Romans 5:1-5 Like me and I am sure you will agree, it has been an extremely challenging & difficult time, since our State President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, announced the nationwide lock-down three weeks ago. Today would have marked the end of the lock-down & have no doubt, many of us were looking forward in eager anticipation to this day, when our lives would have returned to some sort of normality. However, that was not meant to be until last Thursday when our State President addressed the nation by giving an update on the coronavirus and announced a further two week […]
Continue reading
Sufficient for Today
You don’t need anyone to tell you that being ‘locked down’ is difficult – emotionally, mentally and relationally. If we knew we’d be locked down for just one day or even one week (or even two weeks) it wouldn’t be nearly as hard. If we see the light at the end of the tunnel, enduring the dark tunnel is much easier. Unfortunately, we don’t know how long we’ll face this crisis. That especially makes us anxious. I’ve noticed, over the past few weeks, that it’s especially when I start thinking about the future, that I get anxious. One verse that […]
Continue reading
What Does The Bible Say About Disease? Part 3 : David in Darkness
“Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.” Psalm 69:1-3 ESV There is another condition that may be affecting the human body amidst these times, besides the globally-feared COVID-19. Incredible sadness. Sorrow. Desolation. Extreme loneliness. Perhaps even depression. It is quite normal to feel this way. In Zack Eswine’s highly-recommended book, Spurgeon’s Sorrows […]
Continue reading
Is the Coronavirus a Modern-Day Plague?
“Is the Coronavirus a modern-day plague?” This question arose at a Tuesday morning training session for young gospel workers. We’d been studying Exodus and had reached chapters 7-11 which describe plagues that the Lord sent to decimate Egypt and make his name known in all the earth. Around the same time as the Coronavirus was picking up steam, the news was published that locusts were decimating crops in East Africa. Of course, to students of Exodus, an army of crop-devouring locusts rings a bell (Exodus 10:1-21). Are destructive powers like the Coronavirus and the locusts in East Africa modern-day plagues? […]
Continue reading
What Does the Bible Say About Disease? Part 2: Job and Justice
If God is good and loving, why does he allow suffering in the world? If God is omnipresent and all-knowing, why does it feel like He’s far from me or that He is quiet? If God is almighty and powerful, why does he not heal all those who are infected with COVID-19? If you have struggled with questions like these, you are not alone. We continue our walk through the Bible and today we look at disease and pain in the book of Job. It is not one of the easiest books to read, not simply just because it is […]
Continue reading