Weeel… Weren’t they alive when Jesus walked the earth? I suspect their lie was taken as an egregious insult at a time when the Church was establishing… Dunno…..🙆
The story in Acts 6 is completely reminiscent of Joshua 7 in the old covenant. Neither story is normative both stories reflect a new era for the covenant people. Both stories deal with ‘devoted things’ both stories deal with lying/deception. God acts decisively in judgment without our consent approval or necessary input. In both cases fear comes upon all.
I can go on and on about the role of truth telling, lying and living without the fear of God. These stories prevent us pontificating about how God must or must not act to be true to ‘the God I believe in.’ We constantly seek a formulaic resolution to Biblical narratives about God’s behavior. The God of scripture refuses to give us the answers that settle us in favor of the mystery that humbles us.
I’ve certainly joined you in puzzling over these narratives. The answer comes back ‘who has known the mind of God and who has been his counselor.’
Do we pronounce judgments, I suggest we do. I’d also suggest there is no coherent system that allows us to make a law of it.
Every time someone denounces bad behavior with the promise that God will not be mocked we are on the precipice of such action.
But I remind that it simply is not normative either in the Biblical text or in the nature of the lives we live. Let God be true and every man a liar.
Today I read this fascinating article from the November 2017 issue of The Smithsonian concerning the 1918 Great Influenza pandemic. It seems prescient given our present day coronavirus situation. I hope we have learned some of the lessons we needed to from that past disaster.
BD, I don’t presume to judge God. I don’t tolerate my little kids judging me. How much more significant is the gap between us and the creator of the universe?
Everyone should read The Great Influenza by John Barry. It’s scary. Scaled for today, that’s up to 9 million dead in the USA alone. Even 1/4 that would be horrible. Up to 150 million horribly sick. Global depression.
The book is also fascinating in its exploration of how the 1918 pandemic contributed to the rise of modem medicine.
The Aussies did not overreact by blockading their continent. When the virus finally arrived, it had mutated into a much less virulent form.
My ex returned to California last night from a week in new Orleans. She’s sick, but no fever. I asked her again this morning because she picked up the kids this evening for the weekend. No fever, just runny nose and slightly sore throat.
A month ago, one of our co workers returned from vacation in Thailand. We work in a lab and thus share things by touch. She was coughing. She refused to stay home but on the third day she was sent home. Almost everyone in the lab got sick, 10 of us out of 15. She was extremely rude and inconsiderate even if we get punished by management for not meeting productivity numbers (you’re expected to make up for days off, no matter the reason which is why I typically carry 180 to 200 hours of PTO).
Today my caregiver and I were discussing the widening concern about the spread of the coronavirus. She was distressed by the reports of fears regarding such inoffensive items as disposable diapers from China being not only potential carriers but also what the implications are for people (young and old) who really need them and being unable to purchase them.
We are both Christians. We talked a bit about all this and more and more our talk grew positive because we know that we do not have to be afraid. We know the Lord, we know His plans for us are good, we know that He will make a way for us in any situation whether it leads to escape or whether it leads to our homecoming to Him. Because we are not afraid for ourselves we can comfort others and share with them how we have been set free from fear thru Jesus Christ.
If this is a pandemic, it is also a great opportunity to reach out to frightened folk in their time of great anxiety and give them the best news possible that for those who belong to the Lord, nothing will separate them from His love. Romans 8 ends with wonderful lists of things that will NOT separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
With many of the stories we read here – Christian leaders being persistently dishonest, to the detriment of the Church – we wish God would… maybe not strike them dead like A & S, but at least bring them to repentance.
Yes, I’m one of many Australians unhappy with the heavy-handed way our Home Affairs dept treats some people, but caution is necessary in this case. So many people normally come & go between here & China. The latest case in the news here is someone coming from Iran, so now we’re not accepting people from there either.
Last Sunday I taught the kids at church about storing treasure on earth. The current craze with our kids is acting out bits of scripture, but I don’t think I brought it to life that well (shirt with holes in it, toy car that was rusty, someone’s money box and another kid ran off with it). Then on Thursday I bought some shares. Two days later and they are worth a bit less than when I bought them.
A couple of things about the 1918 flu and the coronavirus. Currently there mortality rates are about the same, which are an order of magnitude more deadly than normal influenza. That being said, the 1918 flu was more deadly for people in the 18-50 range than the very young or very old. So far the coronavirus has not exhibited that. One reason the 1918 flu was so deadly to people in good health was that it caused a cytokine storm in patients.
I wonder why God has been so gracious with me, wonder about people that barely seem to mess up with severe consequences, and how the people who seem to get away with way too much all have such different paths.
Good to have that link, Jim. I have heard that the mask is only to be used if you may have the virus – not effective in prevention… also hand washing is more effective than germicide gels as the continued use of the gels (alcohol based) dry out skin resulting in cracking where viruses can actually enter… As i write my daughter’s brother-in-law is intubated in isolation, being tested for coronavirus….
No point in running in circles shouting the sky is falling, but good information IS helpful.. Thank you
I see it as just a great big roulette wheel, this game of life.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose; trying to find meaning in terms of strict determinism is a fool’s errand (my opinion).
Truth is hard to find and harder to discern these days. This is sometimes simply annoying, but when we’re faced with a crisis like the possible coronavirus pandemic, it can be much more impacting than that.
Sadly, we have already politicized a health crisis. The right wants to downplay the story because of its impact on the financial markets and the left wants to highlight what they perceive as the incompetence of the current president. When ebola struck, the roles were reversed. The moral of the story is that you don’t take medical advice from politicians.
Don’t listen to the so called profits prophets either…they are in it for the cash and the cash is all on the side of the President in the Christian market.
Here’s some samples…
Johnny Enlow;
Here is something new and important I just heard from the Lord regarding the coronavirus. He was there when the virus was being engineered and He did His own counter engineering.
In His tinkering, He has caused it to be the most “susceptible to be affected by faith” virus that ever existed. He put a drop of something into the sinister engineering and it absolutely destroys the virus when exposed to faith. Prayers of faith. Actions of faith. Stands of faith. The virus can smell faith and it is decimated by it.
I heard the roar of the virus turn to a whimper. This is a built-in recipe for an explosion of salvation and the miraculous and of every kind of spiritual encouragement.
Shawn Bolz:
God is answering the prayers and cries of the nations and is putting an end in sight.
The exaggerated, fear-based tactics of both the enemy and several media outlets for political reasons is coming to an end. The enemy has been trying to distract and steal from several equally important purposes and issues by dominating airwaves with conspiracy and fear.
Even now, several vaccines are coming out as well as a natural “dying out” of the virus itself. The Lord is saying, “I am removing the threat of this.”
Danny Steyne:
A few hours later, I heard the Lord say, “And NOW, I’m going to unleash My superheroes in this hour. They will be bring this virus to a full stop, and because of the way it will be suddenly stopped, many will believe in Me. They will move by love accompanied by faith, unknown to men but known by God.”
Enlow:
Nor are the above 5 the only heroic things he has done. His moves with the economy have been a game-changer, and this he has done while great enemies have been actively trying to kill the economy in their attempt to derail Trump’s God-given assignment.
The coronavirus is a part of this, but it too will fail—because God has chosen Trump to trump the enemy in move after move. Even when Trump feels overwhelmed and is unsure how to proceed, God is still turning his halfhearted/not-sure decisions into “home runs”. This will not stop happening.
My favorite…Doug Addison:
We have been under attack globally with the coronavirus. I have been waiting on the Lord and praying daily over this. On February 25, the Lord showed me the root of the attack and a prayer strategy to break it.
The global attack of the coronavirus is against the global outpouring that is coming to the earth. Many of the prophets have been releasing prophetic words about a coming global move of God—revival. This is a direct attack against revival.
The coronavirus is a global attack against revival. The Lord showed me the source of the attack:
“Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken; from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.” (Isaiah 14:29 NIV) This 3-cord global attack (of the coronavirus) is against the global outpouring the Lord is bringing:
• Snake: Deception
• Viper: Religious Spirit (Jesus called the Pharisees a brood of vipers)
• Venomous Serpent: Coronavirus
How to break it
Here is the prayer strategy the Lord showed me so you can pray this in agreement. Since it is a global attack, it would be good to get as many people praying this as we can.
Prayer
Lord, we bind the Snake of Deception, the Viper of the Religious Spirit and the Venomous Serpent of the Coronavirus. We break its global unholy alliance, the 3-cord attack to stop the global outpouring of revival.
Can’t we be sensible, cautious without going nuts?
Use the link recommendations if you have to be out and about as one always should… I can recall as a child, after being out shopping, etc. I was always sent in to wash my hands… My grandparents had been through the flu epidemic of 1919 (think that was the year)…
I was a little nervous about the coronavirus outbreak before, but with Mike Pence’s appointment to lead the federal government response, and with the White House now controlling the messaging from federal agencies, I am no longer nervous at all.
Yes, we should pray, but we don’t need to pray someone else’s words, i don’t think.
My daughter just got word her BIL has tested positive for the corona virus – he is in bad shape and they do not know where he picked it up.
God keep 🙏
You are right, Michael. My daughter is in her city’s politics and you should see the countys Emails. They, a liberal area, are trying to keep a lid on this, but.. we have a lot of Chinese on bot sides of the border and a lot of back and forth commerce with B.C., so who knows
Thank you for the prayer – you are really at risk, so you be careful also… Praying for you, too… Hope everyone here is
Em–I am so sorry to hear about your daughter’s BIL. I’ve been offline for much of the day; I will gladly pray for him and I hope he also has the Lord’s comfort.
I will always hope for world-wide revival whether or not it is prophesied by fallen men…
From what I have read, revival is more likely to come from bad times than good times. Particularly bad economic times.
Hopefully those prophets are correct that the virus doesn’t hang around long. I’m not optimistic. Our left-leaning media are praising our government for taking the threat seriously (and slamming them for failing to do so re climate change)
This is the Phoenix Preacher town hall…you pick the topics…it’s all yours today…
Reading, rereading, contemplating, and considering commentary on Ananias and Sapphira.
How can I process that?
What do we do with vastly different personal experiences that that passage?
I wonder if there are many/any modern equivalents..
How do YOU consider that story in 2020?
Weeel… Weren’t they alive when Jesus walked the earth? I suspect their lie was taken as an egregious insult at a time when the Church was establishing… Dunno…..🙆
The story in Acts 6 is completely reminiscent of Joshua 7 in the old covenant. Neither story is normative both stories reflect a new era for the covenant people. Both stories deal with ‘devoted things’ both stories deal with lying/deception. God acts decisively in judgment without our consent approval or necessary input. In both cases fear comes upon all.
I can go on and on about the role of truth telling, lying and living without the fear of God. These stories prevent us pontificating about how God must or must not act to be true to ‘the God I believe in.’ We constantly seek a formulaic resolution to Biblical narratives about God’s behavior. The God of scripture refuses to give us the answers that settle us in favor of the mystery that humbles us.
I’ve certainly joined you in puzzling over these narratives. The answer comes back ‘who has known the mind of God and who has been his counselor.’
Do we pronounce judgments, I suggest we do. I’d also suggest there is no coherent system that allows us to make a law of it.
Every time someone denounces bad behavior with the promise that God will not be mocked we are on the precipice of such action.
But I remind that it simply is not normative either in the Biblical text or in the nature of the lives we live. Let God be true and every man a liar.
Today I read this fascinating article from the November 2017 issue of The Smithsonian concerning the 1918 Great Influenza pandemic. It seems prescient given our present day coronavirus situation. I hope we have learned some of the lessons we needed to from that past disaster.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journal-plague-year-180965222/
Pastor Dread, ” Let God be true and every man a liar.” amen… so many times i quote that to myself, so i guess i need those words a lot 🙂
BD, I don’t presume to judge God. I don’t tolerate my little kids judging me. How much more significant is the gap between us and the creator of the universe?
Everyone should read The Great Influenza by John Barry. It’s scary. Scaled for today, that’s up to 9 million dead in the USA alone. Even 1/4 that would be horrible. Up to 150 million horribly sick. Global depression.
The book is also fascinating in its exploration of how the 1918 pandemic contributed to the rise of modem medicine.
The Aussies did not overreact by blockading their continent. When the virus finally arrived, it had mutated into a much less virulent form.
My ex returned to California last night from a week in new Orleans. She’s sick, but no fever. I asked her again this morning because she picked up the kids this evening for the weekend. No fever, just runny nose and slightly sore throat.
A month ago, one of our co workers returned from vacation in Thailand. We work in a lab and thus share things by touch. She was coughing. She refused to stay home but on the third day she was sent home. Almost everyone in the lab got sick, 10 of us out of 15. She was extremely rude and inconsiderate even if we get punished by management for not meeting productivity numbers (you’re expected to make up for days off, no matter the reason which is why I typically carry 180 to 200 hours of PTO).
Today my caregiver and I were discussing the widening concern about the spread of the coronavirus. She was distressed by the reports of fears regarding such inoffensive items as disposable diapers from China being not only potential carriers but also what the implications are for people (young and old) who really need them and being unable to purchase them.
We are both Christians. We talked a bit about all this and more and more our talk grew positive because we know that we do not have to be afraid. We know the Lord, we know His plans for us are good, we know that He will make a way for us in any situation whether it leads to escape or whether it leads to our homecoming to Him. Because we are not afraid for ourselves we can comfort others and share with them how we have been set free from fear thru Jesus Christ.
If this is a pandemic, it is also a great opportunity to reach out to frightened folk in their time of great anxiety and give them the best news possible that for those who belong to the Lord, nothing will separate them from His love. Romans 8 ends with wonderful lists of things that will NOT separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hallelujah!!
Great post, Nancy – great reminders from you and oters ere also – thank you
The rain falls alike in the just and unjust. Then there was The Tower of Silom… No one except for Enoch and Elijah made it out of here alive.
With many of the stories we read here – Christian leaders being persistently dishonest, to the detriment of the Church – we wish God would… maybe not strike them dead like A & S, but at least bring them to repentance.
Yes, I’m one of many Australians unhappy with the heavy-handed way our Home Affairs dept treats some people, but caution is necessary in this case. So many people normally come & go between here & China. The latest case in the news here is someone coming from Iran, so now we’re not accepting people from there either.
Last Sunday I taught the kids at church about storing treasure on earth. The current craze with our kids is acting out bits of scripture, but I don’t think I brought it to life that well (shirt with holes in it, toy car that was rusty, someone’s money box and another kid ran off with it). Then on Thursday I bought some shares. Two days later and they are worth a bit less than when I bought them.
A couple of things about the 1918 flu and the coronavirus. Currently there mortality rates are about the same, which are an order of magnitude more deadly than normal influenza. That being said, the 1918 flu was more deadly for people in the 18-50 range than the very young or very old. So far the coronavirus has not exhibited that. One reason the 1918 flu was so deadly to people in good health was that it caused a cytokine storm in patients.
I wonder why God has been so gracious with me, wonder about people that barely seem to mess up with severe consequences, and how the people who seem to get away with way too much all have such different paths.
Thank God for Psalm 73
Thanks for the answers
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu
Good to have that link, Jim. I have heard that the mask is only to be used if you may have the virus – not effective in prevention… also hand washing is more effective than germicide gels as the continued use of the gels (alcohol based) dry out skin resulting in cracking where viruses can actually enter… As i write my daughter’s brother-in-law is intubated in isolation, being tested for coronavirus….
No point in running in circles shouting the sky is falling, but good information IS helpful.. Thank you
—” time and chance happeneth to them all…”—
I see it as just a great big roulette wheel, this game of life.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose; trying to find meaning in terms of strict determinism is a fool’s errand (my opinion).
Truth is hard to find and harder to discern these days. This is sometimes simply annoying, but when we’re faced with a crisis like the possible coronavirus pandemic, it can be much more impacting than that.
Sadly, we have already politicized a health crisis. The right wants to downplay the story because of its impact on the financial markets and the left wants to highlight what they perceive as the incompetence of the current president. When ebola struck, the roles were reversed. The moral of the story is that you don’t take medical advice from politicians.
Don’t listen to the so called
profitsprophets either…they are in it for the cash and the cash is all on the side of the President in the Christian market.Here’s some samples…
Johnny Enlow;
Here is something new and important I just heard from the Lord regarding the coronavirus. He was there when the virus was being engineered and He did His own counter engineering.
In His tinkering, He has caused it to be the most “susceptible to be affected by faith” virus that ever existed. He put a drop of something into the sinister engineering and it absolutely destroys the virus when exposed to faith. Prayers of faith. Actions of faith. Stands of faith. The virus can smell faith and it is decimated by it.
I heard the roar of the virus turn to a whimper. This is a built-in recipe for an explosion of salvation and the miraculous and of every kind of spiritual encouragement.
Shawn Bolz:
God is answering the prayers and cries of the nations and is putting an end in sight.
The exaggerated, fear-based tactics of both the enemy and several media outlets for political reasons is coming to an end. The enemy has been trying to distract and steal from several equally important purposes and issues by dominating airwaves with conspiracy and fear.
Even now, several vaccines are coming out as well as a natural “dying out” of the virus itself. The Lord is saying, “I am removing the threat of this.”
Danny Steyne:
A few hours later, I heard the Lord say, “And NOW, I’m going to unleash My superheroes in this hour. They will be bring this virus to a full stop, and because of the way it will be suddenly stopped, many will believe in Me. They will move by love accompanied by faith, unknown to men but known by God.”
Enlow:
Nor are the above 5 the only heroic things he has done. His moves with the economy have been a game-changer, and this he has done while great enemies have been actively trying to kill the economy in their attempt to derail Trump’s God-given assignment.
The coronavirus is a part of this, but it too will fail—because God has chosen Trump to trump the enemy in move after move. Even when Trump feels overwhelmed and is unsure how to proceed, God is still turning his halfhearted/not-sure decisions into “home runs”. This will not stop happening.
My favorite…Doug Addison:
We have been under attack globally with the coronavirus. I have been waiting on the Lord and praying daily over this. On February 25, the Lord showed me the root of the attack and a prayer strategy to break it.
The global attack of the coronavirus is against the global outpouring that is coming to the earth. Many of the prophets have been releasing prophetic words about a coming global move of God—revival. This is a direct attack against revival.
The coronavirus is a global attack against revival. The Lord showed me the source of the attack:
“Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken; from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.” (Isaiah 14:29 NIV) This 3-cord global attack (of the coronavirus) is against the global outpouring the Lord is bringing:
• Snake: Deception
• Viper: Religious Spirit (Jesus called the Pharisees a brood of vipers)
• Venomous Serpent: Coronavirus
How to break it
Here is the prayer strategy the Lord showed me so you can pray this in agreement. Since it is a global attack, it would be good to get as many people praying this as we can.
Prayer
Lord, we bind the Snake of Deception, the Viper of the Religious Spirit and the Venomous Serpent of the Coronavirus. We break its global unholy alliance, the 3-cord attack to stop the global outpouring of revival.
I actually posted the link as a way of saying, “relax”. I’m no doctor, but I know hype when I see it.
Where’s MLD?
On Facebook usually…
Can’t we be sensible, cautious without going nuts?
Use the link recommendations if you have to be out and about as one always should… I can recall as a child, after being out shopping, etc. I was always sent in to wash my hands… My grandparents had been through the flu epidemic of 1919 (think that was the year)…
I was a little nervous about the coronavirus outbreak before, but with Mike Pence’s appointment to lead the federal government response, and with the White House now controlling the messaging from federal agencies, I am no longer nervous at all.
Michael, are these those NAR prophets you cited?
They get a D for imagination and an F for accuracy (usually the ‘prophecies’ are so vague and ambiguous that they can’t be verified)
Bob1,
Yep.
Yes, we should pray, but we don’t need to pray someone else’s words, i don’t think.
My daughter just got word her BIL has tested positive for the corona virus – he is in bad shape and they do not know where he picked it up.
God keep 🙏
Em,
It looks like your state may be ground zero for this…be careful.
We’ll keep your daughter in prayer as well…
You are right, Michael. My daughter is in her city’s politics and you should see the countys Emails. They, a liberal area, are trying to keep a lid on this, but.. we have a lot of Chinese on bot sides of the border and a lot of back and forth commerce with B.C., so who knows
Thank you for the prayer – you are really at risk, so you be careful also… Praying for you, too… Hope everyone here is
Em–I am so sorry to hear about your daughter’s BIL. I’ve been offline for much of the day; I will gladly pray for him and I hope he also has the Lord’s comfort.
I will always hope for world-wide revival whether or not it is prophesied by fallen men…
From what I have read, revival is more likely to come from bad times than good times. Particularly bad economic times.
Hopefully those prophets are correct that the virus doesn’t hang around long. I’m not optimistic. Our left-leaning media are praising our government for taking the threat seriously (and slamming them for failing to do so re climate change)
Does MLD still comment here and what’s his Facebook page?
MLD hasn’t commented in weeks. His Facebook page is under his personal name and I don’t reveal names without permission.
Thank you for praying, Nancy…. World wide revival IS worth our prayers also… Makes me wonder if we’ll be held accountable, if we don’t so pray….