Christmas This Year...

Okay, I'm not going to start singing the TobyMac song of the same name... but this is an appropriate title for this BLOG. 

This year unlike any other in my memory and for many others, it has been a very strange and unusual year. The whole thing of Covid-19 and lockdowns, numbers go down, they go back up, more lockdowns and restrictions to try and combat it, and the worst is Christmas this year... it might be very different than we have ever experienced.

The first Christmas saw Joseph and Mary make a trip to Bethlehem while Mary was expecting. Not pleasant at all. There was a census - again not pleasant. And a selfish king who wanted to kill Jesus. Horrific! It was a quiet event with just Mary and Joseph in a stable. Angels did sing to the shepherd, and the shepherds came of course, and the later on the wisemen - but it was a simple and quiet Christmas away from family and friends. 

Now think of this Christmas - we might be in lockdown/restriction mode where we can't go see family and friends. It might be a simple and quiet Christmas with just our immediate family. And that's okay...

Today we have what Mary and Joseph didn't have - technology like Zoom and Google meetings and so on to video chat with family and friends that we will miss should we go into new lockdown measures.

Whatever happens, remember that Jesus is the reason for the season, and we celebrate that fact whether in the presence of family and friends or not. 

I know it would be such a sad thing to be in lockdown at Christmas. It's not something I want at all. We didn't get to see our family at Thanksgiving already, and I really don't want Christmas to be out too for visiting. 

I know whatever happens, Christmas this year is not cancelled - we will still celebrate Jesus' birth one way or another!

God bless! 

Pastor Andrew Robertson

Announcer and Ask The Pastor host

Covid-19 and God

The world is in a panic mode. Covid-19 has shut down countries, businesses, and more. Economies are falling. People ask in all this: Where is God?

On Ask The Pastor last week (March 17) I had 5 questions all asking the same kinds of things: What is a word of encouragement you can say to those who are very fearful about all that is going on? How is this related to end-times things?

I have had time to think on both of these issues, and while there is a lot of fear out there, what does the Bible say? 2 Timothy 1:7, For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. Proverbs 3:5 – 6 says, ⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.^[a] Or will direct your paths. And of course, 1 John 4:18 tells us that perfect love casts out fear. All these verses and more point to how we need to trust God to handle anything that comes our way. God was not surprised by this, He knew it was coming. The point is not to panic, to trust God to handle it all, that He will provide for our needs. We do our part to be prudent with our resources, to do our part to help limit the spread, but we also rely on God to help us through these times. But how does this relate to end-times things?

Well, now we’re getting into end-times events here. The Bible does say in Revelation 6:1 – 8, I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. 3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.⁵ When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds^[a] of wheat for a day’s wages,^[b] and six pounds^[c] of barley for a day’s wages,^[d] and do not damage the oil and the wine!” ⁷ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. 

The current events in the world from Covid-19, to the locusts in Africa set to wipe out potentially 20 million people, to falling economies, to wars - they all seem to be happening along the lines of these all four seals, the four horsemen seen from those seals. The world is teetering on collapse financially as it heads towards not just recession but perhaps depression. The current Covid-19 outbreak is still small compared to others of the past like SARS and Swine Flu, etc. But look at what’s happening… countries are shutting down, places are enforcing quarantines to restrict interactions – not that these are bad things to do, we do need to be responsible to act on diseases. But the combinations of disease, finances, war, plagues/locusts, death, are fulfilling to a degree of these four horses of the apocalypse everyone has always feared. It does seem like the combination of all four horsemen are now here acting in unison as if poured out on the nations. Am I saying it is a time to panic? No. But do look at the signs as Jesus said in Matthew 24:3 - 7, 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. So here Jesus gave us the warning, to be ready! 

Am I saying this is time for everyone to pack up and wait for Jesus as He's coming? I'm not saying that, but while we deal with this - recognize that this could be the birth pains. We need to be ready, sharing the gospel when we can as the hour is late for His coming. Encourage people, give them hope through Jesus in dealing with this global crisis. So be ready! Like the parable in Matthew 25 of the 10 virgins, where 5 were ready and 5 were not, at the end Jesus said in verse 13, 13 Therefore, be on the alert [be prepared and ready], for you do not know the day nor the hour [when the Son of Man will come]. (Amplified version)

So stay strong, keep the faith, keep trusting in God, rely on Him for peace that transcends all human understanding, and be ready that Jesus might return during this! (No guarantees of course as no one knows the day or the hour).

And now the farewell that was used in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 20:13b, May the Lord be with you...

NOTHING can separate us from God's love

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Romans 8:35,37 NIV

Isn't it good to know that no matter what we face, God won't leave us? Now, this is not to say that we're on cruise control, we never have to stop sinning, etc, but what it does say is that when we do fall, He will be there helping to pick us up, waiting for us to come to Him with open arms.

There is a day coming where Christians of North America will face hardship like the disciples and early church faced, we are starting to see some of that with the laws passed and more. When those times come, or when we are facing severe temptation, God is there to give us the strength to overcome what comes our way, a way out. We just need to take it.

So what will you do when the tough times come? Buckle under the pressure and say what you need to get by? Or will you stand ready to declare the name of Jesus in spite of what man may do?