}