April Hope!

John 1:29

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

When I began this blog March 1^st of 2020, I had no idea we would be in the throes of a global pandemic.  How could I have known?  I do, however know THE ONE WHO DID KNOW.  I find it so amazing that He would orchestrate this minuscule piece of the Universe so it aligned with this stressful time, so many could be comforted with HOPE.  When I wrote about March; ‘it comes in like a lion’, I thought I was talking about the weather, not the corona virus.  

Now we are in April of 2022.  The USA is being loosened from the mandates that have constrained us for 2 years, that was projected to be for a few weeks. Now we are confronted with a different plague…the potential for a war with Russia! But…April comes in like a lamb!  A lamb that is pure, no guile sinless and just a comfort to look at and spend time with.  The hope of April.  The Hope of Jesus! John the Baptist, the forerunner for Jesus, announced, ‘behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’.  Our hope is in Him!

I was recently reading about Ruth in the Bible.  Her mother-in-law wanted to change her name because she had so much bitterness and sadness in her life.  Maybe if we just change the name of this month to ‘April Hope’, it will remind us God knows the end…and its coming soon.  Seeds and flowers are beginning to sprout, birds are noisily flying everywhere, neighbors are walking with their children and dogs.  Hope.

Jesus said it best; ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me, though he were dead, shall live’.  That is the Hope we have in Jesus.  A forever life with Jesus in Heaven.

Though we have often felt that our lives are disrupted because this virus has stolen so much from us all, we also know that God has the final word in the situation.  What the enemy means to use to steal our health, kill our bodies, destroy our livelihoods, God is using to draw us back to Him.  ‘What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?  Our God is not the initiator of this evil virus. Nor is He the motivator for war. God only does good; it is His nature.  However, He will take what our enemy meant to harm us, and turn it around for our good. He will take any bad, ugly, perverse thing, and turn it around to use for our good.

Let’s think.  Over the past two years there have been many changes for the good. People are looking out for one another.  Churches are figuring out ways to connect on social media.  People are questioning their own faith and are looking for answers. That’s a good thing!

Jesus told us to ‘go fishing’ for men.  This may be a time when the ‘fish’ jump right into our boats!  I know our church has seen an increase in people watching on line, coming in person, and even giving!

Question; Take the opportunity to ask people, if they got sick enough to face death, would they know where they would go after they died?  Just be sure you are ready yourself…and then give them the answers they need for eternity, and Hope!

Oh, by the way, today is the atheist holiday of April Fool’s Day!