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As we plod our way through the pandemic lockdown, adjusting to a way of life that is uncomfortable and restrictive, there are many positives as well as the negatives. I have been digging more in Scripture, and here’s a few thoughts from my YouTube channel.

I was struck this morning, while my thoughts formed an amalgam of Scripture and the injustices of life, about the problems and deficiencies, of living in a virtual world. Because that is in fact what is happening at this time of viral mayhem. Our places of social interaction, our pubs, clubs, restaurants, and even our churches, are all closed down. Our movements are severely limited, and we have the bizarre situation where even contact between family members is restricted to a conversation through an open window, a letter box, or over the ‘phone. 

Psalm 123 starts with the verse, “I rejoiced with those who said to me,‘Let us go to the house of the Lord‘”. Though, spiritually, the door into God’s presence is always open to His children, in our physical realm, we also yearn for the time when the door into our spiritual meeting places will be equally accessible. Because it is there where another facet of God’s presence becomes available to His children. It is there where we can bring a word of encouragement to those in need and where we can find solace for our own needs. It is there where corporate worship, the preaching of the Word, Holy Spirit ministry and the fellowship of the saints all combine into a wonderful sense of God’s presence, lifting our souls and spirits out of the valleys, up into the light of His presence, rapturing us into heavenly realms.

We are fortunate that contact can be maintained by the non-proximal use of technology, with modern digital “Apps” such as “WhatsApp” and “Zoom”, “FaceTime” and “Skype”, all enabling us to see and talk with our friends and family. But it is a poor second best. I know three dear ladies who have lost loved ones at this time and their pain and grief is compounded by the restrictions on travel and physical contact with their loved ones. Just watching their pain is almost too hard to bear, and at a time like this all you want to do is share with them a Divine hug, because our Father in Heaven is grieving too.

Thankfully, these restrictive days are numbered. There will be a time when we can meet again in a physical setting. When we can have a party with our friends and family, sharing joy and stories, unlimited and set free from governmental decree. And I, like many fellow believers, are praying that this will be sooner rather than later. But until then we need to plug into Heaven, into our Heavenly Father’s resources, His grace, His love, and continue to persevere with any means we can access, while the refining fires of social distancing drive us into our Father’s arms.

Habakkuk asked God one day what He was going to do about the wickedness and sin so rampant in the Jewish society of his day (warning – be careful what you pray for – God might give you an answer you didn’t want or expect!). And he was totally staggered by God’s response, that the cruel Babylonians would be allowed to bring about change. I don’t know if God is permitting something similar to happen in global societies today – only history will tell. But l am hearing and reading about stories of God’s grace extending into many areas where previously He and His presence were shunned. So we give Him glory for that. God will always bring about the best in adversity – Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose“.

Right at the end of the book of Habakkuk are these words: 

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
  and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to tread on the heights.

No virus can take away our joy, our access to God’s resources. Habakkuk’s Godly perspective must be ours as well.

It would be easy to become despondent or even depressed as the current, modern-day, plague continues to take its course. Recriminations bounce around the media and governmental circles, and the world has suddenly become populated by experts, all of whom seem to know better than those tasked with steering our society through this crisis.

And it seems that some people really believe that by some miracle of science, electromagnetic radiation from radio masts can transmute into a virus. Medieval alchemistic myths are still alive and well in 21st Century Britain!

Statistics are being quoted and misquoted, and arguments abound about the number of deaths, with, apparently, little thought for the personal tragedies in grieving families. The phrase, popularised by Mark Twain in the 19th century, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” comes to mind. It was probably as true then as it is today!

My Bible notes took me this morning to John 17, where Jesus prayed that His disciples would be protected from the “world”. No matter how we feel, though, He didn’t pray that we would be taken out of the world; rather that the world would be taken out of us (sanctification). We are citizens of a new world, where there is no sadness, sickness, plague, or death, though for a time we are having to remain in the old world. So we look on as the citizens of this world thrash around, riven by fear, searching for reasons, looking for scapegoats. But the reason we stay and live in this world is to share the hope that we have inside us, providing stability as people’s foundations are shaken. Jesus in John 17:21b says, “May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me“. That’s what it’s all about, folks. The closer we are to God, the more the world will see that we are of a different spirit, one that is wired into Heaven. So let’s keep praying and using every item in our technological tool box to reach out to those around us, bringing words of life. How about introducing our friends, neighbours and family to Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Or Psalm 23:4. and there are many more relevant Scriptures.

I don’t know, how much longer this house arrest will continue. But I do know that God is with us, and will still be with us long after this plague has passed. Keep praying!

All my life I have been used to the date system of “BC” and “AD” when looking at dates, particularly as I read and research the Bible. The expressions “Before Christ” and “Anno Domini” (The year of our Lord) have been second nature to me. So I was perplexed this morning when I found a Wikipedia article referencing “BCE” and “CE”. Apparently, this means “Before Common Era” and “Common Era”. Although there is no numerical difference between the two naming systems – they both refer to the Gregorian Calendar – the very fact that something so deeply entrenched in my psyche has been abandoned by the society in which we live, came as a surprise, even a bit of a shock. And our schools here in the UK have been teaching this system since 2002 so I’m told. I cannot see any reason why this change should have been applied, other than yet one more example of the creeping secularisation that is being imposed on Western societies.

Compared to the plethora of anti-Christian laws and attitudes in society, it is just a small thing. I am much more bothered by topical issues such as abortion and gender confusion, the persecution of Christians in this country and beyond, the repression of Biblical Christian views and values which we value so highly. But it highlighted to me again the importance of discerning the times, and being on my guard to avoid the dilution of the Christian values I hold so dear.

The Bible provides much advice about the times in which we live. Ecclesiastes 3 famously starts with, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens“. But an important point emerges from the thoughts of Solomon in verse 11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart.” Eternity. Independent of any time system. No Gregorian calendar or secularist philosophies where we are heading. Perhaps the perspective we need for this life comes from Psalm 90:14, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

My daily readings took me to John 15 this morning, and as we are in the middle of this Corona Virus pandemic, the words of verse7,  “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”, jumped out of the page at me. Surely, went my initial thought, through my, and your, relationship with Jesus, we only have to ask, and this pandemic will disappear at a stroke. But we can’t take this verse out of context. Jesus was teaching His disciples about how important it is to remain connected to Him, as a branch is connected to a vine. And Jesus’ illustration clearly shows that unless a branch has a connection to the life-giving vine, it will wither and die. Unless we stay connected to Him we too will wither and die in our spiritual lives. And the result of staying connected to Him, is that we will produce “much fruit”. 

What is fruit? I always add a chopped up apple to my morning bowl of porridge (yes – I hear the howl of protests from my truly Scottish friends – I add granulated sweetener as well – the ultimate sin!). A few days ago I found that an apple that looked good on the outside; in fact it was rotten inside, full of a brown gunge that showed what will eventually happen to an apple when it is disconnected from the tree that bore it. And so it is with us – we can disconnect from the vine that is Jesus, and keep going for a while before the rottenness in our souls is discovered.

But Jesus wants us to bear healthy fruit continually. Fruit is something that is good to eat. It contains nourishment. And seeds that can be replanted. So we must use the fruit we produce in our lives to nourish ourselves and others and plant the seeds of the Gospel whenever we get the opportunity. The fruit we bear is eternal fruit, not the fruit we find in the world; worldly fruit may look good on the outside but holds emptiness and corruption within.

So what about verse 7? Through it Jesus is saying to me that there is a higher, Heavenly, purpose at work here. As I remain close to Him, and obey His Word, any request that I have will align with His will and purposes for these times. And that is where faith and trust kick in. God is still on His throne and in due course we will perhaps find out why He allowed this virus to have such a devastating impact on our increasingly small world. In the meantime, all I have to do is remain close to Jesus, and trust Him. And pray for those around me who are fearful, sick, and who need a Saviour.

With the country in virtual lock down, social contact discouraged, non-food shops closed, along with leisure places such as pubs, clubs, hotels, gyms and restaurants, even caravan parks, society as we know it has almost ceased to exist. Even our churches and religious activities have been closed down, at least when and where they involve people coming together. People are having to stay at home, working there if they can, or perhaps sitting in front of mind-numbing daytime television riddled with doom and gloom news broadcasts. Jigsaws have been dusted off. Table games have emerged from the bottom drawer. Social media is being overworked, belching forth a plethora of comments and posts good and bad. The news reports are, as usual, skewed towards the most negative accounts of life. If one supermarket experiences a food riot, all of a sudden they all have them. If one person dies from catching the virus, all of a sudden we are all going to die as well. Through it all, those people who don’t know God are gripped by an underlying fear. Questions such as, “How am I going to cope if I lose my job?” or “Will Mum get sick?” or “If I get it will I die?” and many more are foremost in their minds. People have lost control of their destinies. Their mortality suddenly rises up before them. But God’s people have a secret weapon – faith.

There are some rays of light shining in the darkness. A leader columnist in a broadsheet a few days ago concluded that if science is unable to resolve this virus problem soon it will most likely drive him towards going to church again. And an on-line prayer meeting in London yesterday saw a big increase in people dialling in, over and above the numbers they would normally expect. Because of the media bias against anything Christian, there must be many more such tales that fail to reach the news outlets. As people generally come face to face with the reality of our times, God’s common grace becomes evident. Communities are coming together to help their most vulnerable. Random acts of kindness are happening in every street, every workplace, supermarkets, anywhere where there are people.

There have been parallels drawn between now and the war time years, with society fragmented and under attack then as now. But at least in the war, people could get together and pray, and there were well-documented occasions when the prayers of God’s people changed the progress of the war. In today’s viral mayhem, people are discouraged – may soon even be banned – from meeting together. In some ways the enemy’s scheme, if that is what it is, seems to be very effective. The enemy doesn’t want God’s people to meet together and pray, because he knows how effective it is.  But God likes nothing more than to interact with His children through prayer. And prayer changes things.  Thankfully we have technology that can work instead. Livestreamed prayer sessions and services, group chats on a variety of platforms, even low-tech phone calls all fill the gap. And we also have the benefit of communicating with our loving Heavenly Father individually from our homes (and out walking the dog – I think that is still allowed!). 

So what is God doing in this season? I know what I would like Him to do. I would like Him to stop this virus in its tracks, at a stroke. And in some way communicate this to the secular society in which we live so that He gets all the glory and a revival breaks out in response. However, God’s agenda is not the same as mine. He sees the end from the beginning. He may still answer my prayers (I’m sure I’m not the only person praying this way), but He has a higher, eternal purpose at heart which may yet surprise us all. And in times of fear – we all experience it at times – we have the privilege of being able to turn to our Heavenly Father and feel His comfort flood over us. We have something precious that the world does not have. Let’s not despise it but instead use these times to reach out to anyone we can, to introduce them to the love of Jesus.

There seems to be a view within Christian circles that we in Western society don’t suffer from persecution. And it is true that the physical and emotional violence experienced by our Christian brothers and sisters in many parts of the world are not present in our society. But nevertheless Western Christians are also under attack, with a persecution of a more subtle kind. In the UK, our governments are increasingly passing laws and regulations that are at variance with Scripture. It has been said that the Scottish government is the Western leader in the race to try and convert society into a non-religious, amorphous mass where the moral foundations of previous generations count for nothing. Yes, we still have the freedom to meet in our churches and places of worship, but even there it is becoming increasingly clear that the words from the pulpit have to be carefully weighed in the light of certain types of legislation. Our schools and universities promote the strident calls from minority groups in a frenzy of liberalism, implementing “no-platforming” policies to silence those who dare to stand up and call out such policies. The nation’s children are being indoctrinated into such nonsense as the fluidity of gender, and “educated” with so-called morals that can never be reconciled with God’s laws. Even the BBC, the bastion of previous generations, is now riddled with a liberalistic “wokeness”, largely at variance with their audience around the country. Social media erupts in a cacophony of abuse should a Christian post dare to contradict the minority views of certain groups. Franklin Graham’s attempts to reach the nation for Jesus have come under attack from local councils because he dares to stand for the sanctity of God’s Word, with previously-booked venues being closed to him. And sadly, there are many in the traditional church who are now embracing liberalistic theology that denies the very Biblical precepts that God has been teaching through His servants for millennia.

So what should Bible-believing Christians in this country do? First and foremost we must pray for those people in authority in the UK (1 Timothy 2:1-4). There is a very active group of Christian parliamentarians at Westminster who need our prayers. I haven’t, sadly, found any such group in Holyrood but there is one SNP, recently elected, Christian politician who needs our prayers – Kate Forbes (new Scottish Government Finance Minister). And we should pray for organisations such as the Christian Institute, CARE and Christian Voice, as they courageously uphold Godly principles in our society. Secondly, we should be discerning of the times and take every opportunity to lovingly correct our friends and families if they start to embrace sinful or worldly philosophies. Thirdly, we should develop our “stories” so that we are certain of what we believe and why we believe it, readying ourselves to share at appropriate times with those in our communities. Fourthly, pray for a Holy Spirit revival to erupt in our nation, our communities, our families, bringing an outpouring of God’s grace like we have never seen before.

The encouraging thing in all of this is that God is still on His throne. He never slumbers or sleeps. He is watching what is going on. And He always answers our prayers with perfect timing.

The past few weeks seem to have been dominated by storms. The Met Office gives them names, as though they are people, or have personalities. Ciara, then Dennis and now Jorge. They all have one thing in common though – copious amounts of rain, damaging winds, flooding; all weather events that inconvenience many people dwelling in this country and in particular those living in certain low-lying areas, or next to flooding rivers, bringing damage to property and disruption and danger to lives.

Those people involved in weather forecasting give each storm a name, perhaps to shift the blame for bad weather onto malevolent “gods” who are out to get us. The prophets of environmental doom blame “climate change” or “global warming”. They cry out their predictions about global temperature rises and the consequences for us all, with emotion and censure unhelpfully clouding the science and ways to mitigate the consequences. And militant environmentalists try and shift the blame onto previous generations, seemingly blind to the hypocrisy of their own life styles and carbon footprints.

But is there anything we can do to prevent the global warming and climate change that we are currently experiencing? There may well be but there won’t be a “quick fix” because the consequential behavioural implications for global societies would seem to be unpalatable to say the least. We live in a society underpinned by, or even addicted to, the need for unlimited quantities of cheap energy, and it seems that this is where the potential damage is coming from.

So how should Christians approach this thorny issue? Current opinion lies between the extremes of denial on the one hand, and an apocryphal event just round the corner on the other. Unhelpful, to say the least. But common sense should indicate that we all need to do our bit to reduce our “carbon footprint” and look after our environment. And, as with all societal issues, we should pray for our government, our scientists and our communities. And keep open to God and His Spirit – He holds our future in His hands.

The New Year’s Honours List for 2020 has just been announced. A fine list of people, with many deserving men and women, enjoying their moment of recognition in society. Beneficiaries of a system that harks back to the grand old days of the British Empire and its dubious times of colonialism. But to many people the system will seem unfair, and they may be right, but regardless of that I am always heartened by how ordinary people automatically help each other, as a natural act of kindness or charity. They perform unsung acts of benevolence that deserve recognition just as much as those who are recorded in the Honours List. Acts of kindness dispensed spontaneously, and without a thought that perhaps some form of acknowledgement will come one day. In this life we have many opportunities to look out for each other, our neighbours, friends, family. Even total strangers. Helping one another is so important that Jesus told a story about it, about a Samaritan man. Jesus’ story was in response to a question, “Who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:25-37). The Samaritan man helped a total stranger who was injured; it involved a cost – money and time. But never a mention of reluctance.

In the community of faith of which I am privileged to be a part I am always blessed by the different ways our folks try and outdo each other in helpful ways. Even those battling with illness or infirmities. The Craft Group of ladies on a Monday do much to help each other with their projects, their needs, their challenges. Our Soup Kitchen on a Friday welcomes in those who are lonely and in need, providing a basic meal and friendly ear to the less fortunate in the Alloa community. And visitors join us on a Sunday, most to hear the Word of God preached, but one or two just come in for a coffee and biscuit, or turn up when we have a meal after our family service. And there are other charitable acts that take place behind the scenes.

Amazing things can happen when an act of kindness or charity is performed in Jesus’ name. There was a young man with a packed lunch that he offered to Jesus, and then watched 5000 people being fed from it (John 6:1-14). I wonder what he told his mum when he got home! And did she believe him? But it can be the same with us. The little we have will be multiplied many times when offered to God.

But returning to the Honours List, the temporal recognition of those men and women will die with them. At the pearly gates, Saint Peter will sadly have to inform them that an MBE or knighthood is not an “honour” recognised in the Kingdom of God – there is only one thing that gains us entry. So how do we get our names onto God’s Honours List? The amazing thing is that it is not based on works or good deeds, unlike the worldly system. In fact, no amount of effort expended in acts of benevolence or charity will ever get us into God’s presence. To get listed in God’s Honours List (the Lamb’s Book of Life) is simple, and amazingly we don’t have to be nominated – all that is required is for us to respond as a sinner to the Gospel message.  So I now have my name listed on God’s Honours List. And I don’t have “MBE” written after my name, I have “MKG” (Member of the Kingdom of God) or “SLG” (Son of the Living God), and rather than being a “Sir” I am a “priest” (1 Peter 2:5) and not just any old priest, but a “royal priest” (1 Peter 2:9). And I’m a “saint” – there are many Biblical references to this. We mustn’t forget that values in the Kingdom of God are very different to those in the kingdom of the world. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27). So, fellow foolish and weak Christians, let’s look out for ways we can help each other, and opportunities to invite the wise and strong to put their names on the only “Honours List” that matters.

A cold and frosty December morning; a semicircular moon gleaming through the stark denuded tree branches, like a scene that reminds of the Hansel and Gretel story. A still morning, no wind, just a peaceful icy world. The stillness only disturbed by the occasional tweet of a foraging bird and the distant muffled background noise of commuting traffic passing on the local A road. As an aside, with all the technological advances of the current age, no-one has yet invented tyres that make contact with tarmac quietly. Strange.

So what is God saying to me this morning? It’s a question I ask regularly and sometimes the answers surprise me. On the one hand this morning I have the peaceful natural environment around me, so full of God’s creative genius, so stress-free. An environment that seems in tune with my spirit. On the other hand society is full of reports about the political fallout from the recent election, with all its recriminations and triumphalism, the “blame game”, the strident calls for the break up of the UK. All news dominated by evil attempts of one individual or group trying to get one over another. And that bastion of British institutionalism, the BBC, under attack as never before, as it fails to adapt to a new generation’s desire for “on-demand” TV services and maintain true impartiality in a political world dominated by accusations of bias. Who would have ever thought it!

So back to my question; what is God saying to me this morning? Well, the spiritual and political thoughts merge this morning. The country has to be governed and I pray for the political leaders daily, but no amount of referendums or elections can ever replace the need for people to come to know our loving Heavenly Father. Independence in Scotland might be utopian for some, but it’s not independence that Scotland needs, it’s revival. No political outcome can replace the fact that 95% of the Scottish population are heading for a lost eternity. Call it “hell” if you like. So God is saying to me this morning – spread the message, His message of hope.