Do Not Be Anxious

If you're like me, the constant bombardment of coronavirus news is overwhelming and unsettling, with businesses and schools shutting down and the prospect of hospitals being overwhelmed. Add to that the economic blow from depressed commerce and it seems like the sky is falling. And as I was beginning to fall prey to anxiety and fear over all this dire news, I came across this quote from Paul Tripp in my Twitter feed:

Look horizontally and so many things seem out of control. Look vertically and everything is under perfectly wise, righteous and loving control.

— Paul David Tripp (@PaulTripp) March 13, 2020

And the Holy Spirit directed me in my Bible reading to even more comforting promises:

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed." - Psalm 107:28-29

"Say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." - Isaiah 35:4

"When I thought, 'My foot slips!', your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul." - Psalms 94:18

Jesus also points out in Matthew 6:25 that anxiety is pointless and completely unproductive; God knows what our needs are, and if He takes care of the smallest living creature, how much more will he care for us? We don't understand why He allows the things He allows, but we know that He allows them for our ultimate good, to deepen our relationship with Him and our faith in Him, much like drought forces the roots of a plant to search deeper into the soil for water.

"In this world you will have trouble; but take heart, I have overcome the world!" - John 16:33

How to Not Be an Online Troll

I just got done reading an excellent post on The Gospel Coalition's website about the proliferation of trolling and flame wars on the internet, and how Christians are to respond with kindness and love, as we are Christ's ambassadors on earth. A brief excerpt:

If you’ve spent much time online, you’ve probably encountered the quintessential comment-section dumpster fire: profanity, non sequiturs, personal attacks, condescending Wonka memes. And you’ve wondered, while gazing at the apocalyptic meltdown of the public forum, “How did it ever come to this?” As a social network marketer who spends 40-plus hours a week online, I ask myself that question daily. Sometimes hourly. 

But truth be told, the road from responsible cyber citizen to raging troll is short and well traveled, and many denizens of the latter are unaware they’ve vacated the former. Therefore, before we assume which of these two camps we occupy, let’s take heed lest we fall (1 Cor. 10:12). For if one day we truly will “give account for every careless word” (Matt. 12:36–37), then we can’t afford to tweet haphazardly.

Full article here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/not-online-troll/

Faith without works is dead

Stumbled across this humbling, convicting video earlier from a sermon by Christian author Francis Chan, about the danger of filling our heads with knowledge about God, while neglecting to act on that knowledge by showing love and compassion to the poor, downtrodden, and the lost.

How many of us can honestly say that we put our faith into action on a consistent basis?