Pastor's article

  We are truly living in uncertain times. As you know this Covid 19 has created havoc not only on our normal routines but our church. Just when things seem to be getting back to “normal” something happens to change our expectations. The idea of closing the church was a difficult one, but after waiting eight weeks I was excited to reopen. We took all the “precautions” and had our plans in place to reopen safely. To decide to close again was even a harder more difficult decision but with more people in our church being exposed and knowing the people affected, it was the best choice for us to make. 

In life, we often try and make plans and take all the right precautions but things just don’t go as we expect. I recently read an article that hand sanitizer could be dangerous to your health! In the midst of this pandemic the FDA found that at least nine hand sanitizer products contained a toxic chemical. It found that hand sanitizers named Lavar Gel and CleanCare No Germ had methanol in them instead of ethyl alcohol. Methanol should not be in any hand sanitizers since it can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested. To most of us, they sound the same but they produce very different results as one leads to cleaning and the other leads to nausea, headaches, blindness and even possible death.1 

The surprising thing is what we think are good plans or precautions often lead us away from trusting in what is most trustworthy of all, God and His Word. We see this in how our society is changing in front of us. Things that would never had seem acceptable a generation or two ago now seem commonplace. This is the problem with sin. Ever since the beginning of time, sin has tried to distort and take something that should bring us life, like God’s Word, sin has distorted it.  This hand sanitizer story demonstrates that people take something that they believer should help them and instead it leads them to death. In many ways, our society has eliminated the stigma attached to many sin. We see this in our country’s stance on marriage, sex, our language and in many ways even our worship of God. 

So what are we to do in these uncertain times as believers? If our church is to be a light on the hill even when we aren’t having church, how do we still be the beacon for our community? How do we do that? Well it begins with our prayer. We need to pray for our leaders, national leaders, state leaders, county leaders, local leaders and our church leaders. We need to pray for each other. Many of us are going through difficulty with finances, health, family issues and of course spiritual struggles. What do we stand on when everything that seems like should protect us, like hand sanitizer, seems to let us down? 

The Bible teaches us what we should rely and stand on. 

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” Matthew 24:35

“What then, shall we say in response to this? IF God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

“God is our refuge and strength an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way.” Psalm 46:1-2

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” Proverbs 18:10

Each of these passages, show us that in these uncertain times God’s Word is where we must turn. In troubled times we tend to turn to “experts” who quite honestly don’t know what is going on either. That is why we need to be praying for each other. We also see that God loves us. He sent Christ to be the one and only sanitizer of our sins. And if God loves us that much, who can be against us? In these troubling uncertain times we can find strength in our God. I am asking, that while we may not be “meeting” in church as we would normally do, and while everything thing seems shaken and unsettled, call on the name of the Lord. If we do that and run to God, it is only there that we will find strength and safety. Pray for one another and remember God loves you. 

In Christ, 

Brother Alan

1 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hand-sanitizer-warning-fda-toxic/